Donkey Kong Country is a 2.5D side-scrolling platforming game released in 1994 for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. This game was developed by Rare and published by Nintendo. It is a part of the Donkey Kong series
This game later received three sequels; Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest, Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble! and Donkey Kong Country Returns. It also has a semi-sequel; Donkey Kong Land.
Later, in 2000 and 2001, this game received a remake for the Game Boy Color. In Japan, this version was known as Donkey Kong 2001 as the game in the region was released in 2001. This game, again, received a sequel, but this time for the Game Boy Advance. This version has been released in 2003. The most recent remake for the game was for the Wii's Virtual Console. in 2007 and 2008 which is identical to the Super NES version.
Gameplay[ | ]
The gameplay in Donkey Kong Country is very similar to other Super Nintendo video games. Unlike most of them, however, this game features two protagonists simultaneously moving on the screen. Their names are Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong. Both Kongs can only take one hit before a life is lost. Each character has their own weaknesses and strengths. For instance, Diddy Kong is shorter than Donkey Kong, but can jump higher and farther than him. Donkey Kong is stronger than Diddy and has a special slap attack, which can reveal hidden secrets and can destroy tough enemies. Players can switch between Donkey and Diddy by a 'tag' touch (unless one of the Kongs has been hit and isn't available). Donkey Kong is best for taking down tough enemies while Diddy is best for jumping high and far, as well as going faster than Donkey Kong.
A total of six worlds are located in the game:Kong Jungle, Monkey Mines, Vine Valley, Gorilla Glacier, Kremkroc Industries Inc., and Chimp Caverns. The last world (Gangplank Galleon) is only one level, not a complete world. Several of the levels look nothing alike because of the graphics, with one being a heavy rainstorm in the jungle, another being an undersea adventure, and another being at a temple. The goal of the game is to reach the end of the level, gaining bananas (100 gives you another life), balloons (which also give you one, two, or three lives) and collecting animal-buddy tokens (which lead to a bonus level for animal buddies). The Kongs can defeat many of the enemies by a single jump on the head. They can also throw barrels and somersault or cartwheel into enemies. The types of barrels are, 'DK' barrels (which release a captured partner), regular barrels, steel kegs, (which can be ridden and don't break after hitting one enemy), blast barrels, which act like cannons, and TNT barrels, which break open secret walls and kill certain enemies. Several of the levels are frequent in launching the Kongs out barrel cannons (which usually cost a life if they launch out at the wrong time).
Synopsis[ | ]
In this game, Donkey Kong asks his nephew, Diddy Kong to guard his banana hoard at night when he goes to sleep. Then Kremlings come in, attack Diddy Kong then seal him in a barrel and steal all of Donkey Kong's bananas. The next morning, Cranky Kong wakes up Donkey Kong and tells him that you're in for a big surprise in your banana hoard. Then Donkey Kong realizes that all his bananas are gone then travels throughout many worlds with Diddy Kong to search for his bananas stolen by King K. Rool
Enemies[ | ]
Bad Guys[ | ]
- Gnawty- A green beaver. All they do is walk.
- Pink Gnawty- Encountered in Vine Valley temples, these cannot be defeated and are protected by a lethal rolling wheel.
- Necky- A very large brown bird. Some throw pellets at the Kongs.
- Army- A tough armadillo. Donkey Kong can defeat them with one jump.
- Zinger- An annoying yellow bee with a big stinger.
- Orange Zinger- Encountered in caves.
- Green Zinger- Encountered in caves and Gorilla Glacier.
- Red Zinger- Encountered in caves
- Slippa- A red banded snake. All they do is slither.
- Manky Kong- Similar to Donkey Kong, Manky Kong throws barrels over and over at the Kongs.
- Mini-Necky- A tiny, gray version of Necky. They spit out pellets.
Aquatic Bad Guys[ | ]
- Bitesize- A small green and red fish. They simply swim.
- Croctopus- A dangerous purple octopus. They are invincible and can only be dodged by swimming around them.
- Blue Croctopus- This type of Croctopus chases the Kongs until they reach a certain waypoint. They are only seen in Gorilla Glacier waters.
- Chomps Jr.- A blue, smaller version of chomps.
- Chomps- A large, green shark.
- Clambo- An oversized clam that spits out pearls. Like the croctopus, they are invincible.
- Squidge- A jellyfish only seen in Kremkroc Industries Inc. waters.
Kremlings[ | ]
- Kritter- A green reptilian creature displaying humanoid characteristics, Kritters simply walk and are the main faction of K. Rool's army.
- Brown Kritter- These Kritters jump from side to side and are tough to jump on. Encountered in caves.
- Blue Kritter- Blue Kritters walk AND jump at the same time, making them the toughest Kritters.
- Gray Kritter- Gray Kritters also jump high, but only stay in one spot. Some only walk. Encountered in Vine Valley.
- Klump- K. Rool's main general. Diddy can't jump on his head because of his helmet. Their weak spot is the torso.
- Krash- A Kritter in a mine cart. Only encountered in mine cart related levels.
- Klaptrap- A tiny reptilian creature with a giant mouth and sharp teeth. They're blue and more deadly than Kritters.
- Purple Klaptrap- Purple Klaptraps are only encountered once in a cave level. They jump very high in the air as soon as the Kongs jump, making them very hard to defeat.
- Rockkroc- Reptilian creatures made of rock. They sleep when the light is off and can't be defeated. They also run very fast and are hard to jump over. Besides Croctopuses, Rockkrocs are the toughest enemies in the game.
- Krusha- A bulky, yet idiotic blue Kremling. Diddy Kong can't defeat them.
- Red Krusha- A red and gray Krusha that can only be defeated by barrels. Only encountered in a mine level.
Bosses[ | ]
- Very Gnawty
- Master Necky
- Queen B.
- Really Gnawty
- Dumb Drum
- Master Necky Snr.
- King K. Rool
Changes between versions[ | ]
Game Boy Color[ | ]
- The is a new level exclusive only in this version, Necky Nutmare, located in Chimp Caverns.
- Winky's Walkway is longer.
- There are three different title screens taking place in the caverns, underwater and in the jungle.
- Only one Kong appears at a time.
- Most of the music is reused from Donkey Kong Land.
- Donkey and Diddy become the Animal Buddies instead of riding them.
- The game saves automatically after completing a level.
Game Boy Advance[ | ]
- Candy hosts a Dance Studio, Funky Kong hosts a swimming minigame
- Time Attack mode has been added
- The Rockkroc enemies can be defeated in their curled form by Donkey Kong's handslap move.
- The game has more sound effects and voice vocals.
- A scrapbook has been added.
- Barrel Cannons that takes the Kongs to a bonus level are now replaced by Bonus Barrels.
- After meeting up with Funky Kong, he can be summoned on the world map.
- Starting from Vine Valley, some of the levels have been switched around.
- This version keeps track of how many lives the Kongs have instead of resetting it to 5 when resetting the game.
- Boss battles are slightly different from the other versions.
- The maps are more zoomed in and all but the first were redesigned.
- The game may be saved anytime on the overworld map via pause menu.
- Enemies can come in different colors.