The 'Shroom:Issue 235/Palette Swap
Director's Notes
Greetings, all! Welcome to the October issue of The 'Shroom!
As I'm writing this, the expansion pass for Fire Emblem: Fortune's Weave has just been announced. I have fallen behind on watching the streamer I subscribe to play through it, but I wonder how he'll feel about it? Either way, also as I'm writing this, my October vacation has started, and this year, I won't have to slog through Pokemon Legends: ZA! Bonus! Hopefully I can make some reading progress and also some Pokemon White progress as well. I'll take whatever progress I can get!
This month, our regular writers and artists have brought you a spooky selection to choose from, so I won't keep you up here any longer. Have at it!
Happy reading! ~FunkyK38
Section of the Month
You all voted, now it's time to take a look at Section of the Month! Coming in first, we have the collab Too Bad, Storytime! between Waluigi Time (talk) and MightyMario (talk)! In second, we have Hint Toad (talk)'s Mushroom Kingdom Comics! This month, we have a tie for third, between winstein (talk)'s The ? Panel and Waluigi Time (talk)'s Waluigi Time Comic! A big congratulations to our winners, and a big thank you to everyone who voted! Please keep it up!
| PALETTE SWAP SECTION OF THE MONTH | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Place | Section | Votes | % | Writer |
| 1st | Too Bad, Storytime! | 7 | 25.00% | Waluigi Time (talk) and MightyMario (talk) |
| 2nd | Mushroom Kingdom Comics! | 6 | 21.43% | Hint Toad (talk) |
| 3rd | The ? Panel | 4 | 14.29% | winstein (talk) |
| 3rd | Waluigi Time Comic | 4 | 14.29% | Waluigi Time (talk) |
Waluigi Time Comic
Drawn by: Waluigi Time (talk)
"Scream Screen"
Panel 1
[Florida the flamingo is talking to Teller Vision.]
FLORIDA: Hey Teller dude, like what's your biggest fear man
TELLER VISION: FREAKY GHOST GIRLS CRAWLING OUT OF TV SCREENS
Panel 2
FLORIDA: Haha crazy
Panel 3
[A beat of silence between the two.]
Panel 4
[Polly Geist pops out of Teller's screen, surprising Florida and causing Teller to reel backwards, clutching the sides of his head.]
POLLY GEIST: How's it going, boo?
TELLER VISION: OH NO
The ? Panel
{Rocky Wrench throws a wrench forward, alongside a few other Rocky Wrenches}
Panel 2:
{The bell rings}
SFX: RING
Rocky Wrench: About time we're done here!
Rocky Wrench (background): Break time, finally!
Panel 3:
{A Rocky Wrench meets a Monty Mole in the break room. Monty Mole wear goggles over his forehead, and has a manhole cover by his side}
Caption: Later...
Rocky Wrench: As you know, we are going on a long sabbatical.
Monty Mole: Yeah. Don't worry, we're well equipped.
Panel 4:
{The bell rings. The Monty Moles are dressed with Rockey Wrenches' signature manhole covers and goggles, some are also holding wrenches. The sole Monty Mole puts on the manhole cover on his head}
SFX: RING
Rocky Wrench: Thanks, we owe you one! Your team are a big help!
Monty Mole: No problemo, glad to help a fellow brethren.
Panel 5:
{Monty Mole straps on the goggles over his eyes}
Monty Mole (technically a Rocky Wrench at this point): Um... do you think Lord Bowser will notice?
Rocky Wrench: Trust me: he wouldn't!
Panel 6:
{Kamek shows Bowser pictures of the different versions of Rocky Wrench, the one on the left the original and the one on the right the Monty Mole version, likely due to Kamek noticing that something was different}
Caption: Meanwhile...
Bowser: Gwoh-ho-hoh! What are you on? They are clearly alike!
Kamek (thinking): My eyesight may be worse, but even I know the difference...
Panel 1:
{Kamek shows Bowser Jr. two pictures, one with a Rocky Wrench on the left and one with a Monty Mole dressed as a Rocky Wrench on the right}
Kamek: {Desperate} Please, my little sire, did you see any difference between these two pictures?
Panel 2:
Bowser Jr.: {Puts his fists on his hips, denoting certainty} Duh! Of course there's a difference!
Kamek (thinking): {Breathing a sigh of relief} Finally, some competence!
Panel 3:
Bowser Jr.: {Pointing at one of the pictures} One's more crumpled than the other! Why are you showing me the same guy?
Kamek (thinking): {Annoyed, throwing the two pictures} I give up...
Mushroom Kingdom Comics!
Hello, 'Shroom readers! Hint Toad, here, with a brand new comic! Enjoy!
Panel 1
[A Shy Guy walks by a motivational poster on the wall that reads, "You're not shy... You're a strategic planner!"]
Panel 2
SHY GUY: HQ is trying their best...
Diddy Kong Country 2: A Fistful of Peanuts
Written by: ClawgripFan9001
Part 3
Picking up where the last part left off, the Kong Family found themselves stuck in a submerged showdown with one of Prince Pern Icious' dreaded Kremling Kommanders, a scarlet red Napoleonfish wielding a golden hued halberd by the name of Crétin Petit. The aquatic antagonist's primary method of attack consisted of him swimming after the Kongs and the submersible they were piloting before attempting to slash and stab at them with his halberd. Running evasive maneuvers to prevent the fishy felon from successfully landing hits on them, Diddy Kong proceeded to use the submersible's defensive systems to launch Homing Squidlies at Crétin Petit, who, despite his best efforts in trying to evade these homing projectiles, eventually got struck by them, letting out yelps of pain as he did so.
"Ow! That smarts! Let's see if you annoying apes are able to keep up your aquatic assault when I make the odds a little less fair towards you!" Crétin Petit chortled as he proceeded to summon a fivesome of Foedas to assist him in his fight against the heroes by sending these fishy flunkies after them. The heroes grimaced upon noticing this, but Diddy Kong tried to keep a cool head as he kept steering the submersible to prevent it from coming in contact with Crétin Petit or his Foeda helpers, firing off regular Squidlies using the weaponry on the undersea vessel he commanded during the fight to clear out the Foedas chasing after him and the rest of the Kong Family. Once those had been taken care of, the male spidermonkey proceeded to shift his attention back towards the Napoleonfish himself, sending another wave of Homing Squidlies after him, culminating in the cold blooded contender being struck by these missile-esque beings, after which he uttered another series of agonizing howls.
"It's kinda ironic you're doing the evil bidding of a crew of crooked crocodiles; After all, you're another one of those baddies who's all bark and no bite." Diddy taunted the Kremling Kommander with a cheeky smirk curled onto his lips, after which the Napoleonfish growled in irritation before summoning another wave of Foedas to assist him against the protagonistic primate posse in combat. "It's even more ironic that you're leading a school of fish against us in battle, seeing as we're the ones schooling you." Diddy taunted the Kremling Kommander some more while the cheeky smirk on his face continued to grow wider the entire time. Simultaneously, he shot down the pursuing Foedas with his arsenal of Squidlies before sending another dozen of homing variants of these cephalopod-like creatures barreling towards the natatory nuisance, resulting in him blubbering in tribulation.
"Fermez-la! I won't stand for these intolerable lashings you're dishing out at me! Prepare for the next wave I am about to unleash upon you, Kongs! Voir!" Crétin Petit snarled at the heroes before he proceeded to summon a shiver of Chomps that he then dispatched against them. "Let's see how you will fare against these predators of the deep, you impertinent plantain chuffing chimps! Attaque!" He ordered his Chomps minions after having taunted the Kongs. The heroes continued to run evasive maneuvers to prevent themselves from becoming shark bait, in addition to falling victim to the golden hued halberd that the evil Napoleonfish continued to swish and jam about like a madman.
"Seems you're really starting to rile him up, Diddy! We keep this up, and we'll have him beat in nothing flat!" Dixie praised her boyfriend and encouraged him to keep fighting against the Kremling Kommander, to which the male spidermonkey hummed affirmatively and pushed on his assault against Crétin Petit in a subsequent manner. Clearing out the shiver of Chomps with repeated triple shots of Squidlies, Diddy likewise sent a triple shot of homing Squidlies after the Kremling Kommander, who screamed in pain upon being hit once more. He still did not back down from the fight, however, and proceeded to prepare another shiver of Chomps to back him up during his scuffle with the Kongs, after which he set these submerged seadogs out against the simian saviors.
