I'm not going to review this game right now, but I want to throw out some thoughts about the game as I've read and have seen on Youtube and Twitch people bashing this game. I do agree that out of the SNES trilogy of Donkey Kong games that 3 is the weakest. However, that does not mean the game sucks by any stretch. So here comes a little list of things I've seen against this game and why I think they're wrong...
1.) The graphics suck compared to the first 2 games.
Okay let's take a look at that shall we.
Okay the image on the right is from Donkey Kong Country 3. The one on the left is from 2. All I can say is that yes, DKC 3 looks more cartoonish and the background of DKC 2 is much better looking than the one in DKC 3. That being said though, the graphics of DKC 3 look nowhere near bad. Cartoonish compared to the first two? Sure. Bad? No chance. DKC 3 I think still has some of the better graphics on the system despite not being "better" than the first two installments. Different yes! Bad no!
2.) The game is too easy.
While I do agree that this game could be the easiest of the three, I by no means agree that this game is "too easy". When comparing DKC 3 to DKC 2 it may seem like this game is very easy, but there are several levels that are more than problematic for one reason or another (I'll get into that in a minute). Compared to the first game, I'd say this game is perhaps slightly easier and I mean slightly if at all really. For example: The level "Poisonous Pipeline" sees the left and right directional buttons reversed only when the Kongs are swimming causing all kinds of confusion when trying to quickly jump out of water, dodge enemies, etc. Example 2.) "Lightning Look-out" sees players trying to dodge lightning that strikes pretty much anywhere on the screen. Not to mention there is water on this level and if you are in the water when the lightning strikes you're dead. Final example.)
In "Rocket Rush you are forced to collect fuel as you travel down a canyon. If you touch the walls however you can die. During your decent you need to collect fuel or you die. Once you reach the bottom you rocket up a canyon dodging ledges and what not that if you touch you can die. If you don't die, but touch the wall chances are you won't have enough fuel to make it to the top... and you'll die.
Yes all three of these examples are late in the game, but there are plenty of other challenging levels throughout that keep things interesting. Sure the difficulty may not stay high for any long stretch of levels, but when it gets cranked up, it's cranked up. Also, this game features the toughest boss battles of the series. DKC 1's bosses were all pretty simplistic in how to defeat them (mostly jumping on them). DKC 2's bosses were a bit tougher, a bit longer, and featured more than one phase during battle. Another cool addition was the addition of a boss that you had to fight as an animal buddy. In DKC 3, with the exception of the first boss, the bosses can all cause some trouble. I'm looking at this guy in particular.
Honestly Barbos (this guy^) gives me more trouble than the final boss in the game. So to say that this game is too easy is a bit ridiculous. I will say that the game tends to throw extra lives at you like they're nothing for like the first three worlds or so which makes the game feel more like a modern day side scroller (looks at New Super Mario Bros), but you will still find yourself dying a lot in this game (unless you're a pro at it of course).
3.) The animal buddies suck compared to the other games.
Okay let's take a look at the animal buddies from the three games. In Donkey Kong Country you have Rambi the rhino, Enguarde the swordfish, Expresso the ostrich, Winky the frog, and Squawks the parrot (in one level and only carries a light for you). The second game featured Rambi and Enguarde returning, Squitter the spider, Rattly the rattlesnake, and Squawks returned with the ability to shoot nuts at enemies. Glimmer the anglerfish and Clapper the seal both act as animal buddies that the Kongs do not ride or turn into but provide light in Glimmer's case and cools water in Clapper's. The third game features the return of Squitter, Enguarde, and Squawks. In addition to them, Ellie the elephant was brought in as a replacement for Rambi. Parry, a little bird, was added as a buddy that the Kongs can't ride or turn into, but can lead to an area to receive rewards.
DKC 3 features the return of Squitter, Enguarde, and Squawks. Those three animal buddies alone make the lineup of animal buddies pretty impressive as it was in DKC 2. Yes, they removed Rambi in what amounts to a stupid move, but Ellie is far from useless and the rest of the animals are all still really good! You can't possibly tell me that Rattly or Winky or even Expresso are better than Ellie. You can't tell me that the purple Squawks on DKC 3 that doesn't shoot nuts, but rather picks up barrels and drops them is worse than the purple Squawks of DCK 2 that literally just floats in a downward direction. Yes the loss of Rambi hurt. There was no reason they couldn't have just replaced Rattly with Rambi, but they didn't So while the loss of Rambi sucks, the animal buddies as a whole are right on par with the other games and certainly do not suck.
