Donkey Kong Land 3 is the strongest out of the DKL trilogy and definitely an underlooked game for Donkey Kong in general. I'd dare even say the level design in this game is better than the Kitchen Sink approach taken in DKC 3 proper. In fact, I'm crazy enough to maybe even say that this is a great entry point into the handheld Donkey Kong games if you want to give them a shot. The difficulty is pretty straightforward and gradual. The only time you'll struggle is near the end of the game in the bonus world and the insanely cursed time trials afterwards. Definitely best not to attempt them all in one day as you will suffer major burnout and irritation from them.
For the first time, a DKL game promises something significant in return for getting 100%. Why? Because the game will not let you even FINISH it unless you do. Well, I am mortal and my time here is limited, so I took a look at a let's play on YouTube for the ending. Turns out you fight King K. Rool and see a roll-call of all the baddies 🙄
While not as gimmicky or varied and more rompy compared to the DKC3 on SNES, this is still a very fun platformer for the Game Boy. It still inherits an issue of occasional screen crunch from the previous Land entries, but the level design is solid for the most part. The bosses are a mixed bag, for example Bleak The Snowman's attacks can be easily dodged by running against right side of the screen and occasionally jumping, and K. Rool fights are pretty tough, screen crunch doesn't particularly help. Still though, this is a good game, and one of the better platformers for the original Game Boy.
Another platformer I played as a kid. I don't have any other real experience with the DK land or Country games, so this was the only one I tried and I remember really enjoying it, but never being good enough to beat it. Transforming into different animals was always fun, trying to collect all the letters in each level, there was always something to do even if I couldn't get to the end of the game on my own.
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?
Donkey Kong Land III follows up well on what made the 2nd Donkey Kong Land so much better than the first. It's mostly more of the same and I think that's a good thing. My only major problem is that the screen view is still rather limited, and it really harms the water levels and the sled levels. And sadly, this still pales in comparison to the console counterpart. Despite that, this is still a good game.
The most polished and successful of the DKL games, it's a pretty fun standalone adventure that works pretty well given the Gameboy's constraints. While the game does use the same archetypes as DKC3, the world and levels this time are original to the game, which is good enough for me. The game isn't too janky, and I enjoyed playing through it. Not enough to 100% it, but still. It's solid.
The best of the three Donkey Kong Land games.
This game has the improved physics and controls of Donkey Kong Land II but still has more original content that sets it apart from the SNES game, like Donkey Kong Land I.
There isn't much more to say, and most people will find it not worth playing over Country III. But if you want more DKC then this is definitely worth the time.
This game has the improved physics and controls of Donkey Kong Land II but still has more original content that sets it apart from the SNES game, like Donkey Kong Land I.
There isn't much more to say, and most people will find it not worth playing over Country III. But if you want more DKC then this is definitely worth the time.