"Unités Requin, déployez-vous!" Crétin Petit ordered his Chomps minions before he continued to push on his own assault with his mighty halberd. Diddy subsequently resumed his attempts to steer the submersible he and the Kongs controlled during the fight clear of these baddies' attack windows. The chimpanzee champion then sent out another barrage of Squidlies rocketing towards the Kremling Kommanders' minions to send them to a watery grave like their comrades before them. Likewise, he sent another barrage of homing variants of these calamaries flying towards the Napoleonfish, being met with another chain of screeches of anguish courtesy of the reef-dwelling reprobate in the process.
"Good going, Diddy! It shouldn't take too much longer for us to put this slippery scoundrel out to pasture, so keep at it until we do!" Tiny Kong continued to put out words of encouragement towards her brother-in-law that would fuel his determination to defeat the Kremling Kommander the heroes currently found themselves up against. The male spidermonkey nodded in acknowledgement of his sister-in-law's support as he continued to steer the naval battle vessel through Crétin Petit's quarters while fighting it out with the Napoleonfish. The slippery sea dweller then mobilized another handful of Chomps to send after the Kongs, though Diddy once again managed to pick off these Chomps one by one using the Squidlies launched out of the submersible's torpedo mechanism.
"Zut alors, stop laying waste to my troops at once! I don't have a limitless quantity of them, you know!" Crétin Petit demanded the Kongs as he once again chased after them himself, trying to skewer them with his halberd. The Kongs didn't let themselves get intimidated by the Kremling Kommander, though, as Diddy yet again sent a barrage of homing Squidlies after him. "Oh, à l'aide!" Crétin Petit yelled in horror before being bombarded by the cephalopods once more, grunting with impact in response. "C'est ça. Time for me to call upon my special battalion!" The Napoleonfish then declared before summoning multiple Sea-Bears and Sea-Rhinoceroses to assist him in his battle with the Kong Family. "Honh, honh, honh, honh, honh! How do you buffoonish baboons like that?! It's time for you to meet your maker! Éliminez ces singes!" Crétin Petit chortled towards the Kongs before ordering the Sea-Bears and Sea-Rhinoceroses to attack them.
"You got this, Diddy-Man! You have support of Kiddy!" Kiddy Kong then gave Diddy Kong words of encouragement to keep the male spidermonkey's morale against the Kremling Kommander high. Diddy gave Kiddy a warm and grateful smile with an accompanying nod in response and pushed forward his assault against the finny felon as firmly as he ever did. Yet again utilizing the Squidlies that the submersible possessed as a means of launching torpedoes, the Sea-Bears and Sea-Rhinoceroses each met an unfortunate end from being struck by the Squidlies. Crétin Petit then began twirling around his halberd in a rapid manner in an attempt to strike the Kongs, only to end up being blown away by the submersible's homing Squidlies for the umpteenth time during the fight. He then proceeded to summon another school of Sea-Bears and Sea-Rhinoceroses to help him once more, and the Kongs repeated their strategy against Crétin Petit two more times before they finally managed to defeat the Kremling Kommander and drain his quarters of the sea water it was previously filled with. They subsequently hopped out of the submarine they had used against the Napoleonfish in their fight and high fived one another over a hard-earned victory.
"Y-Y-You did it, Diddy! You defeated that dastardly Kremling Kommander and liberated another island kingdom from the Kremling Krew's c-c-control in the process! I-I-I'm sure that now that this Kommander is out of the picture, the king of Marina Point has been returned to normal as well!" Chunky Kong congratulated Diddy with his mouth widened into a genuine smile. Diddy smiled and nodded in return before the Kongs proceeded to depart from Crétin Petit's airship and return to Marina Point's palace, where the king had indeed been returned to his former self; An anthropomorphic lionfish with a purple and white color scheme, maroon colored eyes and purple hair styled in a mane akin to that of a zebra. For attire, he wore a purple crown that resembled the third Royal Sticker from Paper Mario: Sticker Star, alongside a copper-colored sleeveless chestplate and matching armored pants with sandals.
While his retainer rejoiced in silent happiness, the king himself addressed the Kongs with a smile. "My sincerest thanks for rescuing me from that terrible position those dreadful Kremlings put me into, brave monkeys. Allow me to bestow this letter from your homeland upon you as a means of better expressing my appreciation." The king informed the heroes before handing them the letter from Donkey Kong Island, after which Diddy once again read it out loud for the other Kongs to hear.
"Dear Diddy, the queen of Volcanic Overlook has let us know that you and the others managed to save the lives of her and all of her subjects from the tyrannical wrath of the Kremling Krew. Slowly but surely, you're setting those cruel, cruel crocodiles on the back foot and gaining the upper hand over them in this freedom fight! The other day, some of the other members of the Kong Family we hadn't seen in ages, Lanky Kong and Swanky Kong showed up on our doorstep, and me and your mother sat down with them to have some bananas and coconut milk, after which we talked for hours about what all of us have been up to in the last who-knows-how-many years! Your mother also has a couple of things she wishes to say, so I'm gonna be wrapping things up here! - Jockey Kong"
"Dear sweet Didrick, the fact that you, your girlfriend, your sister-in-law and cousins-in-law have already managed to save four island kingdoms from the grasp that the Kremling Krew have gotten upon them is nothing short of amazing! You're really making a name for yourself out there in the big, big world we live in! Like your grandfather said, some of our fellow Kongs whom we hadn't seen in years stopped by our place the other day, which was quite the nice surprise! Speaking of which, they asked me to pass along these gadgets to you through this letter, since they said those gadgets might help you along the way. - Jocie Kong"
The gadgets Jocie was referring to turned out to be a Magic Lantern and fireproof vests, and the Kongs let out excitable squeals of awe in response to this. "I'm pretty sure these things could come in handy going forward, so I really appreciate that Lanky Kong and Swanky Kong went out of their way to ask mom to send these to us!" Diddy Kong beamed before shifting his focus to the king of Marina Point. "Your Highness, would you please be so kind as to send our gratitude to our family back home on Donkey Kong Island while we move on to rescue the next archipelago that the Kremling Krew happens to have conquered?" The male spidermonkey then asked the king of Marina Point, who nodded his affirmation to this request.
"I will, kind monkey. Go, with many blessings." The king of Marina Point acknowledged Diddy's request, after which the Kongs went on their merry way once more, traveling towards the sixth destination they would be visiting over the course of their adventure; Malheur Creek. True to its name, the archipelago was a sub-tropical and humid wetlands type of environment with a spooky atmosphere to it. As soon as they arrived on the grounds of the kingdom, the Kongs barged their way on into the first level the place happened to hold; Tristesse Conquest.
The level took place inside a murky forest situated on the edge of the kingdom, with multiple Kobbles, Krimps, Krumples and Kopters roaming around as far as the Kremling Krew's infantry was concerned, and multiple pumpkin-headed dachshund enemies called Effrois, Fluffs returning from Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze wearing witch hats and riding on flying broomsticks called Astuces, and feral black-cat like enemies called Foncé Minou roaming around as far as enemies native to the region were concerned.
"Another spooky world? Must be a sign Halloween is getting close in the Real World..." Diddy Kong remarked as he took in the cheesy creepshow environment he and the other Kongs had gotten caught up in, blasting the Kremlings and their native accomplices into oblivion with their firearms along the way.
"Y-Y-Yikes! I-I-I despise spooky worlds...! L-L-Let's finish our business in this kingdom quickly so we won't have to hang around here for too long...!" Chunky Kong blubbered in fear as he began to send multiple pineapples hurtling towards enemies with his Pineapple Launcher. Dixie Kong and Tiny Kong rolled their eyes in response to this.
"Grambi's sake, Chunky! We know you're a sweet and sensitive soul and everything, but you're really just being a baby right about now! Just get yourself together and help us out as we cross through this Halloweenish landscape!" Dixie Kong chided her older cousin over being fearful towards the cheesy Halloween backdrop that the Malheur Creek kingdom provided. She then began to use her Bubblegum Blowguns to furthermore take down the Kremling Krew and their associates bit by bit.
