Games that Never Were: Donkey Kong Coconut Crackers

As the Game Boy Advance was nearing its North American release date, England-based Rare was preparing a series of games to show their support for the then-new hand held system. While two of these games-Banjo-Kazooie: Grunty's Revenge and Sabrewulf-were eventually released more-or-less the way that they were intended to be, two others-Diddy Kong Pilot and Donkey Kong Coconut Crackers-would receive massive overhauls, having the Donkey Kong characters replaced by characters created by Rare, all as a result of the company's move to Microsoft. Since Nintendo retained the rights to the Donkey Kong characters, Rare could not use them in any game save for remakes of older titles such as Donkey Kong Country. I wrote about Diddy Kong Pilot earlier, and now I'm going to tell you about Donkey Kong Coconut Crackers, which would place the ape in a puzzle game...or at least, that was how it was originally meant to be.

First revealed at the 2001 Electronics Entertainment Expo, Coconut Crackers would have an isometric view by default, though other view options would be available. The goal would be to use different colored Tetris-like pieces and place them on the board. Same-colored pieces could be placed together, and different-colored pieces could be put on top of other pieces. In the later scenario, those pieces that were already on the board could be divided into rectangles and shapes, and then disappear. To make things interesting, the evil reptiles known as Kremlings would try to wreck the creations and prevent the player from removing them. If a player successfully created combos, various animals would appear to knock the Kremlings off the board.

A number of game play modes were planned, as were at least four difficulty modes. From the trailer and screen shots, they included at least an endless (i.e. play until the game is over) mode and a puzzle mode, challenging players to remove the pieces already scattered on the map. Fights against bosses were also planned, and up to four players could join in on the fun. Beyond that, however, not a lot is known about what Rare was planning to include in Coconut Crackers. Perhaps there could have been a story mode or some way to go head-to-head against computer players. Maybe other characters from the Donkey Kong universe would at least have a cameo appearance. Whatever the final version of the game would have been like...alas, we will never know.

After the game was announced, a long time passed without any further information. It seemed that the game would be released either sometime in 2002 or later or else it would be canceled. During this time, no other Rare games were given any coverage or release dates with the exception of Star Fox Adventures, which itself was delayed several times, but at least managed to be released just as Rare made the move to Microsoft. As a result, any other projects that Rare had for the Gamecube were canceled, and they could no longer use Donkey Kong in any games other than remakes. Ultimately, Coconut Crackers was retooled and released in 2004 as It's Mr. Pants, featuring the character from Rare's website. The character's obscurity prevented the game from receiving a wider release, and as such, it is one of Rare's lesser-known titles.

Donkey Kong: Coconut Crackers is one more game that I would have wanted to try out. As confusing as the game play might have seemed, I would eventually get adjusted to it and likely enjoyed yet another Donkey Kong game from Rare. It was turning out to be such a unique game, but I was worried when no other information was revealed for the longest time. Since I do not own It's Mr. Pants, I cannot comment on that title, though I sincerely hope that the game ended up being more creative and less derivative, which is what Diddy Kong Pilot was before it became Banjo-Pilot. Who knows what else Rare might have had in store for the Kongs if Microsoft had not entered the picture? That, too, is something we can only speculate.

Donkey Kong had three new games coming out from Rare as the release of Nintendo's new systems was drawing near. Two were retooled, and one was never released in any form. People have said that both Rare and Donkey Kong have gone downhill since Rare's move to Microsoft. I would have to agree: Rare's games, as well as those featuring Donkey Kong, were either good but not really outstanding, or they were mediocre or worse. I wish that Rare was still making quality Donkey Kong games...I'm still waiting for a true sequel to Donkey Kong 64 or even a new Donkey Kong Country for WiiWare. Alas, I do not foresee it happening anytime soon, if ever. Three potentially great games will never be released in their original form, and that is a crying shame.