Donkey Kong 64

"DK Smash! DK Smash You All!"

Donkey Kong has a history that dates back to when he first met Mario. Both characters first debuted in the Donkey Kong arcade game. The game contained 4 levels, and the goal was to get Mario to the top of each stage to rescue the princess (Pauline, as she was called at the time). The main obstacles you had to avoid were Donkey Kong's barrels that he chucked. If you got hit by a barrel, you died. After that, the ape and plumber went their separate ways. Donkey Kong had 2 more arcade games after that, respectively named Donkey Kong Jr. and Donkey Kong 3. Donkey Kong returned with a vengeance on the Super NES in Donkey Kong Country. It was a game produced by Rare which pushed the graphical limits of the Super NES. The game contained the world's most revolutionary video game graphics at the time. Donkey Kong Country also introduced more members of the Kong family. Most noticeably was Donkey Kong's little chimp buddy, Diddy, who followed him in the game. Then there was Cranky Kong, a favorite in my book, who's Donkey Kong's cranky old grandfather who's always telling nonsense stories about his youth. There were also Candy Kong and Funky Kong. Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest. The two new Kongs introduced in that game were Wrinkly Kong and Swanky Kong. Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double was the last in the DKC series. It introduced Kiddy Kong, a toddler version of Donkey Kong, and the Bear Brothers. Donkey Kong's next big game was Donkey Kong 64, and has been his only big game since then.

Story:
Basically, K. Rool has built a gigantic battleship with a built-in cannon capable of destroying an entire island. DK Island, to be specific. However, the battleship crashes on a rock when it hits the island. The ship is stalled and the cannon is broken. However, the cannon is pointed directly at DK Island! When K. Rools fixes it, it'll be ready to blow the whole island to smitherines! When Donkey Kong spots this, he immediately runs out to gather his friends, only to find his friends are missing. Guess what that means? It's time for another full-out Kong adventure!

Gameplay: 9.5/10
Donkey Kong 64 is a 3-D platform game. At first, you can only control Donkey Kong. He can use the basic moves, like jump, punch, and the ground pound. Later, you can play as more characters. You must rescue thes other characters who are trapped in some of the stages. Once you rescue them, you can use them. Diddy Kong plays like Donkey Kong, except he's faster but not as powerful. Tiny Kong is like Dixie Kong from DKC2. She can twirl across long gaps by swinging her ponytail. Lanky Kong can extend his arms to attack enemies from a long distance. And lastly, Chunky Kong is the most powerful Kong who can pick up rocks and break through walls.

You can also visit the other Kong members' shops which are located somewhere in each world. At Cranky Kong's he'll concoct special potions for you that will teach your characters new moves. At Funky Kong's you can purchase weapons, with which you can snipe out enemies from far away and shoot them with fruits! The weapon varies on the character. You can also return later in the game to receive upgrades. At Candy's shop, you can receive one of two things. First, you can purchase an instrument which wipes out all baddies around you when you play it. Like the weapons, the instrument varies depending on the character. Also at Candy's, you can earn an extra health watermelon. This increases the number of times you can get hit before you die.

There are 8 stages total in the game. And mind you, these stages are HUGE. Each of them are accessed from the main world, DK Island. New stages are unlocked after you defeat bosses. There is one boss in every stage. Each boss has you use a particular Kong to defeat. Also, each stage has a number of gold bananas to collect. There are 201 gold bananas total in the game. The more gold bananas you collect, the more secrets you unlock.

Graphics: 9/10
Especially for an N64 game, these graphics are pretty dang fluid. Probably some of the N64's best, and almost up there with the Legend of Zelda games. The textures are bright for the most part, and darken nicely in the dungeon areas. Character designs are pretty decent, too.

Sound: 8/10
The thing I like about the tunes in this game is that each stage has more than one tune. If you enter a tunnel area, the music suddenly darkens and becomes much more solemn. When you come back out into an open area, it returns to normal. The character voices are a bit on the annoying side, but it's nothing you'll yank your hair out at.

Lasting appeal: 9.5/10
Donkey Kong 64 is an extremely long game, especially if you're into collecting all the gold bananas. 201 is almost twice the number of stars there were in Super Mario 64! Plus, you have all the little extras, like the multiplayer mode, etc. It can certainly get tiresome, but it will last you one heck of a long time.

Bottom line:
I honestly don't see why so many people hate this game. It's an excellent platformer, the controls are flawless, and it still has the good ol' barrel-smashing action! Plus, even if the game has pretty much no replay value, the time it does last is quite a long time indeed, which pretty much makes up for it. This game ranks as the N64's second-best platform game in my book, next to Super Mario 64. A very underrated game.

Rent or buy?
Buy. And considering the fact that most people have completely sold their copy, there's a good chance you could find it for real cheap at a store that sells used games.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 04/06/04, Updated 11/21/04