"I'm with Dixie on this one, Chunky. Nine times out of ten, I can understand why you'd be nervous about a situation, but this child-friendly Halloween theme really isn't anything to get your knickers into a twist about. Now strap yourselves in, because we've got about six levels and one boss fight to take care of in this kingdom." Tiny Kong voiced her agreement with her older sister's sentiments regarding Chunky's cowardice while picking off enemies with her Feather Bow as she did so.
Not too long a time afterward, the Kongs arrived at the level's exit, which they proceeded to take, after which they moved on to the second level of Malheur Creek; Lugubre Lane. It was another lineair platforming level, though unlike the last one, this one was shrouded in darkness for the majority of it, requiring one of the Kongs to use the Magic Lantern they received from their family back home the entire time in order to light the way for the other Kongs to safely cross through the level.
"Another one of those levels where it's dark ninety percent of the time, is it? Seems game developers have a real soft spot for those levels, for some unfathomable reason..." Dixie Kong remarked as she drew her Bubblegum Blowguns, ready to square off against any danger that came the way of her and the other heroes. Meanwhile, Diddy Kong brought out the Magic Lantern before activating his Barrel Jet and taking to the skies, using the Magic Lantern to illuminate the area for the other Kongs.
"How about this, guys? I keep lighting the way with the Magic Lantern we got from the other Kongs back home, and you guys keep any baddies trying to take me down off my tail, yeah?" Diddy then proposed to his fellow heroes, who gestured their approval of the idea in response. "A-OK! Then let's get going!" Diddy cheered in return as he began to slowly but surely hover forward with the Magic Lantern in hand.
Meanwhile, Dixie, Tiny, Kiddy and Chunky began to wipe out the Kremling ground troops that patrolled the level, including Kobbles, Kopters and Re-Koils, as well as their comrades-in-arms native to the region such as flying bat-like enemies named Souris Volantes, ghost-like enemies named Bagatelle Frappeurs that resembled bed sheets with two eye holes cut out akin to Charlie Brown's Halloween costume in the Peanuts franchise, and bouncing tarantula-esque enemies named Faucheuxes.
"If I didn't know any better, you'd think that the creator of this story made some kind of deal with Hallmark to throw all kinds of childish Halloween decorations our way to come and hinder us for the duration of our trek through this world. I mean, during the first level, we faced jack-o-lanterns, witches and black cats. And now we're facing bats, ghosts and spiders? I mean, it just REEKS of product placement for a line of cheesy Halloween knicknacks, if you ask me." Tiny Kong expressed out loud as she, Dixie, Kiddy and Chunky continued to blast the baddies to pieces while Diddy kept the area illuminated with the Magic Lantern along the way to the end of the level.
"Yeah! This big adventure, no Trick-or-Treat stroll down Elm Street!" Kiddy Kong voiced his agreement with Tiny Kong's sentiments while he submachine gunned enemies out of commission and Chunky Kong fearfully hummed his agreement while using his Pineapple Launcher to bombard enemies into nothingness, but not otherwise saying anything on the topic. Within a moment's notice, the Kongs arrived at the exit of the level before they headed through it, moving on to Malheur Creek's third level; Feu Bader Flats.
This level took place inside a run down old flophouse that was filled to the brim with deadly fire, forcing the Kongs to put on the fireproof vests they acquired from their family back home to survive throughout the level. Klasps, Knockas, Kobbles and Krimps made up the Kremling Krew's ground forces that stood in the Kongs' way of completing the level, while zombified Fluffs named Necro-Fluffs, skeletal counterparts to Hot Hootzes named Zingy Zkele-Hootzes and spectral counterparts to Waldoughs named Wraithdoughs made up the lineup of local flunkies that opposed the heroes throughout the level.
"This takes the phrase "Through the fire and the flames" to a whole new level, that's for certain." Tiny Kong joked with a sheepish giggle as she began launching feathers from her Feather Bow at the oncoming horde of monsters trying to take her and the other heroes down, with the other simian saviors assisting her with gunfire of their own in the process.
"I'll say. Let's try and get out of this burning mess before it ends up scorching our hides." Diddy Kong proposed in response to Tiny Kong's jokes, which the other Kongs hummed their agreement with in return while simultaneously keeping up their gunfire storm as they battled their way towards the level's end. "Either way, I'm glad we got these fireproof vests from our family back home as well, 'cause we really need 'em in here." Diddy then added as he and the other Kongs continued to brave the abandoned flophouse that had been set ablaze by the Kremling Krew's forces.
"No kidding. Only a fool would go running into a building on fire without proper protection against the flames. But then again, sometimes those who run into a place like this without said protection don't have any of it on their person, and they manage to make it out of the blazing inferno unscathed one way or another. So I suppose it's another one of those double-sided blade types of things." Dixie Kong responded to her boyfriend's musings about being fortunate to have been provided with fireproof vests by the Kongs back home on Donkey Kong Island, gunning down her opponents with her Bubblegum Blowguns while she was at it. Before the heroes knew it, they had arrived at the end of the level, hurrying on through the exit so they could make their way over to the fourth level of Malheur Creek; Squelette's Sprint.
Upon making their way into this fourth level, the Kongs were met with a skeletal Rongeurchier named Squelette. "Bonjour, Kongs. I am Squelette, the fastest skeleton this side of the Mushroom World. I have been told that you're rather quick on your feet, and I wish to find out for myself. So what do you say? Shall we have a race to the end of this marshland?" The undead Rongeurchier proposed to the Kongs upon watching them enter the level. The Kongs hummed inquisitively as they thought the offer over before ultimately making their decision.
"Challenge accepted. Hope you brought your A-game, 'cause you're not getting a warm up." Diddy Kong informed Squelette with a cheeky smirk curled onto his lips, to which the boney rodent nodded his understanding before he readied himself for takeoff, with Diddy and the Kong Family doing the same thing. "Alright, ready, set? Then off we go!" The male spidermonkey hollered, after which he and his monkey brethren broke into a sprint, with Squelette doing the same thing. Along the way, the two parties had to avoid a handful of Kremling Krew members such as Kobbles and Krimps, and a couple of native nuisances such as flying color skull lanterns named Caboches and wolf-like enemies named Lunechiens as they tried to hinder them in the middle of their race.
"I share your hope of having brought your A-game yourselves, Kongs, because I know the hostile militias roaming these swamps like the back of my hand." Squelette informed the heroes in an attempt to taunt them while continuing to race them to the end of the level. The Kongs didn't respond to this, however, and simply continued to focus on the road ahead of them while boundering down the murky pathways. "Not much of a bunch of big talkers in the middle of a race, are you? I guess I can respect that." Squelette then reasoned out loud before shutting up himself and shifting his focus back towards the race at hand.
Next thing the Kongs knew, they arrived at the end of the level before Squelette did, and they celebrated their victory over the undead Rongeurchier in the race. "Woohoo! We did it! We won the race!" Diddy Kong cheered as Squelette also proceeded to arrive at the finish line, with the male spidermonkey turning towards the haggard rat as he did so. "Well, there ya go; You had your first hand experience of how quick we are on our feet. Hope you learned something from it." He informed Squelette with the same cheeky smirk from before curled onto his lips, to which the Rongeurchier nodded his affirmation.
"I certainly did, mon ami. And seeing as you live up to your quick-paced reputation I've heard about, I deem you're worthy of having this." Squelette responded to Diddy Kong before handing him a burnt orange hued amulet attached to a golden yellow chord. "This amulet should protect you and your loved ones from the unholy beings of the night that dwell deeper into this kingdom. I hope it can be of use to you. I have no doubt we'll meet again at some point in the future, but until then, I say to you, au revoir." The undead Rongeurchier bid the Kongs farewell for the time being, walking off into the level's background as he did so.
"What a helpful fella. We need more friendly rivals like him around." Diddy Kong remarked with a smile as he glanced at the amulet he was just given by Squelette before tucking it away safely, after which he and the other heroes scurried towards the fifth level of Malheur Creek; Faucheuse's Foyer.
