"Banana Banana Banana Banana Teracotta Banana Terracota Teracotta Pie"

When Donkey Kong 64 first came out it was unbelievably expensive. Some stores were selling it at 70 dollars, I'll always remember that about this game, because if price in any way denoted game worth, then 70 was a nail on the head. Now, I'm not about to tell you I spent 70 dollars for this game, no I paid way more. When this game was released, they were also releasing the differently colored 64 systems at the time. Donkey Kong coming out at this time was package dealt with a brand new, limited edition, translucent green gaming console. Not to mention it came with the expansion pack that was necessary if you even desired to play this game in the first place. Quite a nice deal if I do say so. I can't remember the exact price on the combo because it was a Christmas gift. What I do know however is that it was one of the best gifts I'd had the pleasure of receiving. I spent weeks fascinated with this game as did my friends who shared story seasons with me. With that being said, if someone were to compare every system ever put out, and decided to use the 10 best games as case and points, then this game would be there, and rightfully so.

Gameplay

The game play was centered around controlling one of five specific Donkey Kong characters each with different unique traits. Each character had his/her own weapon, character specific color coded items to pick up, as well as other specialties. Like a good portion of Rare's adventure games (Banjo-Kazooie, and Conker's Bad Fur Day, most notably) it shared the same type of battle system as it's brother and sister games. Utilizing special moves gained throughout the game would lead to finding golden bananas on every level. Golden bananas are the games main objective, so just trying to skip them would get one nowhere. With every level in this game, completing everything on the first run through was impossible, unlike some of the 2d Donkey Kong games of old such as Country. Eliminating the linear game play created much more freedom and fun as with every return something new to be collected or discovered was presented. Boss battles themselves could be quite challenging. Discovering the weakness and then capitalizing on it is a necessity, eliminating the factor of being able to go out there and just pound them to the ground for the win. For the most part everything is solid, except for a few things that may seem a bit sketchy as well as some mini-games Donkey Kong! Ahhhhhh! *Pulls hair out*). Other than the main game, there is a multi player mode which sees players controlling their favorite Donkey Kong characters from the game and attempting to survive the longest and become Kong, I mean King. It pales in comparison to Conker's multi-player mode, but it's still a nice option to have, as there are many forms of multi-player games here to enjoy. Overall, I'd give the game play a 10/10.

Story

The story is not very compelling or deep. It's kept simple, this is a kid's game and confusion isn't something Rare wanted to incorporate. Basically, some bad things go down as you discover your precious Banana Hoard has been jacked of all it's bananas! Grrr! Now was Donkey Kong's mission to set out and retrieve his lost banana collection. On the way you find out that your fellow primates and relative Kong's have been imprisoned. Going through each level and retrieving them and then continuing to collect bananas is the basis of the story, it doesn't get any deeper than that. A few things are learned along the way to keep you interested, but the game play should have that anyway. Overall the story is an 8/10.

Graphics and Sound

Being a 64 game comparing the graphics to the power house systems of today would be unfair. But back when the game was released it was wonderfully presented. The character models are nice in detail and the environments are vivid and colorful, not to mention very easy on the eyes. Special effects displayed here are some of the best considering the power of the system. Shadowing, character movement and worldly interaction are executed with a graceful flow. No problems in this department. The audio portion of this game is of equal juncture with the play itself. Every score of background music fits the atmosphere of play, while the helping hand of sound effects are proportional to the rest of the game. Flawlessly executed is the portion of the game. 10/10.

Playtime/Re-Playability

This game has tons of stuff to do. The main game, side quests, mini games, and even whole games (Donkey Kong arcade). With that being said hours upon hours can be spent on this game. My friends and I have spent at least 50 or more hours on this game, and have replayed it several times over. This game just never seems to cause boredom. It makes me wonder why it's so hard to find games today that are like this one. I guess the farther back you go the easier it is to find high quality games in a much larger magnitude. After all that has been said, you're sure to spend a good amount of your time with the eyeballs glued to the screen, the blisters settling on to the fingers, and the satisfaction that you've experienced one of a trove's greatest treasures. 10/10 is only deserving.

Final Verdict

You can't rent 64 games from stores, at least as far as I know, so go pick this up at a game retailer such as Gamestop. The price for this game shouldn't be more than 50 dollars, and you only need a console and expansion pack to play it, thanks to it having a built in save feature (memory cards, blah). In my top ten greatest games of all time, I'd probably include this game at number 7. There's no reason not to go out and experience this game so fish up the cash and go purchase this game immediately. Final score 9.5/10.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 04/12/06