Candy Kong

Candy Kong
Candy Kong in DK: Jungle Climber
Species	Kong
First appearance	Donkey Kong Country (1994)
Latest appearance	Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (spirit cameo) (2018)
Latest portrayal	Satsuki Tsuzumi (2007)

“Yoo-hoo, Honey Kong! Now's a good time to save where you've gotten to!”

—Candy Kong, Donkey Kong Country

Candy Kong is a character from the Donkey Kong franchise and the girlfriend of Donkey Kong. She first appeared in Donkey Kong Country, as the only female member of the Kongs. She is one of two recurring Kong characters who have not had a playable appearance, the other being Swanky Kong.

In most of her appearances, Candy hosts minigames for the Kongs to play, although she ran her own store in one of the games. She has also appeared in comics and in the Donkey Kong Country cartoon. An action figure of Candy was also released in Japan.

History

Donkey Kong Country series

Candy in Donkey Kong Country

Donkey Kong Country

In Donkey Kong Country, Candy manages the Candy's Save Point where she allows the player to save their game progress. Her Save Point appears in every world, and she also appears in the ending's Cast of Characters. The instruction booklet calls Candy Kong the "banana of Donkey Kong's eye" and mentions that everyone assumes they will marry one day, although it is Candy's opinion that he is not ready to settle down yet.

In the Game Boy Color and Game Boy Advance remakes, Candy no longer operates a Save Point, because the game progress can be saved from the world map. In the Game Boy Color version, Candy hosted Candy's Challenge, where the active Kong must complete a challenge for a Banana Coin. Her establishment was changed again in the Game Boy Advance remake, to Candy's Dance Studio, where she hosts a Dance Dance Revolution-type minigame in each world.

Donkey Kong Country 2

Candy makes a cameo appearance in the Game Boy Advance remake of Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest as Swanky's assistant at Swanky's Bonus Bonanza. She does not affect the gameplay and simply points out the option that Diddy and Dixie Kong walk to. She is later shown in Cranky's Hut during the ending "Cast of Characters" with the rest of the Kong Family. She is wearing a flower in her hair and a dress, which is purple at Swanky's Bonus Bonanza but white during the end credits.

Donkey Kong Country 3

Candy also appears in the Game Boy Advance remake of Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble! where she briefly appears in one of Funky Kong's minigames, Protect. In the minigame, she appears in the water along some other Kongs, and Dixie and Kiddy Kong have to protect her and the other Kongs from being taken away by the Kremlings with the help of their boat.

Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze

Although Candy Kong does not physically appear in Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze, her name appears in a mock Time Attack leaderboard on tab 18 of the electronic manual. She is ranked sixth in the leaderboard, above Lanky Kong and Tiny Kong.

Club Nintendo

Candy Kong made a brief appearance in the Club Nintendo comic "Donkey Kong Country". Like in the game of the same name, she was found at her Save Point, where Donkey and Diddy Kong decided to tell her about their journey. Candy, instead of letting Donkey and Diddy Kong "save" their progress, provides them with Squawks in order to make their journey easier. She is also briefly seen at the end of the comic "Donkey Kong in: Banana Day 24" from the same magazine, celebrating together with the other Kongs.

Donkey Kong Country television series

Candy Kong on the TV show

Template:Appeared In the Donkey Kong Country television series, Candy had been drastically changed from her in-game appearances, more so than any other character. On the show, Candy had a completely different personality with a particularly short temper. She appeared to be the sole employee at Bluster Barrelworks, where she seemed to be the quality inspector. Candy and Donkey Kong were also actively dating in the cartoons, much to the annoyance of her boss, Bluster Kong, who wanted Candy all to himself.

Candy has a robotic clone named Candy Clone, who was created by King K. Rool, and appeared in a few episodes.

