Tutorial Pig | |
Tutorial Pig's artwork from the game Donkey Kong Country Returns for Wii. | |
Alias(es) | Professor Chops
|
Residence(s) | Donkey Kong Island |
Species | Pig |
Gender | Male |
Affiliation(s) | Kong Family |
Powers/Abilities | High intelligence, Giving tutorial for game controls in the background and foreground, Using stalls as checkpoint markers through levels, Summoning Super Kongs for the Super Guide mode (only in DKCR and DKCR 3D), Marking starting and finishing lines during the Time Attack mode |
Enemies | Tiki Tak Tribe, Snowmads |
Game(s) | Donkey Kong Country Returns, Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D, Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze |
First Appearance | Donkey Kong Country Returns (2010) |
Latest Appearance | Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze (for Switch) (2018) |
Tutorial Pig, also known as Professor Chops, and his family are supporting characters who live on the Donkey Kong Island and aid the Kong Family during some Donkey Kong series games. They first appeared in the games Donkey Kong Country Returns and Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D, as well as Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze.
Overview
In the games, Tutorial Pigs' stalls primarily act as multiple checkpoint markers through levels, allowing the player to keep their current progress after losing an extra life. This progress also includes collected K-O-N-G Letters. In the single player mode, only Donkey Kong will drop down back on the previous active checkpoint by losing one extra life, even if his assist Kong was present at the moment as both heroes were defeated, like by falling into a pit together. In the multiplayer mode, both players' Kongs will always drop down on the previous active checkpoint together by losing two extra lives, instead. However, if the player leaves a level early without clearing it, all current active checkpoints will be lost. In the checkpoint locations inside levels, Tutorial Pigs can be seen behind simple stalls, quietly waiting for the Kongs, staring at them as the heroes approach. As soon as the primates reach these stalls, the Tutorial Pigs will quickly jump brandishing white flags, while confetti is thrown, and disappear being the same stalls. These stalls will reveal a white banner displaying a green check mark, indicating that the checkpoint was activated. In the Mirror Mode of Donkey Kong Country Returns and Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D, Tutorial Pigs' stalls are still present as checkpoints. In the Hard Mode of Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze, there are no checkpoints.
Throughout some levels, Tutorial Pigs will also appear in the background and foreground and teach the player how to use the controls for certain actions and some features, such as the Rocket Barrel, via speech bubbles displaying images of the current Kong's face and button inputs (in the multiplayer mode, if two Kongs are present and the second player's Kong is dismounted, two separated speech bubbles will be shown at the same time for each character). Sometimes, it only will happen if the player takes too long to execute some action required to progress the games.
In Donkey Kong Country Returns and Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D, after the player in the single player mode loses eight extra lives, or five lives in the New Mode of the Nintendo 3DS game version, inside the same level, the Tutorial Pigs at checkpoints and the beginning of the current level will remain visible, even after the checkpoints have been activated, and the pigs will start to brandish white flags. If the Kongs go nearby any Tutorial Pig's stall, a speech bubble displaying a button prompt will appear for the player. By prompting it, the player will have the option of activating the Super Guide mode, where Donkey and Diddy Kong are replaced by the Super Kongs, white counterparts wearing blue clothes. In this mode, while the player watches, the Super Kongs will clear the current level, always from the beginning of it, allowing them to skip it entirely. However, any items obtained by the Super Kongs are not considered collected during this mode. The player can also to pause the game and take control over the Super Kongs at any moment. The Super Guide mode can also be activated to skip boss levels and Key Temples. The button prompts for activating the same mode can also appear in levels already cleared once. They will continue to be present even if the player leaves the current level, and returns to it later. And the same button prompts will disappear only after the player has cleared the current level once in the regular difficulty or Mirror Mode.
