Donkey Kong Country Returns is notable for introducing entirely new antagonists, the Tiki Tak Tribe led by Tiki Tong, instead of reusing King K. Rool and the Kremlings, who were the series' primary villains since Donkey Kong Country. According to the game's producer Kensuke Tanabe, he and Shigeru Miyamoto discussed early in development whether or not to bring K. Rool back, but they ultimately concluded that it was unnecessary, leading Tanabe to ask Retro Studios to create their own new antagonists. The game's senior designer Kynan Pearson claimed that this was done in an effort to differentiate the game from the previous Rare-developed Donkey Kong Country titles. King K. Rool and the Kremlings would eventually return years later as Spoiler:surprise final antagonists in Donkey Kong Bananza. Pearson felt that the character's return was bittersweet for him due to Nintendo's original mandate when he worked there, while also feeling that it allowed for K. Rool's appearance in the game's climax to be more effective.