Tiny's new look

Originally Posted by ConkerTribe

Small, wearing overalls and skipping like a little girl are SO her.

You are so right.

[GEL]

(Yeesh! Been trying to register here for a month!)

Anyway! Hi. For some reason I love looking into massive character design changes and, well, Tiny Kong is easily one of the most interesting as the design change occured AFTER a game featuring her was released AND it makes NO SENSE!

So yeah, I researched the topic...more than anyone ever should.

Now, of course, we all know that Rare was bought by MS and that Nintendo has basically given the DK series to Paon. Now, Paon was perfectly happy using very few Kongs, but when they decided to make Barrel Blast, they realized they started digging into the deep well of Kong characters Rare produced. Of course, they realized that they needed more than one playable female Kong and they needed one that was decently attractive, especially to go toe-to-toe with Kalypso.

Now, they didn't wanna make a NEW Kong as there were already too many, and redesigning Dixie was out of the question as she's a classic and well known character. Also, for some reason, Candy was out of the question too.

This leaves Tiny. Now, if you'll think back to when DK64 first came out, Tiny was NOT well recieved. EVERYONE complained that she was just a lame Dixie rip-off. So, as such, it seemed fitting for Paon to redesign her.

Infact, if we ignore the renders and just look in-game, Tiny often looks like a SD teenager. She is known for posing with her hand on her hip *points to select screen* and such and her skipping really didn't seem that childish. Really, look at her ONLY in-game and I think you can see it.

BUT WAIT! What about the most befuddling aspect: Tiny is Dixie's LITTLE sister! So why is she older than her now?

Well...looks like I FINALLY found the answer to that question when I ran Tiny's entry in the Japanese Wikipedia through a translator:

Originally Posted by Babelfish

Feature has been similar to [deikushi] very, in the foreign country it has meant the younger sister of [deikushi].

Originally Posted by @Nifty

The feature is to resemble Dixie very much and to call it Dixie's younger sister overseas.

Originally Posted by Google Translate

Dixie is very similar in characteristics and abroad is that Dixie's sister.

For those of you that don't speak barely-comprehensible-machine-translation, what it's saying is "Tiny looks so much like Dixie that in the overseas (U.S. and Europe) versions, she's considered Dixie's little sister".

What this MEANS is that the whole fact that Tiny is Dixie's little sister never really made it to Japan. It was a minor detail (let's face it, it was) that got left out. No really, exactly HOW MANY times did Tiny being Dixie's little sister ever get mentioned? Like...once...in the instruction book. So you can see how that detail might get lost in the translation. Paon, being a Japanese company, didn't know this and apparently it completely slipped the minds of everyone down at Nintendo.

BUT WAIT! What about Diddy Kong Racing DS! THAT came out before Barrel Blast! Well, as it ends up, Barrel Blast was in the works LONG before Diddy Kong Racing DS, so the design was already decided upon.

So there you go. There's probably the best explanation we can come up with for why Tiny got redesigned.


But before I continue, I must go off-track for a breif moment to discuss one thing: Candy Kong.

FAR too many people have made claims that Paon is adding sex appeal to DK with both Tiny and Candy.

Now, the Tiny argument I can understand. I think some people go overboard mind you as I've seen plenty of folks rant about Tiny's "large breasts" despite not having any and I really don't think she's that "slutty" either. Sure I'll give you "the only thing Tiny about her now is her top!" and indeed they made her more attractive, but she acts as a middle ground between Dixie and Candy. Still, it did throw us all for a loop and did add some slight sex appeal to the series I guess.

...but CANDY KONG?! No. Seriously. I've seen people complain about Paon's redesign. These folks clearly don't remember DK64 as well as they think. Flash back to DK64 Candy. Remember THAT? Yeah. Paon Candy is MASSIVELY toned down compared to that and honestly I have to give them kudos for it. The new Candy design actually resembles all the different Candy designs of the past and manages to be unmistakeably Candy no matter what DK games you've played.

While we're on the topic of drastic and random character redesigns, let us not forget how many of these RARE has pulled! Jet Force Gemini? Perfect Dark Zero? Krystal? Heck! How about Conker's Bad Fur Day! That's an entire GAME that did a complete 180 AFTER the character was already established in TWO games! Even in the DK series, look at DK64 Funky Kong!

