Which developer made Donkey Kong: Barrel Blast?

Paon developed Donkey Kong: Barrel Blast, the Donkey Kong racing game released for the Wii.

The game began as a GameCube project called DK: Bongo Blast, designed around Nintendo’s DK Bongos peripheral. When development moved to the Wii, Paon adapted the concept for Wii Remote and Nunchuk motion controls, and the game was released in 2007 as Donkey Kong: Barrel Blast.

Paon was already familiar with the franchise. The studio had developed DK: King of Swing for the Game Boy Advance in 2005 and DK: Jungle Climber for the Nintendo DS in 2007. Barrel Blast therefore formed part of Paon’s short but distinctive run of Donkey Kong spin-offs after Rare’s departure from Nintendo’s projects.

Players race as Kongs and Kremlings across themed courses, using motion controls to accelerate, jump, attack, and use items. It is easy to confuse Paon with Rare or Retro Studios, but those companies are associated with different eras and branches of the Donkey Kong series.