DKC Atlas Forum

[Flurryxvivo]

What's up Kongsters! Here's a more lore-based topic on DKC3 which has been stuck in my head for the last few hours. I never really payed that much attention to Baron K. Roolenstein's castle from DKC3, but now that I've spent some time thinking about it, I wonder how K. Rool built this huge castle.

Spoiler!

The manual for DKC3 states that this game only takes place several months after DKC2. Building a fancy castle like that in a few months seems impossible, especially since K. Rool lost a huge part of his Kremling army after Crocodile Isle sunk in DKC2. He may have gathered all Kobbles, Krumples, Re-Koils and all of the other DKC3 Kremlings and made them build the castle, with himself just being the architect who designed the castle, but even that seems unlikely. To debate that theory, we'd need to discuss what the Kremlings from DKC3 even are. They certainly look different from the Kremlings we saw in the first two games, but does that mean that the "K. Rool experimented on them" rumors are true or does that mean they're native to the Northern Kremisphere? I believe that the former is true. The game talks about KAOS like he's the new boss of the Kremlings, but at the end of the game you find out it's actually K. Rool who built KAOS. This means that the Kremlings are under K. Rool's command, and I don't believe some random Kremlings would just obey a self-proclaimed king of the Kremlings who lost everything while trying to beat DK twice. So, that leaves us with the question "Are the Kremisphere Kremlings capable of building a castle within a few months?". I think so. But that's kind of a boring theory if you ask me.

Baron K. Roolenstein also has ties to magic. He sealed the Banana Bird Queen away with a magic barrier, how can that be explained by science? Not to mention the eerie purple glow coming from the castle's windows. The questions is: What kind of spell just conjures a castle? Creating a barrier to trap someone seems easy enough to pull off for a rookie magician but summoning a huge castle that's perfectly suited for you? That doesn't seem plausible at all. Still, I think magic definitely played a role when it came to building this castle.

Of course, you could also say that the castle was there before K. Rool ever got to the Northern Kremisphere. Although this theory makes the most sense, it still doesn't sit right with me because of how perfect the castle seems for K. Rool. I mean, just take a look at this room:

Spoiler!

That little rounded wall where the curtain is, the scientific equipment, the usage of the color green. It all seems perfect for a Kremling inventor. However, he might have become an inventor because he stumbled across these machines inside the castle. Maybe the books from that bookcase on the right hold the answers to all of the technology there...

[Super Luigi!]

It's difficult to say, but I remember something stating that all of the Northern Kremisphere's Kremlings chose to follow K. Rool because he was their cousin. I don't know who built the castle, but Bazaar apparently cleared the entire world to see the sign posted outside that told him to keep out. Perhaps Poisonous Pipeline is a secret entrance inside? That's probably what the purple glow is. I've also never understood that render where Dixie and Kiddy are running away from the castle.

[Flurryxvivo]

Perhaps Poisonous Pipeline is a secret entrance inside? That's probably what the purple glow is.

That's definitely how the Kongs got into the castle, I can't imagine K. Rool just left the front door open for them. K. Rool probably dumped whatever chemicals he had into the pipes so nobody would be able to enter the castle through them, but the Kongs managed to do it anyway! I don't think that has anything to do with the purple glow though, since the purple glow is coming from a room near the top of the castle.

[WesternTanager794]

Secret lab for more diabolical inventions perhaps? Interesting aspect of the lore I've never thought about. I'll think about it and get back to you, flurry.

[Flurryxvivo]

I just noticed that in Kastle Kaos' main room there used to be a Frankenstein-esque table in the center of the room, attached to the ceiling by a couple of chains. Someone broke through the chains though and now the wooden board which served as the table is now lying on the floor in the background... perhaps this is how the Krumples (the burly blue Kremlings) came to be? Baron K. Roolenstein is really living up to his name.

Spoiler!

[WesternTanager794]

Maybe. But where is the table? But quite possibly.

[Super Luigi!]

The table is to the left of where K. Rool falls through the floor, and I wonder what that hole leads to as well. Perhaps is how he gets to the Knautilus?

[Flurryxvivo]

Perhaps is how he gets to the Knautilus?

That's definitely it. Consider this: In the official Donkey Kong Country 3 player's guide, it says that the Rocket Barrel found in Krematoa "fell from Baron K. Roolenstein's trash pile". How could it have fallen from Kastle Kaos into the sunken volcano Krematoa? The only explanation is the secret passage in K. Rool's room. Now that statement actually makes a lot more sense. Either that or K. Rool had a trash pile in Krematoa, but I doubt that since we only ever see him inside of the Knautilus in the center of Krematoa's lake. The submarine was probably a backup plan in case things didn't work out at Kastle Kaos. It's made obvious that K. Rool went there to hide from the Kongs, judging by his reaction to the Kongs loosening the Knautilus' anchor and therefore making it rise to the surface.