Donkey Kong 64

Candy's appearance in Donkey Kong 64

Candy reappears in Donkey Kong 64, where she runs Candy's Music Shop, which is found in every area except Jungle Japes, Fungi Forest and Hideout Helm. Here, Candy sells the Kongs powerful musical instruments which can defeat foes and cause certain events to occur if used on a Music Pad. Candy also gives the Kongs an extra watermelon on two occasions, increasing the amount of damage the Kongs can sustain. A picture of Candy Kong also appears behind the hammock in DK's Tree House.

In the ending after Chunky Kong defeats King K. Rool, Candy appears and distracts King K. Rool with her beauty, which is surprising considering that K. Rool hates the Kongs. While she does this, Funky Kong appears from behind and shoots him with a gun loaded with a big shoe, which sends him to where K. Lumsy is located. She also appears in the two endings where she is seen riding K. Lumsy, alongside all the Kongs, and in the second one she is seen sitting outside of Donkey Kong's house. In the secret ending, she appears three times. The first time she is seen, she gasps and then laughs, and the second time she appears she only laughs. The third time she appears, she is seen posing with Tiny Kong and the Mermaid, as two Kritters are watching them; the Candy's Music Shop theme plays during this segment.

Super Mario-kun

Candy Kong appears in one chapter in volume 23 of the Super Mario-kun manga, where she sports her look from the Donkey Kong Country television series.

On December 31, 1999, Candy proposes a challenge to both DK and her boss Bluster Kong: she will go on a date with whoever brings her the "first sunrise of 2000". The two go on top of the snowy mountains to get the sunrise as soon as possible, but having to fight against K. Rool, they miss the sunrise, but find another way to satisfy Candy's conditions: shave themselves so that their shiny heads will replicate the sunrise. Disappointed, Candy states that she just wanted a picture.

Picross NP Vol. 8

Candy Kong's face with her Donkey Kong Country design appears in Picross NP Vol. 8 as one of the figures obtained by completing puzzles. When the puzzle is completed, she winks and kisses at the screen.

DK series

DK: King of Swing

Candy returns in the game DK: King of Swing. Despite having official artwork for the game, Candy only makes brief cameos in the game itself; she appears in the opening cutscene. She and Cranky Kong were the only Kongs who appeared but were not playable in this game.

DK: Jungle Climber

Candy reappears in the DS game DK: Jungle Climber, where she is shown in the opening cutscene with the other Kongs on their vacation to Sun Sun Island. She also hosts the minigames in the game, giving a brief description of each before they are played.

Donkey Kong Barrel Blast

Candy's Challenges in Donkey Kong Barrel Blast

Candy appears in Donkey Kong Barrel Blast, where she is the only non-playable Kong. Here she has her own mode, Candy's Challenges, in which she gives Donkey Kong different challenges to complete in order to unlock certain characters. She appears in the cutscene which is shown when the cursor passes over the Candy's Challenges options.

Super Smash Bros. series

Super Smash Bros. Brawl

Candy Kong appears in Super Smash Bros. Brawl as a trophy, obtained at random in one of the game's single-player modes.

Super Smash Bros. for 3DS / Super Smash Bros. for Wii U

Candy also has a trophy in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U and Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS. The trophy description mentions that Funky Kong has a crush on her as well as Donkey Kong, something which is not mentioned in any of the other games.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

Candy Kong also makes an appearance in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate as an Advanced-class support spirit, reusing her DK: Jungle Climber artwork. Her spirit battle uses a red palette swap of Bayonetta equipped with a Banana Gun on Kongo Falls, with her spirit offering increased stats at critical health. In World of Light, the spirit is located in the DK Island sub-world of The Light Realm, specifically in the spot that represents Candy's Save Point on the Kongo Jungle map in Donkey Kong Country.

Super Mario Odyssey

A store named "Candy's Cafe" appears in New Donk City from Super Mario Odyssey.

Unused appearances

Diddy Kong Pilot

Candy Kong was apparently intended to be a playable character in later builds of the canceled spin-off game Diddy Kong Pilot. Some time after E3 2001, Candy was in the process of replacing Redneck Kong, and her placement in the sepia backdrop of the character selection menu is where Redneck was originally placed.

