2014 marked the 20th anniversary of Donkey Kong Country. The game that started it all. The first time we got to see Donkey Kong really doing more than throwing barrels at a guy in overalls. The first time we'd see not as a villain, but as a hero. The first time we would ever see the character as the legend that he is now. My first experience with Donkey Kong Country was not my first experience with the franchise. Nonetheless, the game really blew me away. I can remember a young me grinding away at the first mine cart level, the first real challenge I encountered in the game. From there on I realized that I was in for one crazy game. I distinctly remember a few feeling while playing. Anytime I was without Diddy Kong I felt like I needed to slow it down a bit. Not because Donkey was just slower than Diddy or that I knew that one more hit would be the end, but for whatever reason and to this day, I just felt more comfortable with the smaller and faster guy. I remember the feelings of accomplishment each time I saw the characters do their level complete dance on stage. There was no high score or achievements and that was totally fine. I can remember finding an animal buddy and feeling a sense of security that I had a powerhouse at my disposal, only to see it run away the moment I got hit causing a wave of stress to hit me. Despite my love for the game and the challenge it brought, it would not be the first I finished. Despite not finishing it first, the game is my second favorite in the whole series.
Today I can beat this game in under an hour. That being said, it is still a blast for me. I never find myself getting bored and every time I play though, something new happens. Either I die in a random way or I find a new way to fly through a level. Whatever I'm doing in this game, I'm having fun and that is what matters most in a game. Many of people have risen up against this game and it's sequels. Why? I honestly couldn't tell you. Some say that the game is too challenging for what it is. Others say the graphics have not held up. Whelp personally I think those people are wrong on both fronts. First of all why does a 16 bit systems graphics have to hold up to the Wii U or Switch? Last of all, why is a games challenge now an issue? Pretty sure a game by the name of Shadow of the Colossus would like a word with anyone complaining about a game being too hard. If you have lived under a rock and never given the original Donkey Kong Country a try. Believe the hype, not the haters whom have recently risen against this series. Remember this is a Super Nintendo game and for it's time, it looks brilliant and plays better than most platformers today.
My first experience with Donkey Kong Land was actually from playing it at a friend's on my original Game Boy. My first impression was along the line of. "Wow, no matter how I adjust the contrast I just can't see.".
That was my reaction the first time playing. It was a headache. Other than not being able to see, the camera was way too zoomed in and me being used to Donkey Kong Country 1 and 2, ran into unseen enemies constantly. Seriously though, take a look at the image above. Even now it is difficult to really see DK on the screen. I was finally reintroduced to the game a couple years ago when I picked it up at a flea market. I got it just to have it, but with it looking like this on the Super Game Boy...
I was able to do far more with the game. I'd say the best system to play this on is the Game Boy Advance SP though. Moving on... This game I was surprised to see was not a port of Donkey Kong Country. Rather the game was filled with all new levels and enemies which was nice to see. It was also cool to see there be a bit of a story with Cranky egging the Kongs on to do the adventure on the colorless Game Boy. That being said the camera is still horrendous and the gameplay is slippery and leaps of faith occur almost constantly. If you are a fan of Donkey Kong Country, try it out, but do not expect the same experience as the original SNES game. If you are new to the series do not start here as it can be a big turn off. Still though, this game did a lot of cool original things that would be forgotten or expanded on as more Donkey Kong Land games came out.
Where oh where do I begin here? If you've lived under a rock reading this site at all, you may have missed that Donkey Kong Country 2 is one of, if not my favorite games of all time. That being said it was my first experience with a Donkey Kong game and it was the second title I got for my Super Nintendo (not counting the Super Game Boy here). This game beat me up, chewed me up, spat me out, and was nothing short of a battle. That being said it was the most entertaining and fun battle I've even played. This was the first Donkey Kong Country game I played, and it was the last one of the original trilogy that I actually beat. There were so many levels in the game that threw a young me for a loop. Bramble Scramble, Red Hot Ride, and Animal Antics are just three names that come to mind as the banes of my young gaming career's existence. So what can I say about the game. The music, gameplay, graphics, mood, speed, and virtually anything else I can think of is brilliantly done. I felt that way then, and I still feel that way today. So many little things about this game have always stood out for me that are just so creative and fun. As an example, the honey in levels such as Hornet Hole that stick the Kongs to the wall or floor is a prime example of something the young me simply did not see coming. The bosses, while not overly difficult, were so much stronger and better than the original game that I hadn't played yet. That being said it was a disappointment for me to experience the first game's boss battles after having beaten a few of this game's.
