Thanks to Hamada and Source Gaming alumnus TheAnvil for helping with edits.
It’s no secret I harbor a lot of love for Nintendo’s clique of cartoony monkeys and crocodiles. Donkey Kong is my favorite ongoing Nintendo franchise, and Donkey Kong Country 2 is my second favorite game of all-time. Today marks the latter’s twenty-fifth anniversary, a merry occasion we’re celebrating by discussing one of its protagonists.
Dixie Kong, seen in 2014’s Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze (Image: Nintendo)
In 1994, Rare’s Donkey Kong Country was released to overwhelming success, revitalizing its franchise and console. According to Rare’s Gregg Mayles, his passionate team was eager to realize concepts that went unused during Country and began plotting a sequel. Brainstorming ways to differentiate the followup from its forebear, they landed on new level aesthetics, a pirate motif, and a bold newcomer…
Dixie Kong’s History
Striving to surprise players, Rare decided to sideline Country’s headliner and promote sidekick Diddy Kong to the frontman role (Mayles attributes this to the team’s youthfulness, claiming they were emboldened to take risks). However, they also wanted to retain and expand upon Country’s tag team mechanic, necessitating the creation of a newcomer. Several names were tossed around (“Diddiane” being the top contender) before she was christened Dixie Kong. Contrasting her more simplistic predecessors, she was blessed with a prehensile ponytail, an invaluable tool for grabbing things, attacking, and letting her hover. Notably, Dixie’s gender was chosen before her ponytail was incorporated into her design, and none of this was a conscious effort to increase female representation in the medium. Shigeru Miyamoto provided a few sketches of potential pins to adorn Dixie’s beret, although one modeled after Rare’s logo would ultimately grace her cap on select promotional renders.
Artist Steve Mayles designed Dixie. She was dubbed “Didette” in his early notes, his first draft was allegedly “Diddy with a wig,” and he suggested, thanks to some “wacky evolution,” that her hair is actually her tail. (Image: Nintendo)
Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy’s Kong Quest released one year after the original. Back with a vengeance, Kaptain K. Rool kidnapped Donkey Kong and was holding him for ransom. When the Kongs discussed their predicament, Diddy volunteered to venture to the Kremlings’ home turf, Crocodile Isle, to save the gorilla. Cranky Kong was dismissive of the suggestion, but Dixie defended her partner and said she’d join him. And thus, Diddy and Dixie depart, ascending across the hostile island (with assistance from the Animal Buddies and their fellow Kongs) until they reach K. Rool’s airship, the Flying Krock. After a long, hard battle, they free their island’s champion and beat K. Rool. Should players collect the hidden Kremkoins, the pair gains access to the Lost World, where they face the tyrant again. Upon his loss here, K. Rool gets tossed into Crocodile Isle’s power source, sinking the landmass and dooming an unknown number of its inhabitants. Not bad for your first quest, Dixie!
With K. Rool seemingly in exile, peace returned to Donkey Kong Island. Diddy and Donkey Kong partied for months, with Dixie sometimes joining. However, their nemesis was regrouping; now adopting the Baron K. Roolenstein persona, he abducts the Country duo and uses them to power his mechanical puppet, KAOS. One unassuming morning, Dixie visits Diddy’s home, discovering a note saying he and DK were out exploring. A few days pass without their return, spurring Dixie into action. She leaves for the Northern Kremisphere, starting Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong’s Double Trouble! Shortly after arriving, mechanic Funky Kong dumps toddler Kiddy Kong onto Dixie, who now must contend with Kremlings while babysitting, hence the subtitle. Ultimately, she’s victorious: she defeats K. Rool, liberates her friends and the locale Banana Birds, and (should players procure the Bonus Coins) accesses the lost domain of Krematoa. There, she frees the mythical Banana Bird Queen and bests K. Rool one final time.
Wanting it to have a fresh feeling, new blood was brought in to develop the third Country. (Image: Nintendo)
The Country titles received smaller-scale, now overlooked followups in the Game Boy’s Donkey Kong Land trilogy. A retread of its 16-bit big brother, Diddy and Dixie trek across a monochromatic Crocodile Isle in Donkey Kong Land 2. However, Land III (and its Japan-exclusive Game Boy Color update) presents a new scenario, one revolving around a contest to locate the fabled Lost World. Donkey and Diddy left without inviting Dixie, infuriating her. Determined to prove she’s just as capable an explorer, she grabs the oblivious Kiddy and heads out. Additionally, Dixie became a regular in supplemental media of the era, appearing in numerous comic publications, Nelvana’s infamous Donkey Kong Country cartoon, and its tie-in trading cards.