Candy makes a minor appearance in the main menu, in the animated icon for the "Dog Fights" mode, in which she is piloting a pink and white plane with a windshield. Candy also has a Dog Fights icon, although it is never loaded within the game, making it unused or yet to be implemented in the September 2001 build.

General information

Physical description

“You call this a body? I eat pretzels fatter than this!”

—Klump, The Big Switch-a-Roo

Candy Kong with her current appearance from DK: King of Swing

Candy Kong has blue eyes with three eyelashes on each, and blonde hair which is just beyond shoulder length. She is one of the two Kongs that use makeup, the other being Tiny Kong, with pink lipstick, purple (blue in DK: King of Swing) eye shadow and pink nail varnish. She has light brown fur and pale skin similar to most of the other Kongs, however lacks the exposed belly section. Her physique is fairly similar to Tiny's, being more human-like. Candy is also quite tall, being among the tallest of the Kong family.

Candy wears a pink vest top which is torn off part way to create a crop top. The top has her name on it in a white font with darker pink outlining. She also wears dark pink shorts with a purple belt and a gold ring buckle.

In her original appearance, her clothing consisted of a pink one-piece swimming suit and a pink bow with white dots. Her eye shadow was pink, and her hair was shoulder-length, had a short fringe with curls on the sides, similar to Dixie Kong's current hairstyle. She also lacked her pink nail polish in this game, but had an exposed belly section like the other Kongs, as well as a fully exposed neck. This appearance was also used for her cameo in the remake of Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble!

In the remake of Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest, her appearance remained mostly the same as the first game, but instead of her usual clothing, she wore a purple floor-length dress and a purple flower on the right side of her hair. She also had her modern purple eyeshadow, but lacked her pink lipstick.

In Donkey Kong 64, Candy had the same physical features as her future appearances, apart from the exposed neck and belly sections, but wore different clothing. She wore a pink crop top with her name written on it in purple writing and pink shorts with a black belt and silver buckle. Candy also wore pink and white trainers in this appearance, as well as a gold necklace. As she ran a music shop in the game, Candy wore a pair of blue headphones with a white "C" on either side, with the blue and gray attachment on the right of her belt.

Candy had an entirely different appearance in the cartoons, which differed more than that of any other Kong. On the show, Candy had ginger fur and slightly paler orange hair tied back with a turquoise headband. She had much smaller eyes with no eye shadow, and also lacked the fur on her upper face but had brown eyebrows instead. Her lipstick was closer to skin tone, and she lacked nail varnish in this appearance. She wore a white crop top and blue denim shorts with a black belt and square gold buckle, as well as a pair of turquoise sandals similar to Tiny Kong's. She also wore gold hoop earrings and a gold bangle on her right arm. This appearance is the one used for her appearance in the Super Mario-Kun manga.

Development

Early in the development of the original Donkey Kong Country game, the names "Blondie Kong" and "Honey Kong" were apparently considered as alternate names for Candy Kong. Candy Kong refers to Donkey Kong as "Honey Kong" in the first Donkey Kong Country game, perhaps as a reference to her rejected potential name.

During the development of Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest, there were worries that the relationship of Donkey Kong and Candy Kong would clash with the relationship of Diddy Kong and Dixie Kong and detract from the game's character and clarity, so it was decided to replace her. Wrinkly Kong effectively usurps her position, running the Kong Kollege.

Personality and traits

Candy Kong usually has a fairly easy going personality, and often uses affectionate terms to refer to the other Kongs, such as "Honey" and "Sugar", and is also seen blowing kisses in various appearances. Candy is also shown to have a keen interest in music and dance, as she owns a dance studio in the Donkey Kong Country remakes, and a music shop as well as wearing a pair of headphones and a cassette player in Donkey Kong 64. Her profile on the German Donkey Kong 64 website further reaffirms this, as well as suggesting that she puts a large amount of effort into her appearance and often trains at the fitness centre. She also is not above using her looks to her advantage, as demonstrated by her deliberately using her flirtatious nature on King K. Rool to distract him long enough for Funky Kong to deliver the coup de grace on the Kremling leader in the ending for Donkey Kong 64. Her personality was completely changed in the animated series, however, as she now had a much shorter temper and a stubbornness not usually seen in the games.

