Donkey Kong 64

"Is it worth it?"

This game had very high expectations for it. Not only was it the first 3D adventure for Donkey and the rest of the Kong family, but it was supposed to fulfill the platforming needs of Banjo-Kazooie extremists until the release of Banjo-Tooie. Did it live up to the hype? Is it any good? And most importantly: Is it worth the $60US??? Read on to find out.


GRAPHICS:

Until The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask is released on November 20, 2000, Donkey Kong 64 is the only game for the N64 that absolutely REQUIRES the Expansion Pak to run. While many games use the Expansion Pak to enhance visuals, and some games even limit how much of the game you can play without it (Perfect Dark, Starcraft 64, etc.)--Only DK64 requires it to even turn the game on at all. Fortunately (unless you already own one...) DK64 comes bundled with an Expansion Pak and the game puts it to good use. The levels in the game are absolutely huge and are very pretty. With real-time lighting effects, crisp textures, and particle effects, these gigantic worlds are very pretty. However, all is not perfect on DK Isle. The worlds just don't seem to be quite as pretty as Banjo-Kazooie's. This was shocking to me, because DK64 was released almost a year and a half after B-K and DK64 requires the use of an Expansion Pak while B-K manages stunning graphics without the use of the extra memory! While the worlds in DK64 are pretty, and noticibly larger than those found in B-K, they just don't look quite as good.

The characters (of which you will be able to control five: Donkey, Diddy, Lanky, Chunky, and Tiny) are all well drawn and beautifully animated. They move well, and each has their own personallity which is conveyed in the way they look, move, etc. This game is extremely pretty and the graphics are a definite plus.


SOUND:

With the exception the the introductory song (which will drive you crazy...), the music in this game is quite good. Rare always seems to be able to make the music fit the level and add to the general effect. The sound effects are all very Donkey Kong-ish. What little speech is found in the game is all very well done. K.Rool has a personality all of his own. I just wish that Donkey knew how to say more than just ''Banana!'' and I didn't have to read everything that people say to me.


GAMEPLAY:

Ahh, finally we get to the meat and potatoes of the game. Gameplay is absolutely the most critical part of a game. Sure it's always nice for a game to look and sound good, but when a game is lacking in gameplay, you're left with nothing but hype and an angry customer (unless you're a Sony Fanboy, then you tote to the world how great the PSX games are when there are only 6 good games out of 800...sorry about that, let's get back to the topic at hand-DK64).

Donkey Kong 64 controls very well. No gripes here. This game has tight control, with good mechanics. All of the moves have been mapped to the controller in the standard platformer configuration (Very similiar to Super Mario 64 and Banjo-Kazooie). However, the items/weapons you can use are also easy to access, and make complete sense in their layout on the controller.

Just like any other platformer on the N64, this game is all about collecting things. And there is a TON of stuff to collect in this epic game. In every level there are 500 Normal Bananas, 25 Golden Bananas, Banana Bunch Coins, 5 Blueprints, 5 Banana Medals, Battle Arena Crowns, and Banana Faries to be collected. This game has plenty of stuff for you to collect. There are also appearances by two ''old-school'' games that are very fun to play and must be mastered in order to beat the game. As Cranky Kong puts it in the instruction manual: ''<these games> will test rusty gaming skills you thought you'd never have to use again.'' He was right, the games are challenging, but fun and addictive too.

DK64 also has many mini-games that you usually have to beat before winning a Golden Banana. While not as fun as the games found in Ocarina of Time, the majority of these are fun to play and well crafted--with the exception of ''Beaver Bother'' which has been designed with only one purpose in mind: To make you throw down your controller in frustration and sob furiously into your bruised and bloody hands. That game is pure luck and entirely devoid of any fun.

The major fault in the game lies in one of the main tatics that Rare uses to lengthen replay value. As we've seen in both Banjo-Kazooie and Jet Force Gemini (both are classics by Rare...), the levels have been designed so that you cannot gather/access all of the items/areas you can see the first time through the level. In Banjo-Kazooie, you had to learn new moves from Bottles before you'd be able to collect all of the notes in a new level. In Jet Force Gemini, there were three main characters that all had different abilites, and consequently each could reach area's in a level that the others couldn't. In DK64, we see this again. Except this time, the levels are absolutely HUGE (perhaps too big for their own good), and there are FIVE characters that you have to visit each level with. By the time you have rescued your fifth and last monkey and are visiting the first level yet AGAIN... you'll quickly get sick of it. While JFG managed to do a similar thing without being too frustrating, DK64 fails in this respect. I've never been one to complain about the difficulty of a game, and I can't believe I'm saying this, but: THIS GAME IS TOO LONG! It's not just that it's long, I could handle that, even welcome it. (I wish more games were difficult.) The fact is that it lacks variety. All you're hunting is Golden Bananas and that get's boring fast. When stuck on a mini-game you'll often ''come back for this banana later...'' and then spend several hours just trying to locate all of the bananas you were going to come back for because you'll have forgotten where they are.

However, there is a reward for those of you who have the discipline (stupidity???) to stick it out and collect all 201 Golden Bananas in the game. I have managed to do just that very thing and have been kicking myself for not spending the time playing JFG or Zelda:LttP. Similar to the ending in B-K, those players who have managed to collect all of the Golden Bananas are treated to a special ending which is quite funny and lends itself to the thought of a sequel on the Dolphin (or whatever they end up calling the new Nintendo), but IMHO wasn't worth the 60 hours it takes to earn that ending. (Unless you use a guide..shame on you!)


REPLAYABILITY:

Sadly, this game falls miserably short in this category, but what can you expect from a platformer? This quest is so long and gargantuan, that you'll feel daunted and your body will probably begin shaking just by thinking of starting it all over again. But never fear, there is a multiplayer mode in this game too. While it's no Goldeneye, Perfect Dark, or Battle Tanx2... It's still more fun than the multiplyer in JFG. It's not too bad for a platformer that's turned deathmatch and there are a few different levels to play in (some tiny, some large). While I prefer to play the multiplayer modes in PD and GE007 (Yes, I still play both single and multiplayer modes in GE007. The game is that good. Very little is more satisfying than fragging friends in the caves, caverns, and library (none of which made the PD cut) or playing my favorite level ''Bunker 2'' on 00 Agent mode), the multiplayer mode in DK64 is tolerable and sometimes even fun, if you're playing with the right people.


OVERALL:

While it may seem to you that I didn't like the experience that was DK64 and would not recommend it to anyone, this is not entirely true. If you're a fan of the Donkey Kong games, you'll probably want to pick it up. It is fun (for a while), and it's got two killer retro-games hidden in it (that are INSANELY fun). Not to mention that you can use the Expansion Pak that is included with the game for Perfect Dark, Zelda: Majora's Mask, and Dinosaur Planet. If you're not sure if you're a fan of platformers on the N64, try out either Banjo-Kazooie or Super Mario 64 before you buy this game.

In summary let me say this: Even though this is Rare's worst game to date, it's still better than most developers ever hope of being able to accomplish. You know that Rare is a good company when their worst effort, is leagues ahead of other developers best efforts.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 06/19/00, Updated 06/19/00