Where is the LOVE?

Love is a word with a lot of different meanings. Alas, that should be known - but nowadays, most people seem to think it's just a synonym for wanting to screw each other. For shame! As it should be noted, I am a sucker for romance... and let's say most Rare games have a lot of it. However, let's start with the usual.... lovey-dovey romance stuff.

Alright, first things first, we'll start with Conker. Conker and Berri are officially and canonically boyfriend and girlfriend. However, we never really saw 'em actually being kind to each other.... save for a throwaway line by Conker that was mostly to get himself out of a jam. However, they make an unlikely couple for sure. I mean, Conker is a normal red squirrel, and Berri is a chipmunk with dyed fur. And she's about thrice as tall as her boyfriend. I don't wanna know how those two.... ahem, have their business. Considering the game is rated M however, it's rather strange they didn't do so... I mean, really.

Alas, moving on! Let's go to the DK crew. As early as the first Donkey Kong Country, a girl by the name of Candy Kong was called DK's love interest. However, apart from the cartoons they didn't acknowledge each other as an item. And as today I still think that Candy takes more of a liking towards Funky as opposed to DK. However, in Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest we got introduced to Dixie Kong, Diddy's supposed girlfriend. They didn't really act very lovey-dovey either, but the love somehow was there. Mostly in fan-art, though..

Banjo-Kazooie wasn't about rescuing the main character's girlfriend... instead, his sister. Some people may argue that Banjo and Kazooie love each other in a romantic way, but I still don't know if it's platonic or romantic.

And as for Fox and Krystal... Welp, I haven't really got far enough in Star Fox Adventures... still haven't! So I don't know how they feel about each other. However, I somehow picture them having an Avatar-like relationship with each other later on, what with Krystal living on Dinosaur Planet, teehee.

And now for something completely different - platonic friendships! I'll be discussing Donkey Kong Country Returns' ending as well, so beware of spoilers!

Lakes, forests, and more lakes

One thing I find interesting about the Donkey Kong Country games, is how some levels, places, and characters really seem to derive from something else in real life. Some obvious, some not so much, some intentional, but all of it really makes me like the games even more.

Say, since Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble!'s overworld, the Northern Kremisphere, was based on Europe, I saw a some similarities on my holiday to France.

Lake Orangatanga - Lac de Ste Croix

A few years ago I went on holiday to Bauduen, France with my parents and some friends. Near us was a lake named Lac de Ste Croix. In person it really bears a lot of resemblance to the lake levels of Donkey Kong Country 3. Well, a lot is an understatement - it is nearly identical, save for the lack of boardwalks. I almost expected running into some Kremlings there.... None of that however - instead I, random as it may seem, ran into one of my classmates. Heh!

My apologies for this short post. I will post more like these similarities once I see some.