Relationships

Candy is shown to be on good terms with most of the Kong family and against the Kremlings. Candy Kong is usually mentioned in various official descriptions to be Donkey Kong's love interest, and often expresses this through the games by using affectionate terms to address him. The instruction booklet that came with Donkey Kong Country, her first appearance, stated that she is presumed to marry Donkey Kong someday and that she is the "banana of Donkey Kong's eye", but she does not think he is ready to settle down yet. In Donkey Kong 64, Candy has a big carpet with the form of a heart with Donkey Kong's face on it as well as a small picture of him, and in both Donkey Kong Country and Donkey Kong 64, Donkey Kong has a picture of her with hearts in his house. She is also shown to be actively dating him in the cartoons, though her Super Smash Bros. Brawl trophy description implies that their relationship is a rumor, and Donkey Kong is only stated to have a crush on her in her Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U trophy description. To explain Candy Kong's absence in later games, one official review of Donkey Kong Land 2 states that she broke up with Donkey Kong, although the Donkey Kong 64 manual suggests otherwise. Candy is additionally described as a "kissing cousin" on the Donkey Kong Country Game Boy Advance remake page on the Nintendo site.

In the cartoons, her boss Bluster Kong also appears to be in love with Candy Kong, though she does not show any of that interest back to him, and is often quite angry towards her boss. Bluster Kong is also shown to be very strict on Candy and often complains about her being late for work and other small things. Funky Kong is also stated to have a crush on Candy in her Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U trophy description; in the games, this is limited to hints such as him saying "Say hi to Candy for me!" at Funky's Flights in the first game.

Portrayals

• Joy Tanner - Donkey Kong Country television series
• Eveline Novakovic (1999-2002) - Donkey Kong 64 and Diddy Kong Pilot, where she also provides voice of Tiny Kong and Dixie Kong respectively.
• Satsuki Tsuzumi (2007) - Donkey Kong Barrel Blast and DK: Jungle Climber

Voice samples

Candy's giggle - Donkey Kong 64 (Eveline Fischer)

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List of game appearances

Title	Description	Release date	System/format
Donkey Kong Country	Non-playable character	North America: November 21, 1994	Super Nintendo Entertainment System
Donkey Kong 64	Non-playable character	North America: November 24, 1999	Nintendo 64
Picross NP Vol. 8	Cameo	Japan: June 1, 2000	Super Nintendo
Donkey Kong Country (remake)	Non-playable character	Europe: November 17, 2000	Game Boy Color
Diddy Kong Pilot (2001)	Playable character	Unreleased	Game Boy Advance
Donkey Kong Country (remake)	Non-playable character	North America: June 9, 2003	Game Boy Advance
Donkey Kong Country 2 (remake)	Cameo in Swanky's Bonus Bonanza	Europe: June 25, 2004	Game Boy Advance
DK: King of Swing	Non-playable character	Europe: February 4, 2005	Game Boy Advance
Donkey Kong Country 3 (remake)	Cameo in Funky's Rentals mini-game	Europe: November 4, 2005	Game Boy Advance
Donkey Kong Barrel Blast	Non-playable character	Japan: June 28, 2007	Wii
DK: Jungle Climber	Non-playable character	Japan: August 9, 2007	Nintendo DS
Super Smash Bros. Brawl	Cameo as trophy	Japan: January 31, 2008	Wii
Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U	Cameo as trophy	North America: November 21, 2014	Nintendo 3DS, Wii U
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate	Cameo as spirit	Worldwide: December 7, 2018	Nintendo Switch

