Thanks to Hamada for helping with edits.
“If you listen, you can hear it coming.” Donkey Kong diehards cherish that memory from Nintendo’s E3 2010 presentation, when Reggie Fils-Aimé proudly unveiled Donkey Kong Country Returns. For context, Rare’s Super Nintendo Donkey Kong Country trilogy contains some of the gorilla’s most popular, important titles. Going back to their template after an eight-year stretch characterized by unpopular spin-offs was perceived by most as an exciting return to form. Metroid Prime trilogy developer Retro Studios, one of Nintendo’s top teams, being behind the revival felt like a dream come true, too! And, unsurprisingly, Returns became another bestselling, franchise-defining entry. You also meet the guy who explains how to play a few minutes in…
Professor Chops, seen on the Play Nintendo website (Image: Nintendo)
After spending a decade dedicated to the moody, sci-fi Metroid franchise, Retro Studios was eager to try something else—in fact, they had asked Nintendo’s top brass if they could develop a Donkey Kong game after completing Metroid Prime 2: Echoes. Nevertheless, they ultimately got to work on Shigeru Miyamoto’s seminal series and through it scored a fresh creative outlet. It took Retro’s artists some time to adjust to the game’s “fun and whimsical” aesthetic, however. And though Retro respects what Rare accomplished, they weren’t concerned with perfectly emulating their work: Returns was meant to preserve and evolve what people liked about Donkey Kong Country. Along the way Retro also created a pig some find repugnant.
Professor Chops’ History
In Donkey Kong Country Returns, Professor Chops teaches gameplay mechanics, marks checkpoints, runs the time trial mode, and offers to summon the Super Guide avatars, the Super Kongs, if you’re struggling to finish a stage. You see him a lot, even if he never leaves the safety of the background. Concept art of him is your prize for collecting every hidden Puzzle Piece within the Prehistoric Path stage. Oh, and Chops was simply dubbed Tutorial Pig at the time.
Professor Chops casually debuted in Returns’ E3 trailer. The game went on to inspire a handful of platformers; one of them, JUJU, even has a silent sidekick in Chops’ mold. (Image: Nintendo)
The shy swine scored his “real” name in Returns’ 2014 sequel, Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze. His role therein is mostly unchanged, though Chops can no longer summon the Super Kongs as Tropical Freeze lacks the Super Guide feature. A collectible figurine in Chops’ likeness becomes available after clearing the postgame Secret Seclusion world, and concept art depicts him, too. Curiously, a hidden room within the first level, Mangrove Cove, features several Chops lookalikes, suggesting he’s like Toad and Yoshi: a visually indistinct member of a large species. Or maybe there are multiple Chops and you meet different ones throughout Retro’s duology (I role with the former interpretation)?
Professor Chops participates in a few extracurricular activities. A Tutorial Pig trophy is among the many found within Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS & Wii U. A Novice-class Professor Chops support Spirit likewise appears in Smash Ultimate; he possesses an albino Donkey Kong, honoring Super Kong. Oddly, Chops appeared alongside series arch-enemy King K. Rool on a 2021 calender. The Super Nintendo World theme park’s upcoming Donkey Kong Country expansion is also increasing the professor’s mindshare, featuring him in its Mine-Cart Madness attraction and more merchandise. A Chops keychain available at Osaka features artwork courtesy of Mario mainstay Shigehisa Nakaue and flaunts his Japanese name, Chops Sensei.
Returns and Tropical Freeze saw updated re-releases for the Nintendo 3DS and Switch, respectively. Thanks to them, even more people could enjoy Retro’s side scrollers while finding themselves nonplussed over their portly professor. (Image: Nintendo)
So, what’re my thoughts on Chops?
A soft reboot, Donkey Kong Country Returns only retained the barest of series essentials. Now, protagonist Donkey Kong, partner Diddy Kong (who uses his Donkey Kong 64 gear), senile shopkeep Cranky Kong, Animal Buddies Rambi and Squawks, bananas, barrels, and their island home may sound like a lot when listed out. When you consider that the series’ Nineties output consistently retained familiar allies, baddies, and items in addition to them, though, Returns’ ironic lack of returning iconography can become disappointing to longtime fans.
One potential upside, however, was that this gave Retro Studios ample space to introduce new elements without fear of them being overshadowed. A big one was the evil Tiki Tak Tribe, who’ve since carved out a niche for themselves (they crash the Mario Kart series, Smash, and the theme park). Nevertheless, Donkey Kong didn’t gain much in the way of recurring characters, unfortunately. Professor Chops is the lone exception, one fans on average seem lukewarm towards. That’s fair; admittedly, the first time I ever paid the prof any real mind was earlier this year, when I read comments from people who were surprised the park included him.
I don’t remember exactly what I thought upon first laying eyes on Chops, but I wasn’t impressed. Then I promptly forgot about him. Still, his tutorials are welcome and necessary for new players. (Image: Nintendo)
Let’s be blunt: visually, Professor Chops is underwhelming. He’s a silly, bipedal pig who wears glasses, waves flags, and… that’s it. Now, his frames are a fine accessory, as he’s meant to be smart, and him explaining how to play does convey that (presumably, his intelligence is also why he’s seemingly immune to the Tikis’ hypnosis). But a domesticated pig looks out of place on a tropical paradise rife with primates and other exotic fauna. Some critics of Chops’ design dislike his bulgy eyes; others, including my colleague Hamada, cite his chompers. I find his snout as bad, if not worse; it’s huge and a darker shade of pink, awkwardly drawing attention to it. His palette is also considerably blander than Donkey Kong and Diddy’s, who have three primary colors: brown for their fur; beige, their skin; and red, their clothes. Meanwhile, their accent colors are white, black, and—thanks to their garments—yellow. Chops shares those first two accent colors, while his body is otherwise uniformly pink, albeit two shades; a second accessory could’ve nicely broken up his palette. Unfortunately, Chops is altogether the most generic-looking character in Retro Studios’ Donkey Kong duology. If I were unfamiliar with him and was told he was a background extra in Chicken Little or some such, I’d probably believe it. The fact Chops had the blandest name imaginable in Returns did him no favors, either.