While the redesign was Paon's work, it's definately par for the course.


So I guess there's only two questions left: DID they REALLY "ruin" Tiny Kong and how could anyone explain this in-game?

Let's start with the first one. As much as we like to yell "slutty!" and "they took away her innocence!", we have to realize that we don't know much about Tiny. She has appeared in 3 games with her new look, and only in one does she get to show much personality...and I don't think many people bothered to even check out Barrel Blast.

As such, I have created this YouTube video showcasing all of her Barrel Blast animations as well as a rotate and close-up of her Brawl trophy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jQsln3J7KTg

YOU guys make the call...WITHOUT using the word "slutty" because she really doesn't act slutty at all. No. Really. "Whoreish" doesn't count either.

If I could take a moment though, do notice the painted finger and toenails along with the earrings. I dunno, I just love that. It's such a weird and unexpected design detail.


So then, the last question is how this would be explained in-game? My personal favorite is Tiny getting better with her size changing ability. We of course have the classic simple "growth spurt". "Wish"/Request is obvious and easy. One person suggested a mislabelled Hunky Chunky potion. Perhaps someone got confused between "Teenie Tiny" and "Teeny Tiny". Or, of course, Super Mushroom:
http://kanashimi-chan.deviantart.com...-more-81099240
(had to give props to the awesome person that drew the pic I used in my AV)

So...there you go. Everything I can think of saying on Tiny Kong. Personally, I like the new design alot (it reminds me alittle of Shorty from Bust A Groove, especially 2), but I understand any long time fans being surprised and annoyed.

[Matt Jones]

Yes, the main issue has always been that the redesign breaks character and continuity. It's an appealing design otherwise, but it doesn't fit at all.

[Ubersuntzu]

I'm still angry that they replaced Dixie with Tiny in DK64, so...

I hope Tiny's next re-design involves being a burning corpse. >_>

[Guitar]

Hur hur hur.

[Breegullbeak]

I never played Barrel blast, but I saw her trophy in Smash, is she taller?

All I noticed is she has... developed... for a monkey.

[Mandolin]

I should try Donkey Kong: Barrel Blast.

[OldKingCoal]

Originally Posted by Mandolin

I should try Donkey Kong: Barrel Blast.

It isn't as bad as everyone says, just a little on the slow side.

[Guitar]

Originally Posted by Breegullbeak

All I noticed is she has... developed... for a monkey.

she's an anthropomorphic monkey, so of course Tiny's gonna have... Human features.

[Viku]

here's my opinion...tiny should have NEVER EXISTED.

yeah, I said it. I hate her a LOT. With new design and without new design it dosen't matter, she was created as a clone of Dixie Kong. They even planned in put Dixie in DK64 but for some reason decided to create a whole new character for no particular reason!

Dixie is way better than Tiny, still she ends up getting less spotlight than her clone...

[Monkey Boy 64]

But Dixie can't shrink in size to suit her mood.

[Breegullbeak]

or float through the air,
and climb up trees!

[Darth]

Yuck! Tiny's new look is hideous! From an innocent, childish character into a sl**ty wh**e! She may not act like it, but she sure does look like it! And how the hell is she Dixie's younger sister? Dixie hasn't gotten older, just uglier. I hate redesigns.

And although Candy was "slightly altered" in "certain places" in DK64, her outfit made her seem a bit less... sl**ty. Maybe it was the platform shoes and headphones, but her expressions and poses nowadays seem... well, you know. Maybe it'd look better if she had a flower in her hair...

[Guitar]

Originally Posted by Darth

Yuck! Tiny's new look is hideous! From an innocent, childish character into a sl**ty wh**e! She may not act like it, but she sure does look like it! And how the hell is she Dixie's younger sister? Dixie hasn't gotten older, just uglier. I hate redesigns.

And although Candy was "slightly altered" in "certain places" in DK64, her outfit made her seem a bit less... sl**ty. Maybe it was the platform shoes and headphones, but her expressions and poses nowadays seem... well, you know. Maybe it'd look better if she had a flower in her hair...

and a grass skirt.

[BanjoAndKazooie]

I just miss Donkey, Diddy, and Dixie.