I got the platinum trophy




What a fucking incredible game

The 4th game in my DK marathon and it’s the first one that actually feels like an actual video game

Donkey Kong Country is a short but ultimately super satisfying platformer, I love the gameplay itself, DK has so much weight to him and it adds a sense of realism to this game that other platformers lack, it also helps that this game just looks incredible, the use of silicon graphics here is superb, it gives the game this unique style and couple that with how expressive every enemy and character is, it just really makes it feel alive.
The bosses admittedly are very ok, most of them are just bigger versions of regular enemies, the big death barrel boss was kinda funny but nothing much beyond that, however despite that, the final boss against King K Rool is great, he does more than just one attack in the fight, it’s the one arena that isn’t just a giant banana pile, his animations are really well done, it’s all around just a great final fight, and a nice way to end the game.
The big thing that really elevates this game above a lot of platformers is the atmosphere and the soundtrack, holy fucking shit, the atmosphere is insane for an SNES game, I thought nothing could rival Super Metroid but I mean, here we are, and the soundtrack god damn, the soundtrack is the nice as hell icing on the cake, the one thing that fully rounds out the levels in the game, and makes this game a near masterpiece, it is legitimately one of the best soundtracks I’ve ever heard in a video game, and I got multiple games with a similar soundtrack to get through, hell yeah.


Overall DKC is an absolute classic, and I loved it dearly.
Now onto DKC 2: Diddy’s Kong Quest

Ah, an instant classic

Nothing felt better than to 100% this game and see Mario waving to you at the end

What a masterpiece

I played the switch version



Honestly didn’t see many problems that I see people complaining about, load times were pretty quick, didn’t notice any textures missing, framerate dropped sometimes but nothing I couldn’t handle



Also holy fuck the final boss didn’t need to go that hard



And that intro, godly

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.

And after basically 14 years without a DKC game, Nintendo suddenly blessed us with this game.


Donkey Kong Country Returns is a fantastic game, the levels are great, the game looks fucking beautiful, the soundtrack is another absolute masterpiece, the game is just so good.

The amount of shit that can happen in just one level is insane, you can start off at a nice normal pace, then you’ll be blasting yourself out of barrels and completely destroying ancient ruins in the blink of an eye, shit is wild, and this energy is kept all throughout the game.

Speaking of, the game looks beautiful, so many little details in the animation of things, the way levels are structured so there are no random floating platforms, it makes the world feel so much more natural, and it makes you feel like you’re a god damn ape.

And of course, the soundtrack, a complete fucking bop, every level every boss every thing has an absolute jam of a soundtrack behind it, keeping this game every bit as funky as the og trilogy.

This game does have one problem, now the controls, they are great, Donkey Kong’s weight is really felt in gameplay, the way they use Diddy more as a companion who makes your life easier is much better than the original games where the secondary character is just there, the roll has been improved in terms of motion, the blowing mechanic is neat, and the beating on the ground is pretty funny and fun to do………….now here’s where the problem is, those last three thing I mentioned are locked behind the forced Wii remote waggle system, and it’s like legitimately insane, WHO THE DECIDED THIS WAS A GOOD IDEA.
Now admittedly the beating on the ground and just punching the shit out of bosses after you beat them is pretty cathartic with the waggle, I don’t mind the motion controls being used there, but who in the fuck decided to lock the roll behind it, it’s almost a necessary move to get through some levels and bosses, and you need to waggle the controller every time, like why not just use the B button?

Now the thing with the motion controls is that they can easily be fixed, the 3Ds version allows you to play like a normal human being by actually making it so that you play with buttons, so I could definitely see a switch port of this game doing the same, with that said, if it’s technically a minor gripe, then why don’t I give this game a five star?
Well the answer is pretty simple, it’s actually a pretty similar reason with why I gave portal 1 only a 4.5, and it comes down to this: the game’s sequel did literally almost everything exponentially better, and speak of the devil.

The next (and final) game I’m gonna play for this DK marathon is Donkey Kong Country: Tropica Freeze.