Donkey Kong Land III

"Oooo oooo ieeee kiki! Kiki! Augh! Augh! Auuuuuuugh!"

I found this game before I went on a road trip several years ago. About 9 hours later, I had beaten it. It isn't a horrible game by any means, but it just isn't good enough.

Story: 2/10
To be honest, I'm not sure what the story is. From what I've heard from sources, is that there's a contest to find the lost world. Donkey kong and Diddy kong are looking, leaving Dixie with Kiddy. I'm really not sure what they are doing, but it ends with them finding the lost world, with no fanfare. I'm not even really sure what King K. Rool has to do with this, and why anyone would be going after a world where things are trying to kill them! As you can see, it's not a good story.

Graphics: 5/10
These graphics might be acceptable on a regular gameboy screen, but I've only done that by using a hidden function on my advance. In color, it is one of the worst graphics I've ever seen on a system that can do better. Everything is an ugly shade of brown or blue, and the enemies are green at best. Sometimes the characters even start looking like static!

Music: 7/10
This is probably the game's best part. The tracks are pleasant, and usually fit the scene. My favorite is the one that plays with with the snowboard levels. However, music isn't enough to save the game.

Sound: 3/10
The sound is horrible. It's main sound is the hitting sound, which doubles as the damaged sound, which triples as the barrel breaking sound, which quadruples as the firing sound. As you can see, it is not very varied. The only other sound of note is the coin collecting sound, which is the average coin sound in gaming.

Controls: 7/10:
The controls aren't worthy of much mention. A to jump, B to run, start to pause, and select to change characters.

Gameplay: 6/10
The gameplay isn't very bad, but it just doesn't compare to the rest of the Donkey Kong series. It is like them in the following ways: Your objective is to reach the other side of the stage, you have 2 hits, then you're dead, the main villain is King K. Rool, and there are animals. There are some innovations, such as you actually moving to the left to end the stage,various barrel types, and a sled. Kiddy can do almost everything better than Dixie can, but Dixie has the hovering hair. If you have played the previous games, you know what to expect. It's alright, but it is of poorer quality than others.

Challenge: Easy
Remember the beginning of the review, where I said I beat it in 9 hours? That's practically the whole game, except that you must show the game you're a perfectionist to get the last world.

Replay value: Low
After collecting everything, after going through hell to find and beat every bonus stage, just to face the final boss that isn't even hard, you won't likely be coming back for a second go.

Conclusion: While it is a Donkey kong game by all means, I wouldn't recommend it for extended use.

Reviewer's Score: 5/10, Originally Posted: 06/12/05