Retro|Spective 044R: Donkey Kong Country

[Neon Ignition]

A brief respite and on with another two franchises, one a long journey with the other being a short snack of one.



Donkey Kong Country
"Oo-oo-aa-ah!"


Game 01 - Donkey Kong Country
Though Donkey Kong had a long history pre-dating this game, here we're focusing specifically on the arm of the franchise that set things away from Mario, the character as he became to be known once Rare overhauled him for their platformer that wowed gamers with its visuals pulled from the modest power of the Super NES. Introducing Diddy Kong and the threat of the Kremlins, the game was a 2D platformer using the rendered visuals Rare was known for over several years in the 90's. It was a big hit receiving multiple rereleases and a port to GBA.









What did you make of Rare's SNES wonder?

[tokyochojin]

Never had a SNES but the kid down the same street did and I remember us watching the VHS Nintendo sent out before the release of this game. Our minds were blown at the graphics. They really looked next level at the time.

[Nu-Eclipse]

Ultimately wasn't as good as Super Mario World but still a fine game in its own right.

Still the best of the SNES DKC Trilogy and it isn't close IMO.

[Asura]

Wasn't a fan, and I've since never been a fan of this entire subfranchise (including the more recent DK platformers).

I was never all that enamoured with the pre-rendered 3D visuals; I remember other games from the time which tried to do this and I was similarly not feeling it, though it's fair to say that of this trend, DKC was almost certainly the best example. I just always found the appearance overly "busy".

[Atticus]

I always liked the look of the chunky visuals but never enough to buy it. Not my cuppa tea this one.

[Neon Ignition]

There's something about the tone of the original that I really like, it skews on the fringe of Nintendo-feel, and still plays well though for me it's an easy second placer to what followed it

[Neon Ignition]

Game 02 - Donkey Kong Land
Made for the Game Boy, this portable entry recreated the gameplay of the first game along with as much of the visual style as the handheld could manage but delivered different levels and story to the original. Across four worlds, players tackled familiar faces as well as new ones and four new bosses as well.







How did this measure up to Country?

[Neon Ignition]

I've played this entry but if I'm being honest it didn't make much of an impression. It's visually good for the hardware but despite the original elements it never felt distinct enough to warrant much note

[Cepp]

Love DKC, still super fun to play and I love the pre-rendered look of everything.

[Neon Ignition]

Game 03 - Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest
Released the very next year to the original, Rare knocked out a sequel that replaced Donkey Kong with Dixie and refined the visuals and platforming to produce one of the SNES's most well recieved and popular platformers. From pirate ships to fairgrounds and honey hives, the game would go on to become the sixth highest selling title on the system.






The Quest to Peak DKC Complete?

[Neon Ignition]

For me DKC2 is by far and away the best entry, it is just more but with better visuals and variety and a better sense progression etc. Other than at the time having the slightest disappointment that DK himself had been booted out, that the game even existed so close to the original as well... well, Rare's finest 16 bit hour.

[Neon Ignition]

Game 04 - Donkey Kong Land 2
Thanks to its earlier US release this one sneaks in as the next release in the series. Like its predecessor, the game recreated the gameplay of the Country entry and borrowed a lot of elements. Level design was unique but perhaps less so with this entry leading to some criticism of the game as it ultimately meant that you had a portable but still inferior version.







Did you find it to be a (sea) worthy effort?

[Neon Ignition]

Game 05 - Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble!
The third and final entry in Rare's SNES era trilogy, the game continued the approach of removing the lead and promoted Dixie instead with Baby Kong becoming the new second character. Baby largely 'aped' Donkey Kong with a couple of differences in moveset whilst the game offered more platforming action. Though received well it arrived late in the systems life when the 3D era was fully sinking in and had a few more cut corners compared to the second game, relying on reused elements to a greater extent meaning that it has never been quite as well received.








How does the third in the trilogy stack up against the previous entries?

[dataDave]

DKC2 has some of the most fiendish level design in a 2D platformer. The music is equally as dramatic. It's my favourite as well, despite losing Donkey Kong as a playable character.

I'm surprised the audio isn't getting much more of a mention in here. DKC 1 and 2 have some of the best music the SNES has to offer.

[teddymeow]

Game 03 - Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest
Released the very next year to the original, Rare knocked out a sequel that replaced Donkey Kong with Dixie and refined the visuals and platforming to produce one of the SNES's most well recieved and popular platformers. From pirate ships to fairgrounds and honey hives, the game would go on to become the sixth highest selling title on the system.






The Quest to Peak DKC Complete?

Is this the one with the honey level? If so, absolute gold!!!