As a huge DK fan, it's interesting to hear this kind of stuff from the perspective of someone who hasn't had prior exposure to the Donkey Kong franchise or Country series.
I'm glad you found my perspective interesting I guess. That's exactly why I love making these videos! I did the same thing with the entire Pikmin series a couple months back where I had barely any prior knowledge on the series and then I go ahead and play and review all the games in a row and it's so much fun to make. And this one is no exception, I honestly can't believe I didn't play this amazing series any sooner
You are telling me. This was the biggest game for all of us in elementary school. Everyone knew it; and wanted it. Our after school had a snes and everyone waited in lines to play this. It’s insane to hear someone else talk about never hearing about any of them.
I respect it my man, these games really are some of the most polished Nintendo games I've ever played. Obviously DK returns and tropical freeze are also Goated right?
I love that Tropical Freeze‘s final world is literally just the island from Returns. I mean it makes sense, but it’s so cool seeing all the exact same world themes again, but icy. It’s a weird nostalgic feeling that feels fresh at the same time
It really is such a cool detail but also a little expected knowing Retro If that makes sense? They pride themselves on the little details and callbacks so much and having the final world being one huge callback seems right up their alley
Actually the current rumor from DK Vine is that the next DK game is being developed internally at Nintendo by the Mario Odyssey Team, which is not as insane as it sounds, since the Mario Galaxy Team developed Donkey Kong Jungle Beat. I guess Nintendo wants to make DK back into a household name. Hence the huge role DK had in the Mario movie, the theme park opening up, and now more recently, Donkey Kong related merchandise has been using the Donkey Kong logo instead of the Super Mario logo. There's definitely something cooking with the franchise, I just think Nintendo's not gonna show it to us until the next console arrives.
I’ve heard about those rumours a couple weeks back and ofc it’s hard to credit how real they are but it would make a lot of sense. Even tho we haven’t got a new DK game in a very long time the series has shown up lots of times elsewhere. Of course the theme park being the obvious one. However my only concerns with that would have to do with a new 3D Mario game because it’s also been a very long time since odyssey came out at this point and I doubt Nintendo wants to go another 3 or so years until a new big 3D Mario comes out since the team is currently hard at work with DK game. It’s also weird since what does that mean for Retro and their involvement and the series as well. I really hope something DK related comes out soon tho. Since this is the DKC 30th anniversary and it’s a shame if he gets shelved again
It’s on my list for games I need to play sometime soon. Perhaps not right away since I’ve played so many DK games in a row already but I’ll get to it eventually
49:17 This is one of the only bosses where Diddy proves quite useful, since you can use his rocket barrels to jump in advance and hover a little to land on Fredrik at the right spot.😉
Trust me I never get tired from seeing these types of comments lol, I’m glad you enjoyed the video it really helps me keep being passionate about making videos!
You look like you're about the age I was when this came out. Which a) makes me feel really old, but b) makes it really interesting to hear your honest review of these games. 👍
@@theglasshalffull6958 That they do and to be honest Wonder is probably the main reason I said arguably because that's the only one that can give Tropical Freeze a run for its money in my mind.
Nice to see people still discovering the DKC series, it's a real shame more people don't know about them when it doesn't have a single bad or even mediocre game. A bigger shame that Nintendo hasn't done anything with DK for almost 10 years now, despite Tropical Freeze being one of the best 2D platformers to this day.
Well, Donkey Kong is in a very interesting position where it's not like his games don't really sell well so Nintendo doesn't really prioritize it. Like I said the original DKC games sold very well and both Returns and TF also sold pretty well on their original consoles and their ports. But for some reason (probably with retro) they just haven't made one for a long time. It is it's 30th anniversary tho, and with the whole DK theme park coming out soon I hope Nintendo is cooking up something for the series.
It's always nice to see new fans seeing just how amazing these games are. Welcome to the fold, good sir. Favorite game: DKC2. Atmosphere and music are top-notch, and I always preferred the classic physics to the modern ones.
Ayy I’m glad you liked the video that much! After playing the entire DKC series I can definitely say that the entire franchise climbed into my top 5 favourite Nintendo series and i honestly can’t wait to see what the next instalment is gonna be like
"too bad he died after this game" I mean, if you ignore every single game without "Country" in the title... because his last non-Smash appearance was actually in 2008, where he was actually in a Mario game of all things (Super Sluggers), or 2007 where he was in DK: Jungle Climber and Barrel Blast. DK64 even introduced a brand new persona, King Krusha K. Rool.
