"Why such hatred for this game?"

INTRODUCTION
Donkey Kong Country, released in 1994, almost single-handedly revived the SNES and is one of the most critically acclaimed SNES games ever. Its sequel, DKC2, is almost as successful, winning quite a few console game of the year prizes in 1995. Donkey Kong Country 3, however, enjoyed no such luck. It came out near Super Mario 64, and, of course, drowned in all the hype surrounding it. Many people consider it the worst of the trilogy, but I beg to differ. Why? Read on.

STORY (6/10)
Every Donkey Kong Country game has revolved around our crew of primates taking back something that an evil group of crocodiles called Kremlings has taken, and this game is no exception. This time, (surprise!) both Donkey and Diddy are kidnapped, and Dixie must find them with her baby cousin, Kiddy. Also, you're not battling K. Rool this time, but instead the Kremlings have a new leader, a robot called KAOS. There's also a bit of a subplot here: the Banana Birds and the Brothers Bear (they love the letter B, don't they?). Banana birds are mystical beings that have been imprisoned in caves--you need to rescue all of them in order to complete the game. The Brothers Bear help you find the banana birds, provided that you help them.

My main problem with the story isn't the plotline (how original of a plot can you have with a game like this?), but with the characters. KAOS is a nice little addition, and the Banana Birds and Brothers Bear are rather interesting, but Kiddy Kong is definitely my least favorite playable Kong out of the SNES quartet. I don't even know why--he's just a character that you instinctively hate.
In Short: Average plotline, terrible main character.

GAMEPLAY (9.2/10)
The engine is similar to the other Donkey Kong Countrys: When you have both characters, the inactive one tags behind you. Both characters have their own strengths and weaknesses. Dixie is lighter and faster, has better jumping power, and can twirl her ponytail around to slow her descent while in the air. Kiddy is stronger, heavier, and not as agile. He also has a somewhat useless move that allows him to skip across the water without swimming. Like in DKC2, when you have both Kongs, you can have one of them hop on the other's shoulders and be thrown to higher platforms.

The objectives are also virtually unchanged from DKC2. Each stage has 2 or 3 cleverly hidden bonus barrels that will take you to bonus stages. Complete a certain objective in that bonus stage, and you'll get a bonus coin, which is for unlocking certain stages. Also in each level is a DK coin, just like the ones in DKC2. However, this time around you'll need to defeat an enemy called Koin in order to get the coin. Koin can be rather tricky to defeat, as it can only be harmed by a steel barrel and from behind, but most of the time it's not that difficult.

Also, you must now search for the banana birds. Most are hidden in secret caves scattered across the world, and you must win a simple mini-game in order to free them. The Brothers Bear will help--if you help them!

The map screen system has changed. Although it still has pre-set paths like the other games, this time you can travel freely in water areas. In fact, that's how you get from world to world--Funky, a member of the Kong clan returning from the previous games, will give you a motorboat in the beginning that will only let you get to the first world, but as you beat the worlds you'll find boat parts that Funky can add so that you can explore more areas. The explorable map screen also means that there are hidden areas--Banana Bird caves, for instance, and even a entire world!

Animal buddies, which you can ride or transform into (except Parry), also make a return, and are another source of controversy. Rambi, the rhino from the previous games, is gone, and ''replaced'' (note the quotes) by Ellie, an elephant. Although I agree that they shouldn't have ditched Rambi, I think the hatred for Ellie is unjustified. Ellie has an incredible array of moves, including sucking water up her trunk and squirting it out again and using that trunk as a vacuum, and her mortal fear of mice allows for some interesting level designs. Ellie is joined by Squitter the spider (who can build web platforms to climb to higher ground), Enguarde the swordfish (your only means of defeating underwater enemies), Squawks the parrot (allows for some awesome aerial action), and Parry the parallel bird (a strange animal that always flies parallel to you, grabbing items suspended in the air for you).

The levels are the most creative and original out of the three, and provide some pretty insane challenges. For instance, in one water level a piranha follows you wherever you go, and you'll need to feed it (by swimming in such a way that the fish passes over its mouth) before it feeds on you. In a certain sewer level, the poisonous water reverses your controls, making you think backwards. In yet another level, you're in a tree that's being sawed down, and you'll have to make it to the top before the saw catches up to you. The difficulty is really toned up, too, as most of the later levels get downright frustrating even if you've played them before.

Unfortunately, there are some bad points. This game's speed isn't up to par with the previous games. Don't get me wrong, I immensely enjoyed going though the game, but it just seems slower and less action-packed compared to the previous two--especially DKC2. The more difficult levels can get more annoying than challenging sometimes (particularly Swoopy Salvo... grr). And the final boss battle is slightly disappointing--it lacks the ''wow'' factor of DKC2's final boss battle.
In Short: If you're willing to look past the similarity to DKC2 and the slightly slow speed, you have an amazing gem.

CONTROLS (9.2/10)
The controls are very solid, but as I said before the game simply controls too slow. Kiddy can also be rather tricky when you're on the ropes, as his movements are rather imprecise. Animal buddies and Dixie control like a dream, though.
In Short: Slow, but good.

GRAPHICS (9.3/10)
The graphics are not as revolutionary as the original game, but are still beautiful. The bright and cheery feeling may not parallel DKC2's dark, foreboding background, but can still hold its own. One thing I like is how the graphics suggest the vast openess of the Northern Kremisphere--it's a huge, huge world.

Less flattering, however, is the somehow questionable use of color. I simply don't understand why Rare decided that every cliff level has to have different colored rocks--as a result, the Ropey Rumpus stage had a distinctly purple hue. The enemies should have more earthy colors too, as I'm not very inclined to believe that a big evil gang of crocodiles can be bright orange or purple.
In Short: Can be darker, but wonderful backgrounds.

SOUNDS AND MUSIC (6/10)
This is definitely the game's downfall. While most of the tunes fit the levels well, they simply are not as memorable and catchy as the ones in the previous games. Also, for every classic tune (Rockface Rumble, Northern Kremisphere) there is a complete embarrassment (Stilt Village, Funky's Theme). For the most part, the music is a disappointment.

The sound effects are not much, either, with Kiddy's screaming whenever he loses a stage one of the most annoying sounds ever in a videogame, possibly second only to Baby Mario's crying in Yoshi's Island. Everything, from the grunt of Kremlings while defeated to the footsteps made by a lumbering elephant, sounds weirdly cheap in this game. The sound is possibly the worst part of the game.
In Short: All in all, this game just doesn't sound well.

CONCLUSION
Drowned by the release of the Nintendo 64, blasted by DK fans as being too similar to DKC2, this game is definitely not the instant hit that DKC was. Despite all its shortcomings, however, this game provides a decently enjoyable gaming experience, and is far from being the worst of the trilogy. It is definitely a worthy addition to anyone's gaming library.

OVERALL SCORE: 8.6/10
FINAL SCORE (after rounding to fit GameFAQs system): 9/10

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 08/08/01, Updated 09/06/01