Thanks to a long (but excellent) night filled with fun and fighting games, this will be a shortened (and cheapened) post. Still, I would like to try and keep up with a post a day, so I'll give it a shot.
Whereas Castlevania IV was a game I played several years after the SNES still had games coming out, Donkey Kong Country games were childhood favorites. I remember getting excited around the release dates of Donkey Kong Country 2 and 3 in particular. Donkey Kong Country 2, however, stands out in my mind easily as my favorite of the 3. The other 2 were good (though 3 was my least favorite... that stupid big baby...) but my heart lies with 2. I even remember being at my friend's birthday party when I was still in elementary school and his big present being Donkey Kong Country 2. I was so excited to see the game... But enough with the nostalgia. Let's talk about the game at hand.
Soundtrack
The original Donkey Kong Country definitely had some great music but DKC2 certainly lives up to if not surpasses its predecessor's soundtrack. Many of the tunes are memorable, but I have to admit, nostalgia does play a role in this regard. Nevertheless, tracks like "stickerbrush symphony" from the thorn/bramble levels are very catchy and will remain favorites of mine for years to come. One other thing I really like about the game's music (and this isn't as attributable to nostalgia) is the death music. Not so much the tune itself, but the fact that it changes. All of the levels have a death tune that fits the theme music of the level you're on. While this isn't a major plus, it certainly is noticeable and a nice touch. After all, while you'll still be hearing the death music a fair amount, it makes it less annoying to hear different themes for different levels.
Difficulty
None of the Donkey Kong Country games are known as being "the hardest games ever," or anything, but Donkey Kong Country 2, as I recall, was the toughest of the 3. It never feels too difficult, but I never felt it was too easy. It finds a decent balance, and thanks to battery back-up save points, you'll rarely be sent back more than a level or two after a game over. Not to mention, after you reach a save point in a world, assuming you have a few coins, you can go back to it after any level and save your game. This allows you to go through some of the toughest sections of the game without having to replay any levels... or, it would if it weren't for bonus rooms and DK coins, but I'll address that later.
Control
There isn't a lot to be said here other than that the game controls well. The cartwheel-to-jump in mid-air is a fun mechanic carried over from the first game that allows for long, tricky jumps. It also should be noted that Diddy and Dixie control slightly differently, allowing for more variety.
Overall Fun Factor
With varied play mechanics such as barrel blast timing, roller coasters, and hot-air balloons, the game avoids feeling stale or mundane. Different animal buddies with different abilities add variety and keep things fresh as well. Everything sounds pretty great, right? Well it is... but there's one thing I am not as big of a fan of. To really beat the game and see the game's true ending, you'll have to discover hidden bonus rooms and DK coins. This leads to some blind jumps and aimless wandering... things I don't like to see in platforming games. Luckily, as a kid, I avoided this problem by using a small pocket guide that shows the locations of the coins and bonus rooms. Some might call it cheating, but I enjoyed myself a lot more than if I would have repeated levels over and over again until I finally found all the secrets. The bonus challenges themselves are entertaining and varied, but I'm not as keen on their hidden nature. I can see why some people might like these hidden rooms, but to me, they are an early version of "fetch quests," which unfortunately would later come to dominate the platforming genre. That aside, there's a lot of great platforming to be enjoyed in DKC2 and it will always be remembered as one of my favorite games from my childhood.
No comments:
Post a Comment