DK had swag because he's a freakin' gorilla, and his girlfriend, Candy Kong, looks better than Princess Peach. He also have better sidekicks, like Diddy. Some like that kind of stuff over the "traditional" that Mario has. The DKC series tend to stick to the same formula without experimenting with new ideas each game like the Mario series. DK soon ventured out after the DKC, only to return to the original magic with DKC Returns.