Donkey Kong Land turns 30 years old on November 18, and a video game archivist is celebrating the milestone with Share 3D scans for a series of rubber figures that were previously exclusive to Japan.
The archivist, known online as MrTalida, scanned these numbers and uploaded them to the Internet Archive so that people can 3D print themselves. The series features a number of Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong variants, as well as series antagonist King K. Rool and enemies such as Gnawty, Necky and a mine cart-riding Kremling. MrTalida even produced an adorable video promoting his efforts based on the Donkey Kong Land introduction.
Bandai, a common collectible at the time, produced these “keshi” figures – short for “keshigumo” or roughly “gum rubber” – in 1995 for gacha machines, the nominal precursors to video games like Genshin impact And Arknights. The closest analog we encountered here in the United States was probably Monster in My Pocket, a media franchise that emerged in the 1990s and feels like a fever dream today.
Video game preservation is a popular topic Today, MrTalida approaches the mission from a unique (and highly appreciated) angle. Are work This area also features keshi figures based on the Mario, Zelda, Metroid, Final Fantasy and Mega Man series.