I am aware that King K rool was still around after DKC3 in a lot of ways but it's a shame for his own home series that Retro made the decision to removing the kremlings from the game. Also I thought that joke was pretty funny so I left it how it was
It's always nice to see my favorite series get some appreciation from people who didn't grow up with it. I've been a fan since the original installment, received as an Xmas gift in '94. It's hard to pick a favorite, as I love each of them. I probably run through, the first most often, as it is my favorite to casually speedrun. The second is my favorite for music and general atmosphere. The third deserves more credit than it gets, and has my favorite overworld in the series. I couldn't believe it when Returns was announced, my favorite E3 trailer memory, for sure. Tropical Freeze has my absolute favorite roster of playable Kongs, even more so with the Switch port.
All of the games offer so much in terms of variety and quality even though they look so similar. Donkey Kong Country fans must feel so blessed to be given a near-perfect series that can be replayable for many years.. but also DK fans must hate how they only get games once in a blue moon nowadays
I still remember to this day when I went to the store with my parents and they bought dkc1 for me. What a game. I beat it many times in a row. It almost became a Christmas tradition for the next two years to get the sequels for Christmas every year. Even though it's been over a quarter century, I still remember unwrapping dkc2 and having the best holidays ever. This video was a great trip down memory lane, even though I found the "sunglasses and waving arms in front of pc" parts kinda unnecessary and annoying. Thanks for the video!
I knew that was supposed to be the plot of the story, but I didn't know that when the game first tarted so I couldn't get a first impression right away
I'm glad you liked Returns so much, it often gets overlooked or just dismissed because of Tropical Freeze. Yeah Tropical Freeze is better, and I personally still prefer DKC2, but Returns is still like one of the greatest 2D platformers ever made.
I'm honestly kinda surprised to see how Returns doesn't get as much praise as I thought it did from the DK fans. There's almost nothing I think this game does that's worse than what the SNES trilogy offered (other than the forced motion controls I guess). It is unironically a great Return for the series and should be held up to the same regard as the other games. Also quick side note I've actually tuned into a couple of your videos when I edit my own sometimes so it's kinda wild to see you here commenting on my video lol. (great content btw)
Bro quick tip for dkc1, roll jumping makes most levels easy as hell, basically just roll off the edge and jump, you'll get some good momentum to skip certain dangers like the oil barrels
Oh I actually figured out how to do a roll jump mid way through the game. And yea it is very useful for clearing gaps for sure. However that oil can level still got to me since the platforms were really small and I ended up falling off and dying rather than actually perfecting it so I opted to damage boost a lot in it
@@theglasshalffull6958 Yee i get you! Also you should probably try jungle beat, it was the closest thing to a dk platformer in the gamecube era before returns was a thing! Its full of personality!
I grew up with DKC3 on the SNES and so many of the levels were nightmare fuel for me. Especially that damned forest with the spiders. I remember that took up so much time. I also played a ton of the DK game on the GBC, then GBA. I remember playing Country Returns at my first job on I think it was the DS and 100% completed it while on the clock. Every level, every puzzle piece, every KONG, and then all of the secret levels too. It was hardcore. I have Tropical Freeze on the Switch now but I haven't really touched it. DK has a super high skill ceiling but at the start it always feels like it's just too easy.
So I got this video in my recommended, and I gotta say, I definitely think your channel is going to hit the algorithm soon and you’ll grow really fast Really good video, even if there were some things I didn’t agree with like your criticisms of the DKCR minecart levels which I think more aptly describes the original SNES minecart levels more than the DKCR ones. Or the fact that Tropical Freeze should have had more ice levels near the end which I think is a really dumb idea, as that would ruin the great atmosphere of the worlds we currently have and also the game is called Tropical Freeze because the Snowmads froze DK Island over. In world 6, each level is based off the respective world in Returns, just frozen over. Level 1 jungle, 2 beach, 3 ruins, 4 cave, etc. I am definitely glad they didn’t go the “Oops. All ice levels” route. Anyway, really good video, and I’m excited to see what you post next!
Honestly it completely flew over my head that every level in the final island of DKCTF was based on the worlds of DKCR which is such a cool thing that makes me appreciate Tropical freeze even more. Again, I wouldn't say that my whole issue of "Tropical freeze doesn't use it's ice aesthetic to it's advantage" is a huge problem, it really is just a nitpick and I can understand why you think my idea is pretty horrible. But again it's just me throwing ideas out there. And thanks, I'm really glad you thoroughly enjoyed my video! I've been doing this whole TH-cam thing for a while now and it seems only recently I've been able to hit a good stride. These hour or so reviews/analysis takes a lot of time to make but seeing people enjoy the content I do makes it all worth it!
Chrono trigger was technically developed by Square Enix but I guess was only available for Nintendo Platforms. Either way WOW there is a lot of floating head and hand bosses
I would’ve loved to see what Rare could’ve done with Starfox since I actually liked Starfox Adventures and I imagine if they were given the chance to make a sequel they would made Krystal the main character as originally intended in Dinosaur Planet since Fox already had a whole game to himself while Krystal was trapped in well, a Crystal for the whole game.