Subsequent hardware generations were less kind to Dixie. She was a no-show in Rare’s Diddy Kong Racing and Donkey Kong 64 as well as Nintendo’s Jungle Beat and Country Returns. 64 did, however, introduce Dixie’s younger sister, Tiny Kong (according to Rare funnyman Leigh Loveday, Dixie was preoccupied with an unsuccessful singing stint during 64). Although initially slated to make her racing genre debut through Diddy Kong Pilot, the game was ultimately revamped into Banjo-Pilot, consequently losing most of its Kong iconography. Climax Studios “considered” using Dixie in its ill-fated Diddy Kong Racing Adventure, but (since Rare retained the first Racing’s non-Kong, non-Kremling roster after the Microsoft acquisition) she’d have assuredly surfaced there.
According to old Nintendo Power cards of questionable canonicity, Dixie’s favorite film and song are Beauty and the Beast and “Girls Just Want to Have Fun,” respectively. Later issues of the magazine incorrectly called her “Daisy Kong.” (Image: Nintendo)
Nevertheless, Dixie never faded away. Rare ported the Country trilogy to the Game Boy Advance, with Dixie’s installment even getting the most ameliorations (plus a now-defunct, promotional browser game, Barrel-Blastapalooza). Diddy Kong Racing DS continued this practice, adding Dixie and an older Tiny to the roster. Racing began with Diddy secretly embarking to Timber’s Island, though their inclusion in DS (which is arguably a soft sequel to its namesake) doesn’t alter the premise extravagantly; it makes sense he’d trust his girlfriend and her sibling enough to help. Furthermore, Dixie joins her Country cohorts in Donkey Konga 2 and the Japan-exclusive Konga 3. All of Paon’s offerings incorporate her: she participates in DK: King of Swing’s multiplayer rounds, hosts challenges in Jungle Climber, and competes in Barrel Blast, where she gains a Kremling rival named Kass.
Unsurprisingly, Dixie’s reach extends beyond Donkey Kong. She graces 2005’s Mario Superstar Baseball, 2006’s Hoops 3-on-3, and 2008’s Super Sluggers. Super Smash Bros. series director Masahiro Sakurai even planned to have her fight alongside Diddy in Brawl as a tag team. Sadly, she didn’t graduate into a standalone fighter, but Smash still honors her through palette swaps and trophies.
Kahoru Sasajima is Dixie’s current voice actress, a part she’s had since 2007. Stevie Vallance portrayed the character in Nelvana’s cartoon. (Image: Nintendo)
After a six-year hiatus, Retro Studios reintroduced Dixie Kong in Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze. Here, her flight capabilities can augment Donkey Kong’s movement, assisting him throughout his multi-island excursion. A second player could play as the pink-clad Kong in the co-op mode, while dedicated gamers can play as her solo in the unlockable “Hard Mode.” Super Smash Bros. Ultimate contains a Dixie Mii hat and upgradable Spirit (notably, she possesses Animal Crossing’s Isabelle during her Spirit battle, not Diddy; I get the sense Sakurai doesn’t believe she’d be done justice as an Echo Fighter). Finally, she’s also reemerged under the Mario banner; Super Mario Odyssey alludes to her through signs decorating its New Donk City stage, and she made her Mario Kart debut in Tour.
So, what’re my thoughts on Dixie?
When I was a tyke, this industry did not (and arguably still doesn’t) have a stellar track record with female characters. Ms. Pac-Man, though heroic and capable, was less a unique individual, more of a brand extension to her husband. Princesses Peach and Zelda, Nintendo’s leading ladies, were usually relegated into the damsel in distress role. Other women in Nintendo’s repertoire fell into obscurity, like Clu Clu Land‘s androgynous Bubbles and Wario Land’s amoral Captain Syrup. Samus Aran of Metroid fame was the major break from those examples, yet her gender was hidden underneath a bulky suit of armor, something she only removed as a reward for playing well (or poorly; in Super Metroid she violently erupts from her Power Suit upon dying).
Nintendo saw potential in Dixie, hoping she’d grow into another mascot for the company. (Image: Nintendo)
Dixie Kong, then, was a refreshing, confident change of pace. She was girly, unabashedly so; she clobbered Kremlings while flaunting her pink outfit and toenails. She was also disparate from her beau in obvious and subtle ways. Both were lightweights, yet Dixie’s properties were different from Diddy’s while complementing his perfectly; whereas he was faster and carried items in front of him, Dixie glided and hoisted objects above her head. There’s overlap in their designs – which makes perfect sense, as they’re of the same species and similar ages – but Rare took great care to animate her distinctly: she performed a guitar solo during her victories, hung onto ledges using her banana-shaped hair, and enjoyed bubblegum while idle. Where Diddy could be tentative, Dixie was zealous. She was Diddy’s girlfriend and sidekick during his Kong Quest, but neither of those roles defined her. While progressiveness may not have informed Dixie’s creation, that ultimately didn’t matter – she was progressive regardless. And through the strength of her character and game of origin, Dixie has risen through the ranks to become my favorite Donkey Kong character.
