Swanky Kong

Swanky Kong, spelled Swankey Kong on one occasion, is a member of the Kong Family and a flashy entrepreneur. He makes his first appearance in Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest and returns in Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble!. Aside from this, Swanky has only made cameo appearances in games not developed by Rare.

Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest
In Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest, Swanky hosts an optional game show at Swanky's Bonus Bonanza; here, he provides three quizzes to Diddy and Dixie Kong regarding the game's content, and he requires the Kongs to pay one, two, or three Banana Coins for the first, second, or third challenges, respectively. If Diddy and Dixie answer every question of a quiz correctly, Swanky rewards them extra lives: a Red Balloon for completing the first challenge, a Green Balloon for completing the second challenge, and a Blue Balloon for completing the third challenge.

Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble!
In Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble!, Swanky hosts a circus tent called Swanky's Sideshow, where participants can compete in a ball-throwing contest for prizes. Only the upper half of his body is shown, as he is always shown to be inside of a barrel (including in his Dixie Kong's Photo Album photograph). However, Swanky's entire body is shown from his official artwork.

Dixie and Kiddy can pay a few Bear Coins to Swanky to compete in various throwing contests against Cranky Kong. If the Kongs can get a higher score than Cranky, then Swanky awards them with prizes, including bananas and bear coins. Like the prequel, Swanky's role is optional and is unrelated to the main storyline.

Donkey Kong Country 2 (Game Boy Advance)
In Donkey Kong Country 2 for the Game Boy Advance, Candy Kong appears as Swanky's assistant at his location, now having the shorter name Bonus Bonanza. Swanky's role is no longer optional because the Kongs have to complete all three quizzes of a world in exchange for a Video Game Hero Coin. If Diddy and Dixie complete every quiz, Swanky provides them with a photograph of himself.

Aside from this, Swanky has an additional role of charging Diddy and Dixie ten Banana Coins if they want to rematch a boss, during which a timer is displayed at the top-center of the screen. Swanky rewards the Kongs with prizes based on how quickly they defeated the boss.

Donkey Kong Country 3 (Game Boy Advance)
In Donkey Kong Country 3 for the Game Boy Advance, Swanky hosts a different location, Swanky's Dash. He allows Dixie to compete in a virtual reality-type minigame that involves her collecting stars on a rotating landscape. Swanky does not allow any minors, specifically Kiddy, to participate in the challenge. Swanky's sprites are reused directly from Donkey Kong Country 2's Game Boy Advance remake, instead of him wearing the same outfit as in the original Super Nintendo Entertainment System version. When the Kongs win at his first challenge, Swanky rewards them with a Banana Bird and a DK Coin.

Donkey Konga 2
Swanky Kong makes a few cameos in Donkey Konga 2. In Freestyle Zone, both his artwork from Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest and Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble! sometimes appear on-screen while the player drums. Swanky is also one of the selectable badges after finishing a song or in the Match That Badge! challenge. His badge is not featured in the Japanese version, which instead has a badge of a regular human.

Mario Superstar Baseball
Swanky's tent from Donkey Kong Country 3 makes a cameo appearance in the Donkey Kong Jungle in Mario Superstar Baseball. Swanky's Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble! artwork appears on a wooden billboard.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
Swanky Kong appears in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate as a support spirit, which depicts his original artwork from Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest. The battle to unlock the spirit involves battling Donkey Kong, who is easily distracted by items.

The Super Mario Bros. Movie
Swanky Kong can be seen in the audience behind Donkey Kong on a The Super Mario Bros. Movie poster. He is shown wearing his Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble! attire.

Physical appearance
In Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest, Swanky wears a blue coat and has an afro hairstyle. In Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble!, Swanky wears a fancy suit with a matching cane, his hair is covered by a bowler hat, and he appears to be much taller. His face resembles Donkey Kong's, especially in the latter game. In Donkey Kong Country 3 for the Game Boy Advance, Swanky instead uses his original appearance from Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest.

Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble!

 * Instruction booklet (page 16): His show’s on the road now. Play the throwing game to win top quality prizes.
 * Player's Guide (page 9): Swanky Kong is taking his flashy games on the road. Cough up two Bear coins and take a chance on your choice of three different games. If you're playing in two-player mode, you can compete against your teammate. But watch out if you're playing in one-player mode: there's a grumpy old ape running around hustling players for Bear Coins.

Rarewhere: DKC Trilogy Cast List
APPEARS IN: DKC 2, 3

''The second great entrepreneur of the Kong family alongside Funky, Swanky has aimed for a career in showbiz since being bitten by the game show bug further back than he can remember. His original Bonus Bonanza trivia quiz proved popular but led to allegations of favouritism regarding Dixie and Diddy, prompting Swanky to branch out and tour the surrounding lands with a new sideshow featuring a triumphant Cranky as defending champion. Despite his love of competition, Swanky is a generous soul and, true to tradition, never lets anyone walk away empty-handed.