As I've said before and will always continue to say, this is the best platformer on the SNES, and probably the best platformer of the 20th century in general.
The sheer degree that they improved on DKC1 is freaking unimaginable. Presentation-wise, it's better. The art style is more colourful and pleasing, the graphics are the best on the console (that 3D effect in the sunken ship stages??? Hello???), the soundtrack composed by David Wise is one of the best in video game history. Gameplay-wise, it's better. The level design is top notch, with ingeniously designed gameplay mechanics and enemies that make nearly every level memorable and fun. There's also way more variety thanks in no small part to the vertically-scrolling levels, and they actually made proper use of the animal buddies this time by giving them special moves and their own focused levels! I've heard a lot of people say that this game is more difficult than the first, but I disagree. Even though the levels are longer and more complex, the camera and enemy placements are a lot better, making the game much more fair. The bosses are hugely improved too.
Replacing Donkey Kong in his own game was a wild decision, but it ended up working perfectly. DK was kinda useless in the first game, basically being a slower, larger, and less fun version of Diddy. I think that the Diddy and Dixie pairing is one of the best examples of game balancing... like ever? Diddy is a faster runner and climber, but Dixie can hover in the air. There's the fast but risky option, and the safe but slow option, and both options are fun to play as. They both have situations where they're useful, but neither of them are ever rendered useless at any point. And they both play similarly enough to where it doesn't feel disorienting to switch from one Kong to the other. So we have a game that's already propped up by DKC1's phenomenal engine, but now we have two characters that are truly fun and useful to play as!
And even the little things this game added go volumes to enhancing the experience. The team throw is an interesting new move that spices gameplay up, you can throw objects upwards now, you can hold Y to swim faster underwater, whenever you beat a level Diddy raps and Dixie plays the guitar (this is very important), and way more that I can't name off the top of my head. These little refinements make the game feel as polished as possible and sets a new standard for gameplay flow. Just the act of playing this game still feels utterly timeless.
But I think one of the other main reasons this game has held up so well, which is something that I feel a lot of people overlook in regards to the conversation around DKC2, is the collectibles. As far as I know, this was the game that pioneered the format of there being a certain number of collectibles in each level, and those collectibles being used to unlock optional secret levels (in this case, the bonus room coins unlock Lost World levels). This adds a great deal of replay value and incentive to revisit levels, and is a huge step towards making each level serve as so much more than just an obstacle course for you to beat. This was the step that platformers needed to take to finally evolve past the arcade and NES era, and most platformers still use this format to this day. Even Mario went on to adopt this formula a decade later with things like Star Coins and Green Stars. And DKC2 did it first. I think.
It also helps that the secrets feel rewarding in their own right. They're almost always hidden in ways that reward being observant. There may be small indicators and/or banana trails that test your deduction, or they may be placed behind optional platforming gauntlets that test your skill. It's so much more satisfying to find a secret in DKC2 than in DKC1 (where most secrets were just hidden behind walls that you throw a barrel at) or Mario World (where most secrets just require you to fly upwards with the cape). And the bonus rooms themselves? Peak. They're so varied and fun, and the series has never lived up to the standards DKC2 set in regards to the bonus rooms.
This game ain't perfect though. There are a few issues that hold it back and kinda expose the era it released in. The world map is awful to traverse, checkpoints are too sporadically placed, and umm... WHY do you have to pay banana coins to SAVE YOUR GAME? There's also one segment in the Screech's Sprint level that requires you to use the roll jump mechanic to progress, which is a move that the game fails to indicate that you can even do. So uhh... this game requires a guide to beat. Thanks Rare. Overall, I'd give the edge to Tropical Freeze as the best DKC game, due to that game's sheer attention to detail and how they made each level totally distinct from each other. That's not DKC2's fault though. It was just limited by the technology of its time, even though it did as much as it possibly could with those limitations.
The controls and engine feel perfect, the levels are expertly designed, the visuals are phenomenal, the music is next level, and the game's additions and innovations have made it feel modern. It pushed every boundary possible and it succeeded. There could not possibly be a better platformer from the time period this game came out. Rare could have just rested on the success of the first game and made more of the same, but they went the extra mile in every single aspect. This game is so confident in what it wants to be. It took what worked so well in past platformers, threw away what didn't work, and added new elements of its own on top of that. This game is a full fledged, one-of-a-kind experience that still holds up to modern standards in every way. In short, DKC2 feels like the game the SNES was ultimately made for. Indisputably one of the greatest games ever made. (Remind me why it isn't on this list?)
