Pros: A semi-sequel to Donkey Kong Country on the SNES, this was a brand new game, completely unique, and it went out of its way to show you just how unique it was! Firstly though, this game was visually impressive as hell, getting a game that looked like Donkey Kong Country running on an 8-bit black and white handheld couldn't' have been easy, large sprites, fully animated, smooth framed, it was a stunner! DKC on SNES blew all of our minds with its visuals, and they did again here on Game Boy. It plays like DKC, with the gameplay staples like barrel cannons, rope swinging, animal buddies (just two here, Rambi and Expresso, but hey, you can still ride them!) roll jumping, tag-teaming, the works, this is solid DKC style gameplay! This game featured four big worlds full of 30 levels, with brand new enemies like Hogwash the Flying Pig, Nemo, Swirlwind, and new bosses like Hard Hat the mole. It also featured new archetypes for stages, like pirate ships, mountainsides, crazy cloud lands, underwater sunken temples, and last but not least, the CITY. Beautiful way to end the game, going back to the city where DK started, with construction sites, skyscrapers, blimps, the world acted as a great finale. And this game, in my opinion, stood on its own and succeeded, with creative levels and a good amount of effort. The design here is stronger than it is in the sequels on Game Boy, from beginning to end, this was its own adventure worth having.
Cons: Infamously, it's sometimes difficult to distinguish active objects from the background, as the entire screen can look a bit busy. They did at the very least fix this element in the GB sequels. The physics are also ever so slightly altered, and falling happens a bit faster... Can take some time to get used to, and sometimes the camera can't keep up with your movement, and you may just die by falling to an area that should have ground beneath it... And lastly, the ending of the game, there is no ending, after you defeat K. Rool, the credits immediately start rolling! That's it! But, none of that was able to deter me from having a great time.
What it means to me: This was my Donkey Kong Country, this is the one that was mine and mine alone. The first DKC, my older brother got that one, sure it belonged to the family, but he was the keeper of it. Once this game came along, I used my saved up money in a piggy bank, and took it to the store and purchased my very own Donkey Kong, hell, probably my first video game purchase with my own money ever! And man, did I love this game, obsessed over the new characters (Hogwash, my beloved... ahh), the worlds, the music! I recall taking a tape recorder up to my game boy and making a mixtape of the Donkey Kong Land OST, haha! It was a game I always had in my Game Boy when I was on the go, and on the Super Game Boy at home. Heck, I even got a Banana Yellow colored brick Game Boy to match this beautiful banana yellow game pak. This game was my world, and I can say with certainty, that it is my favorite game on the Game Boy.
Cons: Infamously, it's sometimes difficult to distinguish active objects from the background, as the entire screen can look a bit busy. They did at the very least fix this element in the GB sequels. The physics are also ever so slightly altered, and falling happens a bit faster... Can take some time to get used to, and sometimes the camera can't keep up with your movement, and you may just die by falling to an area that should have ground beneath it... And lastly, the ending of the game, there is no ending, after you defeat K. Rool, the credits immediately start rolling! That's it! But, none of that was able to deter me from having a great time.
What it means to me: This was my Donkey Kong Country, this is the one that was mine and mine alone. The first DKC, my older brother got that one, sure it belonged to the family, but he was the keeper of it. Once this game came along, I used my saved up money in a piggy bank, and took it to the store and purchased my very own Donkey Kong, hell, probably my first video game purchase with my own money ever! And man, did I love this game, obsessed over the new characters (Hogwash, my beloved... ahh), the worlds, the music! I recall taking a tape recorder up to my game boy and making a mixtape of the Donkey Kong Land OST, haha! It was a game I always had in my Game Boy when I was on the go, and on the Super Game Boy at home. Heck, I even got a Banana Yellow colored brick Game Boy to match this beautiful banana yellow game pak. This game was my world, and I can say with certainty, that it is my favorite game on the Game Boy.