Kyle's Gifts of Gaming Trivia Quiz

Answer: Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest

A sequel to the popular platformer "Donkey Kong Country", "DKC2" featured former sidekick Diddy Kong, the wily chimp, in the starring role, setting out to save Donkey Kong from the grasp of the evil King K. Rool, who'd imprisoned him in an airship on a tall island.

The game is also the first to feature Dixie Kong, a new sidekick with the ability to use her ponytail to hover/fly like a helicopter. Dixie would become the leading character in "Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie's Double Trouble", where she'd have Kiddy Kong as a sidekick.

Answer: Mario Kart 64

"Mario Kart 64", the unsurprisingly popular second game in the "Mario Kart" franchise, put eight characters behind the wheel on sixteen tracks for intense multiplayer action. With improved graphics over its SNES counterpart, the racer was one of a few on the N64 to strike it big; "Mario Kart" has since become one of the most popular spin-offs in the "Mario" canon, being released on nearly every Nintendo console and handheld since. Rainbow Road, a popular and lengthy end-game track, made its second appearance in "64".

Answer: Pokemon Yellow

While the earlier-released "Pokemon Red" and "Blue" gave you a choice between Bulbasaur, Charmander, and Squirtle as your starter Pokemon, "Pokemon Yellow" sought to mimic the adventure of Ash Ketchum on the popular anime TV show "Pokemon". As such, you had no choice-- you instantly started with a Pikachu who would follow you around the map and refuse to enter a Pokeball.

While this would prove difficult at the first gym (Brock's rock gym, of course), Pikachu could become a faithful companion and, further down the line, you could collect all three starters in different cities.

Answer: Donkey Kong 64

Donkey Kong had the help of Diddy, Tiny, Lanky, and Chunky, all with different powers and traits, in this major N64 platforming release and subsequent Game of the Year recipient, to retrieve the bananas stolen from his horde in "Donkey Kong 64", one of the later games made by Rare for Nintendo before their sell-off to Microsoft. Once again, King K. Rool had stepped in to steal something of value to the famous Kong.

This was the last major platformer in the "Donkey Kong" franchise until "Donkey Kong Country Returns" was developed for the Wii by Retro Studios.

Answer: Majora's Mask

A spiritual follow-up to "Ocarina of Time", "Majora's Mask" was a full-fledged adventure in the land of Termina, an expanse threatened by the impending end of the world. Why? Well, the moon planned to come crashing down in no less than three days. Using the Ocarina of Time, Link could travel back and forth through time to accomplish tasks, restarting his seventy-two hour clock long enough to make things right and stop the evil Majora's Mask. If not? Kaboom.

Answer: Luigi's Mansion

While most Nintendo consoles benefited from the early inclusion of a "Mario" game, Gamecube was the first to begin its line-up with Luigi in the starring role. "Luigi's Mansion" was the first major title on the console, becoming one of the most popular for Gamecube early on.

In the game, Mario had been captured by the Boos and placed into a painting in the basement of a haunted mansion. Luigi had to step in and clean up using Professor E. Gadd's modified vacuum to suck up ghouls. A sequel, "Luigi's Mansion: Dark Days", was released on the Nintendo 3DS in 2013, twelve years after the original, to overwhelmingly positive reviews.

Answer: Metroid Prime

"Metroid Prime", the first game by Retro Studios, became Game of the Year for Nintendo after its 2002 release and was Samus' first major game since the days of the SNES. A full-fledged, first-person shooter/platformer for the Gamecube, it was certainly a fish out of water in terms of content and style, but it became one of the most famous games on the console. "Metroid Prime" was followed by a sequel, "Echoes", on the Gamecube, and "Corruption" on the Wii.

It was also remade to utilize Wii motion controls in 2009.

Answer: Pikmin

"Pikmin" was a unique game. Setting out on an alien planet as the unfortunate Captain Olimar, you needed to collect the pieces of your ship to get home. To do this, however, you needed to employ the subservient beings known as Pikmin, scattered around the land with their onion spaceships, so that they could do the work for you.

The game was popular enough to warrant a sequel on the Gamecube and a third game was made on the Wii U in 2013. Olimar became a flagship character for Nintendo, appearing in "Super Smash Bros.'" third installment.

Answer: Red Steel

Although "Red Steel" was criticized for its early flaws, particularly with the sensitivity of its motion controls, the game was an ambitiously mature title for the groundbreaking console, being the first to combine swordplay and gunplay from launch (along with "Twilight Princess'" sword work).

Despite the technical glitches, the game got the sequel treatment a couple years later when the Wii Motion Plus add-on was introduced, enhancing the realism of the motion controls in the Wii Remote.

Answer: A Boy and His Blob

An utterly charming title based on the NES title of the same name, "A Boy and His Blob" paired up none other than a young boy with a few basic skills (move, jump, toss food, etc.) and an amorphous, white blob. The key was jellybeans. When boy tossed specific colours of jellybeans, blob would reform himself to create a shape necessary for their success, whether that be a cannon, a ball, a ladder, or otherwise. Collecting treasure chests and defeating dark bosses, the duo could defeat the evil Emperor of Blobolonia, and bond I guess.