Donkey Kong Land III

"A nifty little action title that gives the Mario Gameboy series a run for its money..."

Sure, this is just a crappy ole' Gameboy cart -- before ''Color'' came out. And boy, does it show. But just as Mario (in Mario Land's 1 and 2)was shrunk down into a palatable treat for the Gameboy back in the old days, so goes for Donkey Kong, in Donkey Kong Land III.

First, the game is quite large for a Gameboy game, probably taking the better part of a day to beat, if you skip some of the side-collecting and cut right on through. This is where Kong beats out it's Mario counterpart (I'm specifically referring to Mario Land 2, in this case) with sheer length.

I really feel that I should also make note of the music in this game, which, while not being great or even good, by any standard, certainly doesn't give off the same droning, blipping effect of much of the music in other original Gameboy titles. The ''noise'' in Donkey Kong Land III manages to represent music, and while it won't be stuck in your head, it certainly won't make your ears bleed. A praiseworthy accomplishment, considering some of the other music for the system.

The graphics on the other hand, are another story. On an old Gameboy system, viewing this game is hell, on the Advance SP it's much better although still too small, and on the Gameboy Player it's just right, although you'll quickly tire of the extremely shabby psuedo-3D look of the graphics.I think that sums up the case here pretty well, without being too harsh on the Gameboy platform itself or the game. For a Gameboy cart though, it really does have quite nice graphics, and the detail in some of the baddies is actually quite astonishing.

The gameplay is good -- although you'll die a lot of frustrating deaths if you attempt to move too quickly. In a game like this, ''slow and steady'' is everything, and in order to keep death to a minimum you should always keep looking ahead, because you only have two hit points before you lose a life. While this isn't so bad in the levels themselves, it can be extremely annoying and costly during the boss battles.

The boss battles are definitely interesting, and each boss has their own little quirks which you must discover to be able to beat them. It takes about 3(?) hits to bring these guys down. In this case, practice makes perfect, and these battles always offer at least some mild entertainment.

What really makes this game feel somewhat unique is the ability to transform into different animals during the game -- if you come across a specially marked barrel, you can transform into a swordfish, a spider or a parrot, among other things. It's not only a change from the norm, but the latter two animals also have projectile attacks, which in a game like this, is a blessing, because you can keep some distance from your enemies, while still being able to take them out.

The story for this game is absolutely non-existent. You start out on the map, and you move along to different themed areas -- anyone who has played their fair-share of action titles should be able to quickly figure out what is going on.

This all being said, you really can't go wrong with this cart -- but I definitely would not shell out more than $20 for this piece of Gameboy history. Play it once, and get on with your life. Then play Zelda.

--PROS---

1) basic, fun, classic gameplay
2) the ability to change into different animals is fun
3) quite large for a Gameboy game, without being too repetitious

--CONS--

1) having only two hit-points makes things harder than they should be
2) some bosses are frustrating
3) the graphics are pretty bad and glitchy
4) Where's the story?

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 12/18/03