Hey now everyone, hope you're all doing well, and welcome to my classic game review of the original Donkey Kong Country. Throughout the years there have been so many amazing videogames, that have given me countless hours of entertainment. I've seen the medium evolve from the humble beginnings of the first Nintendo Entertainment System, all the way up to the modern era of the PS4. Back when I was young I never dreamed that games would look as good as they do now, or that they could be so long and full of content to discover. Most of the games I played as a kid could be finished in one day, if you really wanted to do that, and that was fine because you'd play them over and over again anyway. Recently I fired up the old Super Nintendo, and the game that caught my eye was Donkey Kong Country. It's been a while, but this one still holds up just fine, and is still a ton of fun.
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Donkey Kong Country is a platforming game developed by Rare for the Super Nintendo, and was released back in 1994. For being such an old title I'm surprised by how well it holds up, and how quickly I got sucked into the experience. The premise of the game is very simple, with almost no story whatsoever, but honestly who cares with a title like this. You play as Donkey Kong, who wakes up one day to discover that his banana hoard has gone missing. It turns out that it was stolen by the evil King K. Rool, and his band of henchmen, the Kremlings. Now, with the help of Donkey Kong's friend, Diddy Kong, the two of them set out on an adventure to defeat the King, and get back all those precious bananas.
You can play as either Donkey, or Diddy Kong, being able to switch between the two at any time, as long as they are both still alive. Although you might have your favorite one that you prefer playing as, both characters have their advantages. Donkey Kong can defeat enemies much easier, and has a special hand slap move that reveals hidden bananas, but Diddy Kong is smaller, faster, and can jump higher. Using both characters is key to finding all of the different levels hidden secrets. As far as gameplay goes it's pretty much a straight forward platformer, but there are some unique mechanics that set it apart from other games that are similar.
Being a platformer it's all about jumping at the right moment, and avoiding obstacles in your way, but there's a few other things going on as well. You can pick up barrels that you might find throughout the game's 40 levels, and throw them at enemies. There are barrels that you have to jump into that will shoot you out automatically, but some barrels require you to press a button at the right moment, adding another level of challenge to it. Hidden all over the place are secret areas that you can find, usually by throwing a barrel at a wall, or jumping down a pit with a leap of faith. They're usually nothing more than a way to get some extra lives, but it still adds to the overall experience.
One of my favorite things about the game are the special animals Donkey, or Diddy, can find, and ride around the levels. They're not normally in plain sight, so you'll have to do a little bit of searching for them. Depending on what type of level you're in you will find one of four different animals. There's a rhino that can charge into enemies, taking out anything in it's path. There's a frog that can jump over pretty much anything that's in your way. There's an ostrich that can run fast, and can also hover over large distances. And lastly, only in underwater levels, you will find a swordfish that can speed through the water, using it's long bill to take out whatever's in front of you. There's also a parrot that lights your way in the underground levels, but you don't ride, or interact with it.
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Making your way through the game's 40 different levels is so much fun, and it feels good to go back and relive some of these classic games from the past. From beginning to end, everything is bright and colorful, with some pretty awesome visual effects on certain levels. Most of the game is fairly easy, and you might find yourself flying right through the first few main areas, but towards the end things get a lot more difficult. The last couple areas have some stages that require you to have precise timing with your jumps, and they throw enemies at you at just the right moment to catch you off guard. With such a solid first entry in the series, it's no wonder this went on to become one of Nintendo's main franchises, with new titles still being released today. If you've never had the chance to play this game I highly recommend it. It's easy to pick up, but can be tough to master, and it's just a solid, fun experience. I'm going to give the original Donkey Kong Country a grade of.........................................
B+
Thank you for checking out my review of Donkey Kong Country, I hope you enjoyed it!
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