Ever since his first appearance in Donkey Kong Country for the SNES, Funky Kong has embodied the cool standard to which 90s kids and single uncles have aspired. This bandana-clad bad boy started just wanting to help you out on your journey, but his adventures weren't far behind.
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Posts By Dan ConlinIn the years since Funky has slowly moseyed his way into several playable roles in games. Now, rather than making a quick buck ferrying you around, he takes the spotlight for his own, often keeping that helpful streak by making the game easier. But which games let you take control of the most fly ape this side of King Louie?
9 DK: King Of Swing
Rock Climbing For Fans Of Carpal Tunnel
Funky had already been an established presence in the Donkey Kong games for years when DK: King of Swing for the Game Boy Advance came around. But this was the first time you could play as him in some form, though he was only available in the game's Jungle Jam challenge mode.
DK: King of Swing features a rather unconventional control scheme, where you control your character's movement largely with the shoulder buttons, swinging around on various handholds. Odd hook for a whole game? Sure. Odder than a surfer ape with sunglasses and cutoff shorts running his airline? Debatable.
8 Donkey Konga 3 (Japan)
Too Rad For The Rest Of The World
Keeping with the more niche games in the Donkey Kong series, Funky's second playable appearance played up the obscurity. The rhythm game series Donkey Konga uses specialized bongo drum controllers, sort of like Rock Band without the band.
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Posts By Juliet ChildersFunky appears as a playable character only in Donkey Konga 3 for the Nintendo GameCube, which was exclusive to Japan. Even then, you have to stick to multiplayer to play as him. Hard to say if he's worth jumping through so many hoops just to play as him, but it's a nice bonus for getting to smack things in rhythm with your buddies.
7 Donkey Kong Barrel Blast
If Smacking Your Steering Wheel Actually Did Something
The GameCube wasn't done with its nonstandard Donkey Kong games after Donkey Konga. Sure, DK himself was already sowing his brand of chaos in the Mario Kart series, but it was only a matter of time before he got his own racing game.
That's where Donkey Kong Barrel Blast comes in. Nintendo looked at that Bongo controller and decided hitting things was the ideal steering mechanism because that's the controller this game uses. Funky is one part of a rather robust roster of racers in this game.
6 DK: Jungle Climber
Joint Problems: The Sequel
Donkey Kong: Jungle Climber
Puzzle Platformer Released September 10, 2007 ESRB e Developer(s) Paon Publisher(s) Nintendo Franchise Donkey Kong Platform(s) Nintendo DS Genre(s) Puzzle, Platformer Powered by Expand CollapseEither some players couldn't get enough of the shoulder button controls in DK: King of Swing, or Nintendo had a very confusing focus group. That game got a Nintendo DS sequel in DK: Jungle Climber, using the same concept but adding just a bit more. That is the definition of a sequel.
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PostsFunky remains absent from the game's story mode, but he's thankfully playable in multiplayer. It's a shame because the main plot involves aliens, and who would make a better first impression on an extraterrestrial race than this smooth tank-top champion?
5 Mario Kart Wii
He's Using Tilt Controls
Mario Kart Wii
Racing Released April 27, 2008 ESRB E For Everyone due to Comic Mischief Developer(s) Nintendo EAD Publisher(s) Nintendo Franchise Mario Kart Platform(s) Wii Genre(s) Racing Powered by Expand CollapseFunky finally made the jump to the mainstream with Mario Kart Wii, which must have been vindicating after being snubbed for Mario Kart: Double Dash. Imagine losing out on a spot in a game that features Koopa and Paratroopa as separate characters. They're different levels of cosplay at best.
But maybe this was meant to be. Mario Kart Wii introduced the trick system that would eventually become a substantial part of the series. It makes perfect sense that this stylish rogue would help usher in the age of Mario Kart stunts and every character yelling way too much.
4 Mario Super Sluggers
Babe Ruth Wishes He Thought Of That
Mario Super Sluggers
Sports Released August 25, 2008 ESRB e Developer(s) Namco Bandai, NOW Production Publisher(s) Nintendo Franchise Super Mario Platform(s) Wii, Nintendo Wii U Genre(s) Sports Powered by Expand CollapseYou know the old saying. What do you do when you've already done everything else? Baseball. Never mind the source on that quote. Mario Super Sluggers on the Wii includes Funky in its already stacked cast of colorful compadres. But even then, he has to stick out.
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PostsFunky hits the ball with his surfboard because of course, he does. The players have to adhere to the classic baseball rules like 3 strikes and the rest, but much like the Air Bud phenomenon, there's technically no rule that says a surfboard can't be used as a bat.
3 Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze (Switch)
Let's See Wolfenstein Make Fun Of This Easy Mode
Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze
Platformer Released February 21, 2014 ESRB E For Everyone due to Mild Cartoon Violence Developer(s) Retro Studios Publisher(s) Nintendo Franchise Donkey Kong Country Platform(s) Switch, Nintendo Wii U Genre(s) Platformer Powered by Expand Collapse20 years after his debut in 1994's Donkey Kong Country, Funky finally entered the world of traditional-ish 2D platformers with the Nintendo Switch port of Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze. It took them long enough, but then again, maybe it takes exactly 20 years to figure out how to render that much pizazz.
While the game itself features Diddy, Dixie, and Cranky as helper characters with distinct abilities, the gloriously meme-ed "Funky Mode" lets you play as the man himself whose surfboard can mimic all three of them. See? You're not disappointing your parents by becoming a surfer dude. You're being efficient.
2 Mario Kart Tour
Unclear How They Fit This Party On Such A Small Screen
Mario Kart Tour
Mario Kart Tour
Racing 3.5/5 Released September 25, 2019 ESRB e Developer(s) Nintendo EPD Publisher(s) Nintendo Franchise Mario Kart Platform(s) Android, iOS Genre(s) Racing Powered by Expand Collapse, the series' foray into the mobile market earned an assortment of reactions, with many apprehensive about its gacha-style systems. On the other hand, those gacha-style systems helped result in a remarkably eclectic range of playable characters, and somehow Funky is among the least surreal.
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Posts By Dan ConlinWhile not exactly as eye-popping as the 16-bit version of Donkey Kong Jr., Funky remains his bodacious self in Tour. Granted, the game's touch and motion controls might make it a touch difficult to use him to his fullest potential, but true radness never comes easy.
1 Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
Irresponsible Driving, Finally In HD
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
Racing Released April 28, 2017 ESRB E Developer(s) Nintendo EAD, Nintendo EPD Publisher(s) Nintendo Franchise Mario Kart Platform(s) Switch Genre(s) Racing Powered by Expand CollapseWhile not present in the initial release of the Wii U's Mario Kart 8, Funky made a rather delayed entrance after the game was ported to the Nintendo Switch as Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. Showing up in the final wave of the game's Booster Course Pass DLC, fashionably late is an understatement.
Funky is a heavyweight racer, as one might expect from his physique. But that mass probably mostly comes from his ego, and also maybe the giant surfboard he somehow lugs along with him in every kart. Respect for maintaining the brand.
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