10 Video Games You Didn't Know Were Connected

5. Donkey Kong/Banjo-Kazooie/Conker's Bad Fur Day

Ciri Cyperpunk
Nintendo/Rare

The connection between Nintendo and Rare's gaggle of goggle-eyed mascots might seem fairly obvious, though it runs much deeper than them once sharing a developer. As ecologically unlikely as it is, Donkey Kong and co. actually belong to the same world as Banjo and Conker.

You tend not to see apes, bears and squirrels mingling together outside really sh*t zoos, but that's the case in Rare's Diddy Kong Racing, where the future stars of two of the studio's biggest hits brum up alongside Donkey Kong's less popular pal. The tottering Tiptup also later appeared in Banjo-Kazooie, conducting a chorus of singing turtles. Honest.

Rare got the bear following their messy divorce from Nintendo - only he was no longer allowed to play with the Kongs anymore. When Diddy Kong Racing was re-released on the DS in 2007, Banjo and Conker were nowhere to be found, the starting grid instead being made up by extended members of the Kong family Dixie and Tiny. Oddly, Tiptup still made it - presumably because no-one cares about him.

Editorial Team
Editorial Team

Benjamin was born in 1987, and is still not dead. He variously enjoys classical music, old-school adventure games (they're not dead), and walks on the beach (albeit short - asthma, you know). He's currently trying to compile a comprehensive history of video game music, yet denies accusations that he purposefully targets niche audiences. He's often wrong about these things.