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Wassup World, Once again it’s ya boy Carl “Krypt” Daniel back (a few days late) with the second instalment of Krypt’s Catch Up. Last week I re-visited a classic Rare game and was surprised how well it held up, so much so that I felt compelled do it again. Remember feel free to leave your comments/suggestions for future episodes in the comment box below or shoot me an email at cdaniel@thekoalition.com.
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Console: Super Nintendo
Developer: Rare
Release Date: 1994
Currently Available On: Wii, GBA

Release Reception

All it took was 15 minute promotional VHS tape (which was sent out to Nintendo Power subscribers) and anticipation for Donkey Kong Country reached fever pitch. At the time watching DKC in motion was a jaw dropping experience, the pre-rendered 3G graphics were unlike anything seen before. While Sega was busy chasing the future with junk like the Sega CD and 32X, Donkey Kong Country proved that was still a lot of life left in the Super Nintendo. Even today Donkey Kong Country is regarded as one of the best platformers ever made and has sold approximately 8 million copies worldwide.

How Well Does It Hold Up?

Graphics
Despite what some internet dickwads would have you believe, Donkey Kong Country still looks great. The pre-rendered characters look stunning, most backgrounds are colourful and vibrant, and some levels even contain neat effects like rain in the foreground. Not only does DKC look good for a game that is over 15 years old, it looks good for a game in general. Unfortunately looking good in 1994 came at a cost and DKC suffers from a terrible case of screen tearing. For such an advance, fast-paced  platformer it’s no surprised that the SNES might have had trouble keeping up with it but I would have preferred if Rare slightly downgraded the visuals to allow for a smoother gaming experience.

Gameplay
This was and still is traditional platforming at it’s best, while there some annoying level through-out as a whole DKC is still a brilliant game. Most levels are intricately designed and you’ll rarely come across multiple areas that feel the same. One minute you’ll be riding atop a Rhino through a crocodile infested jungle, the next you’re exploring beautiful underwater chasm and before you know it you’ll find yourself strategically shooting out of barrels to make your way up icy mountains. As well as a Rhino you can also hop on top of an Ostrich, Swordfish or Frog which are located in specific levels, each animal you ride has special abilities which are vital to discover secrets and/or obtain out of reach collectables. Sure a Guerrilla riding a Swordfish underwater deifies all sense of logic but that’s the beauty of a video-game.

Sound
Donkey Kong Country is well known for having amazing music and with good reason. Composers Robin Beanland, Eveline Fischer and David Wise done an exceptional job capturing the jungle/industrial vibe of the game which promoted Rare to release a soundtrack CD titled DK Jamz.

Verdict
Before Rare became the people responsible for making your Xbox Live avatars look and act as metro-sexual as possible this is why we loved them. Donkey Kong Country was a huge release for Nintendo during their blood-feud with Sega and fortunately it’s still a joy to play even now. If you own a Wii I advise you to load up the Shop Channel right now and download Donkey Kong Country from the Virtual Console. You’d be banana’s not to! (get it, “banana’s”?… sorry)

Written By Carl Daniel

Gamertag & PSN ID: KRyPTceltrix // Email: CDaniel@TheKoalition.com

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