Genre: Platformer
Year: 1995
Developed by: Rare
Published by: Nintendo
Platforms: SNES
#22
Feeling Like: Monkey see, monkey do
Holy shit, Donkey Kong Country 2 came out a few months after Super Mario World 2: Yoshi’s Island? Man, 1995 was an incredible year. Especially for a young Henry who had a ton of friends and family who also enjoyed the odd video game or two.
Dave V. and I continued our basement adventures at chez Vallance on St. Patrick street. We’d already helped Yoshi deliver Baby Mario & Luigi to their parents in the Mushroom Kingdom, but our platforming addiction wasn’t satiated. Not by a long shot. Good thing we were then privy to the fact that Donkey Kong Country 2 was getting rave reviews from everybody who played it. I didn’t need much encouragement. I loved Donkey Kong Country, it felt so different from the Mario games but the fundamentals of running, jumping and discovery still kept my inner fire lit. I wanted more.
I got it.
Everything is better compared to the original, everything. The graphics were updated, the enemies were far more varied AND since K.Rool was in his swashbuckling phase, most of the Kremlings wore funny little pirate hats or were on ships or carried blunderbusses or cutlasses. Cannonballs are used as ammunition, or as a keys to bonus rooms. I don’t know why Rare picked this theme as the villain’s flavor of the month, but I’m very appreciative they did. Yar!
Donkey Kong Country 2 had cooperative play, which meant no more passing of the controller was needed. Dave could play Diddy, I could play as Dixie. Not at the same time, but you could swap with the press of a button (Dave’s sister Annie laughed when Dixie literally kicks Diddy in the bum to have a turn), so that was progress. I don’t know how many times we proactively switched places, more than likely we bided our time before our buddy managed to get hit and we’d be next up automatically in their place.
Another reason is the soundtrack and, honestly, this is one of the most underappreciated gems out there. It is a whopper, an incredible selections of songs. Should I be surprised? It’s the legend David Wise who composed it. You know, David Wise who made the most beautiful video game song ever created?
Well, he did it again in the sequel with “Stickerbush Symphony.”
Everybody knows this one. It’s equally tranquil, peaceful and thought provoking as any melody you’ll hear in a video game. It’s about the only thing that eases the sting of trying to complete Bramble Scramble. Why’d they make that level so hard?
I’m not hyperbolizing when I say I’ve listened to versions of this ditty hundreds of times. The Ocremix “Watercolors” by Mental fuels me when I’m running on empty, it is a tremendous take on the classic. I’m listening to it right now.
That’s not the only banger available to your ears. Not even close.
“Mining Melancholy” has no right to be this good.
“Disco Train” will help you remember that you’re two tiny little monkeys riding a very unsafe skull on a dubios looking rollercoaster.
“Flight of the Zinger“. Do you feel like you’re in a beehive, surrounded by angry bees?
“Hot-head Bop” is a funny title, but a great song.
I have to stop myself. This is the kind of game where you’ll replay levels just to hear the music.
Ok, one more, “In a Snow-Bound Land” is serene.
OK OK final one, “End Credits“. I’m always a fan of a roll-call when you’ve beaten the end boss. It’s like every baddie was just playing a part, and are coming out for the curtain call.
Simply beating the game isn’t enough. You have to get all the DK Coins and bonus rooms to gain access to the Lost World. Dave and I tried our best to not use a guide – wasn’t that hard, as the internet wasn’t available to us just yet. We might have glanced at a strategy guide here and there, but we waded our way through on our own for the most part. You’d be surprised how much ground you can cover when your self-imposed bedtime is around 3am and you don’t have work or school the next morning.
Plus, there really is nothing like finally getting that DK Coin. It’s bright and flashy, and spins like a treasure should. Death or failure weren’t a deterrent…ok, maybe Bramble Scramble was but the creative ways and spots Rare hid these ultimate prizes was so endearing. We knew they were hiding in every stage, so it wasn’t in our nature to just plow through a level. What happens if we fly over there? What happens if we manage to bring the barrel all the way back? What happens if this, what happens if that. Most of the time it would result in death, but what is failure but the best teacher?
As it turns out, I don’t mind spiders if they have googily eyes and wear sneakers on their eight legs. Squitter was a welcomed addition to the animal buddy family. His projectile attack could be angled at the last minute, making short work of harassing bees. He could also shoot out a series of webs that could serve as temporary platforms. He’s not quite as nimble as Diddy or Dixie, so it took some getting used to. That goes double for Web Woods, which you play almost entirely as the amicable arachnid. I’ll never forget the infamously hidden bonus level that requires you to let a baddie shoot a slow moving cannonball, then follow it wayyyyyyy back to the left, and let it hit a wall. It’s that kind of genius that put Rare in exquisite company.
Donkey was out, and Dixie was in and that was the right decision. Dixie, with the pink hat and blonde locks could hover around using her hair as rotor blades. We used this at every opportunity, even if a leap didn’t require it. She could also do that dope-ass cartwheel then jump off an invisible platform move that Diddy could, though she couldn’t cover as much ground. Each simian had their strengths, each were fun to play. But Dixie rocked a guitar when finishing the level, so we always got her to do the final jump.
It’s brimming with personality and charm. If I had another 20 screenshots, I still wouldn’t be able to properly convey the variety of obstacles and locations. Donkey Kong Country 3 may have been more inventive, but the DK Coins weren’t nearly as satisfying to find. No, Rare got it right here. There’s just enough everything; types of items to collect, replayability for the stages (none overstay their welcome), a perfect challenge curve, controls that allow you to do what you want, and enough environmental dangers to make sure no two levels felt alike. The animal buddies are amazing here, easily the best selection out of all the Donkey Kong Countries. The classic barrels required pinpoint precision and patience. Bosses were vastly superior and not carbon copies of each other. The final area tested our patience and led to more than a few Game Overs (and frayed nerves), but there was zero chance we were going to quit. Ducking, dodging, weaving, cartwheeling, whipping and hovering were all the moves we needed in our arsenal to 100% (102%, actually) this absolutely beauty of a video game.
The Donkey Kong Country lineage is filled with tremendous examples of platforming prowess, though they all bow to Diddy’s Kong Quest as the master.
The 500 