Bananas! (Donkey Kong Country (N64))

Member Name: Midrange

Product:	Donkey Kong Country (N64)
Date:	16/09/08 (51 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great graphics (for its day), great level design

Disadvantages: No real "secrets" to discover

Donkey Kong Country (DKC) is a platformer, released for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System way back in 1994. For it's time, the game was something truly magnificent - with its 3D "clay like" graphics and superb attention to detail.

The game stars Nintendo's former villain "Donkey Kong" (a big ape who love bananas) and his little sidekick, Diddy Kong (a chimp with a similar taste for the yellow fruit). King K. Rool (an already rather overweight crocodile) has stolen the Kong's banana hoard. It's up to Donkey and Diddy to get it back. They follow the trail of bananas across their home island to find King K. Rool hiding aboard a pirate ship.

The game plays beautifully - jumping, climbing, swinging and even riding in mine carts to reach the far end of each level. There are some great ideas in the level design too - switches to turn the lights on and off, crazy beavers inside giant millstones to run away from and tree-top levels with hundreds of "blast barrels" to jump in which fire you about the level. There are plenty of enemies to fight along the way too - from K. Rool's crocodile critters, to some aquatic enemies and flying foes. Thoriwng nuts, rolling steel barrels and flaming oil are just some of the obstacles you'll have to avoid.

There are six "worlds" on the island - jungle, mines, seashore and forest, snowy mountains, industrial and caves - each getting progressively harder. I remember when I got this game being stuck on the snowy mountain world for AGES! Got there in the end though.

There aren't many secrets to find in this game. You can have up to 3 games at once - single player, double team or competitive. In the game, you can play as Diddy or Donkey - when one dies, you take control of the toher. DIddy is much faster and generally easier to control than Donkey. Indded, Donkey's only real plus point is his "ground slap attak" that can often reveal hidden bananas. But yes, there's not by the way of "secrets" in this game. Something which the developers, RARE improved on in the sequels.

All in all, a fantastic platformer - great looking, fun and challenged. Everything you need in a game really. The 2 player mode is cool too - only 1 person plays at a time and when they die, the other take over. I always got to be Diddy when I played with my older sister - which was great!

Summary: High quality platformer. Check out the sequels though. DKC2 is even better than the original.