I bought a Super Famicom recently. Got a good deal, came with twelve games, and pretty much all the big ones you'd really want to have - Super Mario World, Tetris Battle Gaiden, the heavy hitters. It also came with a certain trilogy of funny monkey games, and while I don't like re-reviewing stuff I've logged, this isn't Donkey Kong Country... This is SUPER Donkey Kong.
Perhaps that's some unnecessary justification to talk about one of my favorite games again, but you must understand the significance of no longer needing to break into people's homes to play Donkey Kong Country. At last, the DKC Prowler's criminal career comes to a close, and a happy one no less as I can now play Donkey Kong Country at my leisure. My childhood dream of having a Super Nintendo right next to my Genesis - like all the spoiled brats of the 90s - has finally been fulfilled nearly 30 years later, and though my tour of service in the console wars ended when Sega bowed out of the hardware market, I feel I can now truly put old allegiances behind me and admit I fought that fight because I didn't have Donkey Kong.
Hyperbole aside, this last playthrough ofDonkey Kong Country Super Donkey Kong really did feel like closing the loop, even if I can't understand a single thing Funky Kong is trying to tell me when I visit his shop. It is a bit weird that the credits are all in English, including Cranky's boasts of beating the game with one life in under one hour, but Super Donkey Kong is easy enough to play despite the language barrier. Bounce on Kremlins and jump in barrels. I've done this all before and it feels just as good as it always has, perhaps even better. This might be due in part to the easier nature of the Japanese release, which adds a number of extra lives and makes other small tweaks to smooth out the difficulty.
Of course, playing it on real hardware for the first time since my hoodlum youth no doubt played a role in making this a special experience, too. I've found going through these old games the "legitimate" way and cutting the save state safety net often results in a greater feeling of engagement. Not that there's anything wrong with filling your quick save slots up and hammering through something. Any method is valid, but I have my preference. Likewise, Super Donkey Kong's unique graphical style doesn't hold up quite so well when viewed as raw pixels, but the smoothing effect of a CRT makes all the difference here. I already gave this a 4.5/5 and won't be updating my rating, but this last playthrough was a solid 5/5.
Cutting through the water on the back of Engaurde while the calming tones of Aquatic Ambience pipes through the aged speakers of my 100+ pound big boy Toshiba left me thoroughly drenched in nostalgia, and I don't even care. It's nice being able to play DKC this way once again, only with the added benefit of not needing to look over my shoulder.
Your boy finally got his Donkey Kong.
Perhaps that's some unnecessary justification to talk about one of my favorite games again, but you must understand the significance of no longer needing to break into people's homes to play Donkey Kong Country. At last, the DKC Prowler's criminal career comes to a close, and a happy one no less as I can now play Donkey Kong Country at my leisure. My childhood dream of having a Super Nintendo right next to my Genesis - like all the spoiled brats of the 90s - has finally been fulfilled nearly 30 years later, and though my tour of service in the console wars ended when Sega bowed out of the hardware market, I feel I can now truly put old allegiances behind me and admit I fought that fight because I didn't have Donkey Kong.
Hyperbole aside, this last playthrough of
Of course, playing it on real hardware for the first time since my hoodlum youth no doubt played a role in making this a special experience, too. I've found going through these old games the "legitimate" way and cutting the save state safety net often results in a greater feeling of engagement. Not that there's anything wrong with filling your quick save slots up and hammering through something. Any method is valid, but I have my preference. Likewise, Super Donkey Kong's unique graphical style doesn't hold up quite so well when viewed as raw pixels, but the smoothing effect of a CRT makes all the difference here. I already gave this a 4.5/5 and won't be updating my rating, but this last playthrough was a solid 5/5.
Cutting through the water on the back of Engaurde while the calming tones of Aquatic Ambience pipes through the aged speakers of my 100+ pound big boy Toshiba left me thoroughly drenched in nostalgia, and I don't even care. It's nice being able to play DKC this way once again, only with the added benefit of not needing to look over my shoulder.
Your boy finally got his Donkey Kong.
NOWITSREYNTIME17
7 months ago