Pros: Finally, a portable DKC2, you can play one of the best SNES games on the go. Some added features, like a new collectible on every stage, and more involved minigames like Expresso Racing or Funky's Gyrocopter shit. There's a neat new boss fight in the final world, that's a plus... You know what, I gotta be honest...

Cons: It's all pretty bad. The new minigames, not fun, not well made, even though I respect them bringing back Expresso the ostrich, even Candy Kong shows up in Swanky's minigame here. And the problems that permeated the DKC GBA port, are all still here as well, and maybe even worse, killing the moody vibe of the SNES original. Washed out backgrounds, smudged sprites, a worse looking worldmap, worse sound effects and music, the new boss also looks pretty crummy despite being a badass giant red dragon Kremling, and even the new story and ending cutscenes take away from the excellent vibe of the original (just one look at the 100% ending screen compared to the SNES original is all I need to say about that, really)

What it means to me: DKC2 was never my favorite DKC, so this one meant less to me than it would to most others, but, this was still the first time I ever had DKC2 portably, and so that was something. Eh, I dunno, as a big DK fan, I mustered up the ability to complete it back in the day anyway, it's mid.

First time I've actually managed to finish the game and it was with this version. It has some mandatory QoLs that I was annoyed to find out there wasn't on the SNES (keeping track of all Kremlin bonus coins) and just like most (if not all) the SNES classics that have been ported/"remastered here: it is way more lighted alright. Could feel slightly bothersome if you play it on a different hardware, but for GBA as always it makes sense.

It's still a classic gem of my childhood, so I'm biased. But the visuals obviously don't look as good as the original game. It's still a great way to play it for first timer and not.