Donkey Kong Country Tropical Freeze Cranky Kong

There's been a lot of speculation regarding the reveal of several games during this year's Spike VGX awards show. Despite being filled with blockbuster games like Tom Clancy's The Division, Tales from the Borderlands, and much more, many gamers were interested to see what Nintendo had up its sleeve. For the first time in the award show's history, Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime appeared on the program with some allegedly big news.

Since this news was so hyped by both Nintendo and Spike, many gamers assumed they'd be in for a significant reveal. While dreams of a new The Legend of Zelda for Wii U or additional Super Smash Bros. information tantalizingly danced in fans' heads, Nintendo surprised everyone with instead offering an update on Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze.

Fils-Aime reconfirmed news that had previously leaked earlier in the week, officially unveiling that the eternally grumpy ape, Cranky Kong, will at long last be making a playable appearance in Tropical Freeze. While the old school Kong may look like a geriatric pushover, his move set will dramatically differ from the rest of the banana-consuming gang. For starters, Cranky is capable of bouncing on his cane in a very apparent homage to Scrooge McDuck in the classic Ducktales video game.

Players can also climb on Donkey Kong's back with Cranky and let the tie-wearing (and radically more popular) protagonist have access to the cane and its ability to bounce. Other characters will bestow other additional powers on Donkey Kong depending on their own abilities.

While the addition of Cranky is intriguing for those anticipating the forthcoming Donkey Kong Country, fans have been left wondering when the game will hit retailers after it was delayed earlier this year. Reggie took the opportunity to confirm that Tropical Freeze will be available across brick-and-mortar stores and the Wii U eShop starting on February 21, 2014.

Were you bummed by Nintendo's VGX 2013 reveal? Are you excited to play as Cranky Kong in Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze?

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