4.) The story sucks
Tell me which of the Donkey Kong Country games had a good story then? The first game's story was that King K. Rool stole a horde of bananas. There was no mention of the story throughout the game unless you beat a boss and regained a giant banana. DKC 2's plot was that Donkey Kong was kidnapped, but you didn't see any story until you actually reach Kaptain K. Rool. This game is pretty much the same. Diddy Kong and Donkey Kong are both kidnapped by Baron K. Roolenstein and outside of 1 boss that actually talks a bit, there is no mention of any story until you free the Kongs. So the story is not in your face... IT DOES NOT NEED TO BE! All three of these games operate in a way that there does not need to be a story being told as you go. The difficulty increases, the levels get more dangerous, you get the feeling that you are approaching ultimate victory. That's the story here. Just because it is not scrolling up the screen or being spoken does not mean it's not there. If you say this story sucks than the other two game's stories suck as well and ya know what? The story is probably the last thing that people play Donkey Kong Country for.
5.) Rare didn't care about this game.
This is a statement that is simply stupid. People say this game was rushed out. Remember folks, Donkey Kong Country 2 came out 1 year after the first. So to say that Rare rushed this game out and that's why it "sucks" doesn't make much sense considering the greatness that is 2. Did Rare put as much effort into this game as the other 2? Probably not as evidenced by the steps back in the backgrounds, overall charm, soundtrack, and difficulty in finding collectibles, etc. which are far easier to find all of in this game than either of the first two. Despite Rare not putting their best effort into the game, to say that Rare didn't care about this game is just silly. The Nintendo 64 was becoming a big deal (it was even in DKC 3) and the Super Nintendo's popularity was dropping so it's not all that surprising that Rare did not come out with a game that topped the previous two. However to say that Rare didn't care and this was a last attempt to milk the series is a little ridiculous.
6.) Kiddie Kong Sucks
Yes he does. However...
3.) The animal buddies suck compared to the other games.
Okay let's take a look at the animal buddies from the three games. In Donkey Kong Country you have Rambi the rhino, Enguarde the swordfish, Expresso the ostrich, Winky the frog, and Squawks the parrot (in one level and only carries a light for you). The second game featured Rambi and Enguarde returning, Squitter the spider, Rattly the rattlesnake, and Squawks returned with the ability to shoot nuts at enemies. Glimmer the anglerfish and Clapper the seal both act as animal buddies that the Kongs do not ride or turn into but provide light in Glimmer's case and cools water in Clapper's. The third game features the return of Squitter, Enguarde, and Squawks. In addition to them, Ellie the elephant was brought in as a replacement for Rambi. Parry, a little bird, was added as a buddy that the Kongs can't ride or turn into, but can lead to an area to receive rewards.
DKC 3 features the return of Squitter, Enguarde, and Squawks. Those three animal buddies alone make the lineup of animal buddies pretty impressive as it was in DKC 2. Yes, they removed Rambi in what amounts to a stupid move, but Ellie is far from useless and the rest of the animals are all still really good! You can't possibly tell me that Rattly or Winky or even Expresso are better than Ellie. You can't tell me that the purple Squawks on DKC 3 that doesn't shoot nuts, but rather picks up barrels and drops them is worse than the purple Squawks of DCK 2 that literally just floats in a downward direction. Yes the loss of Rambi hurt. There was no reason they couldn't have just replaced Rattly with Rambi, but they didn't So while the loss of Rambi sucks, the animal buddies as a whole are right on par with the other games and certainly do not suck.
4.) The story sucks
Tell me which of the Donkey Kong Country games had a good story then? The first game's story was that King K. Rool stole a horde of bananas. There was no mention of the story throughout the game unless you beat a boss and regained a giant banana. DKC 2's plot was that Donkey Kong was kidnapped, but you didn't see any story until you actually reach Kaptain K. Rool. This game is pretty much the same. Diddy Kong and Donkey Kong are both kidnapped by Baron K. Roolenstein and outside of 1 boss that actually talks a bit, there is no mention of any story until you free the Kongs. So the story is not in your face... IT DOES NOT NEED TO BE! All three of these games operate in a way that there does not need to be a story being told as you go. The difficulty increases, the levels get more dangerous, you get the feeling that you are approaching ultimate victory. That's the story here. Just because it is not scrolling up the screen or being spoken does not mean it's not there. If you say this story sucks than the other two game's stories suck as well and ya know what? The story is probably the last thing that people play Donkey Kong Country for.
5.) Rare didn't care about this game.