Although Dixie doesn’t inherently “deserve” more attention than any other fictional character, it’s a shame her potential wasn’t capitalized on. Companies during the Nineties often felt uncomfortable flaunting products starring a girl, giving her a handicap (in the West, an Ocarina of Time commercial made a “play like a girl” joke, Nintendo converted its fairy-themed Panel de Pon into the Yoshi-themed Tetris Attack, and Compile’s Puyo Puyo endured similar conversions). Nintendo of America let her down with Double Trouble’s marketing, obscuring her while hyping up Kiddy (who was portrayed inaccurately and bizarrely). There was less Dixie merchandise relative to her associates (similarly, toys of Jedi Rey and Avenger Black Widow were scarce during The Force Awakens’ and Age of Ultron’s respective launches). It also hurts that Dixie’s Country, though a best-seller nonetheless, is easily the least venerated of its trilogy (personally, I prefer it to the original and Returns). Then Dixie skipped the fifth hardware generation and three consecutive mainline games, significant gaps suggesting her presence isn’t essential. And Dixie’s still periodically excluded from things, like Nintendo’s 2015 Women’s History Month celebration. Even Tropical Freeze largely reduces her back into sidekick status, an appendage for Donkey Kong to fly and tank two extra hits. It’s fitting, perhaps, that her last role under Rare’s tenure as a Nintendo affiliate was Land III, where she was neglected by the boys, unintentionally foreshadowing things to come.
One consequence to Dixie’s introduction in Kong Quest was the removal of Candy Kong, Donkey’s romantic partner. They’ve since managed to coexist. (Image: Nintendo)
Within the series’ fiction, however, Dixie’s accomplishments rival her two costars. She advances into a full-fledged heroine in Double Trouble, proving her worth by emancipating her friends, echoing how the eponymous chimp in Diddy’s Kong Quest saved his idol (who, I contest, had likewise rescued his guardian). Similarly, her acquiring the DK Coins strewn throughout Double Trouble mirrors Diddy having done so in Kong Quest (wherein Mario failed to locate them all). Out of the Donkey-Diddy-Dixie-Cranky quadfecta, she’s even the only one who hasn’t been kidnapped. Becoming a venerated hero was explicitly Diddy’s arc under Rare’s stewardship, a goal Dixie also achieved in her universe yet still struggles to prove in ours.
Nevertheless, it’s hard to say she’s made out poorly. She’s the lead in two Donkey Kong games and is re-establishing herself as a reliable presence in the series, which I suspect is being primed for a comeback. Considering the care Nintendo has placed in the Donkey Kong brand recently – it now has its own IP team managing it, for example – I’m confident exciting things are on the horizon. And once Donkey Kong rises back into dominance, Dixie will inevitably rise alongside it, protecting her home from any angry alligators who dare threaten it.
Congratulations, Dixie! You’re no damsel in distress; you’re one of the stars!
While promoting Tropical Freeze, Kensuke Tanabe said it’d be “natural to see some girls playing with Dixie.” Speaking as an accomplished Kong documentarian, Dixie’s a great character one can appreciate regardless of their gender. (Image: Nintendo)
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One of my favorite Kongs ever! Here is to seeing Dixie in (hopefully) more great DK games following Tropical Frezze.
Also, I actually forgot yesterday was DKC2’s twenty-fifth anniversary (shame on me, sniff).
Hey, Greatsong!
If I may indulge a little in this article’s own history, I’ve meant to write about Dixie Kong since 2014, back during my Nerd Underground days and before “Character Chronicle” as such was even a thing. This is actually the third – and final, thankfully! – attempt at doing so. I decided last November that I’d cover her this year for hers and Donkey Kong Country 2‘s twenty-fifth anniversary, so this one was a long time coming. And it even ended up being my fiftieth article for Source Gaming (so long as we’re discounting the guest pieces I published), which is also kind of neat.
Anyway, when I wrote about Diddy three years ago, I figured Donkey Kong (Jr.) was probably my favorite Kong, but after all of this time, I can safely say it’s Dixie. She’s always a joy to play as, often eclipsing her peers. And yeah, whenever Donkey Kong gets its next big game, I’m hoping Dixie’s there too. Here’s hoping we get something next year in commemoration of the franchise’s fortieth anniversary.