Profiles and statistics

Donkey Kong Country

• Instruction booklet (page 26): "Candy Kong is the banana of Donkey Kong's eye, and one of his closest friends. Although everyone assumes that they will be married some day, Donkey Kong's just not ready to settle down yet (in Candy's opinion). Candy is also very fond of Dlddy, ard would pinch his little cheeks at every opportunity, if she had the frames of animation to do it! Donkey and Diddy will meet up with Candy often as they search for their missing bananas. When they do, Candy will give them a chance to save their progress through the game so far. All you have to do to save is jump into Candy's save barrel!"
• Player's Guide (page 9): "Donkey Kong’s “love interest,” Candy Kong, wants to help out and has taken the initiative to set up Save Points at strategic locations throughout the island. If DK and Diddy make a stop to chat with Candy, she’ll offer to save their progress. It’s a good idea to visit Candy whenever you complete a new stage."

Donkey Kong Jungle Action Special

• Page 18: "Candy Kong is the banana of Donkey Kong’s eye, and one of his closest friends. Although everyone assumes that they will get married some day, Donkey Kong’s just not ready to settle doen yet (in Candy’s opinion). Candy is also very fond of Diddy, and tends to pinch his little cheeks at every opportunity. Needless to say this drives the little guy crazy; he wants to be taken seriously. Candy is thrifty and saves everything she thinks might come in useful one day."

Rarewhere: DKC Trilogy Cast List

APPEARS IN: DKC 1

DK's sweetheart since early apehood and his possible future wife - though Candy takes this undying adoration in her stride, hoping he'll overcome his endless enthusiasm for adventure and general lack of table manners before even attempting to settle down. But she does have a great deal of affection for DK and his whole family, particularly Diddy and even, on occasion, miserable old Cranky, who no doubt has some choice comments to make about her dress sense when she's not around. Candy ran the Save Points in the original DKC before Wrinkly opened the doors of Kong Kollege to the public, leaving her free to return to far more worthwile^[sic] pastimes like shopping and all-day sunbathing.

Donkey Kong 64

• Instruction booklet bio from Professor Cranky Kong (page 9): "That darn Donkey has all the luck! His girl Candy waits around in her hut, always willing to offer her musical help to that undeserving son of mine and his fancy polygonal friends. Pah!"
• Player's Guide (page 7): "Combining her two chief loves—music and money—Candy offers to sell musical instruments to the Kongs. It’s too bad she doesn’t give them lessons. If they play on the right Music Pads, however, the Kongs can trigger something special, such as the opening of a hidden door. The music scares away groups of enemies, all for the price of just one Headphone. As an added bonus, Candy offers her chums upgrades including extra melons and more Music Energy."
• Prima Games guide (page 13): "This alluring ape is Donkey Kong's girlfriend. She's got a musical ear and a shop full of devastating instruments. Tunes from Candy's wares will knock out every Kremling in earshot. Visit her in each level. She, too, offers upgrades as the game goes on. And she'll recharge your instrument's power if you step inside her shop."
• German website: "Everything that Tiny dreams of has come true for Candy. With her long legs, her sweet pouting lips and her silky blond hair, she makes every ape heart beat faster. But she really puts a lot of effort into her beauty. Hours of training sessions in the fitness center are an integral part of her daily schedule. Apart from that she also has considerable musical talent. The Kongs can get various musical instruments from her. After short instruction by Candy they play these with such virtuosity that they literally knock over a Kremling once in a while."
  "Played on special boards, the instruments develop an even greater effect. Gates open, complex mechanisms are set in motion, and even the biggest sleepyhead is catapulted from dreamland. A visit with Candy is always worthwhile, because she always recharges the power of the musical instruments absolutely free of charge, and treats her visitors to an extension for the melon strip once in a while, too."

Donkey Kong Country (Game Boy Color)

• Instruction booklet (page 14): "Candy Kong is the banana of Donkey Kong’s eye. She’ll send DK and Diddy to bonus areas where they’ll have a chance to find extra Multiplayer games."

