I had never played the original Donkey Kong Country before, a statement I can attest is only slightly untrue. This was my first time playing the SNES version of this game, as the GBA remake of DKC was one of my first games. I shared it with my older sister, and we'd try to complete every level with Diddy Kong so his face would appear everywhere on the map screen.

If you know anything about me, you'll know that my admiration for Diddy Kong has only increased.

The original entry in this series stands as a shining example of a 2D platformer done right. I'm going to berate Mario for a second here, so please avert your eyes if this sounds upsetting to you. I started playing through Super Mario Wonder a while ago and enjoyed it, but something just wasn't clicking. The levels in that game, while admittedly tightly designed and polished, wash over me without leaving an impact. I'll likely explore that a little more once I finish the game, but the 2D Mario series has always had this effect on me.

Donkey Kong Country reminds me what 2D platformers can be, in the same ways as Rayman Redemption, Yoshi's Island and a more contemporary example such as Pizza Tower. Levels can hook you atmospherically, an incredible strength of this primate platformer. Words cannot begin to describe how wonderful this soundtrack is, and while we have to attribute most of the credit to David Wise, one of my favourite tracks - Ice Cave Chant - was composed by the oft overlooked Eveline Fischer. The soundscape, combined with the timeless, immersive visuals builds the so-called Donkey Kong Country into a place I can enjoy sitting around in just as much as I do jumping around it.

The jumping is no slouch either; almost every level has you contesting with something unique, and no mechanic overstays its welcome. I'd even say that some levels could have done with expanding their ideas, but it's clear that brevity was one of the team's core goals and I can't blame them for it. Some of these levels are truly brilliant: a creepy cavern filled with kremlings that have to be disabled constantly by touching barrels, a tense floating platform that needs to be refueled lest you be tossed into the void and the myriad of levels that play with the iconic barrel mechanics in new ways. A lot of these are gimmicky, but I don't say that as a bad thing. I appreciate how often the game is willing to toss you into new territory - and isn't all that forgiving at that.

There's a tense balance in the live system here. The game is hard enough that you'll be draining lives likely quicker than you obtain new ones, and due to the absence of save points during certain portions, you're often forced into deeply uncomfortable stretches where one more death could cause you to repeat multiple levels. I'd understand someone using this as a critique, but to me it sucks me into this world. This world has been dominated by a truly cruel leader, and you aren't going to breeze through his forces. You have to work to beat this, yet it's not at all brutal. The game's difficulty hits a sweet spot that I think so many devs have strived to hit themselves, but missed the mark. A truly commendable achievement of design that, unfortunately, we likely won't see these days. I suppose that makes going back to play this even more special, though!

My only major complaint about this first title is that the bosses are rather... shit. I don't even want to dedicate more time to them, besides King K. Rool they have absolutely nothing going for them. Donkey Kong Country is a relic of the past, not every little thing works, but it coalesces into an unforgettable experience, an adventure through a world I'll never cease to love.

The feelings I was hit with during Before the Green Moon were truly overwhelming. I was consistently awash with not only joy and whimsy, but sorrow and regret, and many a contemplation about my own life during the game's quiet moments.

This is a farming game, though not in the same way that Stardew Valley is a farming game. The systems here are not complex; you place a crop in the ground, you water it every day and then you harvest it. Most crops function in this manner, while others can be harvested multiple times throughout the season they grow. You can find chickens too, though this again is a simple system where you place apples in their box to appease their hunger.

Where this game excels is in its setting. The look and feel of this world is distinctly Before the Green Moon. The game looks muddy, with grimy dilapidation visible on every low quality texture. This isn't at all a criticism though, as cleaner looking texture would take away from the vibe this game gives off. This place is new to you, and kinda ugly, but as you continue to explore and integrate into the town, it begins to feel like you belong. The individual textures are less apparent as you take in the bigger picture, appreciating the 'realness' of this landscape.

What enhances the believability is the writing, which is more human than any game I've experienced prior. Inititally, I found it a tad mundane. Characters often have little interesting to say, and the lore of the world unfolds very slowly, and never allows you a full view of what it looks like. Yet, I continued to play and started to buy into it. These conversations remind me of my own, some conversations are boring, and compartively I know very little about my world and the people inside it. I don't need to know these characters' entire backstory, I get bits and pieces the same way I do with my friends. These interactions come at usual intervals as you run around town, but you're able to become closer to any character you like by simply spending more time around time. I personally experienced a lowkey love story that wasn't excessively romantic or dramatic, but it was reflective of my own love life. It was sweet, and I was allowed to bask simply in the presence of my partner, through thick and thin.

There comes a point where progress on the story halts. You no longer see new cutscenes and continue to farm purely to make more money. There is an end goal; to reach the moon, a place abundant with opportunity. I knew I had to go there, until I found happiness in this digital world, deciding that I'd rather stay there forever.

But I reached this point of stagnation that I couldn't overcome. Life had become totally routine, and while there was still joy in that, I started to crave change. I feel this way about my own life, and again this game had me positioning myself in the protagonist's shoes. Could I live this way forever? Ultimately, the answer was no, and the parting was truly heartwrenching. There is no resolution, you say goodbye and the game ends in fairly open ended manner. It's the hardest decision a game has ever had me making, and well over a month later, I still don't know if I made the right choice.

To me, that is the mark of a masterpiece.