Surprisingly it's a very good version of Donkey Kong Country, I admire how Rare preferred to sacrifice graphics in order to keep the gameplay at its best level, since the field of view was not reduced, instead all the sprites were shrunk, which makes the image quality poor compared to the original SNES version, but instead, this Game Boy Advance version doesn't have the problems that other SNES ports do have by reducing the field of view, such as causing you can't see where you're going to fall or you can't see enemies outside the screen.
It's been very gratifying to play this version to be honest, the character controller has been altered a bit, making the characters feel a bit more nimble and light. This depends on taste, but personally, I think I prefer the way this version plays over the original. There are also a couple of other improvements, such as the fact that each boss has a tiny tweak or two that makes them a bit more interesting. Some barrels leading to the bonus rooms are now easier to see, which makes this part of the game feel more natural in a way. There is also the addition of a new collectible which is photos, which adds more replay value, but I don't quite like it, as there are a lot of photos that you get by doing very specific actions, rather than being hidden in the normal way in the levels.
There are also some quality of life improvements, such as the fact that you can save your game at any time (which makes the life counter no longer matter), and 2 mini-games and a Crash Bandicoot-like time trial mode were added, which I thought was a great addition. One thing that makes this version feel odd, though, is that there are certain new sprites that don't match the originals, making the game look weird at times.
Conclusion
I don't consider myself the biggest fan of DKC, but they are games that I have a lot of respect for because of how influential they were and the excellent atmosphere they have thanks to their mind-blowing soundtrack and revolutionary graphics for the time. Having said that... as this is a version with a paled color palette, compressed audio and graphics, it obviously loses a bit of what makes the original SNES Donkey Kong Country so special. However, don't get me wrong, this is a great platformer, it has an interesting level design that makes each level feel different from the others and is challenging without being really unfair, making DKC a game with variety, and more importantly, makes this a version worth playing despite the poorer audio and visual quality.
If you are a big fan of the first Donkey Kong Country, I highly recommend trying this version.
It's been very gratifying to play this version to be honest, the character controller has been altered a bit, making the characters feel a bit more nimble and light. This depends on taste, but personally, I think I prefer the way this version plays over the original. There are also a couple of other improvements, such as the fact that each boss has a tiny tweak or two that makes them a bit more interesting. Some barrels leading to the bonus rooms are now easier to see, which makes this part of the game feel more natural in a way. There is also the addition of a new collectible which is photos, which adds more replay value, but I don't quite like it, as there are a lot of photos that you get by doing very specific actions, rather than being hidden in the normal way in the levels.
There are also some quality of life improvements, such as the fact that you can save your game at any time (which makes the life counter no longer matter), and 2 mini-games and a Crash Bandicoot-like time trial mode were added, which I thought was a great addition. One thing that makes this version feel odd, though, is that there are certain new sprites that don't match the originals, making the game look weird at times.
Conclusion
I don't consider myself the biggest fan of DKC, but they are games that I have a lot of respect for because of how influential they were and the excellent atmosphere they have thanks to their mind-blowing soundtrack and revolutionary graphics for the time. Having said that... as this is a version with a paled color palette, compressed audio and graphics, it obviously loses a bit of what makes the original SNES Donkey Kong Country so special. However, don't get me wrong, this is a great platformer, it has an interesting level design that makes each level feel different from the others and is challenging without being really unfair, making DKC a game with variety, and more importantly, makes this a version worth playing despite the poorer audio and visual quality.
If you are a big fan of the first Donkey Kong Country, I highly recommend trying this version.