This is a statement that is simply stupid. People say this game was rushed out. Remember folks, Donkey Kong Country 2 came out 1 year after the first. So to say that Rare rushed this game out and that's why it "sucks" doesn't make much sense considering the greatness that is 2. Did Rare put as much effort into this game as the other 2? Probably not as evidenced by the steps back in the backgrounds, overall charm, soundtrack, and difficulty in finding collectibles, etc. which are far easier to find all of in this game than either of the first two. Despite Rare not putting their best effort into the game, to say that Rare didn't care about this game is just silly. The Nintendo 64 was becoming a big deal (it was even in DKC 3) and the Super Nintendo's popularity was dropping so it's not all that surprising that Rare did not come out with a game that topped the previous two. However to say that Rare didn't care and this was a last attempt to milk the series is a little ridiculous.
6.) Kiddie Kong Sucks
Yes he does. However...
This guy was not much better in Donkey Kong Country. Seriously people give Kiddie Kong so much crap for being slow, not being able to jump real far, and being a slow climber that they don't even realize that these are all the same exact things that held Donkey Kong down in the first game. The biggest differences between the two is how they hold barrels (DK above his head, Kiddie in front of him) and their special ability sort to speak. In the first game Donkey Kong can slap the ground to uncover hidden bananas, lives, and defeat some enemies. Kiddie Kong in DKC 3 is able to perform a water skip jump which proves to be very valuable and while controlling Dixie, can be used as a means of uncovering hidden items or as a steel barrel that Dixie can jump on and ride. In fact, I think the only thing that DK has over Kiddie is looks. I mean seriously, Kiddie looks extremely silly in comparison to any of the other Kongs in the Kong Klan.
So while he looks stupid, no he does not "suck" especially if you compare him to Donkey Kong. There is far more you can do with Kiddie.
7.) The trade sequence and banana birds suck
Okay I give Rare some credit for trying to add stuff into the game to spice things up a bit. I do. The trading sequence that takes place in this game revolves around a family of bears who you trade items to in return for other items or banana birds. Other than that it serves zero purpose. If you are not trying to 100% the game you can easily ignore it as there is no requirement to do it other than that. The same thing goes for the banana birds that are normally released from their crystal prison if the Kongs can basically play a game of Simon with the X,Y,A, and B buttons. All things considered the trading and banana birds are probably the worst parts of the game. They really probably are and that's not a horrible thing. Rare tried to do something different and while it works for the most part, it just isn't that fun to get an item from one bear and transfer it to another. At least the banana birds offer some kind of memory challenge. Still. To say a whole game sucks because of what amounts to optional content is really not a great claim at all.
Those are seven common complaints that I have seen about this game. In my honest opinion the game still does a whole lot more right than it does wrong. To say this game outright sucks is basically silly when the above complaints are the common ones. The game still flows wonderfully, the characters are still different and fun to play, and the controls are still excellent. Yes the graphics are cartoonish, but they're still really good. The soundtrack may not be as epic as either of the other games, but it too still has some good high points. Overall, yes I'd say that DKC 3 is the weakest of the three games, but not by much at all despite it coming out at the end of the SNES era. I'll eventually do an actual review of this game to bring more highlights of this game to light, so stay tuned for that.
As always, thank you all for reading! My next blog with be the third installment in the Kirby series: Kirby's Pinball Land!
7.) The trade sequence and banana birds suck
Okay I give Rare some credit for trying to add stuff into the game to spice things up a bit. I do. The trading sequence that takes place in this game revolves around a family of bears who you trade items to in return for other items or banana birds. Other than that it serves zero purpose. If you are not trying to 100% the game you can easily ignore it as there is no requirement to do it other than that. The same thing goes for the banana birds that are normally released from their crystal prison if the Kongs can basically play a game of Simon with the X,Y,A, and B buttons. All things considered the trading and banana birds are probably the worst parts of the game. They really probably are and that's not a horrible thing. Rare tried to do something different and while it works for the most part, it just isn't that fun to get an item from one bear and transfer it to another. At least the banana birds offer some kind of memory challenge. Still. To say a whole game sucks because of what amounts to optional content is really not a great claim at all.
Those are seven common complaints that I have seen about this game. In my honest opinion the game still does a whole lot more right than it does wrong. To say this game outright sucks is basically silly when the above complaints are the common ones. The game still flows wonderfully, the characters are still different and fun to play, and the controls are still excellent. Yes the graphics are cartoonish, but they're still really good. The soundtrack may not be as epic as either of the other games, but it too still has some good high points. Overall, yes I'd say that DKC 3 is the weakest of the three games, but not by much at all despite it coming out at the end of the SNES era. I'll eventually do an actual review of this game to bring more highlights of this game to light, so stay tuned for that.
As always, thank you all for reading! My next blog with be the third installment in the Kirby series: Kirby's Pinball Land!
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