Developed by Rare and published by Nintendo,
Donkey Kong Country was one of Nintendo's most popular titles during the 16-Bit era. The game was a technical marvel at the time with some very realistic graphics, tight controls, proper level design, and a brilliant soundtrack by composer David Wise.
Donkey Kong Country's main villain was a huge crocodile named King K. Rool, who has been getting a lot of attention lately as he's finally been added to the Super Smash Bros. Ultimate roster after years of fans clamouring for Donkey Kong's main nemesis to join the series.
Today, King K. Rool is getting a different kind of attention as new concept art featuring him and his minions—the Kremlins—have been unearthed by
Donkey Kong Country and
Battletoads designer Gregg Mayles. According to Mayles, this concept art show some very early designs of Krudd, King K. Rool's name in early stages of the game's development—as well as the military theme that was later scrapped.
The original
Donkey Kong Country came out for the Super Nintendo in 1994 and it is pretty amazing that we are still getting concept art for the game, although the
Donkey Kong Country franchise has recently been handled by Retro Studios after Nintendo and Rare parted ways.