This level took place inside of a haunted house, with multiple obstacles that came in the form of levitating furniture pieces such as candleholders, wooden chairs and lampshades coming after the Kongs. Aside from that, Kremling Kreeps such as Kobbles, Krimps, Krumples and Re-Koils, and local loose cannons such as Effrois, Astuces, Souris Volantes and Bagatelle Frappeurs stood in the heroes' way of completing the level.
"Yeah, this is definitely a sign that Halloween must be around the corner in the Real World, because no cheesy flick for that time of year is complete without a haunted house." Diddy Kong confirmed as he and the others began to riddle their opponents with peanuts, bubblegum, feathers, lemons and pineapples in the process.
"Tell me about it. It's like those living in the Real World have some kind of strange obligation to make pieces of entertainment to coincide with the time of year, whether it's New Years, Valentine's Day, Easter, Independence Day, Halloween, Christmas, et cetera." Tiny Kong chimed in her agreement with her brother-in-law's musings about the Halloween thematics of the world the heroes were currently traversing.
"Time of year in the Real World or not, we're sure as huckleberries not gonna back down from this fight that they're throwing at us. The freedom of this island kingdom depends on it." Dixie Kong added as she continued to ice her opponents with her Bubblegum Blowguns. The rest of the heroes hummed their agreement with this sentiment as they too continued to vanquish their opponents with their firepower. Before long, the heroes arrived at the end of the level, where they were faced by a mini-boss fight with a Grim Reaper-like being named Faucheuse, who attacked the heroes by slashing his scythe at them. "And so the shiver of night arrives for your flea-bitten furry bottoms, Kongs...In other words, prepare to dwell in the catacombs of The Underwhere by the time I am done with you!" Faucheuse chortled maliciously at the protagonists as he began to fight it out with the five of them. The good guys scowled at their gaunt litigant in response before they proceeded to draw their firearms and began pumping cartoonish food-shaped lead into him.
"I wouldn't count on it, you scythe swinging scoundrel! By the time the five of us are done with you, we'll pack your disassembled bones up neatly and send it back to Prince Pern Icious to let him know that he's going to undergo a similar fate!" Diddy Kong informed Faucheuse as he and the other Kongs continued to battle it out with their osseous opposer. Eventually, the heroes managed to defeat Faucheuse in his first form, after which the background proceeded to darken in preparation of the Kongs' battle against Faucheuse's second form, in which the Grim Reaper had transformed into a gigantic version of himself who slammed his large skeletal hands down onto the battle arena in an attempt to crush the Kongs whilst occasionally slashing his scythe, which had grown to become gigantic in size just like its wielder, at the heroes.
"You're nothing short of a delegation of dunces, Kongs! For I'm now giant-sized, and I shall squash your overgrown fur coats like a crop of grapefruits if it's the last thing I will ever do!" Faucheuse roared at the protagonists while continuing to slam his hands on the floor of the battle arena, simultaneously swishing his scythe across the area. Our valiant primates did not back down from the fight in spite of this, however, and continued to graze the Grim Reaper's nonexistent flesh with their firearms until he eventually proceeded to crumble into powder. As soon as Faucheuse had been taken care of, the good guys took the level exit.
"Squash that, you overachieving soul harvester!" Diddy Kong spitefully quipped at his now defeated adversary as he and the other Kongs proceeded to move on to the sixth and final regular level of Malheur Creek; Bagatelle's Bridge.
This sixth and final regular level of Malheur Creek took place on the bridge leading up to Malheur Creek's royal palace, hence the name of the level. Kobbles, Krumples, Kopters and Re-Koils for the Kremling Krew's grunt forces, and Bagatelle Frappeurs, Necro-Fluffs, Zingy Zkele-Hootzes and Wraithdoughs for native enemies stood in the Kongs' way of reaching Malheur Creek's royal palace, but our heroes were determined to reach it at all costs, so they once again pumped all the ammunition they could into their array of adversaries to accomplish that goal.
"I can see the palace up ahead! We just gotta get past this gallery of ghastly goons, and we'll have made it there!" Diddy Kong informed the other heroes while the five of them gunned down the fellowship of fearsome flunkies that tried to hinder them during their final stretch to the palace. Chunky Kong was especially motivated to make it through this last stand from the Kremling Krew to stall the Kongs' progress in liberating Malheur Creek, mainly because of his fear of the Halloween-themed environment the kingdom happened to have. In spite of the Kremlings' best efforts of trying to stop the heroes from reaching the royal palace, however, the heroes arrived at the end of the level, allowing them to take the exit and move on to Malheur Creek's boss level; Requiem For A Raculd.
Entering the throne room of the palace, the royal retainer of the queen who ruled Malheur Creek, a burnt orange furred Helper Monkey-looking simian, proceeded to rush up to the Kongs as he gestured towards the queen, who had been transformed into a Vampire Bat similar to those appearing in the Castlevania franchise and was currently fluttering aimlessly above her throne. "Oh, the indignity! Her Majesty has been transformed into a lesser winged beast! You must go forth and defeat the Kremling Kommander who inflicted this curse upon her so that she may be returned to normal!" The retainer pleaded with the Kongs, who nodded in understanding of the situation.
"Don't worry, my friend. Me and my family are on it." Diddy Kong assured the retainer with a reassuring smile to boot before the heroes rushed out of the palace to board the airship that was docked outside of it, after which they proceeded to traverse the various defenses and crew members that the airship happened to hold. Once they had gotten through all of these, the protagonists arrived at the quarters of the Kremling Kommander who helmed the airship. Said Kremling Kommander appeared to be a stocky, well-built anthropomorphic wolverine with pale blue fur and blood red eyes wearing nothing but a pair of torn dark blue shorts. His name was Raculd, and he watched in curiosity as the Kongs entered his quarters.
"Who are these five miserable little piles of secrets? Are the five of you here to pay me tribute?" Raculd curiously asked the Kongs as they walked up to him, scowling at the wolverine in response while having their firearms drawn out. Diddy Kong was also wearing the amulet that he had received from Squelette earlier, since the male spidermonkey had a hunch that this wolverine before him was one of the unholy beings that Squelette was referring to when giving him the amulet to protect himself and the other Kongs against.
"If by 'pay tribute', you mean break our feet off in your ample posterior, then you're right as rain, you overgrown fur coat." Diddy Kong snarked at the wolverine, the other Kongs nodding and humming their agreement with the male spidermonkey's sentiments. Raculd nodded in understanding as he assumed a battle stance against the heroes, brandishing a Gladius shortsword with a black handle and a bright orange blade in his right hand and a matching black and bright orange colored shield in his left hand.
"So that is how it is, then. Have at you, Kongs!" Raculd roared at the Kongs as the showdown with the Kremling Kommander proceeded to commence. During this first phase of the battle with Raculd, the wolverine's primary method of attack was swinging his Gladius at the heroes, while his primary method of defense was using his shield to block the Kongs' gunfire. The moment Raculd left himself open to attack once lowering his shield, the heroes were able to pump enough cartoonish food-based lead into him to initiate the second phase of the fight, in which the wolverine proceeded to grow a large pair of blood red bat wings on his back, after which he proceeded to begin flying around the room while occasionally swooping down to try and slash the Kongs with his Gladius. While he was airborne, he would also continue to use his shield to block the protagonists' gunfire, forcing them to shoot the vampire wolverine when he swooped down to slash them with his shortsword.
"A vampire wolverine?! Are you kidding me?!" Dixie Kong asked in disbelief as she watched the Kremling Kommander grow a pair of bat wings before taking to the skies, after which the heroes resumed their hailstorm of culinary ammunition against the Big Boss currently found themselves up against. Upon dealing enough damage to Raculd, the third phase of the fight proceeded to initiate, as the enemy proceeded to grow a dragon-like tail and a matching pair of dragon-like horns, additionally gaining the ability to breathe fire upon his opponents.
"Harrumph! Your will is strong as iron, impertinent monkeys! But it is not strong enough to fight...Raculd at his FULL POWER!" Raculd informed the Kongs as he proceeded to spew a stream of fire down upon them, prompting them to start running evasive maneuvers to avoid being fried by Raculd's flames before continuing to shoot at him. The dragon vampire wolverine's attack pattern remained largely unchanged from the second phase of the fight against him, aside from the aforementioned newly gained ability of breathing fire.
