As a fan of the DKC series, this game ended up being disappointing. I've always heard this was some underlooked gem. It's some people's favorite which I can kinda understand. It has an interesting setting with its lakeside resort setting. While I don't like the overworld map all that much it is interesting and I don't really see a lot of 2D platformers trying to do what it does. There are even a couple of good levels! Where the gimmicks were actually cool and made me smile in the way the developers intended.
I just find so much of this game dull. The first two DKC games just have this excellent momentum to them. Short but dense levels with rhythmic and challenging platforming. They also feel grander than a lot of 2D platformers I've played. There is a sense of sincerety to its general themeing and music that makes them special. DKC3 just has none of these aspects, and while I didn't regret playing it, I felt the experience was that of a really bog standard nintendo platformer.
This game has a limited assortment of level themes they recycle through every world, so it's kind of like dkc1. I personally think dkc1 utilizes that better, there is a real sense of place to dk island and they pace out the stages better. DKC3s level themes get repetitive very quickly. I got to the point where I nearly wanted to shut the game off when I saw yet another boring treetop level. The music doesn't help either. Eveline Fischer is a great composer, but I just didn't feel most of her compositions here. Everything just feels too subdued. I understand it's going for like a laxidazical mood what with the Kongs being on vacation. But it's just a little too much in my opinion. It's storytelling is also lacking. It just has no sense of direction to it, and both of the games endings just left me scratching my head. Again it's missing the clear and sincere storytelling of the first two.
Maybe this is a little bit unfair, but the gameplay just feels entirely worse than DKC2. I think they were going for an overall slower pace, so they made things less fast and more heavy (even for Dixie). There's just nothing that feels cool to do. It's functional, but it doesnt have that crunchy feeling from dkc2 like when you jump and roll into enemies. There is technically no levels in this game that have the same gimmick. I think that in itself has merit but the length of the levels are too long, and the gimmicks themselves were largely pretentious. The bonus rooms are easier but more frustrating than dkc2(?) I found a lot of them easy to find and retry but they keep on recycling the same three game types and they all just got repetitive.
Boring is the operative word for this. I wish I can see what others do in DKC3 but it just felt like busy work by the end of it. DKC is full of games that had some kind of lasting effect on me. This one didn't, in fact it felt like it was trying everything in its power to not have an effect on me, which sucks.
I just find so much of this game dull. The first two DKC games just have this excellent momentum to them. Short but dense levels with rhythmic and challenging platforming. They also feel grander than a lot of 2D platformers I've played. There is a sense of sincerety to its general themeing and music that makes them special. DKC3 just has none of these aspects, and while I didn't regret playing it, I felt the experience was that of a really bog standard nintendo platformer.
This game has a limited assortment of level themes they recycle through every world, so it's kind of like dkc1. I personally think dkc1 utilizes that better, there is a real sense of place to dk island and they pace out the stages better. DKC3s level themes get repetitive very quickly. I got to the point where I nearly wanted to shut the game off when I saw yet another boring treetop level. The music doesn't help either. Eveline Fischer is a great composer, but I just didn't feel most of her compositions here. Everything just feels too subdued. I understand it's going for like a laxidazical mood what with the Kongs being on vacation. But it's just a little too much in my opinion. It's storytelling is also lacking. It just has no sense of direction to it, and both of the games endings just left me scratching my head. Again it's missing the clear and sincere storytelling of the first two.
Maybe this is a little bit unfair, but the gameplay just feels entirely worse than DKC2. I think they were going for an overall slower pace, so they made things less fast and more heavy (even for Dixie). There's just nothing that feels cool to do. It's functional, but it doesnt have that crunchy feeling from dkc2 like when you jump and roll into enemies. There is technically no levels in this game that have the same gimmick. I think that in itself has merit but the length of the levels are too long, and the gimmicks themselves were largely pretentious. The bonus rooms are easier but more frustrating than dkc2(?) I found a lot of them easy to find and retry but they keep on recycling the same three game types and they all just got repetitive.
Boring is the operative word for this. I wish I can see what others do in DKC3 but it just felt like busy work by the end of it. DKC is full of games that had some kind of lasting effect on me. This one didn't, in fact it felt like it was trying everything in its power to not have an effect on me, which sucks.