Recently, I had a thought that is purely speculative. It feels to me that anyone who will tell you they love a specific SNES game will also follow that up with "And it STILL HOLDS UP!" Like, think about it, if anyone you know talks about Mario World, they'll likely add "And I 100%'d it during lockdown and you know what? Still holds up!"
Anyway, I don't feel like I've ever heard anyone say that about Donkey Kong Country! I've never played DKC, so I thought I'd play it to see if, well, it holds up.
It does not.
I played through this on my Miyoo Mini, which obviously allows for save states. I'm not one of these cunts that says "Ah, but if you used savestates/rewinds you didn't really beat the game" because I've known satisfaction in my life from things that aren't video games. However, because I was specifically trying to see if it felt fun to play in 2023, I tried to play it "legit". No save states or rewinds. Fuck me what a slog. Just a horrid experience.
Anyway, I don't feel like I've ever heard anyone say that about Donkey Kong Country! I've never played DKC, so I thought I'd play it to see if, well, it holds up.
It does not.
I played through this on my Miyoo Mini, which obviously allows for save states. I'm not one of these cunts that says "Ah, but if you used savestates/rewinds you didn't really beat the game" because I've known satisfaction in my life from things that aren't video games. However, because I was specifically trying to see if it felt fun to play in 2023, I tried to play it "legit". No save states or rewinds. Fuck me what a slog. Just a horrid experience.
4 Comments
I will state that DKC1's the only game in the series I've thought much of (unless you're including the vastly superior Jungle Beat as part of that), and I only really played it for the first time about 10 years ago on my actual SNES. Suggesting that there's some secret magic to original hardware is like saying you haven't heard an album until you've listened to it on vinyl, but after my experience, I couldn't completely dismiss the notion if someone was to suggest it for Donkey Kong Country. I don't think it's a great platformer, but kind of like one of those Flash games that someone didn't stop updating for a decade. Winsome trash.
Really good review. I think a lot of people are stuck up in their nostalgia. The game just does not feel fun to play without save states, especially with the bullshit deaths you face in the game. At least the music is incredible.
atheneallen
1 year ago