"A dragon vampire wolverine?! How many forms does this fruitcake have?!" Tiny Kong asked in annoyance as she and the other Kongs riddled the Kremling Kommander with bullets whenever the foe left himself vulnerable to attacks as he swooped down to try and slash the heroes with his Gladius or breathe fire down on them. Upon pumping enough lead into the dragon vampire wolverine, he proceeded to burst into flames, rendering him physically defeated. Unfortunately, the Kremling Kommander's spirit proceeded to rise from the dead, initiating a fourth phase of the fight with him.
"I SHALL HAUNT YOU, KONGS!!!" The resurrected phantom dragon vampire wolverine howled at his enemies before summoning various Wraithdoughs to shield him from the Kongs' gunfire while he counterattacked them with spiked balls that could instantly wipe them out if they came in contact with them. Nevertheless, the heroes pushed on their relentless flurry of firepower against their deceased opponent.
"A phantom dragon vampire wolverine?! Why won't bad man just go bye-bye?!" Kiddy Kong asked, showing a rare moment of anger and frustration for his otherwise easy-going and juvenile self. The other Kongs hummed their agreement with Kiddy's frustration as they continued to shoot the Kremling Kommander's spirit until they finally managed to vanquish it, only for him to rise out of the floor of his airship's quarters as a zombie phantom dragon vampire wolverine in an attempt to initiate a fifth phase of the fight.
"BRAINS...!!!" Raculd muttered as he tried to fight the Kongs once more, but this had gotten so long and drawn out to the point where even Chunky Kong began to lose his cool, and the strongest member of the Kong Family certainly made his known as his face shifted into genuine anger before throwing down his Pineapple Launcher and stomping on over to the zombie phantom dragon vampire wolverine and beginning to pummel him with his bare fists, much to the other Kongs' shock as they watched the gentle giant unleash his wrath upon the decaying hide of the Kremling Kommander.
"NO! THIS IS ENOUGH! BLAST YOU! THIS IS RIDICULOUS! STOP!" Chunky Kong roared in anger as he continued to punch the living daylights out of Raculd. "Stinking zombie phantom dragon vampire wolverine...WE'RE DONE! GET LOST!" Chunky then let go of Raculd, who proceeded to sink back into the floor of his quarters without saying or doing anything else. "Sorry about that, you guys...But I too was starting to get tired of that guy's shenanigans..." Chunky exhaled deeply as he turned to the other Kongs, who proceeded to walk up to him and give him a hug to comfort him, smiling at him as they did so.
"It's all good, Chunky. If anything, we're proud of you for putting your might to good use against that horrible Kremling Kommander." Diddy Kong informed Chunky Kong in a genuinely proud tone of voice, with Dixie, Tiny and Kiddy humming their agreement with this sentiment.
"What Diddy said, Chunky. I'm the proudest of them all that you managed to overcome your fears and use your strength against the Kremling Krew for a legitimate reason to do so." Dixie Kong chimed in her thoughts on the matter.
"Yeah, people always that you should always fear the wrath of a gentle man, and that Kremling Kommander made the mistake of triggering your wrath. And you sure as hawthorn berries showed that Kremling Kommander the consequences of making that mistake." Tiny Kong added as well.
"Bad man make big brother angry, big brother made bad man pay! Kiddy proud of big brother for making bad man pay for making big brother angry!" Kiddy finally said, with Chunky's mouth widening into a genuine smile upon hearing this praise as he returned the hugs of his fellow Kongs, tears of joy running down his face as he did so.
"Thanks, you guys...It really means a lot to me to hear you say that...!" Chunky Kong cried of happiness before he proceeded to let go of the other Kongs and dry his eyes. "Well, let's head back to the palace to see the queen, since she most likely has been restored back to normal after this." He then suggested to the others, who nodded their agreement as they proceeded to bail from the airship, after which they returned to Malheur Creek's royal palace where they found the royal retainer from before celebrating, as the queen he served had indeed be returned back to normal after Raculd's defeat at the hands of the Kongs.
The queen of Malheur Creek was an anthropomorphic gray furred wolf with striking light blue eyes and shoulder length blond hair wearing an outfit consisting of a crown resembling the one players could collect by winning gold medals in all events with Peach in the Nintendo DS version of Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games, a scarlet red sleeveless dress with matching flat straps of scarlet red draped over the shoulders, a golden necklace with a big piece of green jade embedded in the middle, and a pair of scarlet red pumps. She smiled at the Kongs as she watched them enter the throne room and stop in front of her throne.
"I cannot thank you enough for restoring me to my old self after those nasty Kremlings cursed me into looking like a non-sentient being. Hopefully by bestowing this letter from your loved ones back home, I can properly express my gratitude for your services." The queen of Malheur Creek informed the Kongs before she proceeded to hand Diddy Kong the letter she was referring to, which the spidermonkey once again read out loud for his fellow Kongs.
"Dear Diddy, we got word from the king of Marina Point that you managed to free his kingdom from the Kremlings' tyranny! That's six kingdoms you've managed to save from their crooked crocodilian claws! You, your girlfriend, your sister-in-law and your cousins-in-law are nothing short of amazing! All's still well back home here on Donkey Kong Island, with no sign of trouble brewing on the horizon still! That's about all from me, so here's a couple of kind words courtesy of your mom! - Jockey Kong"
"Dear sweet Didrick, I cannot begin to express how proud I am of you, Dixie, Tiny, Kiddy and Chunky for going out there into the world to try and restore honor to the Kong Family's name! And you've already made great progress in doing so by prying six island kingdoms out of the Kremlings' grasp! I attached a couple more upgrades for your firearms with this letter, they should help you on your way as your quest continues to get more difficult! - Love, Jocie Kong"
The upgrades for the Kongs' firearms in question expanded the maximum ammo capacity the weapons could store at any given moment. "Hooray, this really oughta come in handy! Mom is still a dear, and she'll always be!" Diddy Kong beamed as he and the other Kongs attached the upgrades to their guns, after which Diddy turned to address the queen. "Thank you for the very helpful letter from our loved ones back home, Your Highness! Would you be so kind as to give them our thanks as soon as we've departed for the next island kingdom?" He asked the queen with a beaming smile, to which the queen returned the smile and nodded her acknowledgement of that request.
"Certainly, Sir Didrick. Good luck in the remainder of your crusade to free the island archipelagos that Prince Pern Icious and the Kremling Krew have taken over." The queen of Malheur Creek responded to Diddy, who was satisfied with this, as he flashed a thumbs up upon hearing it, before he and the other Kongs began to make their way over to the seventh island kingdom they would be journeying through on their adventure; Frozen Tundra. As the name of the kingdom suggested, it was an arctic environmental stretch of land, with lots of snow, ice, and everything in between it spread throughout. After having traveled for another day or so, the Kongs proceeded to set foot in Frozen Tundra, after which they entered the first level it happened to hold; Icebound Invasion.
This first level of Frozen Tundra was a relatively linear and straightforward one, with a handful of basic Kremling enemies such as Kobbles, Re-Koils and Skiddas spread throughout, as well as a handful of native enemies such as Lemguins, Booty Birds and Sneeks who assisted the Kremlings in their battle against the Kong Family.
"A snow-themed world, eh? How original." Dixie Kong sarcastically quipped, to which the other Kongs hummed their agreement. Nevertheless, they drew their guns and began icing their enemies with them as they tried to make their way towards the end of the level. "At least this isn't one of those "online multiplayer" type of scenarios where you can play with up to like four or eight people and help or hinder one another on your way to the end zone. Those would've been a real pain in the rear end when trying to get through levels like this." Dixie then added as the other Kongs once again hummed their agreement.
"I agree, sis. I mean, I'm all for having mates to play games with, but when you can choose to be a jerk towards your mates over the course of the levels you play through, especially when your mates aren't in the same room with you, but rather on the other side of the planet, so to speak, then there's a certain type of player groups that online multiplayer should be banned from, in my honest opinion." Tiny Kong gave her ten cents on the matter as she continued to snipe Kremlings and their allied forces with her Feather Bow.
