Since I loved Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest so much, I had a gut feeling that the third installment in the series wouldn't top the second or even the first game. I tried not to go into the game with this mentality, but I just couldn't shake that feeling, and it unfortunately turned out to be true. Even if I wasn't expecting it to be as good as the first two games in the Donkey Kong series, Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble! is a huge downgrade in terms of level design and memorability, even if the end result is still a good game.

Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble! has the design philosophy of a New Super Mario Bros. game, where all of the game's levels have at least one gimmick in them. While some of the levels in the first two games did have one-off gimmicks, they were far more interesting than what is present here, as many of the gimmicks in this game's levels feel like they were added just to annoy the player rather than to pose any actual challenge. Speaking of which, Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble! is way easier than the first two games in the series, and the lowered difficulty combined with the gimmick-heavy level design leads to a generally forgettable experience.

Aside from all of that, there are some positives about the game that remain consistent with what was present in its predecessors. The visuals, sound design, and general atmosphere are still great (Even if the character designs are the worst in the series), and while Eveline Fischer's score isn't nearly as memorable or catchy as David Wise’s work on the first two games, she still did a good job here. Overall, Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble! is still a good game, although it's nowhere near as good as its predecessors and I'm much less eager to revisit this game than I am to revisit the first two Donkey Kong games.