Plus, Professor Chops speaks to how the series has gradually grown goofier. In Rare’s Donkey Kong side scrollers, anthropomorphic animals were limited to the Kongs, their Kremling counterparts, and later the Brothers Bear clan. Primates boasting human qualities makes sense, of course. Obviously the Kremlings require human-level intelligence to adequately rival the Kongs. And bears can stand upright, so there’s a logic to them inheriting other human mannerisms. Everyone else, though? The Animal Buddies are mostly portrayed as the Kongs’ pets; Rambi even pants like a dog. The Kremlings’ lackies—Gnawty beavers, Zinger wasps, and, notably, flying Hogwash pigs of Donkey Kong Land—follow suit; they’re animals. Only with Diddy Kong Racing and Donkey Kong 64 did the anthropomorphization start spreading freely. Both even introduced humanoid swine, the alien Wizpig and bizarre, nipple-pierced Troff. Yet they still channel the classic Country aesthetic better than the cartoony Chops, an actual Country character (again, Chops’ snout stands out; these other pigs’ noses are less in-your-face).
It makes sense that this academic looks alien next to Rare’s hogs, though—aping their style isn’t Retro’s. Considering how intelligent pigs are, I don’t mind that this one harbors anthropomorphic qualities. But it is kinda odd that Chops coexists with Hogwash. (Image: Nintendo)
The presentation backing Chops is lacking elsewhere, too. He never really interacts with his surroundings or stablemates, only gestures from the sidelines. Watching Chops incessantly offer to summon Super Kong comes across as condescending if you’re trying to clear a difficult stage without resorting to him. Even the oinking academician’s absence from his friends’ celebrations almost raises the question if he actually is their friend. He’s deeply familiar with the Kongs’ abilities, but perhaps the scholar only studied them from afar? For what it’s worth, Cranky seems unfamiliar with Chops.
Retro kindly addressed fan grievances in Tropical Freeze: more fan-favorite characters return, as does the fan-favorite composer, and they even went so far as to give its worlds and enigmatic pig proper names. But it’s a minor letdown that Retro’s investment in Chops ultimately ended there. One of their strengths is crafting compelling, well-realized worlds, an area Tropical Freeze excels in—each level and island tell stories that unfold as you play. Many also imply a storied history, like the owl-themed architecture and mountain carvings of Autumn Heights. And Chops at one point seemed poised to benefit from this, as concept art suggests the Snowmad-seized Juicy Jungle is his species’ homeland. Not all of them look physically identical, either! Now, Chops would’ve likely remained a background character regardless, but seeing his people under viking rule would’ve furthered the game’s stakes while giving him a personal one.
Getting some—nay, any—insight into the pink pipsqueak would elevate him into more of an actual character. As things stand, though, Chops comes across as… choppy, almost random. Like he doesn’t organically inhabit Donkey Kong’s world. (Image: Nintendo)
However, Chops’ annoying Super Kong prompts segue into a quality I actually like about him: Rare commonly created characters to anthropomorphize gameplay functions (Troff, for example, exists solely to open boss gates) and he upholds that practice. Where Rare used a star-encrusted barrel to mark checkpoints, Retro’s mammal gives them a proper face. He didn’t “steal” a role already held by another character, either. And while developers have found ways to diegetically teach gameplay mechanics for decades, Chops’ example is effective: let a cute ‘lil guy teach players without robbing control away through cinematics. It’s always a small drag when a game interrupts my momentum during replays to explain mechanics I’m already familiar with.
If Professor Chops taught me one thing, it’s that he’s an astonishingly meaty topic. Yes, he’s unexciting and I wouldn’t get misty-eyed if future games omit him. But he’s been here for over a decade now and I honestly hope he sticks around! While Donkey Kong shouldn’t adhere to every convention Mario does (though it happily takes inspiration; the Animal Buddies are its take on Yoshi), there’s room within it for a Toad-esque helper. Who better than Chops? As Retro Studios’ duology currently defines Donkey Kong‘s status quo, its recurring cast is still rather limited, a deficiency the hog helps alleviate. Plus, Retro deserves to leave a mark on the franchise, something Chops’ presence accomplishes. And the pig, on average, is inoffensive; the distaste I occasionally see is overblown. Giving the guy more to do and, ideally, a few visual touch-ups would do wonders cementing him as an essential and likable series staple. Whatever lies over the horizon for the Kongs, I hope it entails fleshing out their oinking ally.
Congratulations, Professor Chops! Let’s go back to the jungle.
Integrating Chops into Kong society is the dream, and the park’s a good start! Let him accompany Lakitu as a flagman on their requisite Mario Kart tracks, and nobody but Chops is better equipped to serve that role in any future Donkey Kong racers. (Image: Nintendo)
- Beat the Backlog: Crazy Taxi - September 9, 2024
- Beat the Backlog: Space Channel 5: Part 2 - July 28, 2024
- Character Chronicle: Tiptup - June 29, 2024
