The Great Playthrough: Game 22 - Donkey Kong Country

That's right - by popular demand (i.e. at least one person asked for it)
it's the return of pictures of me holding a game and smiling wierdly!

Donkey Kong Country
Released on: SNES
Played on: SNES
Release date: 1994

Yes, it's another platform game. Yes, it's another Nintendo game. And do you know what? It's bloody marvellous!

Before we go any further, I have a confession. I cheated a little bit with this playthrough. I did start a brand new game, as per the rules, but then - about 20 minutes into the game - Neety came in and I wanted to play the two player mode with her - but you can't just add a player into an existing game, so I had to load up the old 2-player saved game I had on the cartridge. And then, when Neety stopped playing (because she was making scones. Which incidentally are very tasty indeed) I didn't want to re-play the levels we'd done together, so I just kept playing from the saved game - I didn't go back to the original new game.

Donkey Kong Country is a fantastic platform game - it's always been a favourite of mine. While it's sequels were subject to the law of diminishing returns (at lease up until Donkey Kong Country Returns - the Wii remake/sequel) the original is amazing. Famed for it's pre-rendered graphics which looked like nothing else on the SNES at the time, it's gameplay and well-designed levels are often overlooked. But not by me!  Also not by Neety - why don't we find out what she thinks?

It's been a while since I've played Donkey Kong Country - in fact the most recent Donkey Kong I've played is the recent Donkey Kong Country Returns - which is brilliant and I understand is coming up in Brawny's playthrough soon. 

The game is nice to look at, and offers a lot of variety as far as game stages, enemies and soundtrack are concerned. I particularly like the games way in two player mode of swapping you out with your team-mate when you die which varies the gameplay and saves you a having an argument. It's annoying that you can't play with both of you at the same time, a problem which Donkey Kong Country Returns rectifies - meaning that you do find yourself waiting for your co-players death, which is not an entirely healthy concept if you are in a relationship with the person you are playing with! 

As an avid 2D platform fan who was delighted when the genre began to make a comeback over the last few years, I find Donkey Kong Country's two-player mode to be the stepping stone between traditional 1 player platformers, and the modern Mario Bros / Kirby / Rayman multiplayer method of having multiple players on one screen. In fact, the whole incorporation of Diddy Kong, even in 1-player, gives a unique feel to the whole game as the switching/losing of characters works as an absolutely brilliant replacement for a traditional health bar etc.

The music in this game is fabulous. (In fact, you can tell it's good, because they released a soundtrack CD for the game which was, in true 90s style, called DK Jamz. Seriously, did someone lose a whole bunch of S's in the 90s and instead replace them all with Zs? Stupid rubbish 90s fashionz.... DAMNIT! Now I did it! I'm infected! Quick! Call the polizzz... HEY THAT'S NOT EVEN AN S! RUN AWAY!!)

*Runzzzzzzzzzzz away*

*Waitzzzz*

*Waitzz*

*Waits*

Ah, it seems to have gone now. Anyway, as I was saying, the music is superb and just adds to the whole atmosphere of the game, and the huge variety of levels is great - minecarts, barrels and lots of fun.

I'm running out of ways to say how good this game is. Tell you what, why don't I throw it over to Neety for any final thoughts.

I was glad that the nostalgia filter didn't do it wrong, and it is a good all round game. I highly recommend the recent edition to the series as well as this one for DK Fans all and new!

I agree completely with Neety. This is one of the best games on the SNES - and in fact, if you are a platform fan who wants a change from Mario or Sonic, then pick it up straightaway! You can get it on the SNES (if you're old school) or you can download it on the Wii Virtual Console too.

Rating: 9/10
Time played: Just over an hour
Would I play it again: In a hearbeat!

Next up - some Shooting fun on the Saturn with Virtua Cop 2...