DK West is a famous rapper and Zuke's older brother, who is a reoccurring boss in No Straight Roads.
Appearance
DK West is a green-skinned burly man who has closed eyes, and various intricate designs of henna around his arms and body. Some of his ginger-red dreadlocks are tied into a large ponytail-bun hybrid, while the rest hang low pass his shoulders.
Personality
DK West has the personality of someone who simply lets life roll by as it is. He finds politics incredibly boring and prefers to just enjoy things as they come. Because of this laid back attitude, it tends to make him look lazy. This is alluded to in his first rap battle against Zuke, with long pauses between verses and losing his cool mid-battle, also suggesting that his long time away from the limelight has made him rusty.
He seems to have a problem taking responsibility for his own mistakes and failures, including gaslighting his own brother into believing it's his own fault. Despite this, it's clear that he is highly emotional and somewhere inside him has the capacity to recognize when a situation has gone bad. He never actively speaks against the revolution of BBJ because of this.
Relationships
Tatiana
It's implied by the second battle that West was far more aggressive with NSR at some point, Tatiana especially for her dislike of non EDM music as well as wrecking his car. He gave her the Horn of Mending should she ever want to apologize for her mistakes.
In the years that followed, West stopped caring about the politics of NSR, and so initially isn't interested in dealing with the growing threat of Bunk Bed Junction until Tatiana mentions that Zuke is one of the pair.
Eve
It's stated in the initial battle between West and Zuke that West had feelings for Eve some time ago, but that these feelings were one sided due to Eve thinking West was creepy and sleazy. West believes that Zuke only found interest in her because he had been into her.
Bunk Bed Junction
DK West's entire relationship with Bunk Bed Junction is mostly focused on Zuke, as he admits to Tatiana that he doesn't care for the political strife or NSR's whole ordeal. Tatiana summons him with the Horn of Mending knowing this, and believes that West will be able to stop Bunk Bed Junction from continuing to wreck the other Artists.
Zuke
It's made clear from their rap battles that Zuke and West used to (and still, in many ways) care for each other, but Zuke's general anger about many situations and West's inability to take responsibility for his actions in order to maintain his "free and easy" lifestyle have caused them to drift apart. West legitimately doesn't seem to understand how much he's hurt Zuke until their second encounter, where Zuke denounces West and claims he's no longer his brother. But in the third encounter with some encouragement from Mayday, the West finds out that Zuke still looks up to him and cares for him.
Boss Fight
Unlike most of the battles in NSR, DK West's three different encounters are the closest to a traditional rhythm game. Controlling two colored hands representing Zuke and Mayday (or controlling one of the hands if playing two player), the player has to avoid the red enemies in the path by keeping to the rhythm of the song. The patterns become more precise in later encounters.
After the main dodging segments, DK West summons a shadow creature with two glowing hands. Using the same controls, you high five the two hands (which change positions) until the shape falls apart. You then wait until the next verse begins.
(Known Glitch: Supposedly, there are supposed to be healing items scattered about during parts of his battles, but many players (especially on Switch) are reporting that these aren't appearing. This can make Encounters 2 and especially 3 incredibly hard to have successful runs on. The developers have mentioned they are looking into this)
Story
Past
DK West and Zuke had once been incredibly close, and Zuke positively worshipped his brother. Things seemingly changed around college, where Zuke began to take his interests and life seriously while West was implied to be a bit of a "loser" type, not really caring about stuff like that and simply living on the free and easy. His relationship was further strained when Zuke began to date Nadia (the real name of Tatiana's right hand Eve), and he believed that Zuke only liked her because he had been into her.
Zuke became far more popular than he was, and so the brothers grew distant. It's also implied that West sold off some of Zuke's possessions. Even when Zuke tried to contact him, often West wouldn't reply to his messages. After a run-in with some NSR supporters who wrecked his car, West decided to leave Vinyl City, giving Tatiana the Horn of Mending should she ever want to apologize.
Synopsis
No Straight Roads
After Sayu is defeated by Bunk Bed Junction, Tatiana finally recognizes that her artists might not be enough to deal with their budding revolution, and decides at this time to blow the Horn of Mending. West returns to Vinyl City expecting her apology for the past, but instead she asks him to deal with the current situation.
West would likely have left, as it's stated by him and Zuke later that he finds politics incredibly tiresome, until Tatiana mentions that Zuke is the drummer for Bunk Bed Junction. Recognizing this as a perfect chance to finally show that he's superior to Zuke, he decides to help.
Etymology
- DK West's name originates from dikir barat, a form of music that obtains vocal performance in competitive environments. His musical genre of rap fits with the dikir barat musical type.
Trivia
- DK West is the only boss character to not be affiliated with NSR, because his genre is rap.
- The very first appearance of DK West is in No Straight Roads European PS4 jacket, located at the bottom left. His full appearance and name had not yet been revealed, until in Level Up 2019.
- West was going to speak English according to the Level Up 2019 trailer, but the finalized game had him speaking Bahasa Malaysia with a few English words sprinkled about, as well as his rapping behind in English.
- Despite this, his lips still sync with his English dialogue.
- DK West is the only boss to have 3 encounters.
- The ending scenes after the first and second encounter is a reference to the "To Be Continued" format and meme associated with the anime Jojo's Bizarre Adventure, complete with the sepia freezeframe and an arrow at the bottom corner with the words "To Be Continued" on it.
- The collectible the player gets after completing DK West's first encounter, the Bull Wayang Kulit, is a reference to the wayang kulit style of shadow puppet theater native to Indonesia but known throughout many parts of Asia.
- DK West's earliest sketch so far is a vivid similarity towards Zuke and has a wolf shadow puppet instead of a bull.
Gallery
Concept Art
In-Game
References
| No Straight Roads + Encore Edition | |
|---|---|
| Characters | |
| Bunk Bed Junction | Mayday • Zuke |
| NSR | Tatiana • DJ Subatomic Supernova • Sayu (Remi • Tila • Dodo • Sofa) • Yinu • 1010 (Neon J.) • Eve |
| Other Antagonists | DK West • Yinu's Mother |
| Supporting Characters | Ellie • Kliff • Gigi • Zam • Barbara • Mia • Aunty • Zed • Azma • Dash • Joey • Robot • Retdex • Timmy • Captain Torpedo • Daphne & Jan • Amal the Unicorn • Kayane • Yiruk • Celine |
| Background Characters | Yinu's Father • Chef Sunshine • Mystery Man |
| Vinyl City | |
| Districts | Cast Tech • Akusuka • Natura • Metro Division • Dream Fever |
| Locations | The Sewers • Festival Plaza • Club Planetarium • Kura Kura Stream Hub • Natura Concert Hall • Barraca Mansion • Evenfall Gallery • NSR Tower |
| Mechanics | |
| Items | Qwasa • Grand Qwasa • Stickers • Mods • Collectibles |
| Music | Vs. DJ SUBATOMIC SUPERNOVA • Vs. SAYU • DK West Encounter 1 • Vs. YINU • Vs. 1010 • Vs. EVE • Vs. TATIANA • DK West Encounter 2 • DK West Encounter 3 |