Diddy Kong
The success of the game re-established the Donkey Kong series as a popular Nintendo franchise. Rare's redesign of the Donkey Kong character has been used in all future Nintendo games featuring him, including his appearances in the "Super Smash Bros." series and various "Mario" spinoff titles. "Donkey Kong Country" spawned two sequels for the SNES: ' was released in 1995 to critical and commercial success and ' debuted in 1996 as the SNES's lifespan came to a close. In addition to starring in "Donkey Kong Country 2", Diddy Kong featured in his own spin-off, "Diddy Kong Racing" (1997) for the Nintendo 64. "Diddy Kong Racing" received critical acclaim and became one of the console's bestselling games. Diddy also joined Donkey Kong as a "Super Smash Bros." character in "Super Smash Bros. Brawl" (2008), while King K. Rool debuted as a "Smash" character in "Super Smash Bros. Ultimate" (2018).