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  • Donkey Kong Country (Super NES)

    Posted on by Azrael Comment

    Donkey Kong Country was released in 1994 by Rare for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. In terms of graphics, sound, and game play, this game really represents the peak of 2D side-scrolling platform gaming in the 16-bit era. This game was also a major revival for the Donkey Kong franchise which really hadn’t seen a major new releases since the Atari 2600 era arcade ports.

    At a high level, Donkey Kong Country is a traditional platformer like many others. It is just particularly well executed. It follows the adventures of Donkey Kong and his sidekick, the newly introduced Diddy Kong, as they seek to recover their stolen bananas from the evil King K. Rool and his various minions. The plot isn’t anything groundbreaking but the plot in a game like this is hardly the most important thing.

    The most important aspect of Donkey Kong Country is the excellent game play. The controls are among the best for such games leaving you no reason to be frustrated on that front. You can control either Donkey Kong or Diddy Kong each of which has their own strengths and weaknesses. Donkey Kong is larger and stronger and can more easily defeat stronger enemies. However, Diddy Kong is smaller and faster. These differences add a bit of a strategic element to the game when it comes to choosing the appropriate character for a given situation.

    The levels feature a ton of variety which is always important in this kind of game (or any game really). Each level has a multitude of challenges, hidden secrets, and items to collect. The environments are also quite varied featuring locals such as industrial factories, jungles, ice caves, etc. Each of these of course has new obstacles to overcome.

    One of the more unique aspects of Donkey Kong Country is the ability to summon animal companions. Various animals can be summoned to assist you including Rambi the Rhinoceros (who can charge through enemies), Expresso the Ostrich (who provides increased speed and height), and others.

    Donkey Kong Country also broke new ground when it came to graphics on 16-bit systems. Rare used a method of creating pre-rendered 3D models (using SGI Challenge workstations) and then turning them into 2D sprites. At the time it came out, nothing else looked remotely like Donkey Kong Country. All aspects of the graphics were pretty amazing including the character models, character animations, and the detailed environments and backgrounds. The soundtrack and sound effects were equally well done. Creating the score was a major project in itself with theme music appropriate to each level.

    If all of that weren’t enough, Donkey Kong Country offers tons of replayability and an excellent difficulty curve. The game starts off pretty easy with difficulty ramping up as you progress through the levels. It never gets so hard as to be frustrating. For more advanced players, the true difficulty and replayability of the game comes from completing levels 100% by exploring all areas, collecting all necessary items and completing all challenges.

    Donkey Kong Country was a huge success for Rare and was the game that really brought them into the spotlight. It was a huge influence of future platformers, not the least of which are its own sequels including Kong Country 2: Diddy’s Kong Quest and Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong’s Double Trouble.

    There have been a variety of ports and re-releases over the years. There was a port of this game on the Game Boy Color in 2000 that was a pretty faithful conversion. There was another release on the Game Boy Advance in 2004 which was nearly identical to the Super NES original. There were also a few releases of the original Super NES version on the Virtual Console for the Wii, 3DS and Wii-U. The most recent re-releases have been as part of the Super NES Classic Edition in 2017 and via Nintendo Switch Online in 2020.

    If you are a platform game fan then this game is a game you don’t want to miss and if you enjoy this one, you’ll probably enjoy the two sequels mentioned above as well. There have been additional sequels and spinoffs over the years but the original is still something special. Perhaps more than any other game, Donkey Kong Country was responsible for keeping the Super NES relevant in the face of the impending PlayStation and Saturn releases (the N64 wouldn’t be released until a couple of years later) and in claiming ultimate victory in the 16-bit wars.


    Retro Games Super Nintendo (SNES) 📎and tagged

  • Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy’s Kong Quest (Super NES)

    Posted on by Azrael Comment

    Source: Coaster Crunch ‘Donkey Kong Country 2’ Super Nintendo Support us on Patreon

    Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy’s Kong Quest was released by Rare for the Super NES in 1995. It was the sequel to a very successful platformer so it had a lot to live up to. Fortunately, it was up to the task.

    Donkey Kong Country 2 was released near the height of the popularity of the 2D platformer style game, the side scrolling action type of game popularized by the original Super Mario Brothers. This was also near the height of 16-bit gaming. In other words, the graphics and sound capabilities of the Super NES were being fully exploited by this point and the mechanics of the 2D platformer had been pretty much perfected. Donkey Kong Country 2 demonstrates this quite well.

    In Diddy’s Kong Quest, players take on the roles of Diddy Kong and his girlfriend, Dixie Kong, as they attempt to rescue Donkey Kong from the evil K. Rool. Like most platformers, this game features a mix of side-scrolling action, platforming challenges, and puzzle-solving elements. Players navigate through a variety of vibrant and imaginative worlds, each with its own set of levels that introduce unique themes, enemies, and obstacles. One of the ways in which this game excels is in the variety of levels, enemies and obstacles. The game is challenging but you don’t have to worry about being bored or suffering from overly repetitive game play.

