"This game may be old, but it's still very good!"

Nintendo has released three Donkey Kong Country games for the Super Nintendo, and they were great. This one is just as good as all of them combined, and has lots of fun! Anyway, onto the review.

Story: 5/10

The story actually was not that great in itself. Donkey Kong's mortal enemy, King K. Rool, is back. This time, he has invaded DK Isle with a new plan: to destroy the island with a new weapon known as the Blast-O-Matic. King K. Rool has also captured all of Donkey Kong's friends and stole all of his Golden Bananas to keep him distracted. It is up to Donkey Kong to rescue his friends, recover all of his Golden Bananas, and stop K. Rool once again. That is mainly all the story to this game is.

Gameplay: 10/10

As always, the gameplay is awesome in this game. It is kinda like that of Banjo Kazooie. You start the game as Donkey Kong, and you must go through certain levels. There are a wide variety of levels, and each one of them are unique. You must explore the big levels, and rescue your friends and collect Golden Bananas along the way. There are 201 Golden Bananas in all. You must collect a certain color of regular bananas with each Kong, then use the Troff n' Scoff portal and feed them the bananas. After you feed them a certain amount of regular bananas in each level, a door leading to the level's boss opens. You must fight a certain boss with a certain Kong. The Kongs they have are: Donkey Kong, Diddy Kong, Lanky Kong, Tiny Kong, and Chunky Kong. There are also transformation barrels that when hopped into, you get a special ability for a short time. As this special ability is in affect, your Crystal Coconuts drain. When your Crystal Coconuts go to 0, you automatically go back to your normal self. You can also explore DK Isle and find some more levels, and even Golden Bananas! You also find certain NPC (no player character) Kongs throughout the levels, like Cranky and Funky. Cranky gives each Kong a potion for a certain amount of Banana Coins for a new ability, while Funky Kong gives each Kong a gun for a certain amount of Banana Coins. Candy Kong gives each Kong an instrument for a certain amount of Banana Coins. Each level is really big and unique, and each level has a lot to explore. There are also Duel Arena pads, in which you must fight enemies until the time runs out. As a reward, you get a crown added to your status screen. You can also capture Banana Fairies with a magical camera. The more fairies you have, the more features you unlock. There is also a Kong Battle mode, where you can play multiplayer (it's not co-op) with all of your friends!

Sound: 8/10

The sound is a bit good, but it's not the best in the world. When you shoot a thing out of your gun, it makes a certain noise with each Kong. However, the good part is: when you jump, you'll hear a grunt of that Kong. For example, if you backflip with Donkey Kong, you'll hear an "Ooh! Unh!". You also hear different Kong sounds with each Kong, depending on what you do with that Kong. King K. Rool also makes some pretty good sounds. His voice is terrible, however. Too bad the Kong's do not talk in this game. The enemies in this game also make some pretty cool noises when they approach you and such. Overall, the sound is a bit good, but at some points, it could've been made better.

Graphics: 9/10

For a Nintendo 64 game, the graphics are actually pretty good. This game is in 3D, like most N64 games. Every Kong and enemy actually looks like their original self, like in the Donkey Kong Country games. King K. Rool also looks awesome, like a true final boss for a Donkey Kong game. Outside on DK Isle have pretty good looking stuff all around it, as do the levels. There are also some bosses that look pretty neat. The graphics were overall done pretty good for a Donkey Kong game, and are by far the best graphics ever made for a Donkey Kong game.

Music: 7/10

I'll admit, the music isn't overall too great, but it _does_ have some great music at certain times. For example, the music that plays in Creepy Castle was very well-done, as was levels like Crystal Caves' music. My favorite music in the entire game would be Creepy Castle, and the final boss theme with King K. Rool. Although, at some parts in the game, the music was just terrible. However, that dosen't make the game suck any worse. After all, music does not make a video game. As I said before, there are some times where the music was made great, and some other times where it was just plain out...nasty.

Replay Value: 6/10

Okay, so the replay value wasn't too good in this game. After you beat the game, rescue all the Kongs, and collect all 201 Golden Banana's, this game gets to be a bit boring. However, the only few forms of replay value I see in this game is the DK Arcade, the Jetpac game, and not last but not least, Kong Battle (if you have any friends/brothers/sisters, that is). But overall, the replay value isn't too good. After you complete this game once, you'll wait another year (if not more) before you pick it back up for some more fun.

Buy or Rent?

I think you should buy this game. It is really good, and should keep you busy for quite some time. Besides, by just renting this game, you probably won't get enough time to complete this game 101%. Overall, you should really buy this great game. If you like adventure games, and/or games like Banjo Kazooie, then you'll love this. Trust me, you won't be disappointed.

Overall: 10/10

After reviewing this entire game, I give it a ten out of ten. I really suggest trying this game, as you will NOT regret it, and have much fun for awhile! You probably will even get addicted to it! I hope you enjoyed this review, and I hope it changed your opinion on if you should buy/rent this game or not. As I end this review, I say: goodbye, folks!

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 12/24/05