Donkey Kong Country

"A fun ride, but also a rather short and forgettable one."

Donkey Kong Country, released in 1994, besides being an instant, runaway bestseller, also breathed some life into the dying SNES. Using a method called Active Computer Modeling (ACM), the game had graphics never seen before on the SNES, and was thought to be a Nintendo 64 game when first saw. Since its release, its developer, Rare, has been propelled to superstardom. Donkey Kong, originally one of those Nintendo characters doomed to the big ol' character list in the sky, suddenly had a franchise of its own--and a hugely successful one. DKC sold nearly 10 million copies worldwide, and made many people's top 10 SNES game lists.

However, opinions on this game are extremely mixed. Some people believe that it is the pinnacle of 2-D gameplay, that it takes the formula set by the Mario games and improves upon it, that nothing has touched it in terms of fun. Then, there are the people who think that it is nothing but style over substance, a pathetic Mario wannabe, even the beginning of the graphics over gameplay era. As for me, I think that this game straddles the line between mere above-averageness and true greatness. While it's certainly fun and all, it really lacks that special thing that makes its sequels great.

The story is the typical platformer fare, simple, cliched, and completely irrelevant to the game's quality. You play as Donkey Kong, who happens to be the son (NOT grandson!) of the Donkey Kong in the original arcade DK game--therefore, the DK in this game is actually Donkey Kong Jr., the hero in the eponymous sequel to the DK arcade game. The original arcade DK is now a cynical, bitter old gorilla called Cranky. An evil band of crocodiles known as Kremlings has stolen DK's banana hoard, and DK and his friend (NOT nephew!) Diddy must traverse Donkey Kong Island to get it back. It's about as basic as you can get. One thing worth noting, however, is the great dialogue in the instruction-manual story--it's fun seeing the personalities bounce off each other.

The gameplay is, in essence, Mario given a few twists. You can control two characters, Donkey and Diddy. Donkey is lumbering and slow, but is stronger and can kill some enemies Diddy can't. Diddy, however, is more nimble and agile, and can jump longer and higher. You start out with only Donkey, and you must break the ''DK barrel'' to free Diddy. When you have both characters, the inactive character will trail behind you, and you can switch by pressing A or Select. If you get hit when you have both characters, the active character will run away and you will automatically switch to the inactive character.

An important device in this game is the barrels. As you may remember, the original arcade DK threw barrels at Mario, so naturally they also play a big part in this game. The DK barrels have already been mentioned; there are also regular barrels, which you throw to kill enemies; and there are barrel cannons, which blast you in different directions and are often needed to cross long gaps. Many levels involve blasting across large chasms in barrel cannons. There are also steel barrels, which can bounce off walls as opposed to simply breaking. TNT barrels create awesome explosions and can kill almost any enemy. If you pick a TNT barrel up and then set it down, it will explode after a few seconds.

In addition, you will gain the help of various ''animal buddies'' (think Yoshi) in this game. Rambi the rhino can charge through practically any enemy thanks to his giant horn. Engarde the swordfish is like an underwater version of Rambi, with better controls to boot. Winky the frog can jump extremely high, and can also destroy some extremely tough enemies others can't. Expresso the ostrich runs at obscene speeds and can (by flapping his wings) cross long pits. Like Yoshi, these animal buddies run away whenever you get hit.

Levels are more realistic and mundane than the usual sidescrollers, with such areas as mines, factories, and jungles. The problem is, the levels aren't as original and varied as the sequels. There are only a handful of very well-done levels, such as the mine cart stages and Blackout Basement (where the light switches on and off, great idea but hazardous to your eyesight). The animal buddies never play a large part in the levels, which is a shame considering the wonderful levels built around the animal buddies' special abilities in DKC2 and DKC3. The game's scope seems smaller as a result, and it seems a lot more like a glorified Mario game.

In fact, the game's main problem is its extreme semblence to the Mario series. Donkey Kong Country never really gains a personality or charm of its own. Jungles, mines, caves--been there, done that. The sheer genius in level designs seen in the sequels never appear in Donkey Kong Country. As a result, your quest is a fun one, but also one very, very forgettable.

In an attempt to add some longevity to this game, Rare added 67 bonus rooms spread across the levels. They are hidden in very out-of-way places, and it takes quite some searching to find all of them. Unfortunately, there is practically no incentive to find all of the bonus barrels save personal satisfaction. You open up no new levels, see no new endings like in DKC2 and DKC3. In the end, the bonus rooms seem completely pointless to find. Which is a shame, because without the bonus barrels you are left with a ridiculously short and easy game that anyone can beat within three hours.

On a more positive note, however, the game's controls are very good. They are very responsive and precise, and skidding is non-existant. Sure, it might seem a bit unrealistic to have a character that can break into a top-speed run in no time, or jump around with the lightness of a feather, but that certainly makes the character a lot easier to control. Unlike in many platformers (*cough* Donkey Kong Land), you will not be losing lives due to the controls.

The graphics are, indeed, very, very good. The characters are all extremely detailed, and the backgrounds awe-inspiring. The game's world seems vast and very, very real. The snow levels stand out in particular: incredible blizzards, very deep backgrounds, and plenty of moving things, all with absolutely no slowdown. Great. My complaint, though, is that the graphics can seem a bit too slick and unnatural--the treetops of the jungle levels look slightly plastic, for instance. luckily, they fixed that in the sequels.

Sound effects are, for the most part, unimpressive. The monkey noises are incredibly annoying (thank God they got rid of them in DKC2 and DKC3!), and the sound when you defeat the enemies very unsatisfying. Smaller enemies give an annoyingly high-pitched ''ouch!'' when they are stomped, while medium-size enemies give a very odd noise that sounds a bit like jumping on a trampoline. Only the mighty Krushas give a satisfying groan when they meet their doom. Overall, the sound effects aren't very good.

The music, however, is great. Sure, there are a few rather forgettable songs in the soundtrack, but classics like the Corals theme and the Factory theme make them forgivable. The tunes may not be as epic as the ones in DKC2, and some of them lack even a discernible melody, but they blend into the background perfectly. It's not one of those soundtracks that you might want to put into a CD player to listen, but definitely one that really enhances the mood and feeling of the game. Very good job, indeed.

Though this game is quite fun, I do feel that much of the fuss comes from the graphics and not the gameplay. This game doesn't really have much longevity, and feels a bit repetitive at times. DKC2 and DKC3 had much more creative genius in their levels. This game is really a monster to rate--a 7 is definitely too harsh, but an 8 seems too lenient.

Is it overrated? Yes. Is it style over substance? Most definitely. However, that does not mean that it is completely devoid of substance--it just means that its style is so much more eye-catching and remarkable.

OVERALL SCORE: 7.6
FINAL SCORE (after rounding to fit GameFAQs system): 8

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 10/15/01, Updated 12/04/01