Donkey Kong Country

THE GOOD:

• Great graphics for an SNES game.
• Challenging and some good music
• Remade for the Gameboy Advance for anyone like me who doesn't have a working SNES.

THE BAD:

• A bit too challenging in some parts
• Simple storyline
• Levels are nearly similar in basic design

SUMMARY:
Donkey Kong Country 1. This was a great game for me. It has challenges, fun boss fights, good graphics, and fantastic music, especially with the last boss. However, the fun was sometimes ripped away in the challenging levels, which this game has plenty of.

Donkey Kong Country is by far one of the best SNES games out there, for any fans of side-scrolling action. The story revolves around Donkey Kong's banana hoard getting stolen by King K. Rool. Donkey Kong sets out with his best friend Diddy Kong to rescue the hoard and defeat King K. Rool's army, with the help of some friends: Candy Kong, Cranky Kong, and Funky Kong, each of them helping Donkey and Diddy to get the hoard back.

The story is a simple one. At the end of each level is a boss. After the boss is defeated, a large banana is acquired, and a part of DK's hoard that was stolen is reclaimed. There are about six levels in each area, with a boss at the end. With seven areas, the last area holding only one stage, it's possible to beat the game within a day, if you have the patience to avoid trashing your SNES when you die in a mine cart level.

There are Six playable characters, with DK and Diddy being the main ones. The duo have some friends who will help once freed from the crate they're trapped inside. They are:
Rambi the Rhino.
Winky the Frog.
Expresso the Ostrich.
Enguarde the Swordfish.
Squawk the Parrot.

Except for Squawk, the player can control each of these animals and their abilities. Squawk only carries a flashlight for the player to see where they are going in a single level.

The visuals are great in this game. The SNES has better quality than most newer-generation consoles, and this is one of the games that proves that. It's easy to tell what everything is, and the figures don't look stuffed and block-like as they do in many other games for other consoles. This is by far one of the best SNES games that has great visuals.

The music department is decent. Some of the music is likable, while others isn't fantastic. The boss music is the same for all the bosses, save the last boss, and each stage has a set of music that is shares with other stages. Depending on the layout of the stage, the music changes. For example, in the level Mine Cart Carnage, the music sounds like a chase scene, which is similar to what the level is. The last boss easily has some of the best music in my opinion. The composer uses a variety of instruments and combines the sound with other instruments in a way that makes you want to sing along with a few of the songs.

The Gameboy Advance version of this game has minor changes. There is more talking in the game, but it's just added usually after every boss fight. You can also save anywhere in the game, besides the levels, as opposed to this version, where you have to meet with Candy Kong to save.

Difficulty in this game is a major problem. As with every game, the game gets harder the further into the game you get. The problem with this game, however, is that the difficulty varies between easy and hard anywhere. For example, the fourth out of six world has icy stages where you can easily slip off and fall to your doom. While in the fifth world, the only thing you need to worry about in one stage is the lights flickering on and off every few seconds.



Each level has the same basic principle: Run to the end of the stage by following the path or the bananas. Some levels require you to swim to the end of the stage, avoiding the sharks and other fish that impede your path. The goal of most stages is just to run to the other end of the stage while avoiding all the Kremlins (the enemies of the game) and trying not to fall down the countless pits. Enemies are very common, with each trying to run into you, roll into you, bite you, or some other way to try and defeat you. Some enemies require DK to defeat the enemy. Diddy is useless against those enemies. Other enemies you have to throw a barrel at. The most common example would be flying enemies.

Overall, I found the game mildly enjoyable. Sometimes it made me radiate with joy, singing with the tune, while others I swore and threw my controller. The game takes a lot of patience and luck, as well as some reflexes. If you're a fan of challenging side-scrollers, you can't go wrong with this game. Luckily for fans of this game, there are two sequels to this Donkey Kong Country trilogy. All three games are as challenging as this, sometimes harder, other times easier. Either way, the series is fantastic, and this game, Donkey Kong Country, kicked off a great trilogy of games fantastically.