Pros: The graphics are excellent, expansion pak requirements allowed them to pull off some pretty fancy shmancy lighting effects on considerably high poly models for the N64. They knew graphics were what put DKC on the map, so they couldn't cheap out for the N64 successor. Animations are also pretty vibrant, characters are full of plenty personality and movement, with, maybe even a little too much toony squash and stretch. But one thing's for sure, everyone looks full of life. And they control great, the base mechanics for movement and gameplay, actually feel solid. And these characters are all pretty fun, Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong are joined by newcomers Tiny, Lanky, and Chunky, in a grand open sandbox 3D platforming adventure game, like Mario 64 or Banjo-Kazooie. It's huge, and being huge means it comes with the good and the bad. The good, the worlds are all vibrant and offer plenty of variety, colorful areas with boppy fun music, and some nice bonuses, like the entire arcade DK and even Rare's first game, Jetpac, fully playable.
Cons: The bad... the game forces backtracking by making you switch characters at specific areas, to then travel through areas to grab collectibles that only that specific Kong can collect, and often, these are areas you've been to before with other Kongs, artificially making the game feel bigger, when really it's just bloat. And it's not fun bloat either, not that bloat ever really is. They say it's the journey, not the destination, but if the journey is the same journey I've done three or four times before, and the destination is a purple banana, it's not much of a journey, or much a destination. So what's the point? They shoulda gotten rid of all that, just make it so any collectible can be grabbed by any Kong, and the abilities of the Kongs themselves are what allow you to gain access to new areas and challenges. That's all... I mean, that's a big fundamental change, but it would've saved the game. Oh well.
And for some personal annoyances, as a DK fan. Why Tiny and Chunky when Dixie and Kiddy are right there??? Also, I love Grant Kirkhope, his compositions in the Banjo-Kazooie series are perfection. But... His style doesn't really fit Donkey Kong, you know? Not everyone can be David Wise, sure, but Evelyne Novakovic and Kenji Yamamoto still nailed the style of DKC, which is more atmospheric and ambient. Whereas Grant's music is oompah-pah boppy bop xylophone goofaround. Not bad music, but not what I've come to expect from Donkey Kong... Also yeah, the over abundance of squash and stretch is a bit too toony for DK too. Look, I just really dug the "fractured realism" of the original DKC series, and this game doesn't really follow the same look and feel as them.
What it means to me: There was no game I was anticipating more when the N64 was revealed, than the future Donkey Kong 64. I would skip to the end of every issue of Nintendo Power I got in the mail, to see if it was listed in the "future release" section, and for years, nothing. Then out of the blue in 1999, it SHOWED UP!! I was, yeah, hyped. But, I had certain ideas for what a DK64 should be in my head, after years of hoping and dreaming. And those ideas didn't quite line up... Yes, I wanted a big 3D adventure game like Super Mario 64 and B-K, got that, but the rest? I imagined DK, Diddy, Dixie, and Kiddy, the four playable Kongs from the DKC trilogy, now all together for the four-player featured N64 system, like that was a marketable feature of the system! That and more animal buddies (we ended up getting Rambi and Enguarde in this, they're alright, but barely used, and you don't even ride them, eh) And of course, David Wise, the more naturalistic art style, etc etc. Instead we got a Banjo-Kazooie tryhard, and it feels kind of wrong comparing one of the worst 3D platformers to one of the best, but you can tell, this Rare team looked towards Banjo-Kazooie for direction, but dropped the ball hard... It was all something that was really hard for me, a huge DK fan, to come to grips with. It's not without its qualities, but it's mostly a disappointment.
Cons: The bad... the game forces backtracking by making you switch characters at specific areas, to then travel through areas to grab collectibles that only that specific Kong can collect, and often, these are areas you've been to before with other Kongs, artificially making the game feel bigger, when really it's just bloat. And it's not fun bloat either, not that bloat ever really is. They say it's the journey, not the destination, but if the journey is the same journey I've done three or four times before, and the destination is a purple banana, it's not much of a journey, or much a destination. So what's the point? They shoulda gotten rid of all that, just make it so any collectible can be grabbed by any Kong, and the abilities of the Kongs themselves are what allow you to gain access to new areas and challenges. That's all... I mean, that's a big fundamental change, but it would've saved the game. Oh well.
And for some personal annoyances, as a DK fan. Why Tiny and Chunky when Dixie and Kiddy are right there??? Also, I love Grant Kirkhope, his compositions in the Banjo-Kazooie series are perfection. But... His style doesn't really fit Donkey Kong, you know? Not everyone can be David Wise, sure, but Evelyne Novakovic and Kenji Yamamoto still nailed the style of DKC, which is more atmospheric and ambient. Whereas Grant's music is oompah-pah boppy bop xylophone goofaround. Not bad music, but not what I've come to expect from Donkey Kong... Also yeah, the over abundance of squash and stretch is a bit too toony for DK too. Look, I just really dug the "fractured realism" of the original DKC series, and this game doesn't really follow the same look and feel as them.
What it means to me: There was no game I was anticipating more when the N64 was revealed, than the future Donkey Kong 64. I would skip to the end of every issue of Nintendo Power I got in the mail, to see if it was listed in the "future release" section, and for years, nothing. Then out of the blue in 1999, it SHOWED UP!! I was, yeah, hyped. But, I had certain ideas for what a DK64 should be in my head, after years of hoping and dreaming. And those ideas didn't quite line up... Yes, I wanted a big 3D adventure game like Super Mario 64 and B-K, got that, but the rest? I imagined DK, Diddy, Dixie, and Kiddy, the four playable Kongs from the DKC trilogy, now all together for the four-player featured N64 system, like that was a marketable feature of the system! That and more animal buddies (we ended up getting Rambi and Enguarde in this, they're alright, but barely used, and you don't even ride them, eh) And of course, David Wise, the more naturalistic art style, etc etc. Instead we got a Banjo-Kazooie tryhard, and it feels kind of wrong comparing one of the worst 3D platformers to one of the best, but you can tell, this Rare team looked towards Banjo-Kazooie for direction, but dropped the ball hard... It was all something that was really hard for me, a huge DK fan, to come to grips with. It's not without its qualities, but it's mostly a disappointment.