    The other unique way in which this game excels is in the cooperative game play elements. Whether you are playing by yourself or with a friend (one controlling Diddy and the other Dixie), you’ll have to use the right character for the given challenge. Each character has its own advantages. Diddy Kong is faster and more agile while Dixie can glide and reach greater heights via a helicopter spin.

    As far as graphics go, this game really broke new ground. Rare used pre-rendered 3D graphics to create the 2D sprites which gave the game a very distinct look. This was novel at the time and of course the graphics were excellent. In addition to this, the character animations and backgrounds were all extremely well done.

    Likewise, the music was also extremely well done. There is a wide variety of tunes that match the distinct feel of each level. Sometimes sound and music don’t strike you as immediately as the graphics but the nostalgia that certain music and even sound effects from games can trigger is an indication of just how good they were in many case.

    If you are a fan of 16-bit games or 2D platformers that this really isn’t one you should miss. I know many people (myself included) may feel that the theme isn’t serious enough or prefer a more fantasy or sci-fi feel (myself included) but as one of the best 2D platformers of all time, you should really at least give it a try.

    You can of course check this game out on an original SNES system but I don’t think used copies are cheap. It was also released for the Game Boy Advance and via the Wii and Wii U virtual consoles, Nintendo 3DS Virtual Console and the Nintendo Switch online service. You should also check out the original Donkey Kong Country and the sequel to this game, Dixie Kong’s Double Trouble! There were further sequels and follow-ups on the Nintendo 64 though these have a different feel to them.


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  • Advanced Computer Entertainment (January 1992)

    Posted on by Azrael Comment

    Source: Computer & Video Game Magazines – ACE (Advanced Computer Entertainment) – Issue Number 52 – January 1992

    ACE, which stands for Advanced Computer Entertainment was a gaming magazine published in the U.K. in the late 1980s and early 1990s. It covered both computers and consoles. Computer coverage in 1992 included the Amiga, Atari ST, and PC. The January 1992 issue includes:

    Columns

    • Games News – Spiderman’s 30th anniversary celebrated with a new arcade game and an upcoming movie from Sony’s Columbia Pictures; B17 Flying Fortress from Microprose coming soon; Gremlin producing sequel to Utopia; Sega starts bundling Sonic with the Megadrive; Japanese gamers camp out for Zelda III; expansion for Wing Commander II coming from Origin; Electronic Arts to release editor for Populous; Namco introduces Starblade to arcades; Bart Simpson, Terminator 2 and WWF Superstars coming to the Game Boy; and more.
    • Tech News – Spectrum Holobyte and W Industries (makers of the Virtuality arcade system) join forces to develop virtual reality games.
    • Letters – Letters from readers about the short length of some games, recent changes in ACE, the CDTV, rising software prices, big game boxes with little in them, and more.
    • In the Works – Previews of games that are in progress including Cyber Fight from Electronic Arts, ATAC from Microprose, and Apocalypse from Mirrorsoft (sort of an updated Choplifter).
    • Previews – Previews of soon to be released games including Bodycount from Strangeways, KGB from Virgin Games, Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis from Lucasfilm, Populous from Bullfrog, John Madden’s Football (the first!) from Electronic Arts, Fire and Ice from Image Works, and Special Forces from Microprose.
    • Console Section – Reviews of Super E.D.F for the Super Famicom, Mega Man for the Game Boy, Super R.C. Pro-Am for the Game Boy (one of my favorite racing games though not necessarily the Game Boy version), Pac-Mania for the Megadrive, QuackShot for the Megadrive, Factory Panic for the Game Gear, and Woody Pop for the Game Gear.
    • Next Month – Coming in the next issue: the ACE Awards (plus the usual reviews, previews and more).
    • Reviews Directory – 30 pages of brief reviews for tons of games.

    Reviews

    • Another World – An arcade adventure game for the Amiga (version being reviewed), Atari ST and PC (DOS) that is reminiscent of Prince of Persia.
    • Epic – A 3D space shooter for the Atari ST, Amiga, and PC (DOS). Compared here to Wing Commander.
    • Populous II – Sequel to the classic Electronic Arts real-time strategy game for the Amiga, Atari ST, and PC (DOS).
    • Wolfchild – An arcade side-scrolling run and gun type game with a sci-fi theme for the Amiga and Atari ST.
    • Eye of the Beholder 2 – Sequel to the classic D&D RPG from SSI for the PC (reviewed here) and Amiga.
    • The First Samurai – An arcade martial arts themed adventure game for the Amiga (reviewed here), Atari ST, and PC (DOS).

    …and more!


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