Speaking of Krematoa, it's interesting how it wasn't flooded even though it was hidden underwater for so long. Obviously Boomer survived in there, but more interestingly Wrinkly's cave system also connects to Krematoa, and since her cave would've gotten flooded if Krematoa got flooded that means it was dry inside Krematoa the whole time. This means that K. Rool didn't necessarily enter Krematoa with the Knautilus. He could've also found another way in, aka the secret pipeline from Kastle Kaos. All of this implies that Krematoa is somehow tied to magic, although Krematoa rising from the sea just by circling a few rocks on a boat has made this pretty clear too. I'm struggling to come up with a good theory on what Krematoa's real significance is though. What's the lore of this sunken volcano? Perhaps it's supposed to be a safe haven for the banana birds and their queen in case of an emergency?

[WesternTanager794]

Dang! This new lore would have been great to incorporate in my fanfiction!

[Super Luigi!]

Indeed, Tanager, and you might be right, Flurry. There aren't any banana birds in Krematoa, so that might mean something as well. Maybe the volcano was closed until it rose from the sea, which is why is wasn't flooded?

[WesternTanager794]

Who knows. How much credit do you give to it being Crocodile Isle? I can see that.

[Super Luigi!]

What if K. Rool became a scientist because he no longer had access to the Krocodile Kore, so then he wanted to research ways to still acquire its energy?

[Flurryxvivo]

Indeed, Tanager, and you might be right, Flurry. There aren't any banana birds in Krematoa, so that might mean something as well. Maybe the volcano was closed until it rose from the sea, which is why is wasn't flooded?

That's likely it, yeah.

What if K. Rool became a scientist because he no longer had access to the Krocodile Kore, so then he wanted to research ways to still acquire its energy?

Ooh, I like this theory. What if the Knautilus was intended to be used to explore the sunken Crocodile Isle and potentially rise it to the surface again? Krematoa was probably just used as a temporary hiding spot so no Kongs would interrupt K. Rool's plans...

[Super Luigi!]

We're likely thinking harder about this than Rare did, but I agree. Apparently, K. Rool already raised Crocodile Isle in Donkey Kong Land 2, but then it sank again. I'm not sure how canon the Land games are to the Country trilogy, however. After all, DKL3 was about a race to find the Lost World, which Dixie and Kiddy already did.

[Flurryxvivo]

I'm not sure how canon the Land games are to the Country trilogy, however. After all, DKL3 was about a race to find the Lost World, which Dixie and Kiddy already did.

Fair enough, but I like to think that the Lost World from DKL3 is referring to another hidden world somewhere in the Northern Kremisphere. It's questionable if the worlds from DKL3 are different places from the Northern Kremisphere, or if they're simply the same worlds but with different names. The Japanese name for Blackforest Plateau is simply "Kremwood Forest", which is kind of disappointing. In the end it doesn't really matter, since both options are likely. As for the previous two games... DKL's plot was really strange, but the game introduced some new stuff, so I like to think that the game isn't canon but the enemies and places do exist within the DKU. DKL2 is the same game as DKC2 without any real plot differences, so I don't think K. Rool raising Crocodile Isle and the repeated events are canon.

[WesternTanager794]

DKL was totally out of character for Cranky, though? Calling K.rool on the telephone for him to steal the banana hoard.

[Super Luigi!]

Both of them are the only characters with giant SNES controllers, however, so they're definitely working together even more than everyone else is.

[WesternTanager794]

I really like to think they play the SNES together. What would happen if Sterling Jarvis (DK), and Benedict Campbell (K.rool) did a duet together?

[Super Luigi!]

That would definitely be a masterful performance, and it's a shame that not many DKC3 elements were part of the show. Truthfully, besides Dixie and Klump's Kannon Kousins, there wasn't much DKC2 either. I never understood why K. Rool's base was in Chimp Caverns either, but it is funny.

[WesternTanager794]

I didn't realize that was Chimp Caverns1 I've been creating plotlines for a season 3 would you like to collaborate and come up with new episodes/

[Super Luigi!]

I could try to, although I'm not sure if my ideas would help.

[WesternTanager794]

I'll post my ideas for S3 ep1 soon. Now we return to the eternal question. Who was the lead architect/engineer of Kastle Kaos?

[Super Luigi!]

At this point, I say it was K. Rool, although I don't really know.

[WesternTanager794]

I say so. Since he was still working on everything. Rather than letting Snide the Snide work on it. There was a fanfiction writer of DKC on the atlas who thought Snide built everything in the kremling empire. I say that K.rool decided that it was better worth his time getting paid for showing up in cutscenes and in the final boss fight, and letting everybody else do everything knowing that Rareware would never let him win. So he figured, hey! I can do less work and get paid the same, and still end up with a great game! Plus, I have time to clap hands with Donkey Kong when a player gets 101% completion!

[Flurryxvivo]

I forgot to post this here, but I tweeted about this subject a few months ago and one of DKC3's developers actually responded to it! He pretty much confirmed that Kastle Kaos was K. Rool's mysterious "backup castle". I like the idea, since it exactly explains why DKC3 even takes place in the Northern Kremisphere in the first place.

https://x.com/WWWiiver/status/1742779231191326764?s=20

[Super Luigi!]

Thanks for letting us know.