Pros: Unique worlds and levels using Donkey Kong Country 3 as a foundation. With a solid engine from Donkey Kong Land 2 as a base, every area and object is pretty readable and distinct, making it so you're never really confused in the world full of low res ACM animated black and white sprites! To separate itself further from DKC3, there's an extra mode at the end of the game, a Time Trials, where you race to the finish of a set of stages to earn clock items, which is a fun little bonus. Speaking of bonuses, there's even an entire card game of Memory in this little package, something that also wasn't in DKC3. This game did more to stand out than DKL2 ever did, and it's all the better for it!
Cons: The level design can be a bit uninspired, as you'll see repeated obstacles and platforms often enough, and kinda, eh, feels a little pasted together to be honest. But you get the variety you get from a typical DKC, which is still more than enough to keep things fresh until the end. One personal beef I have is that my favorite Animal Buddy, Ellie the Elephant, doesn't show up at all until the later half of the game, and even then, only in a couple of levels, where she's stripped away of most of her abilities from SNES... Eh, minor gripe, at least she's there anyway. Also, what's with the 1-up balloon sprite? Why is it still Diddy Kong's face from DKL2? C'mon, update that thing with Dixie's head... Yeesh! Heh... And a third thing, Kiddy Kong doesn't have his water skip ability, even though Nintendo Power said he did in this! What the heck, man!
What it means to me: This was a major hyped game for myself, it was the last of the line of DKC and DKL games to release, I was highly anticipating completing both trilogies in 1997, I even remember drawing fanart of this game on an envelope and sending it to Nintendo Power (it was never featured in the magazine... bummer). And when it came out, I was overjoyed, my dad bought me the game, which I'm very grateful for, and I recall him handing me the box and remarking how impressive the graphics were for the water. And y'know, they are pretty impressive, that water on the box is quite nice, isn't it?
Cons: The level design can be a bit uninspired, as you'll see repeated obstacles and platforms often enough, and kinda, eh, feels a little pasted together to be honest. But you get the variety you get from a typical DKC, which is still more than enough to keep things fresh until the end. One personal beef I have is that my favorite Animal Buddy, Ellie the Elephant, doesn't show up at all until the later half of the game, and even then, only in a couple of levels, where she's stripped away of most of her abilities from SNES... Eh, minor gripe, at least she's there anyway. Also, what's with the 1-up balloon sprite? Why is it still Diddy Kong's face from DKL2? C'mon, update that thing with Dixie's head... Yeesh! Heh... And a third thing, Kiddy Kong doesn't have his water skip ability, even though Nintendo Power said he did in this! What the heck, man!
What it means to me: This was a major hyped game for myself, it was the last of the line of DKC and DKL games to release, I was highly anticipating completing both trilogies in 1997, I even remember drawing fanart of this game on an envelope and sending it to Nintendo Power (it was never featured in the magazine... bummer). And when it came out, I was overjoyed, my dad bought me the game, which I'm very grateful for, and I recall him handing me the box and remarking how impressive the graphics were for the water. And y'know, they are pretty impressive, that water on the box is quite nice, isn't it?