Donkey Kong Country (Super Nintendo) Second Opinion Review

A crocodile steals a banana hoard and a gorilla and his chimpanzee compatriot trek across a jungle to hunt him down; or so the story goes. Donkey Kong Country isn't really in the department of a tight plot, but it does offer tight design.

Instead of using power-ups, a timer, or a health bar to signify life, DKC uses its two player characters, with each one representing one hit point. Once Donkey or Diddy are hit, they leave the stage and control is forced to whichever character wasn't hit.

While both characters have their differences in speed and weight, each stage is designed to make sure that it's beatable with either Diddy or Donkey. The differences between the two are comparable to how modern Mario titles interpret the two brothers; Donkey Kong is a bit heavier and is more precise to control, while Diddy is faster and a bit slippery. Stages accommodate this by making sure pitfalls and enemies are properly telegraphed ahead of time, so nothing ever comes as a surprise.

Nintendo is almost infamous for its constant use of the same platforming layouts; grass world, water world, desert world, fire world, etc. - mix and match until everything's set - but Donkey Kong Country shows a lot of restraint by adhering strictly to its jungle environment.

There are, of course, stages and worlds that fall into the formula of themes, but it's all back-dropped by the jungle. It doesn't feel out of place when Donkey and Diddy go underwater or climb a snowy mountaintop, because the context of the jungle allows this world to flow between the stereotypical platforming layouts naturally. It's not to say that adhering to a formula is a strictly bad thing, but that DKC uses creativity to make the formula work to its advantage.

Aesthetically, the jungle and characters are modelled to look almost 3D, with proper shading, textures, and filters to simulate a living world that's popping out at every step. Each stage is almost diorama-like, with trees and plants sticking forward from background terrain, and character models moving with appropriate shadows following them. It looked amazing in 1994, and it still looks pretty damn good in 2016.

Despite a very solid eye for game design and aesthetics, it's the sound design that takes the prize in Donkey Kong Country. The music utilises ambience to create immersive settings that blend in with the nature around it. Some of the most memorable tunes of the SNES era can be found amongst DKC's many different stages. The background noises and sound effects of each stage only add to the life of the jungle, simulating a real world of wonder of Kongs.

For all the greatness DKC offers, it tends to suffer under its own sporadic difficulty curve. Levels will start off at a good pace, but occasionally hit a brick wall of incredibly precise platforming that can challenge even the most hardened veterans. Thankfully, those spikes don't appear too often, but they appear enough to leave behind a slightly sour taste. Despite those moments of brutal difficulty, however, Donkey Kong Country primarily offers gameplay that can be enjoyed by just about everyone, with most levels needing basic skills, but rewarding more advanced play styles.