It's time for me to face the music.
I decided to replay this game for the first time in almost a decade, successfully aiming to get a true 101% completion, colored bananas and all. This game really means a lot to me; it's the first game I remember really getting into, I have a ton of vivid childhood memories of going through it at various ages and learning more and more about it, it's partially responsible for making me a furry, and I've always been ready to come up to bat to defend it from the naysayers. Sure, it's dated, but it's still good, right? ... right?
It's really hard to tackle the many issues this game has, so to get it out of the way, I'll talk about the good. As to be expected from Rare, it's incredibly charming. All the characters are so vivid and full of personality, from idle animations to falling screams to their weapon choices, everything really sticks with you and makes you smile throughout the entire game. The art style is very fun, managing to create such colorful and varied scenery with the N64's limited ability. Although, hands down, the best aspect of this game might be its sound design. Grant Kirkhope is one of the true gaming composing legends, and he once again proves it in this game. All the sound effects are so memorable and playful, and the music consistently goes crazy hard, especially the boss themes. The gameplay, while repetitive, does have some really fun moments; I love all the minecart sequences, some of the puzzles are really clever, and in general the levels are surprisingly atmospheric and rich for such a silly game. However, cracks are going to show if you stay in these levels for long periods.
There are three major complaints I see towards this game: #1 is that there's too many collectibles, #2 is that it's too segmented, and #3 is that it relies on mini-games too much. I would like to actually defend the first point, I think the amount of collectibles works perfectly from a level-to-level basis and really never feels like it's overbearing, unless including all colored bananas. 5 Golden Bananas for each Kong (which is really 4 + finding an enemy), 5 Banana Medals, 2 Banana Fairies, and a Battle Crown. Sure, it sounds like a lot when you write it down like that, but it flows fine in-game and doesn't leave too many sloggish moments. However, complaint #2 is not something I can defend at all. The game is too segmented. Full stop.
Having a game be linear and segmented is not necessarily a bad thing, e.g. Ocarina of Time, but the problem in DK64 arises from the unbelievable level of backtracking that you have to do if you plan on collecting everything. There are numerous levels where teleport pads are used just to bring one Kong to a room they otherwise could not have gotten to just to shoot a balloon and gain 10 bananas. It doesn't feel fun or satisfying, it just leads to a slow trek back to a Tag Barrel to swap for the one Kong you need, teleporting to the room, shooting, and walking all the way back to continue with the level. There are also a lot of occasions of one room having to be entered and exited with multiple different Kongs, which while seeming clever at first, just leads to a very repetitive and stale experience where you go in and out and in and out and in and out of the same room with very little difference. You're not seeing 5 different rooms, you're seeing 1 room 5 times, and it gets grating. Luckily, there is a romhack that mitigates some of these issues, allowing you to swap Kongs at almost any moment, which significantly cuts down the backtracking. You would think that would be a major solution, and I will definitely admit that it helps a lot, but it still doesn't solve everything, specifically...
Complaint #3, too many mini-games. Yes, yes, yes, and yes. I don't remember the exact number, but I believe the total amount of Golden Bananas obtained solely through Bonus Barrels is over 25, if not over 30. That's not a small amount, especially when you consider that some mini-games are only used once, which means the rest are repeated over and over. Some are fine (Kremling Kosh), some are tedious (Stealthy Snoop), and some make you want to crush your controller in your hands (Minecart Mayhem). Overall, it's a lot more negative than positive, and you just keep seeing them, all the way to the literal end of the game, you will see mini-games. But the thing that really bothers me, the thing that really pushed me over the edge and made me realize a huge flaw in the design, is how the mini-games are used. Occasionally, it's something as simple as hitting a switch and then going into a Bonus Barrel; it's basic, sure, but that's all it needs to be. Other times, a Bonus Barrel is used as a supplement for a regular Golden Banana for solving a puzzle. Really think about this: they're giving you the opportunity to gain a Golden Banana, rather than just giving you the Banana. It sucks away so much of the enjoyment of figuring something out, having your "a-ha!", and feeling the satisfaction of hearing the success sound effect, just to see a Bonus Barrel pop up. If I wasn't going for 100%, I would've absolutely skipped most of them.
That's actually something I felt during a lot of this playthrough, and I feel an accurate summation of the game's flawed design. There is some great stuff in here, and the layouts of the levels themselves is pretty consistently good, but so much of it is bogged down by how tedious and grindy 100%'ing it is. Normally that wouldn't be an issue, but it's a collect-a-thon game, a genre that actively encourages you to go out of your way and search every nook and cranny to get every possible thing you can. Unfortunately, doing that here leads to an actively worse experience than if you were to just play the game "normally" and be willing to give up when a Banana just gets too frustrating to unlock, if you're okay with not having every number be maxed out, every slot filled. That's the biggest takeaway I can give for this game: it's a collect-a-thon where the best possible way to play is to not collect everything.
Do I still like this game? Yes, I do. It still means a lot to me and I really can't even say it's terrible, but it is horribly flawed and its dated design will most likely only continue to age worse and worse as time goes on. Who knows, maybe there will be a collect-a-thon revival in a few years and people will come back to love this. Would be cool. For now, though, it remains as a massive guilty pleasure for my inner kid, while the adult on the outside is suffering headaches from doubling back for the 5th time looking for the last green banana bunch.