Tutorial Pigs also appear during the Time Attack mode, marking the starting and finishing lines for the Kongs. At the beginning of the levels, the Tutorial Pig will appear on a stall brandishing a green flag, while the pig shows a countdown timer of three seconds inside his speech bubbles, and Donkey Kong prepares himself for running. During the same timer, racing lights sounds can also be heard, and confetti will be thrown when it reaches zero. At the end of the levels, the Slot Machine Barrel's insignias are replaced by a single image of two checkered flags crossed. As soon as Donkey Kong touches the barrel, he will break it, revealing the Tutorial Pig brandishing a checkered flag. It will be quickly followed by a result screen revealing the player's current time record, the time limits for medals, and if they are able to earn any medal. In the same mode of Donkey Kong Country Returns and Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D, checkpoints are still present, but if the Kongs fall into pits or are defeated by enemies, the timer will keep running from the same point where the primates were before Donkey Kong dropping down alone back to the beginning of the level or previous active checkpoint. However, in the Time Attack mode of Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze, checkpoints are missing. If the heroes are defeated in any level during the Time Attack mode of the game, Donkey Kong will always return alone to the beginning of the current level, and the timer will be reset, restarting the current run automatically.
In the Lost Mangroves level Mangrove Cove of Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze, there is a room where multiple Tutorial Pigs can be found simultaneously. After the second checkpoint of the level, in the section with wooden crates, there is a flat platform under two large crates, just after a yellow plant. If the player destroys the two crates by the Kongs pounding on them, and then pounding on the flat platform below, they will reach to a secret underground room. This room resembles a bar with five Tutorial Pigs and a pile of banana bunches behind the counter. Soon after the primates touching the ground, the Tutorial Pigs will start to toss banana bunches for the heroes to collect. The player must quickly collect all fifteen banana bunches before any of them bounce off screen. If successful, the player will be rewarded with a Puzzle Piece.
Physical Appearance
Tutorial Pigs are pink pigs with very simple appearances. They have hooves for feet and hands, small, crunching teeth, and wear round glasses, hiting their high intelligence.
Gallery
Donkey Kong Country Returns and Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D
Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze
Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U
Trivia
- In an unlockable conceptual artwork from the games Donkey Kong Country Returns and Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D, the character is called "Tutorial Pig". But in a figurine randomly obtained from the Funky Kong's Fly 'N' Buy shop in the game Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze, the same character is now called "Professor Chops".
- In both versions of the game Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U, the character's trophy is called "Tutorial Pig". However, the North American trophy description in both versions also mentions the name "Professor Chops" as the preferred name by the character.[1]
- In the games Donkey Kong Country Returns and Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D, sometimes, when entering the Cranky Kong's Shop, Cranky will mention the Tutorial Pig by asking: "Who is that pig anyway? And why's he wearing glasses?".
- Initially, it was unclear if the Tutorial Pig was a single individual or multiple ones, considering how he is capable of quickly appearing on place after place, including his checkpoint stalls, through levels after the Kongs get nearby. The bar-like room from the game Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze, where five pigs appear at the same time (as mentioned in the Overview section above), confirms there are multiple Tutorial Pigs. However, despite the identical likeness between these characters, it is assumed that they are all members of the same family. The term "clone", sometimes used when referring to the other pigs of Tutorial Pig's family, does not necessarily mean clones at the literal sense. The term is used more to indicate the very close resemblance between all Tutorial Pigs.
- Tutorial Pigs' checkpoint stalls are functionally similar to Star Barrels in the original Donkey Kong Country game trilogy, and the games Donkey Kong Land 2 and Donkey Kong Land III. However, Star Barrels keep the player's progress in the current level even if they leave it early without clearing it, and usually, there is only a single Star Barrel in each regular level of the games mentioned. And if two Kongs are present when falling into a pit, both heroes will always return together to the current world map by losing only one extra life per time, even in the multiplayer modes.
- For always helping the Kongs through levels in the games, Tutorial Pigs could possibly be considered Animal Buddies of sorts.
- It can be speculated that the Tutorial Pigs are based off Troff, a large pig character from the game Donkey Kong 64 for Nintendo 64.
- It can also be speculated that the Tutorial Pigs are a homage to Kensuke Tanabe[2], long time game designer and producer in the Donkey Kong Country series, Super Mario Bros. series, Metroid Prime series, and other Nintendo's franchises.
References
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