"You said it, Tiny. No one likes a group of gamers who like to be a buzzkill merely for their own amusement, and those should be outlawed from participating in online multiplayer modes in video games." Diddy Kong responded to his sister-in-law as he used his Peanut Popgun to blast his enemies into oblivion. Soon enough, the heroes arrived at the end of the level, after which they proceeded to pass through it, subsequently advancing to the second level of Frozen Tundra; Bobsled Bustle.
Upon entering the level, the Kongs came across a bobsled standing at the top of a snowy hill, and our monkey warriors reasoned that they were supposed to ride the bobsled down this snowy hill to get to the end of the level. As such, Diddy, Dixie, Tiny and Kiddy hopped into the first four seats on the bobsled, while Chunky proceeded to push the bobsled down the hill for the necessary momentum gain before he hopped into the fifth and final seat on the bobsled, after which all five Kongs began to speed their way down the slope they found themselves on, dodging a handful of Kremlings such as Kobbles, Re-Koils and Skiddas and a handful of native enemies such as Lemguins, snowy owl-like enemies named Lapland-Fowl, and Clubcakes, who were polar bear-like enemies wielding large hammers akin to Bashmaster from Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze, along the way.
"Hey, Diddy. Didn't your uncle participate in bobsledding during his cross-promotional works at the Winter Olympics where he and the majority of the Mario cast teamed up with the majority of the Sonic the Hedgehog cast?" Tiny Kong then curiously asked her brother-in-law, vaguely recalling his uncle Donkey Kong participating in bobsledding during the Olympic Winter Games entries of the Mario & Sonic At The Olympics series.
"As a matter of fact, he did. Once during the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games, and once during the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games. I never got an invitation for partaking in those cross-promotional events myself, sadly enough. I suppose only one Kong Family representative was enough for the Olympic Committee. At least I was allowed to come around for a guest participation for a couple events during the 2016 Rio Olympic Summer Games, as well as the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Summer Games. Still, I won't lie that I hoped I would've gotten the chance to star in an Olympic Winter Games entries in the series, but Nintendo didn't care to work on an Olympic Winter Games entry based on the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympic Winter Games, which I can make a pretty good guess on why didn't care to in the first place. Well, that, and apparently Ubisoft acquired the rights to make video games around that particular Winter Games before Sega could, seeing as Sega handled the development for the Mario & Sonic games, while sharing the publishing aspect with Nintendo for particular regions between the first three games, while Nintendo fully handled publishing for the fourth and fifth games, and Sega fully handled publishing for the sixth and final game before the Olympic Committee decided to back out of their licensing deal with Sega, causing the Mario & Sonic series to come to an end." Diddy Kong blathered on and on about the Mario & Sonic series while simultaneously steering the bobsled he and the other Kongs were riding in, occasionally lobbing peanut shells from his Peanut Popguns at oncoming enemies as he did so.
"Cor blimey, Diddy! I never expected you to care about that cross-promotional work so much to the point you'd go on such a tangent!" Tiny Kong remarked in shock at how passionate her brother-in-law was about the Mario & Sonic series. Nevertheless, for the duration of his tangent, she still took the time to assist him in gunning down enemies by picking them off with her Feather Bow. Likewise, Dixie, Kiddy and Chunky also provided assisting fire with their Bubblegum Blowguns, Lemon Slinger and Pineapple Launcher, respectively. "Apparently so, because I had no idea that once I'd start talking about the Mario & Sonic series, I couldn't stop doing so myself." Diddy Kong giggled sheepishly in response to his sister-in-law's bewildered reaction to his Olympic Games-induced rhetoric. Still, the conversation proved to be a very good time killer, as the heroes had arrived at the bottom of the snowy slope before they knew it, hopping out of the bobsled as they did so, then taking the level's exit before progressing to Frozen Tundra's third level; Inclemency Cadency.
This third level was another linear one, though unlike the last one the Kongs had to trek through, this one took place at nighttime, while a snowstorm was occurring. Kobbles, Krumples, Re-Koils and Skiddas made up the array of Kremling Krew members that the heroes came up against throughout the level, while reindeer-esque enemies named Primpas, large snowman head enemies launching snowballs at the Kongs named Foul Frosties, and smaller, flying snowman head enemies who flew up and down in place named Flying Foul Frosties made up the native enemy posse that the Kongs had to evade as they tried to reach the other side of the level unscathed.
"Trembling tangerines, I haven't seen snowstorms this bad since the events of Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze!" Diddy Kong remarked as he noticed the snowstorm going on in the level before he and his fellow simians attempted to brave the polar winds while blasting the enemy forces in their way with their firepower.
"Neither have I, to be completely honest! Here's hoping that the snowstorm will die down soon, or else trying to liberate this island kingdom could end up being a situation more than we bargained for!" Dixie Kong chimed in her agreement with her boyfriend's comments about the extreme weather conditions that the level proceeded to throw at them.
"Snowstorm or not, no wintry wiles are gonna make a monkey out of me, seeing as I'm already one!" Tiny Kong giggled at her intentionally bad joke while sniping enemies with her Feather Bow and acrobatically somersaulting her way through the snowy landscape she and her family found themselves holed up in at the currently given moment. The other Kongs rolled their eyes in response to Tiny's bad joke, but laughed anyway.
"Tiny make funny jokes! Maybe Tiny picked up thing or two from Lanky while working on Donkey Kong 64?" Kiddy Kong reasoned out loud, prompting another series of laughs from the other Kongs in response while they continued to battle their way through the snowstorm and the garrison of goons that stood in their way of completing the level.
"You could certainly say that, Kiddy...After all, while I worked alongside him on Donkey Kong 64, Lanky was always quick with a joke or a harmless prank. Perhaps for the next entry of the Diddy Kong Country series, we could bring along Lanky on our next adventure? And maybe bring Swanky and Candy along too, seeing as they never made any playable appearances in any of the Donkey Kong games, as far as memory serves me." Chunky Kong then proposed as he was thinking out loud about future installments of the Diddy Kong Country series, to which Diddy Kong himself hummed his agreement on the matter.
"You know something, Chunky? That sounds like a pretty good idea! We'd have to think about what kind of gameplay would be best suited for Swanky and Candy to fit into the whole thing, but that's half the fun of putting together something like that, am I right?" Diddy Kong replied to Chunky Kong's musings involving Lanky Kong, Swanky Kong and Candy Kong in the next installment of the Diddy Kong Country series. The conversation once again proved to be a valuable time killer, as the heroes arrived at the level exit before they realized it, so they passed through the exit without any complaints, after which they moved on to Frozen Tundra's fourth level; Gleaming Glacier Grotto.
As suggested by the name of the level, it took place inside of a frozen cavern, with a handful of Kobbles, Re-Koils and Skiddas roaming around on behalf of the Kremling Krew's infantry, and a few Gnawties, Neckies and Awks going out and about as far as generic enemy representation was concerned. Finally, for native enemies, the Kongs found themselves up against animate crystal monsters named Pristunishers, Christmas Elf-like beings called Kersfaes who attacked the heroes by throwing explosive wrapped presents at them, and red-haired leopard seals riding in Santa Claus-like sleighs named Bishallmarks who attempted to run the Kongs over with their sleighs.
"I thought Halloween was right around the corner with the previous island kingdom we saved, but now it's already fast forwarding towards Christmas with this snow-themed island kingdom? Must be a Nightmare Before Christmas for the writer of this adventure to put all of this together..." Dixe Kong joked with a frustrated exhale as she and the other Kongs began to make their way through the cool, cool caverns in an attempt to reach the exit.
"Maybe for the next island kingdom, it's gonna be themed around Valentine's Day, St. Patrick's Day or Easter? That'd honestly be pretty funny, if you ask me." Diddy Kong giggled in response to his girlfriend's gripes about the holiday-themed island kingdoms the heroes were crossing through in a consecutive manner. The male spidermonkey then cartwheeled his way through the lineup of loose cannons that attempted to stall the progress of him and his family members into the Frozen Tundra kingdom.
