Now this is more like it!

Compared to the previous Donkey Kong Land game, this one does a much better job at recreating both the feel and the quality of the SNES DKC games. The physics are improved, the level design is more polished, the save system works like the original game, the NPC Kongs are back... this is essentially a portable version of DKC2! And it kinda works!

With that said, this is still a Game Boy game. Just like the first DKL game, the small screen size is the dealbreaker here. It's especially awful in vertically-scrolling levels, like the ones that require climbing ropes or using Squawks. You just KNOW that if you move upwards a second too hastily you're gonna bash your head into a fucking wasp enemy you had no way of seeing. And good freaking luck beating the King Zing boss. Additionally, the absence of the SNES's extra buttons is felt. The team throw is sadly absent, and the animal buddies' special moves require pressing the select button for some reason. I had to search up a walkthrough to even find out the animal buddies' special moves were in this game at all.

Compared to the first DKL game, this is much more like a straight port of the SNES game than its own thing. It's so similar (and directly inferior) to DKC2 that there's no real reason to play this game today for any reason other than curiosity. So unlike DKL1, this doesn't even have that "diehard fans might get something out of it" appeal going for it. But deciding between DKL1 and DKL2 is essentially deciding between a game that's a unique experience but utter shit, and a game that's solid but something you've seen before. I'd personally take the latter game any day. Unnecessary to play today, but for what it is, it's perfectly adequate.