Editing List of Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest pre-release and unused content

{{italic title|List of ''Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest'' pre-release and unused content}}
This is a list of pre-release and unused content for the game ''[[Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest]]''.
==Early ideas==
*According to a series of concepts posted by designer [[Gregg Mayles]], it was suggested that [[Cranky Kong]] be a playable character, either teaming up with or as a rival to [[Donkey Kong]]. It was suggested that his moves would use his cane, as well as possibly his beard.<ref name=concepts>Mayles, Gregg (November 27, 2015). [https://twitter.com/Ghoulyboy/status/670337309989060608 Twitter post by Gregg Mayles about pre-release DKC 2 content]. ''Twitter''. Retrieved December 2, 2015.</ref> This also suggests that, at that point in development, Diddy Kong was not planned to be the starring character. It was also suggested that players could play as Cranky as well as [[Funky Kong]] and [[Candy Kong]] in certain levels.
*A "banana-fueled vehicle" was suggested at one point.<ref name=concepts/>
*A cloud stage was proposed in which players would move around inside the clouds, and would have to continuously jump to avoid sinking through.<ref name=concepts/>
*An engine room stage was proposed in which players would use steam pipes to ride up or down.<ref name=concepts/>
*A proposed easter egg for the [[Monkey Museum]] would have been a cheat code for the [[Super Nintendo Entertainment System|SNES]] version of ''{{wp|Killer Instinct (1994 video game)|Killer Instinct}}''.<ref name=concepts/>
*For underwater swamp levels it was suggested that swimming be slower than normal. Players would have to find [[Enguarde]] to move at a more regular speed.<ref name=concepts/>

===Names===
*While in pre-production, several possible subtitles for the game were suggested, among them the final title "Diddy's Kong Quest".<ref>Mayles, Gregg (November 20, 2015). [https://twitter.com/Ghoulyboy/status/667798779576348672 Twitter post by Gregg Mayles about pre-release DKC 2 content]. ''Twitter''. Retrieved November 20, 2015.</ref>
*During pre-production, [[Dixie Kong]] had many name suggestions, including "Dinky"<ref>Mayles, Gregg (November 22, 2015). [https://twitter.com/Ghoulyboy/status/668525071246454784 Twitter post by Gregg Mayles with the 'mixed quality' ideas sheet for Dixie]. ''Twitter''. Retrieved July 10, 2020.</ref> (which was later considered for [[Kiddy Kong]] and used as his Japanese name) and "Diddiane".<ref name="move chart"> Mayles, Gregg (November 20, 2015). [https://twitter.com/Ghoulyboy/status/667778770674257920 Twitter post by Gregg Mayles about pre-release DKC 2 content]. ''Twitter''. Retrieved November 20, 2015.</ref>

===Moves/abilities===
*A chart posted by Gregg Mayles shows that moves such as the [[Helicopter Twirl]] and [[team up]] were not part of the characters' basic movesets, but rather would need to be unlocked by defeating bosses.<ref name="move chart"/>
*The chart also mentions hidden upgraded versions of the [[Cartwheel Attack|Cartwheel]] and [[Helicopter Spin]] which would spin twice instead of once, as well as similar power-ups for the [[Animal Friends]].
*The document also makes mention of planned abilities not present in the final game. These included charged-up versions of the Cartwheel/Helicopter Spin, the ability to execute the previously-mentioned attacks while in the air, and a "sommersault bomb" where the Kongs would "roll up in a ball [and] sommersault down vertically to hit enemies [and] smash objects".

==Early builds==
===Rare Witch Project Preview and German strategy guide===
[[File:DKC2 Beta-Mr. X Artwork.png|thumb|upright=0.9|Mr. X, an abandoned character from ''Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest''. The artwork comes from a German player's guide.]]
The [[Rare]] Witch Project website once had previews of several upcoming enemies and characters for ''Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest''. Among these enemies was a sinister-looking character simply dubbed "Mr. X". Mr. X was an early version of the enemy [[Kackle]], a ghostly [[Kremling]] that appears in the level [[Haunted Hall]] and chases the Kongs throughout the level in the final version of the game.<ref>[http://www.dkvine.com/interactive/forums/index.php?showtopic=7136&hl=beta&st=0 As explained by a former Rare employee, contacted by members of DKVine.]</ref><ref>"''He was replaced with the giant skeleton that chases you on the fairground level''" Mayles, Steve (June 3, 2015), [https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/38dtd9/were_playtonic_exrare_devs_behind_banjokazooie/crucemz/ Reddit AMA with the developers of Yooka-Laylee], ''Reddit''. Retrieved June 3 2015</ref> Mr. X was a phantasmagoric white Kremling with red eyes, wearing a large black jacket covered in army medals. He also possessed two small hooks for hands. Despite his status as a cut character, Mr. X somehow managed to be included in the official German player's guide, which cryptically states that he is a character that no one has known or has seen.

