Talk:Don Zunāna

I figured this creature should have its own article since it helps you progress through the level and even has an entry in the Donkey Kong Tropical Freeze Shogakukan guide, as you can see in this picture. The official name is unfortunately out of the frame, so if anybody has the book, please consult it and move the article to the proper name. And no, the fish is not mentioned in the Prima guide. -- KOOPA CON CARNE 15:58, January 5, 2020 (EST)

Name

Was the name of this article a random name pulled out of nowhere? Why was "Tim" the name given to this article? Nightwicked Bowser

It was a joke name originally used by DK Vine. Since we have to resort to a conjectural name anyway, there's not really any harm in keeping it. -- Too Bad! Waluigi Time! 10:49, December 3, 2020 (EST)

At least "Catfish" is better. Wynn Liaw 10:49, December 3, 2020 (EST)

I moved the article back to Tim for the following reasons:

1. The subject cannot be assigned a species. Catfish have a distinct flattened head and long, spindly barbels. Tim’s head is rounder with short barbels that barely hang above his open mouth. If anything, he is more similar to carp, specifically koi given the flamboyant pattern on his head. However, the barbel positioning still maintains some degree of differentiation between a real carp and Tim: a carp has them on the edges of its mouth, while Tim’s are closer to the middle. This may be written off as character stylisation, which has lush precedence in Retro-developed Donkey Kong games; to offer an example, Skittlers, spider enemies, are designed with six legs instead of eight. While it’s reasonable to think Tim was conceived as a stylised koi fish given the traits I’ve mentioned, his fictional minutiae still whitewash some of his koi appearance to the point that us calling him something made-up feels more suitable than a mundane label like “Koi” (or “Catfish”).
2. The name “Tim” seems to have already propagated quite a bit among Donkey Kong fans. To what degree that owes to Super Mario Wiki or the original labeller, DK Vine, is up for debate.
3. It’s a funny, affectionate name.

I think it goes without saying that, once the official name and species of this subject are derived from the above-mentioned game guide, we will duly update the article to reflect the discovery and replace “Tim” with whatever he/she/it is actually named in Japanese. -- KOOPA CON CARNE 12:10, April 11, 2021 (EDT)

I'm pretty sure conjectural names are supposed to be informative though, rather than borrowed from an unofficial vine. Nightwicked Bowser 14:11, April 11, 2021 (EDT)

I personally hate calling this "Tim." At least call it "giant cave fish" or something. Doc von Schmeltwick (talk) 14:21, April 11, 2021 (EDT)

”Amiss Abyss fish” is another option. I like Tim though. -- KOOPA CON CARNE 15:15, April 11, 2021 (EDT)

Per MarioWiki:Naming, "the name must be simple yet accurate". I don't think "Tim" is a particularly accurate name for the subject, especially if the name originated from a joke. Discussing the name before making another move is probably good idea, though if "Catfish" is inaccurate then I think it would be fair to move it to something else instead. BBQ Turtle (talk) 17:20, April 11, 2021 (EDT)

I guess this could use a proposal to decide which name to use. Nightwicked Bowser 17:47, April 11, 2021 (EDT)

How would a proposal play out? Do we turn each name mentioned here (Catfish, Koi, giant cave fish etc.) into an option? Do we come up with more? Koopa con Carne (talk) 17:54, April 11, 2021 (EDT)

No need for a proposal anymore: I now have a copy of the Shogakukan guide and its name is given as 「ドン・ズナーナ」 (Don Zunāna) on page 18. LinkTheLefty (talk) 09:50, April 25, 2021 (EDT)