I really enjoyed playing through this, I had so much fun with it. For a fps from the 90's, it has surprisingly held up very well. The levels were short and sweet with the perfect amount of challenge. The only issue that I had was keeping track of what switches did what. I found myself running around in circles for a few minutes a couple of times because I couldn't figure out what the switch I hit just did. Though I wasn't around to experience what it was like to play this game at the time it came out (I was born in 1998 lol), I can imagine how iconic this was when it came out. I can definitely see myself playing this as a relaxing game in the future if I'm bored.

Basically the original, but better


Donkey Kong Country 2 is a marvelous game, the first game I’d already said got pretty close to perfect, and this one also almost reached it, it’s a phenomenal game.
It’s a tiny bit longer than the last game which made it even better, the graphics obviously look about the same but there’s very subtle changes and, I mean, it still is gorgeous no matter what.
The gameplay is also better here, it’s much faster thanks to the obviously more light weightedness of Diddy and Dixie compared to Donkey Kong, aside from the speed it’s still the same good ass platforming, but this time with better level design.
Of course, the best thing here again is the soundtrack, HUAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH, shit man it’s so good, it flows with the last game beautifully, it’s incredible man.
Also I will say, the original was already pretty difficult, but, GOD DAMN, this game is fucking tough.


Overall it’s another incredible DK platformer, nothin much else to say beyond that.
Now onto DKC 3: Dixie Kong’s Double Trouble.

One of my most beloved games from when I was a kid, that on every replay I find something new that I don't like about it. It was animated by a virulent transphobe with nasty fucking nails and Tommy Tallarico regularly lies about having composed the music for it when he absolutely did not. Nice stuff!!

I want to preface it right now, on the Genesis this is a 2 STAR GAME. The PC/Sega CD versions I think are 3 stars for many technical reasons and for having the very fun Big Bruty level.

The Genesis version though kind of SUCKS. It's not because EWJ is already an incredibly uneven game, but because the whip has the most particular hitbox you could imagine, requiring precision that really feels unnecessarily strict. The helicopter head never ever feels like it works right, and makes the Use Your Head portion of the final level nearly fucking impossible. The Genesis version plays so bad that I can see why it being readily available on Switch, along with its insipid creator has lead to people turning HARD on Jim.

The Sega CD version still doesn't play perfect, because at its heart Earthworm Jim is still kind of a mess, but I still think it's light years better than Earthworm Jim 2, which is a game that experiments with every level being the bad level. Tube Race and Snot a Problem are the only levels here that I think are just so shit that it brings the experience down. I think For Pete's Sake is pretty fun actually :)

Levels that are pure platforming challenges are usually pretty fun, with a huge asterisk, as sometimes Jim just doesn't control great or his sprite feels a little bit bigger than it needs to be, but I still think New Junk City, Level 5, and Buttville provide good enough platforming challenges. I am a biased observer though, as I really don't care about most 2D games and would rather playing Earthworm Jim than any boring ass Mega Man game, so take my words with a grain of salt.

The music is great though! It was absolutely not composed by Tallarico, despite his insistence it was. I doubt the Special Edition music was even done by him, even the guitars, as he pretty infamously plays to a backing track with VGL. Can he even play guitar? No one knows! Notice how EWJ2 is credited to him and half of it is music he didn't even compose? Weird, huh. I did listen to the music here a TON growing up, and still think it's brilliant stuff.

What this game is rightfully famous for is the animation, character design, all of it being REALLY great looking. The various Jim idle animations, the way Evil the Cat's gun knocks him back during his boss fight, and, even though it stinks to play, the animations in Snot a Problem are so beautifully done. It's a shame the most annoying piece of shit was behind these!

This game is so hard to go back to today for reasons that honestly don't have much to do with the actual game: it's an eccentric 90s platformer, not much to write home about. The fact that it's attached to the hip to the legacies of the most irritating fucking losers is really brutal. Still worth a shot on the Sega CD or PC, as the Genesis version is too clunky to even recommend casually.