The sheer degree that they improved on DKC1 is freaking unimaginable. Presentation-wise, it's better. The art style is more colourful and pleasing, the graphics are the best on the console (that 3D effect in the sunken ship stages??? Hello???), the soundtrack composed by David Wise is one of the best in video game history. Gameplay-wise, it's better. The level design is top notch, with ingeniously designed gameplay mechanics and enemies that make nearly every level memorable and fun. There's also way more variety thanks in no small part to the vertically-scrolling levels, and they actually made proper use of the animal buddies this time by giving them special moves and their own focused levels! I've heard a lot of people say that this game is more difficult than the first, but I disagree. Even though the levels are longer and more complex, the camera and enemy placements are a lot better, making the game much more fair. The bosses are hugely improved too.
Replacing Donkey Kong in his own game was a wild decision, but it ended up working perfectly. DK was kinda useless in the first game, basically being a slower, larger, and less fun version of Diddy. I think that the Diddy and Dixie pairing is one of the best examples of game balancing... like ever? Diddy is a faster runner and climber, but Dixie can hover in the air. There's the fast but risky option, and the safe but slow option, and both options are fun to play as. They both have situations where they're useful, but neither of them are ever rendered useless at any point. And they both play similarly enough to where it doesn't feel disorienting to switch from one Kong to the other. So we have a game that's already propped up by DKC1's phenomenal engine, but now we have two characters that are truly fun and useful to play as!
And even the little things this game added go volumes to enhancing the experience. The team throw is an interesting new move that spices gameplay up, you can throw objects upwards now, you can hold Y to swim faster underwater, whenever you beat a level Diddy raps and Dixie plays the guitar (this is very important), and way more that I can't name off the top of my head. These little refinements make the game feel as polished as possible and sets a new standard for gameplay flow. Just the act of playing this game still feels utterly timeless.
But I think one of the other main reasons this game has held up so well, which is something that I feel a lot of people overlook in regards to the conversation around DKC2, is the collectibles. As far as I know, this was the game that pioneered the format of there being a certain number of collectibles in each level, and those collectibles being used to unlock optional secret levels (in this case, the bonus room coins unlock Lost World levels). This adds a great deal of replay value and incentive to revisit levels, and is a huge step towards making each level serve as so much more than just an obstacle course for you to beat. This was the step that platformers needed to take to finally evolve past the arcade and NES era, and most platformers still use this format to this day. Even Mario went on to adopt this formula a decade later with things like Star Coins and Green Stars. And DKC2 did it first. I think.
It also helps that the secrets feel rewarding in their own right. They're almost always hidden in ways that reward being observant. There may be small indicators and/or banana trails that test your deduction, or they may be placed behind optional platforming gauntlets that test your skill. It's so much more satisfying to find a secret in DKC2 than in DKC1 (where most secrets were just hidden behind walls that you throw a barrel at) or Mario World (where most secrets just require you to fly upwards with the cape). And the bonus rooms themselves? Peak. They're so varied and fun, and the series has never lived up to the standards DKC2 set in regards to the bonus rooms.
This game ain't perfect though. There are a few issues that hold it back and kinda expose the era it released in. The world map is awful to traverse, checkpoints are too sporadically placed, and umm... WHY do you have to pay banana coins to SAVE YOUR GAME? There's also one segment in the Screech's Sprint level that requires you to use the roll jump mechanic to progress, which is a move that the game fails to indicate that you can even do. So uhh... this game requires a guide to beat. Thanks Rare. Overall, I'd give the edge to Tropical Freeze as the best DKC game, due to that game's sheer attention to detail and how they made each level totally distinct from each other. That's not DKC2's fault though. It was just limited by the technology of its time, even though it did as much as it possibly could with those limitations.
The controls and engine feel perfect, the levels are expertly designed, the visuals are phenomenal, the music is next level, and the game's additions and innovations have made it feel modern. It pushed every boundary possible and it succeeded. There could not possibly be a better platformer from the time period this game came out. Rare could have just rested on the success of the first game and made more of the same, but they went the extra mile in every single aspect. This game is so confident in what it wants to be. It took what worked so well in past platformers, threw away what didn't work, and added new elements of its own on top of that. This game is a full fledged, one-of-a-kind experience that still holds up to modern standards in every way. In short, DKC2 feels like the game the SNES was ultimately made for. Indisputably one of the greatest games ever made. (Remind me why it isn't on this list?)
JCLKaytwo
1 month ago