Donkey Kong Country (1994)
For the first time in Nintendo history, take control of Mario's former adversary as he travels through the island (with his nephew Diddy Kong) to recover his stolen banana hoard in this side-scrolling platformer from Rare (now Rareware).
First released
Nov 24, 1994
Aliases
DKC, Super Donkey Kong, Donkey Kong 2001
Franchises
Donkey Kong, Donkey Kong Country
Developed by
Rare, Ltd.
Published by
Nintendo
Platforms
Game Boy Advance, Super Nintendo Entertainment System, Game Boy Color, Wii Shop, Wii U, New Nintendo 3DS, Nintendo Switch
Genres
Platformer
Themes
Fantasy
Rating
ESRB: E, ESRB: K-A, PEGI: 7+, OFLC: G, CERO: A, PEGI: 3+
Releases
- GBA - Donkey Kong Country United States
- GBA - Super Donkey Kong Japan
- GBA - Donkey Kong Country United Kingdom
- GBC - Donkey Kong Country United States
- GBC - Donkey Kong Country United Kingdom
- GBC - Donkey Kong 2001 Japan
- GBC - Donkey Kong Country Australia
- N3DS - Donkey Kong Country United States
- N3DS - Donkey Kong Country United Kingdom
- N3DS - Donkey Kong Country Australia
- N3DS - Super Donkey Kong Japan
- NSW - Donkey Kong Country United States
- SNES - Donkey Kong Country United States
- SNES - Donkey Kong Country United Kingdom
- SNES - Super Donkey Kong Japan
- SNES - Donkey Kong Country (Players Choice) United States
- SNES - Donkey Kong Country (Super Classic Serie) United Kingdom
- SNES - Donkey Kong Country Australia
- SNES - Super Donkey Kong (Nintendo Power) Japan
- WiiU - Donkey Kong Country [US NTSC Version] United Kingdom
- WiiU - Donkey Kong Country [US NTSC Version] Australia
- WiiU - Super Donkey Kong Japan
- WiiU - Donkey Kong Country United States
- WSHP - Donkey Kong Country United States
- WSHP - Donkey Kong Country United Kingdom
- WSHP - Donkey Kong Country Australia
- WSHP - Super Donkey Kong Japan
Community reviews
Donkey Kong Country is one of the best platformers made
Game: Donkey Kong Country
Genre: Adventure Platformer
Developer: Rareware
Publisher: Nintendo
System: Gameboy Color (GBC)
Year of Release: 2000
Length of Playthrough: 2 Hours
Total Score: 76/100
Value Score: 7.6/10
• Story: 9/10
• Characters: 10/10
• GamePlay: 7/10
• Graphics: 8/10
• Sound: 5/10
• Music: 7/10
• Length: 7/10
• Replay Value: 6/10
• Player Value: 7/10
Pros
+Bonus mini games including Funky Fishing and Cranky Crosshair
+Can save anywhere on world map
Cons
-Some levels have become too easy while others too hard due to the Game boy's limitations
-Difficulty spiked due to game boy's limitations, view is cut off at certain points and hit detection is worse than SNES ver
-Graphics look worse than the original
-Some sound effects are missing
-Some of the OST tracks have been butchered due to the GB's limitations
----
Game: Donkey Kong Country
Genre: Adventure Platformer
Developer: Rareware
Publisher: Nintendo
System: Gameboy Advance (GBA)
Year of Release: 2003
Length of Playthrough: 2 Hours
Total Score: 87/100
Value Score: 8.7/10
• Story: 10/10
• Characters: 10/10
• GamePlay: 10/10
• Graphics: 9/10
• Sound: 6/10
• Music: 9/10
• Length: 7/10
• Replay Value: 7/10
• Player Value: 9/10
Pros
+Bonus mini games including Funky Fishing and Candy's Dance Studio
+Additional Attack/time mode for all levels
+Story with scenes have been added to the game
+Additional voice sound effects added that were not in the SNES or GBC version
+Some bosses have been changed in terms of AI and the way they are fought
Cons
-Graphics look better than the GBC version but lacks animation quality as the SNES version
-Some of the OST tracks sound different and lack the quality of the SNES version
-The World map has been remade and it looks terrible compared to the original SNES version
Genre: Adventure Platformer
Developer: Rareware
Publisher: Nintendo
System: Gameboy Color (GBC)
Year of Release: 2000
Length of Playthrough: 2 Hours
Total Score: 76/100
Value Score: 7.6/10
• Story: 9/10
• Characters: 10/10
• GamePlay: 7/10
• Graphics: 8/10
• Sound: 5/10
• Music: 7/10
• Length: 7/10
• Replay Value: 6/10
• Player Value: 7/10
Pros
+Bonus mini games including Funky Fishing and Cranky Crosshair
+Can save anywhere on world map
Cons
-Some levels have become too easy while others too hard due to the Game boy's limitations
-Difficulty spiked due to game boy's limitations, view is cut off at certain points and hit detection is worse than SNES ver
-Graphics look worse than the original
-Some sound effects are missing
-Some of the OST tracks have been butchered due to the GB's limitations
----
Game: Donkey Kong Country
Genre: Adventure Platformer
Developer: Rareware
Publisher: Nintendo
System: Gameboy Advance (GBA)
Year of Release: 2003
Length of Playthrough: 2 Hours
Total Score: 87/100
Value Score: 8.7/10
• Story: 10/10
• Characters: 10/10
• GamePlay: 10/10
• Graphics: 9/10
• Sound: 6/10
• Music: 9/10
• Length: 7/10
• Replay Value: 7/10
• Player Value: 9/10
Pros
+Bonus mini games including Funky Fishing and Candy's Dance Studio
+Additional Attack/time mode for all levels
+Story with scenes have been added to the game
+Additional voice sound effects added that were not in the SNES or GBC version
+Some bosses have been changed in terms of AI and the way they are fought
Cons
-Graphics look better than the GBC version but lacks animation quality as the SNES version
-Some of the OST tracks sound different and lack the quality of the SNES version
-The World map has been remade and it looks terrible compared to the original SNES version
Did not age as well as other platformers
While perhaps an important piece of gaming history, ultimately it just does not hold up the way legends like Yoshi's Island or Sonic 3 do. The difficulty is artificially inflated by a screen that shows very little. This means trial and error, with a lot of rote memorization. Still, the cartoonish visuals look alright and the music is enjoyable. Good but not great.
Podcast Reference
Reviewed in Games: Episode 9 of Stick Around Podcast