"If the next island kingdom does end up being themed around something like that, what do you think it's gonna be named? Lovely Land? Shamrock Springs? Rabbit Retreat? 'Cause those are all names that would go along synonymously well with the holidays you just mentioned." Tiny Kong pointed out in response to her brother-in-law's jokes about holiday-themed island kingdoms.
"Kiddy hope we find delicious chocolate in Lovely Land and Rabbit Retreat if that ends up being the case! Kiddy love chocolate!" Kiddy Kong voiced his excitement about the possibility of finding chocolate in the Valentine and Easter-themed kingdoms Diddy Kong and Tiny Kong were musing about, prompting another round of chortles from the other Kongs in response to Kiddy's child-like excitement and hunger for candy.
"Guess we can only find out as we continue to make our way through this snow-coated archipelago and move on to the next one as soon as we've finished taking care of business out here, am I right?" Chunky Kong sheepishly chuckled in response to the other Kongs' fantasies about more potential holiday-themed kingdoms. Soon enough, they arrived at the level's exit, after which they proceeded to take it, and then moved on to the fifth level of Frozen Tundra; Wintry Watercourse.
Per the name of the level, it was an underwater level taking place in the frigid waters located underneath a frozen lake on the other side of the frozen cavern that the Kongs had emerged from, though the heroes didn't appear to be affected by the extreme water temperatures as they simply swam through the submerged corridors with nary a care. Their primary source of opposition in this level came in the form of Bounty Bass, Flotsams, Squidges for returning enemies, and orca-like enemies called Predatorcinuses and walrus-like enemies called Roughmaruses for newly debuting enemies.
"It wouldn't be a winter-themed world without an obligatory underwater level. At least, that's what Donkey and I had to go through during the events of the first Donkey Kong Country game. Dunno about you and Kiddy during the events of the third game, though." Diddy Kong remarked before addressing Dixie Kong and her starring role in Donkey Kong Country 3.
Dixie Kong hummed negatively, shaking her head in response as she did so. "No, Kiddy and I didn't have to go through an underwater course when we braved the arctic planes of K3 in the Northern Kremisphere back in the day. And perhaps that's for the best, because it was already a challenge trying to get through K3 unscathed in itself." She told her boyfriend, who hummed affirmatively and nodded his understanding.
Kiddy Kong also hummed affirmatively with a head nod in response to his cousin's statement. "Dixie make good point. She and Kiddy did have hard time getting through K3 without sustaining blisters or other types of ailments." The youthful gorilla gave his ten cents on the topic, using his Lemon Slinger to keep the array of aquatic adversaries at bay while he was at it. "Kiddy don't mind swimming through frozen lake right now, though. Kiddy find it very refreshing compared to swimming through subtropical sea water." He added after having dispatched a handful of sea dwelling scoundrels.
"I suppose you got a point there, Kiddy. Such ice cold water does have a cleansing effect on the body and mind alike. You don't wanna dwell down here for too long, though. Don't want to risk getting undercooled, after all." Tiny Kong pointed out in response to her younger cousin's musings about the frozen temperatures of the waters the heroes were currently swimming through. By the time this conversation had concluded, the Kongs had found the level exit, so they headed through it before venturing to the sixth and final regular level of Frozen Tundra; Kroc's Kaataa.
The level was a linear overworld type of level, with Kobbles, Skiddas, Re-Koils and Bristles roaming around in the snowfields. However, the level's namesake, an unseen Kremling gunman named Kroc, would also continuously target the heroes and launch fireballs at them if they happened to get caught in his green-hued crosshairs, forcing the Kongs to keep on the move the entire time to avoid getting sniped by Kroc.
"Those foolish Kongs have no idea I am here...I will pick them off one by one..." Kroc maliciously chortled off-screen before he began firing his pyromaniac ammunition at the simian saviors, making them shriek in response as they began running evasive maneuvers to prevent themselves from being struck by the crocodilian sniper. "Plantains, I missed!" Kroc snarled in irritation as he continued to move his scope over the heroes' bodies in an attempt to successfully land his shots. Nonetheless, the protagonists kept moving ahead, since they weren't planning on letting themselves become easy prey to the invisible gunman.
"Leaping lychees! It's that blasted sniper we dealt with during the events of Donkey Kong 64 again! Keep moving, guys! If we take even a moment to try and catch our breaths, he'll take it away before we know it!" Diddy Kong yelped and warned his friends as the five of them continued to rush their way through the level.
"Kiddy and I dealt with the same guy during the events of Donkey Kong Country 3, so we know what we're up against just as much as you, Tiny and Chunky do! Try and save your breath for the time being, though! If we wanna keep staying a step ahead of that invisible shooter, we're gonna need all the oxygen we can get!" Dixie Kong pointed out to her boyfriend, after which the five Kongs went quiet and began running, jumping, cartwheeling and twirling through the level with as much carefully applied speed and grace as they possibly could, all in an attempt to prevent themselves from being turned into fried simian by Kroc and his deadly fireballs.
"Run as you may, you cannot escape The Krem Death this time, you pesky primates! Now hold still, and be a good target for me, will you?" Kroc taunted the Kongs through the barrel of his gun while he continued sending a flurry of embers after his ape-like adversaries, determined to toastify them at all costs. Likewise, the heroes were determined to prevent this fate however they could, constantly keeping on the move and pulling off acrobatic feats, giving Kroc a hard time trying to put the five of them down. "Ugh, stand still! I can't hit you when you're all jumping and running around like that!" Kroc growled in irritation while he kept trying to keep the heroes within his crosshairs at all times.
Fortunately, the Kongs managed to reach the end of the level, after which they hurried through it, causing Kroc to screech out in frustration at his inability to dispatch the protagonists a third time in his career of dealing with them. Regardless, the Kongs made their way to the royal palace of Frozen Tundra, which would in turn lead them to the kingdom's boss level; Khrag's Kuarrel.
Entering the throne room of Frozen Tundra's royal palace, the royal retainer of the king who ruled the archipelago, a sky blue furred Helper Monkey-like chimp ran over to the Kongs while gesturing towards his king, who had been transformed into an emperor penguin who waddled back and forth in front of his throne aimlessly. "Oh, my full pantheon of the gods! Those unscrupulous Kremlings turned our king into a dopey flightless fowl! You must fight the Kremling Kommander who did this so the king may be turned back to normal!" The royal retainer cried for the Kongs' help, who nodded in understanding upon having assessed the situation. "Oh, you have my gratitude already! Now go forth and give that dirty Kommander a well-deserved trashing!" The royal retainer beamed before the Kongs boarded the airship of the Kremling Kommander that was docked outside the royal palace, battling their way through the vessel's defenses and crew members before arriving at the personal quarters of the Kremling Kommander who piloted the flying battleship.
Said Kremling Kommander turned out to be a female anthropomorphic snow leopard named Khrag, who possessed a pair of icy blue eyes and wore a white balaclava mask, a baggy white hoodie and white cargo pants with matching white combat boots in terms of clothing. She snarled at the Kongs upon catching them entering her personal quarters and approaching her, clearly not happy to see them, so she pulled out her bo staff, which was as glimmering white in color as her outfit, after which she engaged the Kongs in battle without saying a single word to them. Her primary attack consisted of attempting to thwack the heroes with her staff, though she would occasionally alternate between swiping her claws, which were as sharp as her attitude, at them as well.
"Yikes! I can see why Prince Pern Icious assigned this lady to the position of Kremling Kommander; Her demeanor is about as frosty as the environment she hails from and has conquered in the name of the Kremling Krew!" Diddy Kong yelped in fright while he and the other Kongs drew their guns on the snow leopard and began putting enough ammunition into her to down a raging elephant. Soon enough, the heroes managed to deal enough damage to Khrag to cause her staff to snap in half, though the cold-hearted cat refused to let this stop her from defeating the protagonists, as she began dual-wielding the two broken pieces of her staff against them in combat instead, making the fight transition into a second phase where she would run around her personal quarters while flailing her dual staff pieces.