Outside of nit picking tiny, tiny things such as one last level before the showdown with K.Rool being awkwardly placed, I have never really been able to find anything wrong with this game. Sure a couple of the levels some may call a bit unfair ( Web Woods, and Animal Antics are two I hear people rage about constantly), and the true final battle with K. Rool isn't anything overly exciting (which after what happens following the first fight with him, it's not all that surprising), and I'll even list that some say the lack of DK as a playable character hurts the game. I can't really agree with any of the complaints. Sure there are brutal levels, but they are by no means unfair or unbeatable. Yes the final battle is basically one more round of the first fight but to not give away what happens at the end of said first fight I'll just say Rareware was more than justified doing it the way they did. Lastly, I think DK in this game would have hurt more than helped. Diddy and Dixie are designed in such a way that enables a real high pace in any direction. DK and for that sake Kiddy Kong from DKC3 would have drastically changed the game with their slower pace and larger bodies. Not to mention if Dixie were omitted, the helicopter hair spin would have been lost and if Diddy was omitted, the game would have as much speed only as the first. If you've never tried it. Do yourself a favor and do! That being said be prepared for a game that will increase in difficulty at a regular pace. By the time you reach the half way point, the game jumps into a higher gear and never really comes down.
My experience with Donkey Kong Country 2 is what got me into gaming as I am today. Before that the majority of my gaming was on the Game Boy. This game catapulted my interest in gaming and I still play it almost constantly. Nowadays I can beat the game without the use of shortcuts or warps in a little over an hour. I've still got a lot to learn about all the tricks of the game, but finding different glitches and shortcuts has been a fun experience, but playing the game straight through with no shortcuts or glitches is just great fun. Rare and Nintendo struck gold here in a way I think they never fully struck again.
So with Donkey Kong Country 2 being my favorite in the series, I was interested to see how I'd feel about Donkey Kong Land 2. Sadly young me never had a chance to play this game as I was not old enough to visit Funkoland and grab a game. So a few years ago I picked this game up at a flea market. Remembering my first experience with the Donkey Kong Land part of the series I was not expecting much. In the end I wound up getting a little more than I expected. The game does not feature all new levels and enemies like the first game. Instead, to my surprise I found myself in a somewhat of a port of Donkey Kong Country 2. The levels have all the same names, but the layouts are all different, but the gimmicks are all the same. It was quite weird to see levels like Red Hot Ride that had given me problems as a kid suddenly be completely different. That being said though, the level didn't give me near as many problems this time around. I never played this on my original Game Boy. I never really felt the need to, especially since I feared that the same visual issues would exist in this game as the first.
That being said, you can clearly see that I was wrong with that. Rare corrected the visual issues by lightening up the backgrounds and shrinking some of the sprites. Still though, I think the game looks awesome for a Game Boy Game. Despite it's looks though the camera, while not as bad as the first game, is still a bit of a mess and leaps of faith are still a plenty. Despite that issue, I still really enjoyed a different take on the SNES game here. It was sort of refreshing really to have Diddy and Dixie in what felt like a different adventure while still being the same kinda.
By no means is this an amazing game, but I enjoyed it a lot more than I did the first Donkey Kong Land, but wish it had more originality like the first game did. The level layouts are different which is great and the boss battles are changed up a bit, which again is good, but that's about the end of the positives. I would have loved to have seen some of the baddies from the original Donkey Kong Land return in this game to kind of separate the series and further solidify these games as pseudo-sequels. Also as much as I love the DKC2 soundtrack, I was sad to hear that only a few of the tracks actually made the transition to the Game Boy. That's a shame because the ones that did make the jump actually sound really cool. In conclusion, if you are a fan of the Donkey Kong Country games, check this game out. If you are a big fan of the Diddy and Dixie combo of Kongs, check it out for a newish adventure. If you can deal with the camera issues and plan jumps accordingly this game can be enjoyable, but I personally do not suggest newcomers starting off with this game. Play the SNES version or even the Game Boy Advance version (will discuss later) first before trying to tackle this game.
So that is my take on the first four games in the Donkey Kong Country series of games. The second game on the Super Nintendo is really what jump started my entire gaming career. Kicking it into full throttle mode. Donkey Kong Country is the one that started it all in what I would call a barrel of monkeys good time. Donkey Kong Land is a game with some real cool ideas, but a game severely hampered by a just awful camera. Finally Donkey Kong Land 2 is an improvement in some spots on the original in regards to the camera, but a step back on the amount of originality. Looking at the timeline, Donkey Kong Country 2 marked the peak of the mountain for Rareware and Nintendo's work on series in my honest and humble opinion. Looking back at the first time I encountered these games I could only imagine what else Rareware had in store. Sadly young me was blissfully unaware that Donkey Kong Country 2 would be the last real masterpiece in the series. Two other monsters lay in wait in the future. One took the Rareware team into Nintendo's next big console, and the other.... is a discussion for another blog... My next blog will be part 2 of this Donkey Kong Country reflection and opinion blogs. I'll be thinking about my experiences playing Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble, as well as Donkey Kong Land 3, and Donkey Kong Country on the Game Boy Color. As always. Thanks for reading!
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