===Flight of Fantasy preview===
[[Klampon]]s were originally [[Klaptrap]]s, who were likely used as a placeholder. [[Web Woods (Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest)|Web Woods]] did not feature any fog and [[Lava Lagoon (Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest)|Lava Lagoon]] did not have any [[lava]]. [[Mainbrace Mayhem (Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest)|Mainbrace Mayhem]] and the boss level [[Krow's Nest]] originally took place during a storm (like in [[Topsail Trouble (Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest)|Topsail Trouble]]) but was changed to a cloudy blue sky in the final version. Additionally, [[Squawks]] was used in [[Parrot Chute Panic]] before being replaced by [[Quawks]].<ref>http://www.unseen64.net/2008/10/18/donkey-kong-country-2-snes-beta/</ref>

===[[Nintendo Power]]===
A preview of the game was featured in the 76th issue, showing a few differences.
*[[Rope (species)|Rope]]s are said to appear in [[Crocodile Cauldron]].
*Several locations and characters have different, presumably placeholder names. [[Gloomy Gulch]] is "The Haunted Forest", [[Krem Quay]] is "The Swamp", [[Krazy Kremland]] is "Kremland Amusement Park", [[K. Rool's Keep]] is "K. Rool's Castle", [[Kannon]] is "Klumpa" and [[Kruncha]] is "[[Krusha]]". [[Kremkoins]] are also referred to as "coins of the Krelm", though this may be an error on Nintendo Power's end.
*A K appears in a screenshot, showing that the [[KONG Letters|K-O-N-G Letters]] were featured in earlier builds of the game.
Additionally, a render of Mr. X is included, though the actual article makes no reference to it.
<gallery>
DKC 2 K screenshot.png
Mr.X 2.png|An alternate picture of the Mr. X render.
DKC2 Beta-Mr. X Manual Scan.png|A scan of Mr. X from the German instruction manual.
</gallery>

==Unused data==
===Graphics===
*[[Diddy Kong]] and [[Dixie Kong]] have unused sprites, which shows them walking gloomily.<ref>[http://mattrizzle.pac.am/board_stuff/dkc_beta/dkc2_unused_diddy.png Diddy], [http://mattrizzle.pac.am/board_stuff/dkc_beta/dkc2_unused_dixie.png Dixie]</ref>
<gallery>
File:DKC2-Diddy_Sad.gif|One of the unused animations of Diddy Kong.
File:Dkc2-diddy on rattly-unused.gif|Another one of the unused animations of Diddy Kong.
File:DKC2-Dixie_Sad.gif|One of the unused animations of Dixie Kong.
File:DKC2 raincloud.gif|The unused rain cloud for the sad animations.
</gallery>
*The [[Zinger]], [[Flotsam]] and [[Flitter]] enemies have various unused color palettes.<ref name=TCRF>[[tcrf:Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest|The Cutting Room Floor: Donkey Kong Country 2 Diddy's Kong Quest]]</ref>

===Levels=== 
*An Action Replay code warps the player to an unfinished level similar to [[Web Woods]]<ref name=TCRF/> whenever the player attempts to enter any level.

===Music===
*There are three music tracks (one death theme and two victory themes) meant to be used during the two battles against [[Kaptain K. Rool]]. However, due to a programming error, none of these play in the actual game.<ref name=TCRF/>
*The theme "Stickerbush Symphony" was originally meant to be played in underwater levels, as a follow-up to "Aquatic Ambience" from ''[[Donkey Kong Country]]''. However, as there were no regular underwater levels, the song was almost scrapped, but was later set in [[bramble]] levels.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20141008125252/http://www.officialnintendomagazine.co.uk/42912/why-donkey-kongs-stickerbush-symphony-might-never-have-been-heard/ David Wise for the Official Nintendo Magazine (archived)]</ref> After being shelved for months, it was implemented only during the final week of development due to a lack of ready alternatives for the level theme.<ref>DK Vine (August 22, 2021). [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eB6KMhwiHNk&t=2318s The Kongversation 921 - Interview: Kev Bayliss and David Wise]. YouTube. Retrieved September 12, 2022.</ref>

==Gallery==
===Concepts and designs===
<gallery>
DKC2 concept brambles.jpg|Brambles
DKC2 concept character abilities.jpg|Character abilities
DKC2 concept K Rool battle.jpg|Kaptain K. Rool battle
DKC2 concept Kremlings.jpg|Kremlings
DKC2 concept level ideas.jpg|Level ideas
DKC2 concept level ideas 2.jpg|Level ideas
DKC2 concept Diddy hat logos.jpg|Logos for Diddy's hat
DKC2 concept Diddy hat logos 2.jpg|Logos for Diddy's hat
DKC2 concept Dixie hat logos.jpg|Logos for Dixie's hat
DKC2 concept Dixie hat logos 2.jpg|Logos for Dixie's hat
DKC2 Japanese box draft.jpg|Japanese box draft
DKC2 concept girlfriend names.jpg|Names for Dixie
DKC2 concept rigging level.jpg|Rigging level
DKC2 concept swamp level.jpg|Swamp level
DKC2 concept of random ideas.jpg|Various ideas
DKC2 concept wasp hive.jpg|Wasp hive
DKC2 concept map.jpg|Map
</gallery>

==References==
<references/>

{{Pre-release and unused content}}
{{DKC2}}
[[Category:Pre-release and unused content|Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest]]
[[Category:Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest|*]]
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