I struggle to give this game a concrete star rating. I could easily complain about a lot of this game's pacing and design...But dang it, Rare knew how to present Donkey Kong. I could easily understand why some would find it archaic and boring, with the constant Kong switching back and forth. Levels are huge and you'll be walking across the same ground over and over again with really slow movespeed. Not a whole lot of platforming. Bosses are good but two of them get reused. Challenge ranges from nonexistent to absolutely obnoxious.
Realistically, it's very flawed, way moreso than the 2 Banjos on 64. But, I like the sound it makes when you pick up banana. There are a lot of bananas. Ergo, I like this game. Every single little corner of this game is packed with charm and personality and every sound along with the masterful score by Grant Kirkhope drives me forward. Can't even pause the game and press "save" without something unique to this game happening. Gonna tell me the game that opens with the DK rap ISN'T inherently lovable at all times?
Despite the legitimate design issues, it's got a lot of fun bonus barrel minigames or challenges using character abilities that are a nice change of pace. These are where the gameplay is actually engaging. It has a bad rep for having so many collectables but I never really understood this complaint. Like, ammo to use your items, coins to buy stuff, hidden fairies to increase inventory limits, and everything else feeding into a golden banana count of 200 (only 100 of which are needed to beat the game). Nothing really too excessive or annoying to deal with there imo. The atmosphere is genuinely weirdly good in this game in a way that holds up to this day. Some areas are still a bit uncomfortable and scary, love it. Of course aided again by Grant Kirkhope's genious. Despite a few reused bosses I really like all the fights.
Call it a guilty pleasure or nostalgia or anything you want, but I think this game is a testimate to how much a good soundtrack, sound effects, and aesthetic design, can really carry an experience. If you can stomach some pacing issues between challenge rooms, there's a lot to love here.
DKC Returns review up next!
Realistically, it's very flawed, way moreso than the 2 Banjos on 64. But, I like the sound it makes when you pick up banana. There are a lot of bananas. Ergo, I like this game. Every single little corner of this game is packed with charm and personality and every sound along with the masterful score by Grant Kirkhope drives me forward. Can't even pause the game and press "save" without something unique to this game happening. Gonna tell me the game that opens with the DK rap ISN'T inherently lovable at all times?
Despite the legitimate design issues, it's got a lot of fun bonus barrel minigames or challenges using character abilities that are a nice change of pace. These are where the gameplay is actually engaging. It has a bad rep for having so many collectables but I never really understood this complaint. Like, ammo to use your items, coins to buy stuff, hidden fairies to increase inventory limits, and everything else feeding into a golden banana count of 200 (only 100 of which are needed to beat the game). Nothing really too excessive or annoying to deal with there imo. The atmosphere is genuinely weirdly good in this game in a way that holds up to this day. Some areas are still a bit uncomfortable and scary, love it. Of course aided again by Grant Kirkhope's genious. Despite a few reused bosses I really like all the fights.
Call it a guilty pleasure or nostalgia or anything you want, but I think this game is a testimate to how much a good soundtrack, sound effects, and aesthetic design, can really carry an experience. If you can stomach some pacing issues between challenge rooms, there's a lot to love here.
DKC Returns review up next!