Donkey Kong Country Review
Donkey Kong Country
Graphics
When this game was first released, I was amazed by the quality of the graphics. I didn't even realize it was possible for a game to look as good as this at the time. Even now, in the age of systems with incredible graphical power, this game still looks impressive. If you are a fan of 2D graphics, then you're probably going to love what this game has to offer. The detail in just about everything is what really makes it great. From Donkey and Diddy Kong, to the many enemies they face, and even the levels themselves and the backgrounds, everything is really top notch. It's also easy to tell that they paid a lot of attention to detail. One example is when you move a character to the edge of a cliff, or if you don't move for a while, they'll make an amusing face.
Throughout the game, you'll move to various kinds of levels. This game is like Mario 3 in that there are several areas, each containing many levels that usually share some general theme. For example, in one area, several of the levels deal with snow and ice. Another set of levels deals with the Jungle. There are several different areas like this, and it's always interesting to see what's coming next as you're playing. The level designs are really good. There are hidden bananas (get 100 and you get an extra life), coins, extra lives, and many other items that are hidden in creative places. You're certainly rewarded in this game if you play slowly and really explore the areas.
Gameplay
Donkey Kong Country has the feel of other sidescrollers, but it's really exceptional as far as the genre goes. What I like is that you don't simply travel from left to right through each level. There are often ways to travel vertically, and by using barrel cannons and other interesting methods of transportation. Like I said, there's a lot of exploration in this game. But don't get the idea that this is a slow paced game. You're certainly free to go through the levels at full speed, and sometimes, this can be a lot more fun.
There is a good deal of challenge with this one, but it doesn't seem to be as hard as the two sequels. You'll lose a lot, but it's generally not frustrating, since it's hard for the right reasons. It's not because of bad play control or poor level design that you'll lose, but because of fair difficulty that can be overcome with practice. If you decide to take a break from playing, you'll probably be in the mood to start again in just a few minutes. It's a very addictive game, and you can expect to want to play it a lot before you beat it. Replay value is excellent as well, as it's a great game to just pick up and play.
Sound
There's also a lot of great music and sound effects in this one. The music in the levels is generally pretty subtle. It's not loud and obnoxious like the sound in some games. There are also a lot of different background noises that vary depending on the kind of area you're in. Other sound effects are very good, and go well with the mood of the game. I'm generally not too good at reviewing music, as you can probably tell from reading my other reviews, but to sum it up, I thought this had music that was far better than the average SNES game.
Conclusion
This game was great when it was first released, and it's still great today. If you enjoy 2D games in general, you should definitely check this one out. The same goes for people who have played DKC2 or DKC3. This isn't quite as good as DKC2, but I did enjoy it more than DKC3. This is one of my favorite games on the SNES, and is definitely worth playing.
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