1428 - Game Pitch: Camp Jinjo

The second world of 1995's Donkey Kong Land, Kremlantis is the ancient temple city off the coast of DK Island. If its unnatural "mutant winds" don't sink it, the weight of its lore implications might finish the job first!

It's an EMERGENCY Kongversation Mini! With DK Challenge ending in less than a week, crap-ass gamers Hyle and Dustin discuss how they overcame the difficult Developer Challenges. There's no need to get stuck in the muck when you've got pluck... and a little luck!

Two grown adults have an intense discussion about toys for children while feeling only minimal shame. That's because the erudite sophistication of Donkey Kong transcends cheaply molded plastic, raising the intellectual stimuli of wagging around miniature figurines of cartoon gorillas and monkeys to that of the most learned pursuits. Plus, an all-new palm tree!

Pyrrhic Kong (Designing For) returns to the show to try to find the commonality that makes the modern Donkey Kong character so appealing to generations of fans. Is there any consistency in the portrayal and gameplay mechanics of the heir to the 1980s arcade legend? Did what Rare intend for the character hold up over the years? Can we make sense of the times the character felt lost? And why has Bananza's depiction of DK been so pleasing to the majority of his fans?

Despite Conker's Bad Fur Day turning 25 this year and not receiving much in the way of follow-ups, Conker has retained his notoriety in the gaming world. But what of his co-star, Berri? The Kongversation explores the abrupt transformation of the young chipmunk from an intended playable character to a murdered supporting player, and how a broadly maligned experimental game for a piece of hardware that was never released commercially can serve as the bridge between the two incarnations!

Return to the glory days of the Rare/Nintendo partnership! The recent upload of previously unseen videos from the first several E3 events has given the public a fresh look at several important moments in DKU history, including Nintendo's 1997 press conference that revealed Banjo-Kazooie and Conker's Quest to the world!

It's time for another "Game Pitch" episode, and Hyle, Jeff, and Dustin are shipping you off for the summer! Specifically, to supervised lakeside accommodations run by Rare characters, where the usual tropes of summer camp come with a DKU twist. Welcome to Camp Jinjo!

Hyle and Dustin take a Stinky Ape Summer holiday to sunny Treasure Trove Cove! The iconic Banjo-Kazooie world has a rich accumulated history that goes far beyond the horizon of the classic 3D platformer. The Kongversation unearths golden nuggets of lore about the island buried across Rare's shared universe!

Mario Kart Tour is shutting down on September 30th. Hyle and David react to the news, taking stock of the loss of another DKU game. At least we didn't spend any real money on it, right? *checks bank statements* Oh, no.

Broadcast live on https://www.twitch.tv/dkvine on July 9th, 2026, Hyle and Dustin honor the 45th anniversary of the original Donkey Kong game! We discuss how the series has rebuilt itself since the 40th anniversary, while examining how Donkey Kong Bananza has helped recontextualize the arcade roots with the Donkey Kong Country games. Then we ask what the next 45 years look like for the franchise, sharing some bold predictions between now and 2071!