Rare, the Big N teamed up with the European developer to create three of the
most memorable games released on the SNES: Donkey Kong Country 1, 2 and 3.
Since that time, Rare has gone on to create hit titles that have nothing to do
with previous Nintendo franchises, such as Banjo-Kazooie. But since the
Donkey Kong Country series is legally Nintendo’s, they’re able to do whatever
they want with it. A GameCube version is presumed to be in development
(though still not confirmed), but at this time, Nintendo has done what they
did with every classic Mario game and decided to port DKC over to the Game Boy
Advance.
Donkey
Kong Country is just as engrossing as ever. I remember what a great time I
had reliving the magic with the Game Boy Color version, and wondered if
another version of the game would hinder DKC’s classic status. I should have
known better than to question the game’s quality. Was Mario any less fun on
the GBA, despite having already played through the game a hundred times? Not
at all.
There are a lot of young
gamers out there who were too young (or not yet born) when the DKC series
began, so let me bring everyone up to date. Donkey Kong Country is the
harder, deeper side of Mario. The games share many of the same qualities:
running, jumping, crawling, and my favorite, etc. Some enemies can be
destroyed by jumping on them, while others must be rolled into. That’s one of
the new combat styles DKC introduced: rolling. It’s not a huge advancement,
but back then, it really added a lot, and quite frankly, the game wouldn’t be
the same without it.
Every game must have its
own version of Mario’s coins, and Donkey Kong Country’s is bananas. Collect
100 and earn an extra life. Balloons are DKC’s answer to Mario’s 1Up
mushrooms. You could also earn an extra life by collecting the four letters
of the word "KONG."
The reason for all those
additional ways of collecting extra lives is because of the game’s extremely
difficult nature. Some levels become easier after conquering them a few
times, but this game will drive you nuts (in a good way) the first time you
play through it. You’ll scream and yell at the screen, and never, ever once
let yourself put down the controller (or in this case, the GBA). It’s
frustrating at times, but only because you can’t understand why you just died
thirty times in a row.
The thing that makes all
the frustration worthwhile is how Rare blended all of the game’s elements
together, creating one of the most memorable experiences a gamer could ever
have. Hopping from barrel to barrel, avoiding spike-covered bees as if you
were Tony Hawk Pro Jumper, only to fall to your doom just before reaching the
exit… For some reason or other, that never gets old. It’s a quality that
is clearly unexplainable, otherwise every other developer would have copied
it, and we’d have a million great platformers out there. Truth be told, there
has yet to be a game that has mimicked this gameplay perfectly in the third
dimension. What a great opportunity for Rare to create innovation with Banjo-Threeo
(tentative title).
Rare has an amazing eye
for architectural talent and it shows. Every level was designed with the
utmost care. Secret items and secret areas are hidden in the most unique
places. The variety of level types is extremely impressive, even by today’s
standards. There are the classic train car levels; levels that take place
underwater; pyramids that are littered with Indiana Jones-style booby-traps;
intricate jungles; snowy mountain levels; and barrel shooting levels that
require lots of patience and precise timing. Rare did an impeccable job of
challenging gamers back in 1995, and challenged Sega by helping Nintendo
become #1 again (the game had record-breaking sales). I still love the game
just as much as I did eight years ago, and despite the fact that I’ve beaten
it several times, Donkey Kong Country still finds a way to make me lose all of
the extra lives I gained in the first stage.
At the end of the game,
it’s clear that this has always been a must-own classic. Call me crazy for
having to own a second version of the game, I don’t care. I love having it on
the GBA, especially now with the ultra-bright SP. I can play the game
wherever I want, whenever I want, and not have to worry about the lighting
situation (as I did with the Game Boy Color version). Graphically, it may not
look as good as the SNES version, but it plays 99% as good, with just a few
tiny flaws here and there. I love it!
Gameplay: 9
Donkey Kong
Country is and always will be a true gaming classic. Everything about it
screams classic Nintendo, and really makes me miss the early days of Rare and
the Big N’s relationship. Young gamers: this is a must-own title. If you
love Mario, Crash and/or Sonic, then you’ve got to try one of the hardest,
most challenging games of the 16-bit era.
Old
gamers: this is one of the classics you grew up with. Even if you were
already an adult, you know you couldn’t live without this game in ’95 — the
sales figures proved it. Why live without it now?
Grandparents: would you please tell Cranky Kong to stop playing BINGO and go
home? His kids are worried sick about him.
Graphics: 8
The technical
aspects of the game are DKC’s only flaws. Graphically, this version can’t
compare to the SNES version. Game Boy Advance has more processing power, but
consoles can always do things that the portable game systems can’t. Were
better graphics possible? Probably – but could they have made it look perfect
and still kept the frame rate up? Probably not.
Sound: 8
There are some
technical issues with the sound effects (they sound weak), but the music still
sounds great. The underwater theme is stellar – so unique and different. And
there are other good songs in this game as well.
Difficulty: Medium/Hard
For most people,
this game will be a huge challenge the first time around. But there are
probably a few gamers out there who have played so many platformers that most
of DKC’s sneaky tricks won’t throw them for a loop. There’s only one to know
if you are as good as you think you are: beat it yourself.
Concept: 7
The extra
mini-games are weak, but that’s to be expected since Rare had nothing to do
with this port. But when a game is as good as DKC, I can’t live without it.
Yes, I already own a version of it. And no, I don’t "need" another, but then
again, I didn’t need another version of all the Mario games. But now that
I’ve got all of these games, I can’t stop playing ’em.
Multiplayer: 5
Overall: 8.8
I played through
the game in 1995 on the SNES, and again a couple of years ago on the Game Boy
Color. Regardless, that couldn’t keep me from getting the best portable
version of the game available. Like an Eggo Waffle, this game is just too
good to leggo.
