"The best game in the series, and it doesn't even get half the acclaim it deserves."

Introduction
Donkey Kong Country dropped a bomb on the gaming world in 1994. It's graphics were unsurpassed at that time, and it blew any previous ''Mario'' games away. Simply stated, Donkey Kong Country is a major link in the long chain of gaming history. It paved the way for new non-action platformers. Unfortunately, no new platformers after it would walk that path, instead, they would choose to walk the crappy, 3D one (see Crash Bandicoot). Indeed, history was made. DKC was acclaimed to be one of the greatest non-RPG SNES games until 1995 when; BOOM!!! Rare dropped another bomb on us called Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest. This game surpassed the first by a staggering amount, and that year in Gamepro, it took the spot for the best console game of the entire year. While I didn't think it was THAT good, I definitely thought it was a great game.

And great games breed sequels. Not necessarily great sequels, but sequels nonetheless. Unfortunately, Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble was not what DKC fans expected. A lot of people bashed it, and still do to this day as an unworthy sequel. All I have to say about anyone who gave DKC 3 less than a score of 8;

Bull.

Fortunately for anyone willing to spend enough time with the game, DKC 3 IS indeed a great sequel, and in my opinion, the best game in the series.

Graphics
What can I say? Aside from Treasure Hunter G, these are the best visuals on SNES. It's hard to believe, at times, that this is 16 bit. Not a detail was missed. The parallaxed, multilayer backgrounds gives out features far off in the distance such as beautiful mountain peaks and lush forest. In stages semi-submerged in water, the reflections of our heroic Kongs are distorted perfectly in harmony with the water's ripples. Just try to imagine the hard work that went into this one little action.

The map screens are just gorgeous. Simply put. Once again, not a detail was missed at all. Every tree, house, flag pole, and hill are etched into a rendered, silicon background.

Animated objects, such as the Kongs and enemies alike also have never looked better. In the previous games, both backgrounds and enemies/characters had a sleek, ''shiny'' look to them. If you've ever seen an ape's fur... you'd know it wasn't shiny. This problem, somehow fixed in this game. Everything takes a softer, more ''pastel'' look to it, giving off more realism.

Audio
A downfall, and a surmounting at the same time. Though the tracks themselves are not nearly as catchy as the previous two games, they are much more fitting to the environments. Some of the themes in DKC 2 were just awkward for the surroundings, such as the Lava Cave theme, which almost seemed romantic. Here however, you have music performed with more rudimentary instruments. You'll barely ever hear a guitar being played.

Some of the themes are suspenseful, especially the River Side Race and Tear Away Toboggan stage themes, which are fast paced and make you feel as if you're trying to outrun the music itself. Of course, in mechanical stages, you can hear more ''metallic'' sounds in the music. The final battle themes and mountain themes are quite possibly masterpieces in themselves, however.

Plot
King K. Rool is back. This time, he's kidnapped both Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong. Yes, it's been done before. A lot of people complain about this. But let me say first, ''stop your bitching''. Let me remind you of a plumber... you might know him.. his name is Mario.. and he saved a princess about 100,000,000,000 times.. yet his video game series is probably the most highly recognized game of all time. This has only been done twice so far in this particular series, and if you ask me, this game is far better than any Mario game. What's the big deal?

Gameplay
Magnificent! Many new features a lot of people failed to recognize. First of all, let me just say, in the stage gameplay is fairly plain and straightforward, just as the prequels were. But this game also has a LOT more to do other than just jumping on alligators as the first two did. The first noticeable new addition; vehicles. Instead of having to pay every time you want to go somewhere, you get various vehicles instead. Thus, you'll never be stuck at a certain stage just because you don't have enough cash to hitch a ride. Of course, this comes as a penalty. Getting a new vehicle requires you to get a certain rare item. But this keeps you from going anywhere you're not supposed to too early in the game. So I consider it a good idea.

Also added are the Brother Bear Family. 13 Bears spread across the continent, each has it's own use. Whether it's to buy a certain item, receive a Banana Bird (and I'll get into those in just a minute), or to just get a piece of useful information. Of course, you don't have to go to a single Bear's house during the entire game. They're totally optional. But doing so makes it a sort of subquest; yes.. a subquest in Donkey Kong Country. You heard me. Essentially, you'll need to go through the side quests in order to TOTALLY complete the game.

And another new feature; the Banana Birds. 13 magical birds, either hidden in a cave which requires you to perform a certain button combination, or a pet to a Bear Brother perhaps, in one instance. If you get all 13 Birds- well... I wont spoil it. Once again, the Banana Birds Quest is another side quest this game has to offer. If you truly want to complete it, and enjoy the game, you should invest some time into it.

Replay Value
So far, I've played this game about three times over. It's hard work, and takes a long time, much longer than the previous games. The Bonus Barrels are hidden very well in later stages, and some of the DK Coins are extremely hard to get. This game, at times, can be frustratingly difficult. But do not fret, brave Kong. You will beat it, eventually. Just be patient.

Conclusion
What more can I say? DKC is an underrated game, which deserves much more acclaim than abuse. If you want to bash a DK game, bash the worthless DK 64, and save your compliments for this game.

Graphics - 10
Audio - 8
Plot - 1
Gameplay - 10
Replay Value - 7
Overall - 9

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 07/17/01, Updated 07/17/01