What might initially seem like a simple port of Donkey Kong Country turns out to be a whole new experience which, while borrowing heavily from the SNES game, still manages to validate it's own existence.

The best thing I can liken this game to is it's own soundtrack, which while being very reminiscent of Donkey Kong Country, has melodies often diverge slightly or entirely from their original versions.

The game looks good for a Gameboy game, and it sounds great too. But the platforming is unfortunately clunky and often results in some frustrating deaths that never entirely feel fair. The screen size can also add some artificial difficulty, though the levels are usually designed around the small screen.

Speaking of level design, I think the game definitely holds up in this regard, save for a few levels in particular. The last world even features a completely original (and very fresh) world theme.

I enjoyed collecting 'KONG' letters to save, I feel like it made them seem more valuable beyond secret-hunting. But there were definitely instances where I either couldn't find or reliably access a KONG letter and had to accept that I couldn't save after completing a given level.

In short, if you're looking for a fun little gameboy platformer, or are just desperate for more DKC, I think it's worth your time so long as you can overlook some funky controls and compromised visuals.