This remake (and DKC1 GBA) were my earliest gaming memories I remember fondly. Despite owning a bootleg cartridge of the game (yes seriously, it was the EU rom flashed on a cart but the localization label was from some Donald Duck game) I still had extremely fond memories of DKC2 on the GBA as the theming, atmosphere, music, levels designs. Just everything about the game really tailored my taste in gaming.

Nowadays, as an adult I prefer playing the SNES original of DKC2 just for the music and visuals alone but the GBA remake is absolutely no slouch and is worth checking regardless (same for the other GBA remakes of DKC). At its core its still DKC2, an already amazing game but the other little things it adds is pretty nice, they're nothing too substantial compared to what DKC1 and DKC3 got on GBA but its appreciated nonetheless.

Despite preferring the SNES original I didn't want to rank this game lower due to the visuals and music being crunched down to level with the GBA's hardware cause hey, I feel that does fall to subjectivity and it's still DKC2 which again, still a great game!

(Played the current demo on Itch.io)

Sugary Spire is a neat little time that surprisingly captures the feel and control of Pizza Tower fairly well. Its not as polished as PT, (chalk that up to being based off of older builds of the game) and its control conventions do mess with your muscle memory a little, but once you click with Sugary Spire, you click super well.

The music is stellar too. I can't wait to see what becomes of this fangame.

I went into this game kinda expecting it to be bad considering what I've heard over the years but...Nah! The game itself is solid! I could imagine the slowdown and sprites/background stuff giving a lower score for most but yeah this is a decent Game Boy game. I loved the unique setpieces it brought and the music!

The romhack is stellar too, it fixes the slowdown and makes the game easier to look at with the sprites not blending into the BG. Highly recommend using this romhack if you're gonna play Donkey Kong Land 1!

I went into this game kinda expecting it to be bad considering what I've heard over the years but...Nah! The game itself is solid! I could imagine the slowdown and sprites/background stuff giving a lower score for most but yeah this is a decent Game Boy game. I loved the unique setpieces it brought and the music!

The romhack is stellar too, it fixes the slowdown and makes the game easier to look at with the sprites not blending into the BG. Highly recommend using this romhack if you're gonna play Donkey Kong Land 1!

I had this and DKC2 on GBA as a kid, never beat either but I remember having fun with them with being my earliest exposure to Donkey Kong. I'm an adult now, and I'm happy to say the GBA remake of DKC1 still holds up very well today.

I'd arguably say I'd put it slightly above the original just for the improvements to the control, DK's speed being increased, and the tweaks to the bosses to make them a bit more challenging. Despite those positives I do like both versions about the same anyhow. The GBA renditions of the OST were nice to hear too.

My main gripe (and it does affect the original too) is the verticality of the camera being a bit jank sometimes with not seeing whats above or below you.

Overall, still absolutely worth playing!