Talk:Gnawty

Donkey Kong 64 name

It seems to me that these little guys are never referred to as Gnawties in Donkey Kong 64 as not only do the strategy guides such as this: [[1]] refer to them as Beavers but in-game they are referred to as Beavers as well: "Beaver Brawl" and "Beaver Bother". As such, we should most likely change all references of Gnawty in Donkey Kong 64 to "Beaver" because it's the only name they have, especially in-game. PrincessPeachFan (talk) 10:32, October 13, 2022 (EDT)

The game's manual calls them Gnawties, PRIMA wasn't doing their best job with DK64. Doc von Schmeltwick (talk) 11:22, October 13, 2022 (EDT)

It should be noted that some early sources refer to them as Gnawty Beavers so the guide name might have taken from that. LinkTheLefty (talk) 11:57, October 13, 2022 (EDT)

Yeah, but we've got Nintendo's official strategy guide and their Banana Guide pretty clearly calling these guys Beavers. Plus, y'know, in-game name? PrincessPeachFan (talk) 13:06, October 13, 2022 (EDT)

In-game *generic term* used as a challenge title. Similar to Klepto being "the Big Bird." The manual was at least written by Rare, unlike those guides. Doc von Schmeltwick (talk) 13:11, October 13, 2022 (EDT)

The Nintendo Player's Guide renders it as lowercase "beaver" too, along with the BradyGAMES and VERSUS BOOKS guides. LinkTheLefty (talk) 16:39, October 13, 2022 (EDT)

I wonder if we can change the "referred to" in the Donkey Kong 64 section to "referred to generically as Beavers" given that the instruction manual is the only thing that actually calls Gnawties by their names, not even in-game. PrincessPeachFan (talk) 09:37, December 29, 2022 (EST)

Bumping this. We should change the Donkey Kong 64 section to say that while the manual calls these guys "Gnawties", everything else (in-game, strategy guides, Nintendo's Banana Guide) just gives them the generic names of Beavers. PrincessPeachFan (talk) 22:34, December 15, 2023 (EST)

Banjo-Kazooie

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Should we consider the Banjo-Kazooie beaver an actual appearance of this? Rare liked to reuse names for similar subjects (Tiptup, Tricky, and judging by DKR internal data, Terry, as well as dissimilar things like Bazza), and they didn't change it for the XBox ports (unlike the Donkey Kong toy's tie and name being removed), but it otherwise seems like the kind of thing we'd put in an "other appearances" section. Doc von Schmeltwick (talk) 18:33, September 1, 2024 (EDT)

No. It's reappeared in the Xbox ports of Banjo-Kazooie, and that is clear proof that it's not the Gnawty associated with the Super Mario franchise. Super Mario RPG (talk) 20:39, September 1, 2024 (EDT)

TipTup stayed in both DKR's DS remake and in B-K's ports unaltered after the transfer, though. It may easily just be another "too minor, doesn't matter" situation. Doc von Schmeltwick (talk) 21:28, September 1, 2024 (EDT)

Update: a sardonic reply on one of Rare's ask forums from long ago "confirmed" more or less that he's the same guy. Doc von Schmeltwick (talk) 21:34, June 12, 2025 (EDT)

This hasn't been settled yet? It's mentioned in Notes, I feel like that good enough; idk what sources, either from Nintendo or ex-Rare employees, should consider it the same beaver species and canonize it --Ken17 (talk) 05:52, August 30, 2025 (EDT)

Under US (where Microsoft is located) copyright law, characters need to pass a certain level of originality and plot-relevance to attain copyright protection - see Daniels v. Walt Disney Co; Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc. v. Columbia Broadcasting System, Inc; DC Comics v. Towle; and Rice v. Fox Broadcasting - I believe that Gnawty managed to stay in the Xbox version not because it's a different beaver, but because Microsoft's legal department must've determined that Gnawty is too generic a character - literally just a beaver with an obvious beaver pun for a name - and has too little a prominence in either DK or Banjo material for Nintendo to protect. --BubzieBobkat (talk) 11:15, September 4, 2025 (EDT)