I decided to replay this game for the first time in almost a decade, successfully aiming to get a true 101% completion, colored bananas and all. This game really means a lot to me; it's the first game I remember really getting into, I have a ton of vivid childhood memories of going through it at various ages and learning more and more about it, it's partially responsible for making me a furry, and I've always been ready to come up to bat to defend it from the naysayers. Sure, it's dated, but it's still good, right? ... right?
It's really hard to tackle the many issues this game has, so to get it out of the way, I'll talk about the good. As to be expected from Rare, it's incredibly charming. All the characters are so vivid and full of personality, from idle animations to falling screams to their weapon choices, everything really sticks with you and makes you smile throughout the entire game. The art style is very fun, managing to create such colorful and varied scenery with the N64's limited ability. Although, hands down, the best aspect of this game might be its sound design. Grant Kirkhope is one of the true gaming composing legends, and he once again proves it in this game. All the sound effects are so memorable and playful, and the music consistently goes crazy hard, especially the boss themes. The gameplay, while repetitive, does have some really fun moments; I love all the minecart sequences, some of the puzzles are really clever, and in general the levels are surprisingly atmospheric and rich for such a silly game. However, cracks are going to show if you stay in these levels for long periods.
There are three major complaints I see towards this game: #1 is that there's too many collectibles, #2 is that it's too segmented, and #3 is that it relies on mini-games too much. I would like to actually defend the first point, I think the amount of collectibles works perfectly from a level-to-level basis and really never feels like it's overbearing, unless including all colored bananas. 5 Golden Bananas for each Kong (which is really 4 + finding an enemy), 5 Banana Medals, 2 Banana Fairies, and a Battle Crown. Sure, it sounds like a lot when you write it down like that, but it flows fine in-game and doesn't leave too many sloggish moments. However, complaint #2 is not something I can defend at all. The game is too segmented. Full stop.
Having a game be linear and segmented is not necessarily a bad thing, e.g. Ocarina of Time, but the problem in DK64 arises from the unbelievable level of backtracking that you have to do if you plan on collecting everything. There are numerous levels where teleport pads are used just to bring one Kong to a room they otherwise could not have gotten to just to shoot a balloon and gain 10 bananas. It doesn't feel fun or satisfying, it just leads to a slow trek back to a Tag Barrel to swap for the one Kong you need, teleporting to the room, shooting, and walking all the way back to continue with the level. There are also a lot of occasions of one room having to be entered and exited with multiple different Kongs, which while seeming clever at first, just leads to a very repetitive and stale experience where you go in and out and in and out and in and out of the same room with very little difference. You're not seeing 5 different rooms, you're seeing 1 room 5 times, and it gets grating. Luckily, there is a romhack that mitigates some of these issues, allowing you to swap Kongs at almost any moment, which significantly cuts down the backtracking. You would think that would be a major solution, and I will definitely admit that it helps a lot, but it still doesn't solve everything, specifically...
Complaint #3, too many mini-games. Yes, yes, yes, and yes. I don't remember the exact number, but I believe the total amount of Golden Bananas obtained solely through Bonus Barrels is over 25, if not over 30. That's not a small amount, especially when you consider that some mini-games are only used once, which means the rest are repeated over and over. Some are fine (Kremling Kosh), some are tedious (Stealthy Snoop), and some make you want to crush your controller in your hands (Minecart Mayhem). Overall, it's a lot more negative than positive, and you just keep seeing them, all the way to the literal end of the game, you will see mini-games. But the thing that really bothers me, the thing that really pushed me over the edge and made me realize a huge flaw in the design, is how the mini-games are used. Occasionally, it's something as simple as hitting a switch and then going into a Bonus Barrel; it's basic, sure, but that's all it needs to be. Other times, a Bonus Barrel is used as a supplement for a regular Golden Banana for solving a puzzle. Really think about this: they're giving you the opportunity to gain a Golden Banana, rather than just giving you the Banana. It sucks away so much of the enjoyment of figuring something out, having your "a-ha!", and feeling the satisfaction of hearing the success sound effect, just to see a Bonus Barrel pop up. If I wasn't going for 100%, I would've absolutely skipped most of them.
That's actually something I felt during a lot of this playthrough, and I feel an accurate summation of the game's flawed design. There is some great stuff in here, and the layouts of the levels themselves is pretty consistently good, but so much of it is bogged down by how tedious and grindy 100%'ing it is. Normally that wouldn't be an issue, but it's a collect-a-thon game, a genre that actively encourages you to go out of your way and search every nook and cranny to get every possible thing you can. Unfortunately, doing that here leads to an actively worse experience than if you were to just play the game "normally" and be willing to give up when a Banana just gets too frustrating to unlock, if you're okay with not having every number be maxed out, every slot filled. That's the biggest takeaway I can give for this game: it's a collect-a-thon where the best possible way to play is to not collect everything.
Do I still like this game? Yes, I do. It still means a lot to me and I really can't even say it's terrible, but it is horribly flawed and its dated design will most likely only continue to age worse and worse as time goes on. Who knows, maybe there will be a collect-a-thon revival in a few years and people will come back to love this. Would be cool. For now, though, it remains as a massive guilty pleasure for my inner kid, while the adult on the outside is suffering headaches from doubling back for the 5th time looking for the last green banana bunch.
2 Comments
thank you! i wanted to make that as clear as possible, that i'm really trying to come at this with an unbiased critical eye while still keeping in touch with the part of me that still loves this game.
DeemonAndGames
1 year ago
Amazing review, it clearly comes from a place towards the game but you still knew to point its flaws, which is something I really respect and like to see. Great job! :)