"You could certainly say that, Diddy! But seeing as we're packing enough firepower to sink a naval frigate, we oughta be capable of bringing some warmth into that otherwise frozen heart of hers!" Dixie Kong pointed out to her boyfriend while the simian saviors continued to siphon damage-inducing iron rations into the snow leopard's system as a means of wiping her out of combat. Khrag, on the other hand, relentlessly pushed on her assault against our furry heroes, swinging her dual staff pieces like there was no tomorrow as she did so.
"I might not be a middle aged human male capable of mind altering other people, but right about now, I really wish I could tell this lady to go home and rethink her life. Specifically, to emigrate to warmer climates so she could melt off that ice encasing her soul!" Tiny Kong remarked as she kept pelting Khrag with feathers from her Feather Bow, simultaneously referencing Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones while she was at it.
"I'll say, Tiny! But seeing as none of us are capable of doing such things, we should stick to what we are capable of, and spray this feisty feline with all the ammunition we've got!" Diddy Kong responded to his sister-in-law's musings about what she wished she were capable of doing with Khrag before the heroes continued firing away at the snow leopard, with the fight eventually transitioning into a third phase, as her staff had become battle-worn beyond proper use, so she tossed the broken pieces away before taking off her balaclava mask, revealing her facial features hidden underneath, including severe physical scarring akin to that of Marvel's Deadpool/Wade Wilson, much to the Kongs' horror as Khrag proceeded to switch to a quadrupedal position, snarling fiercely at her prey before resuming combat once more, utilizing real-life snow leopard hunting tactics for the duration of this third phase of her fight against the furry protagonists.
And that's a cliffhanger on Part 3 of Diddy Kong Country 2: A Fistful of Peanuts! Seeing as Halloween is right around the corner by the time this issue is out, I figured it'd be fitting to include a Halloween-themed world in the story and have Diddy Kong and the Kong Family poke fun at it in a tongue-in-cheek manner! Aside from that, I've snuck in multiple clever linguistic references from all sorts of languages into this part, so see if you can find them! That's about all I got for now, so see you again next month as we'll be venturing further into the Kongs' adventure with Part 4!
Random Video Analysis
Written by: Sparks (talk)
Additional contributions by: Waluigi Time (talk)
| Thumbnail | 
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|---|---|
| Video by: | WiittyUsername |
| Publish date: | October 30, 2019 |
| Views: | 7,338,249 (as of October 11, 2026) |
| Likes: | 297,739 (as of October 11, 2026) |
| Type: | Music, animation |
It's time for a spooky edition of Random Video Analysis! Every month I pick out a short YouTube video to watch, and some of them are suggestions by you good folks! Ah yes, it's good to return to looking at the latter scenario after choosing September's video myself.
To get into the spirit of Halloween, our very own 'Shroom Director Waluigi Time (talk) recommended me the perfect video - a short and charming UNDERTALE-themed music video titled Undertale - Hot Dog French Fries (Extended Version)! As an enjoyer of UNDERTALE and DELTARUNE, this is right up my alley, right? Let's see what it's about!
Do you have a video you feel is special? Feel free to recommend it to me in this thread. Be sure to read the rules before posting, and note that I prioritize those who haven't had a chance to submit yet! I'll even let you add your own thoughts on it at the end! Be aware that sometimes I want to choose my own videos, so recommendations won't always be available.
What's it about?
This video is an UNDERTALE animation centered around the song "skeletons!" by Dom Fera (link to lyrics). In it, Frisk finds themselves in the midst of all sorts of goofy events! They don't seem to mind though, I mean Frisk's expression never changes...
As for the events that happen? Well...
- Frisk enjoys hot dogs and french fries before scaring the daylights out of Dr. Alphys and getting into a short battle with Undyne (who dances with the music)!
- Frisk gets into a battle with both Sans and Papyrus at the same time with the blue SOUL. The two skeletons dance during an instrumental before Sans uses his Sans powers to change the scene.
- Afterwards, Frisk is in a convertible with Undyne and Alphys on a highway. Undyne drives the car with excessive confidence while Alphys is terrified by her surroundings. They're all sent to Snowdin town, where Muffet, the Nice Cream vendor, Temmie, and Asgore all have stands. Frisk lands in the snow before the convertible containing Undyne and Alphys crashes into a roof, exploding. This scares Temmie and the Monster Kid, who was a customer here.
- The scene changes to show Mettaton (in his robotic form) holding grapes and Toriel with a Butterscotch pie. The camera zooms on Frisk, who was in the background. Sans sneaks behind the human with a glowing blue eye before the scene changes yet again:
- Another instrumental featuring Sans and Papyrus dancing, although this time they're not in a battle - instead they're on a stage. Behind them is Mettaton EX (Mettaton in his human-like form) dancing along with them.
- The camera goes down to show Frisk slowly falling in an outer space-like location with various bones. As they fall, Sans and Papyrus appear dancing once more.
- Finally, Sans and Papyrus land on a stage before Frisk ends the song with a trumpet note.
Some things are better seen than read. Check the video out, please!
Interesting observations
This video is filled to the brim with UNDERTALE references! I'll do my best:
- I should mention this now; the entire video has a watermark at the bottom right of the creator of the video - KP'18 @WiittyUsename. There's also a little drawing.
- Starting with the highway scene, it changes to KP'19. This was originally a short from 2018, and Waluigi Time elaborates on that below.
- During the "hot dog, french fries" intro, the backgrounds are Sans' stand in Hotland and Grillby's restaurant respectively, although they are blurred.
- During Undyne's battle, she points her spear in the direction the arrows are coming from.
- Undyne herself doesn't have her suit of armor which wasn't the case in her first battle.
- Additionally, the SOUL here is red, not green. In UNDERTALE, the green SOUL has the shield.
- During the "These skeletons are now alive" moment, Papyrus has a plate of spaghetti, something he enjoys making in UNDERTALE, even if he's not good at cooking.
- During Sans' and Papyrus' first instrumental, Temmie can be seen on the left looking around before she exits.
- Also, when the two skeletons point towards the sides, the SOUL gets sent towards those directions. This is a fun nod to one of Sans' attacks in UNDERTALE. The commands get knocked out of place from this, with the "ACT" command leaving the screen.
- When Sans changes the scene to the highway, he plays the trumpet and makes the exact same sound as the "Skull Trumpet" meme.
- Right before playing the trumpet, Sans dabs. I felt like I had to point that out.
- The highway and convertible are the same ones from the pacifist ending in UNDERTALE.
- During the highway scene, the Annoying Dog is seen driving a small car and passing the convertible.
- The convertible's front plate reads "COO7 DUD3". This could be a reference to the "Cool Dude" attack Papyrus had in the game.
- Each stand at Snowdin is selling something different: the Nice Cream vendor sells Nice Cream, Muffet's stand reads "Just spiders", Temmie sells "Tematos", and Asgore sells golden flowers.
- The explosion from the convertible references the recurring DELTARUNE explosion.
- The Monster Kid trips while trying to flee, just like how it did all the time in the game.
- When Temmie flees, her face remains in place; her body only leaves. Isn't that strange? I should also mention that her appearance here is based on her "TEM SHOP" look. HOI!!
- Flowey can briefly be seen behind Asgore's stand before the scene changes.
- The Butterscotch Pie is available for purchase in the video. I think only Toriel gives you one slice in UNDERTALE? I don't remember being able to purchase it at all in the game.
- The second instrumental's stage sign reads "HDFF", referencing the video title - Hot Dog French Fries!
- During the synchronized dance routine, Sans breaks from it to perform the Fortnite default dance. Papyrus gets angry upon finding out!
- Mettaton EX's dancing references the various poses he had in his battle.
- While Frisk falls in the last verse of the song, Kris, Susie, Ralsei, and Lancer from DELTARUNE can be seen just before the scene change. Ralsei has his Chapter 1 appearance here. Can you believe it's going to be 8 years since DELTARUNE Chapter 1?
Insert "I'm old!" joke here- WD Gaster can briefly be seen at the left before the scene changes too.
- The lights that turn out in the last scene are blue and orange, the colors of Sans and Papyrus.
- The Skull Trumpet meme is heard at the very end when Frisk plays the trumpet!
Gallery
I'd be scared too if I turned around without expecting anyone!
Guarding to the music is much more exciting.
I mean, they can eat, move and dance, so they're technically not dead!
A wild Temmie appeared!
