I guess Rare themselves didn't understand his character either.
Heh, good catch!
I think it helps to understand the context of those images. All those pictures are used in the Donkey Kong manuals where Cranky Kong talks to you. In every one of them, Cranky is either making fun of you or being…well… Cranky.
Let’s take a look at the middle image with Cranky’s arms in the air. It was used twice in the Donkey Kong Country 2 manual and once in the Donkey Kong 64 manual.
Here’s what he was saying in each case:
Gangplank Galley, Crocodile Cauldron, Krem Quay, Krazy Kremland, Gloomy Gulch, K. Rool’s Keep
Lost World
Someone sure has a vivid imagination! I’ve been everywhere and I can tell you that none of these places exist!
See, I knew you’d have to come crying to old Cranky, begging him to share his vast game play knowledge with you. Did you think that just because you tortured yourself by reading this boring manual I would actually reward you with some free hints?! Pshawl! You can pay for my hints in the Monkey Museum, like everyone else!
CRANKEY”S SPECIAL ABILITIES
Ah, this is where I come in. Let’s face it, the Kongs’ basic abilities are only a pale shadow of my former skills.
The 2nd picture, the one with him smiling as he laughs, was used once at the end of the Donkey Kong 64 manual:
CRANKY’S TIPS:
Tough luck kid, I’ve been told to keep my mouth shut, as they want to keep all the good stuff for a money-making strategy guide. I’m sure some of it will appear on that newfangled “internet” thing as well, so I suggest you take a look see there. You could also ask your friends, assuming of ‘course you’ve got any. If all else fails, you’ll just have to play better.
I think you proved my point. You had to dig pretty deep in order to find Rareware artwork of Cranky smiling. After Rareware, the only artwork that dosen’t have Cranky smiling is his
Donkey Konga artwork. Everything else has him smiling like he’s a generic nice old man. But, that's just my opinion.
For more great commentary from Cranky, be sure to read the manuals for
Donkey Kong Country,
Donkey Kong Country 2. and
Donkey Kong 64. Odd how Cranky doesn’t say anything in the Donkey Kong Country 3 manual, I guess he was too busy playing all those games at S****y’s Sideshow. Wait, S-W-A-N-K-Y Kong's name is censored on this forum? I didn't know S****y was a bad word. Learn something new everyday!
By the way, did anyone else see the fantastic PR stunt Nintendo did for Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze when they had Cranky takeover Nintendo of America’s twitter account? Fan’s got to ask him questions and Cranky would answer them in a way only good ol’ Cranky Kong could. I wanted to create a topic about Cranky’s tweets, but I can’t seem to find a “Create New Topic” button anywhere, do I need to make more posts before I’m allowed to do that or something?
