Ever since they started out together in the same arcade game in 1981, Mario and Donkey Kong have been intrinsically linked.  No matter how far each one progresses alone, the other still hovers in the background in some way.  Consider the recently announced Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze for the Nintendo Wii U, for instance.  In this Nintendo Developer Direct, Kensuke Tanabe explains how one of Donkey Kong's new moves in Tropical Freeze owes everything to Mario's ability to pluck vegetables from the ground and throw them at enemies in Super Mario Bros. 2.  Now Kong has the pluck-and-throw power, allowing him to grab items from underground and heave them at foes and switch triggers to move forward.  Tanabe should know the pedigree here; after all, he worked on Super Mario Bros. 2 in addition to Tropical Freeze.  He also touches on updates to the Kong family's character models, elaborates on Dixie Kong's presence in the game, explains where the inspiration for viking invaders originated, and teases a fourth playable character that remains unannounced.  Will Kiddy Kong from Donkey Kong Country 3 turn up?  Only time will tell.