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BRI-3PO's Donkey Kong Country 2 (SNES)
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| [February 21, 2008 02:10:35 AM]
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GAMEPLAY
I finally got to the best part of the game: Krazy Kremland. This world has all of the most memorable and innovative levels. The ones before it in Gangplank, Crocodile Cauldron, and Krem Quay became sort of redundant (true Krem Quay is pirate ship ruins, but still…). In Krazy Kremland you have areas like the hornet hole, where you get to climb up sticky walls and view an inside world of the evil Zingers. A lot of games have you enter the enemy’s territory, where you must stealthily move through the level to reach a save point. However, in happy DK Country, the Zingers let you climb their hive an get honey all in your little monkey fur!
I still consider Target Terror the best and most unique level of the game. You have to ride this sketchy-looking rollercoaster with a huge skull on the front. The background of the level includes fireworks and scenes of a carnival, while you must jump off the tracks at precise times to avoid obstructions and hit the arrows to make them green (or sometimes avoid hitting the arrows). By turning the arrows green, it allows your coaster cart to pass through doors that were somehow placed on the tracks. Diddy and Trixie get very expressive in this level, covering their eyes and widening their mouths in glee, surprise, or fright…whatever a monkey would feel on a rickety rollercoaster.
This world also includes the toughest – and my least favorite – level, which is Bramble Scramble. I am crazy unstable using Squawkers (and that may be due to my emulator and using keyboard controls) and always hit the damn bramble walls.
Donkey Kong Country games are always a blast to play. They don’t take 90 hours to defeat, they aren’t too repetitive, and DK2 includes a lot more mini games and bonus levels (such as the Lost World). These positive additions also improve in Donkey Kong Country 3: Trixie’s Double Trouble.
GAME DESIGN
DK2 added quite a few innovative new features in comparison to the original Donkey Kong Country. One of these additions is a more varied and complex reward system. There are much more bonus levels that give you coins for completing them; the end of each level is a targeting system where you choose a reward; and you can transform into animals in addition to riding them. The Kongs’ animal buddies are used more prominently in this game and are essential to completing certain levels – they are no longer preserved for bonus levels. For example, in the bramble and some beehive levels, you must use squawkers to move up. In some underwater levels, you must use Enguarde.
The reward system’s usage is also unique in the game’s design. In order to save your progress at Kong College, you must pay tokens. Also, Cranky gives you useful tips – for a fee, of course. If you want to find the Lost World and add more levels to the game, you have to pay Klubba. Nothing sure is cheap in DK2!
The only main concern I had while playing DK2 was control usage. This seems to be a regular complaint for me, so maybe it is a personal issue. Still, I died a ridiculous amount of times over-estimating a jump or underestimating a barrel toss. I mostly blame this on my lack of gamepad controller. I used an emulator and therefore used my keyboard for character movement: definitely not something I recommend. This was my only issue, and it’s mainly one of personal preference and lack of coordination? I kept jumping instead of picking up a barrel, or vice versa.
Playing DK2 now, it definitely fosters a certain pattern of social interaction: nostalgia, reflection, and memorable video game moments. My age group grew up with Donkey Kong Country and most of my friends played them at one point. When we talk about the game, it’s usually ways in which we’ve improved as gamers, how difficult a certain boss was when we were 10, or how we used to be better and are now just rusty. Playing games from the classic list is always pleasurable because it forces you to consider how you’ve culturally grown and how your interests and preferences in video game genres have changed.
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| [February 20, 2008 08:47:45 PM]
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SUMMARY
Donkey Kong Country…with no Donkey?! Gamers who played the first Donkey Kong Country for SNES, or any Donkey Kong for arcade, Atari, or 8-bit, may question the validity Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy’s Kong Quest. How can a game take the name of DK without featuring the main ape himself? It can happen if Donkey is in fact “taken” by his arch nemesis, K. Rool! It is up to Diddy to rescue his uncle, with the help of his blonde and sassy ass-kicking girlfriend, Trixie. The two begin where DK Country left off: Gangplank Galleon. From there, they must find and defeat K. Rool on his Crocodile Isle in order to save Donkey Kong from his captors.
GAMEPLAY
Most platformers have a fairly simple style of gameplay: make your way through various stages within a world without dying, fight a final boss, and progress to the next world. Platforms are classis, quick-paced games that are enjoyable and generally easy. Donkey Kong Country 2 is a faithful platform game with a lively cast of characters. The storyline is fun and uncomplicated. It seems like today the more complex a video game is, the better the game’s interactivity is. However, replaying this mid-90s classic is a refreshing break from overly-detailed plot twists and extra mini games.
I love the main ape characters in the game. Diddy is trendy with his red Nintendo hat and legit rap skillz at the end of a level. Trixie has the rocking hair whips down and doesn’t play around with the Kremling Krew. Cranky Kong is the stereotypical snarky grandpa who loves messing with the young’uns, and Donkey Kong represents the strong-willed hero, even though he is captured and not a huge part of DK2.
The most prevalent emotion I feel while playing DK2 is nostalgia. I remember anticipating the second installment of the Donkey Kong series after watching my sister play the first one. Once I as finally old enough to play, Diddy’s Kong Quest had just come out, and it was my first Donkey Kong game to play through independently. The quirky, energetic Kongs are excellent protagonists that keep the game silly and light-hearted, even during a boss battle. While I was playing, my roommates decided to watch and reminisce with me because they, too, remember how it felt to hold that round-edged remote in your 7 year-old hands. Playing Donkey Kong in front of my roommates sparked a conversation of all the classic video games we used to play and love.
Though there is a definite narrative to the game, it is not continually developed through the game by cut scenes or unlockable story add-ons. You simply know the situation from the beginning and what you must do to help Donkey Kong. Naturally, K. Rool is your antagonist, and Diddy and Trixie are the heroes. The game flows like any platform game: level by level. There are a bunch of great and innovative levels in DK2, such as the amusement park and beehives.
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BRI-3PO's Donkey Kong Country 2 (SNES)
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Current Status: Playing
GameLog started on: Monday 18 February, 2008
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