🎈That Balloon pop sound gives me PTSD 20+ years later 🎈

Donkey Kong Country for the Super Nintendo is an absolute classic that stands the test of time. Its addictive gameplay, quickly became one of the most beloved platformers for me almost superseding Super Mario. From its stunning visuals using pre-rendered 3D graphics, the game boasts charm and vibrant colors, and often overlooked character animations that were not present much in SNES games but Rareware were the top dogs in the 90s.

DKC solid gameplay always had me coming back for more. Being both Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong offered a extra layer of gameplay without you ever realizing it as DK is more Brute and Diddy is fight and fast. As I navigated through the in game world "DK Island" It provided alot of challenging levels filled with enemies, obstacles, and secrets to discover. As I played this game so many times I am always learning new things and locations about the levels. Which brings me to the level design; It is top notch. Each level has its challenge or gimmick but just amps up the difficulty just enough that players of all skill levels can enjoy the game. Also adding a two-player co-op mode adds another layer of gameplay that really makes you work together to beat each level as each Kong is controlled by a different person.

The music in this game is top tier! It perfectly complements the action on screen, immersing you in the world and also giving each world and level its own identity.

Now while the game is excellent, it is not without its drawbacks. Some people that are not familiar with these types of games may experience frustrating difficulty spikes While the game generally strikes a good balance in challenge, there are a few levels that can feel unfairly difficult, leading to frustration for some players. The usual consensus is "git gud" when this happens but some people may be turned off due to some unfairness which doesn't really relate to skill IMO. Another drawback I had was the variety in Boss Battles. While each boss are fun and memorable, there isn't a huge variety in the types of bosses you face often repeating enemies you have already seen. Many of them follow similar patterns, which can make them feel repetitive after a while. In retrospect it makes the them easier than the levels themselves.

Overall, I think Donkey Kong Country holds up as one of the greatest platformers ever made. It's a timeless classic and really accessible if you have the Nintendo Switch Online. Give it shot you will not be disappointed. Donkey Kong Country is an absolute must-play for anyone.

Solid 2D platformer with a cool visual style and great atmosphere. The level design is generally solid throughout, and the game introduces a lot of varied mechanics to keep things fresh without straying too far from the core platforming gameplay you're here for in the first place.

There's two things I didn't like here. First is the length. You can beat this in an afternoon, which is not really anything new when it comes to a lot of SNES games, but the levels here feel pretty short in of themselves, which makes the game feel shorter than it actually is. Secondly is the camera. I felt it was just a tad too close to the player in a lot of cases, resulting in several moments where I was blindsided by an enemy or projectile that hit me before I could see it coming. It's not a constant occurence, but it does happen more often than I'd like it to. Just a little bit of extra screen space would have gone a long way here.

Outside of a handful of complaints, Donkey Kong Country is solid and an easy game to recommend for fans of the genre. I might go back to reach 100% completion one day, but I'm satisfied with leaving it here for the time being. Definitely looking forward to playing the second and third games in the future.

I have a question for you: Do you have a "happy place" game? When you have had a bad day, nothing's gone right, and you feel dead to the world, do you have a game that you just turn on and suddenly everything suddenly feels like it's going to be okay? Donkey Kong Country is that game to me. Every Donkey Kong Country has that effect on me, but it's most keenly felt with this one.

The story is pretty simple. One dark and stormy night, King K. Rool has stolen Donkey Kong's banana hoard and locked Diddy Kong in a barrel. It's your job to save Diddy and the banana hoard. It is admittedly light on story, but most of the game's emotions are carried in the moment to moment gameplay. This is an incredibly challenging game for first-timers. Sure, I can beat it now no problem, but that's because I have over 20 years of experience playing it. Its difficulty actually enhances the quest. With how high stakes the atmosphere of the levels make it, combined with David Wise's frankly haunting soundtrack, it really feels like a quest into danger more than a simple platforming romp. Some nights, I will just put on Aquatic Ambience from the soundtrack and just contemplate my place in the world. The music and atmosphere of this game make me feel wonderful things that I am not sure I can even put into words.

The platforming itself is a ton of fun. An incredibly high skill ceiling means that it is always engaging, and there is enough mechanical variation to keep you entertained through the whole journey. The same can arguably not be said about the stage variety. They could have called this game "Donkey Kong Cave" for how much time you spend in them. This is one aspect where its sequels have it beat admittedly, but it never really bothered me personally. The same can be said of the bosses. Of all the various bosses in the game, only King K. Rool himself stands out as memorable. Fortunately, the final fight with him is arguably one of the best the Super Nintendo has to offer.

It should also be noted that this game arguably saved the Super Nintendo from losing to the Genesis in North America. While the Sega Genesis did still beat the Super Nintendo in sales in 1994 and 1995, it would prove to be the years that a Sega console would ever be on top in the region. Sega would move on to the Saturn in 1995 in America, more or less abandoning the Genesis, allowing the Super Nintendo to catch up and eventually surpass it in sales globally. The Donkey Kong Country games were a major reason why, and it all began with this one. This game would prove to be the second best-selling game for the SNES, with Donkey Kong, for a few years at least, supplanting Mario as Nintendo's most popular character. A lot of that had to do with the graphics. No one had ever seen graphics like this before. When you play this game on a CRT TV now, they still hold up. With the right filters on an emulator, you can get a similar effect.

This game was a risk that paid off. I am not sure modern Nintendo would trust a third party to handle one of their biggest IPs in such a way. Perhaps they should. With its colorful graphics, interesting and challenging platofrming, excellent animation, and amazing soundtrack that elevates the whole experience into something that is emotional and poignant, Donkey Kong Country is simply one of the finest platforming games ever made, and my "happy place" game. Give it a shot and who knows? It just might become your "happy place" game, too.

Essa é a 4° vez que zero esse jogo, dessa vez fiz no super nintendo original com cartucho. É o meu jogo favorito da vida, amo passar correndo pelas fazes com pulos precisos e rápidos, amo a trilha sonora, o sentimento que o jogo me causa é indescritível. Porém acho que há algumas falhas, algumas fazes são muito difíceis e chatas como por exemplo a primeira fase do mundo de gelo, vários barris em que um erro você volta pro começo. Porém rexiste um barril secreto que você pode skipar tudo isso, porém como eu disse é um segredo, um jogador de primeira viagem irá ficar muito irritado com essa fase.
Eu acho todos os chefes do jogo fáceis porém divertidos, com exceção do k.rool. a luta é muito longa, vc morre varis vezes e tem que refazer tudo denovo, simplesmente não é divertida. Mas é uma questão de tentativa até você passar, não é nada impossível.

30th Anniversary Log / Review

I had a quick play today, I love how fast paced and responsive Donkey Kong Country is, it's meant for a CRT display with blending perfect for the pixelised Silicon Graphics which I'm personally in favour of.

The ice levels are slippery and sorta suck, don't bother with 101%. I probably last beat it when I got a SNES in 2013 and probably another tmie since, this was a childhood mainstay I'd borrow from family friends when they moved onto the PS2. Maybe I'll try out the rest of the series in the coming years?