What kind of black magic did Rare possess that enabled them to make this game look and sound so incredible? To this day, the atmosphere and style in Donkey Kong Country are outstandingly well realised. Unfortunately, some of the platforming is inconsistent, with weird hitboxes and moments where the limited view provides insufficient information. For the most part, it's still solid in this regard, if not exceptional.

My thoughts aren't much more complicated than that; it's a case of aesthetics over design, but the aesthetics are amazing and the design is pretty ok-to-good.