Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble

"A brilliant conclusion to the best SNES trilogy of all time!"

First off, how often do you see games like this for a system like the 16-bit SNES? In a few minutes, you'll see why I wrote a review for a 1996 SNES game. Do you remember the first time you jammed Donkey Kong Country into your rather crusty SNES? Do you still remember your jaw hitting the floor at the brilliant sound, graphics, and gameplay?? Well, Rare had decided to take all these elements and beautifully polish them to create another entralling gameplay experience. It's not all innovation folks, but you can't really improve upon perfection that is DKC and DKC2. But Rare did a great job. They tried their best to make the gaming experience fresh and still charming, while NOT ruining the elements that made the first two to exciting to play. Rare had succeeded...greatly.

Gameplay: 11/10
Yep, that's right, despite the occasional ''been there, done that'' kind of feeling you may expect, is not there. Trust me, this game is as innovative as it could get. You know the basics. Team throw, roll, jump, helicopter spin...
Of course, there are new enemies roaming around the places you will go, a completely new set of baddies. However, some resemble a few enemies from the first two DKC games. The Sneek rat looks like the Neek rat in DKC2. The Kopter Kremling suspiciously looks related to the Kutlass Kremling in DKC2. There are completely new Kremlings, such as the barrel-shooting Bazuka, the muscle-bound Krumple, and the bomb-tossing Kuchucka. There aare new animal buddies too, like Ellie the Elephant, who can pick up and toss barrels with her trunk, and can even suck up water and shoot it at her enemies!! Squawk the Parrot's cousin, the purple colored bird, makes more of an appearance and can pick up barrels and launch it at an unsuspecting enemy below.
As for Kong Currency, that has changed as well. The new coins are the Bear coins and the rare Bonus coins. The Bear coins are easy to find and you can pay off many debts with these. On the other hand, the exclusive Bonus coins have a much greater purpose...
Also, Funky has many new vehicles for Dixie and Kiddy. In the beginning he will present to you the basic moterboat, and as you explore, you will notice there are places you cannot go with this simple vehicle. So you must find spare parts for Funky for him to build more updated models of his vehicles. His final one...well, it has much to do with the DK coins scattered around the place, but it's well worth it to find all of them.
In the places you will explore, you may come across Bonus Barrels, which gives you a shot at a Bonus Coin! The Bonus coins can also be obtained by defeating the bosses of this game, who are complex and advanced bosses!
The levels in DKC3 are by far the most innovative: there are snowy levels in which you must zoom through in a toboggan, an underwater level in which you must light up a special fish to help you see in the dark! There's also a DEEP chasm you must get up to on a flaming rope! There's even a level you must get through in a rocket!! All this and more, find out yourself if you decide to get this game.


Story: 8/10 Donkey Kong has been kidnapped again!! Yes, our hero had been captured by the Kremlings once again...So, a worried Dixie Kong searches for her pals. Luckily, she's not alone. Kiddy the toddler is now under Dixie's supervison. Kiddy, as childish as he seems, is far from helpless. He is as big as DK himself, and probably as strong!! He can defeat even the toughest Kremling, while Dixie would only make that powerful Kremling laugh. Kiddy's brute strength enables him to smash through onstructions, and find items. So the pair sets off in the wildest adventure yet!

Graphics: 10/10 Both DKC and DKC2 are well known for their crazy visuals. DKC3's graphics are just as impressive! The game sometimes feels like a 32-bit(or higher!) game due to its huge amounts of quality.

Sound: 10/10 PLAY IT LOUD! The amazing sounds and music are awesome!! The music fits very well to the mood. The caverns have a creepy, eerie music, the underwater levels have a mysterious music, the toboggan music has a fast-paced, high-speed music.

Controls: 10/10 Very simple to learn, no frustration involved at all. You may learn the controls in about 10 minutes maximum.

Difficulty: 9/10 DKC3 wasn't meant to be an insane challenge, but just a happy medium between easy and hard.

Replayability: 10/10 There's LOADS, and LOADS of items and treasures to be found! Oh, and there are new citizens of the hemisphere: BEARS! Brash Bear, Blue Bear...etc. They sell items, hep you out, or just give you a hard time! But they are part of the requirements to achieving a good 103%! But you can go BEYOND 103%, but you have to be a good explorer...You can beat this game 50+ times and not be bored of it, it's that fun!!

To Buy or to Rent? Buy it! It has to be extemely cheap by now, and if you have an SNES, it's definitely worth it. Heck, it will be worth it to buy and SNES and this games too!!

Recommended to everyone :)
It's a fun, long, innovative sidescroller tat will keep you for months, possibly years! No matter how old this game is, the dusts of time have no effect on this masterpiece!!

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 12/17/02, Updated 12/17/02