Donkey Kong Country (Game Boy Advance)

• Instruction booklet (page 19): "Candy Kong is the banana of Donkey Kong's eye. She'll send DK and Diddy to her bonus areas where they'll be challenged to dance for extra items and rewards."
• Player's Guide (page 9): "Candy Kong likes to dance almost as much as she likes a certain heroic ape. Candy has set up a dance studio in each region. You can access her dancing challenges at any of the studios or by choosing Extra from the main menu. Dance with Candy to win prizes like bananas and cameras. Each region’s dance challenges are tougher than the last region’s."
• Prima Games guide (page 12): "Clad in a leotard and waiting for your arrival with a tapping toe, Candy Kong offers you sanctuary in her hut that doubles as a dance studio. Here (in one of the six different places) she allows you to groove with her, and if you're particularly good at keeping time to the beat, you're rewarded with items. Pay her a visit, and practice those twinkle-toed steps!"

Super Smash Bros. series

In Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Candy Kong's trophy claims that her relationship with Donkey Kong is rumored rather than confirmed, contrary to previous statements from Rare. Similarly, her Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U trophy implies that Donkey Kong's crush on her is unrequited.

Super Smash Bros. Brawl trophy

Name	Image	Appearance(s)	Description
Candy Kong		SNES Donkey Kong Country N64 Donkey Kong 64	Donkey Kong's rumored girlfriend--although nobody is quite sure if the rumor is true. With Candy's looks and elegance, she would be quite the catch. There's a mode in Donkey Kong: Barrel Blast where Donkey Kong must compete according to Candy's requests. Candy is also known to have run a music shop.

Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U trophy

Name	3DS Image	Wii U Image	Appears in	NTSC-U Description	PAL Description
Candy Kong			SNES Donkey Kong Country (11/1994) N64 Donkey Kong 64 (11/1999)	It's no surprise she catches the eyes of Donkey Kong and Funky Kong. Just by glancing at them, she makes guys wonder if she likes them. You probably best remember her as the helpful lady who runs Candy's Save Point in Donkey Kong Country.	You might remember Candy helping you save your game back in Donkey Kong Country. Both Donkey Kong and Funky Kong have just a little bit of a crush on her. Maybe one day, she'll notice one of them, and... Well, we're not writing a romantic novel here. Good luck to them both, though!

Blue indicates exclusive to the Wii U version.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate spirit

Name	Image	Game	Type	Class	Effect	How to obtain	Spirit battle
							Opponents	Battle conditions	Stage	Song
Candy Kong		Donkey Kong Series	Support (1)	Advanced	Critical-Health Stats ↑	World of Light (DK Island); Spirit Board	Bayonetta	Rule: Item: Bananas The enemy starts the battle with a Banana Gun The enemy has increased move speed	Kongo Falls	Mangrove Cove

Gallery

For this subject's image gallery, see Gallery:Candy Kong.

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  Donkey Kong Country

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  Donkey Kong 64

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  DK: King of Swing

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  Donkey Kong Barrel Blast

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  DK: Jungle Climber

Quotes

Main article: List of Candy Kong quotes

• "Hi, I'm Candy Kong and this is my Save Point!" - Donkey Kong Country
• "If you want to save your current game, just jump into my spinning save barrel!" - Donkey Kong Country
• "Hello guys, got anything worth saving?" - Donkey Kong Country
• "Well, hello, Donkey. You just take it easy and let Candy tell you how she's gonna make you feel real good. Why, for just a few little old coins, you can have my musical instruments and extra Melons too." - Donkey Kong 64
• "Welcome back! You did a great job with my challenges!" - Donkey Kong Barrel Blast

Names in other languages

Language	Name	Meaning	Notes
Japanese	キャンディーコング[?] Kyandī Kongu	Candy Kong
German	Candy Kong[?]	-
Italian	Candy Kong[?]	-
Russian	Кэнди Конг[?] Kaendi Kong	Candy Kong