Personally I’ve never played a star fox game so I don’t generally know how liked the series was or how good the games are. It’s a shame that star fox Zero came out the way it did since it feels like Nintendo doesn’t have much belief in the series moving forward
I'm not gonna lie. I like your humor. Which makes it more frustrating that you didn't give your takes on the Lost World in DKC2 and the added levels in Returns 3D.
Well some of the sections felt long enough and I honestly didn’t really know what else I could say for the added levels. But uh I’m glad you liked my sense of humour!
@@theglasshalffull6958 It's kinda like watching people on youtube rage while playing Cuphead. It's the reactions that make the videos fun. You already got the jokes!
To give you younger gamers some context, Rareware were the Pixar to Nintendo's SNES/N64 games. StarFox Adventures for the Nintendo GameCube was Rareware's final game for Nintendo before being brought by Microsoft. The magic was still there in early XBox 360 gen with Kameo Elements of Power but Microsoft restructured Rare after the failure to meet Microsoft's unrealistic standards.
I've heard the story many times before and man it's so depressing that Nintendo ditched Rare like that. And ever since then Rare hasn't made games of the SNES/N64 quality since (although I hear Sea of Thieves is pretty good)
Outstanding video, brother. Not sure if it's just me, but your voice seems very quiet in the live action sections of this. Just something to consider for future videos. Great work, and I look forward to more content like this!
I’ve gotten a couple of comments already how the audio needs to be louder there so I’ll try to improve on that aspect in my next video. But otherwise thank you! I’m glad you enjoy my video that much and look forward to what I have planned next!
I love new gamers re-discovering these gems (and not so much low-key calling me old), The DKC saga brought so much to the platformer genre, and while the newer games refined the formula in many ways, I agree that they were ahead of their time.
Well I always knew the SNES trilogy existed for a long time but I never tried to give it a shot until recently and MAN it did deliver. (also wow it's hard to believe these games are 30 years old)
DKC Tropical Freeze is one of the few 2D platformers I’d consider a masterpiece, one of the greatest games of all time with phenomenal music (the aquatic ambience remix is incredible)
29:55 This footage is presumably from the 3DS port. Which I can understand, because there the rolling is much more functioning sine you do it with buttons instead of shaking the controller.🤔
Something I have to give to DKC3 is it's by far the most fun game to 100% of the classic trilogy. There's a consistent 2 bonus barrels and 1 DK coin per level, and they rarely if ever feel unfairly hidden. The world map also gives you a visual indicator of what you're missing in each level. Also, while the soundtrack is still the weakest of any of the games, I've come around a lot to it. The tracks for the underwater, cliff, factory, and waterfall levels are pretty great. I've come around to liking it overall more than DKC1 (after playing all of the games 2 or 3 times at this point), but it's still not DKC2 level.
I was actually gonna mention how all the collectibles in DKC3 are much easier and more fun to collect since it wasn’t super hidden but I couldn’t find any place in the video to say that. But yeah even tho I didn’t 100% the game, DKC3 felt very fair to the player and actually enjoyed trying to find things in levels rather than it feeling like a hassle like before. And yeah I admit some songs in the game are quite catchy and I might’ve roasted it too hard in the video. However, still doesn’t hold a candle to the music in the first 2 games
@@theglasshalffull6958 Oh yeah I definitely agree DKC2's soundtrack especially is unmatched. Fischer did do more of the first game's soundtrack than people seem to realize, including Treetop Rock, Northern Hemispheres, and Ice Cave Chant.
By far it has so many iconic tracks. I remember playing it for the first time and recognizing some tracks I’ve heard in other videos or different social media platforms and being amazed at how timeless it is
This is the second retrospective style video that says that DKC had no special gimmick, or didn't bring anything into the genre. DUDE you can play TWO different characters, with different physics and abilities that can be changed in real time. What game made that into some stable platforming mechanic that makes young people completely overlook that, it was a huge feature at the time.
Great video! I am a speedrunner of dkc 1 2 3 and tropical freeze. If your ever interested in learning more about the speed side of it, I would be happy to help
that elderly man is the original donkey kong from the arcade, which i weird since that would mean mario is old as hell, but is hanging around dk jr which is the dk in smash brothers and mario kart
Well there’s this whole thing that the Mario that was in the arcade games was actually Mario’s father or grandfather… but also Nintendo doesn’t care at all about continuity or a timeline so you never really know
RARE was so Goated for making a game not only so visually distinct but a masterpiece in it's genre as well. And thanks I was really proud of myself when I first commissioned that thumbnail.
@@theglasshalffull6958 Kinda unfortunate what happened to Rare after they got purchased by Microsoft, the only games since that lives up to their past reputation I feel is Sea of Thieves and Rare Replay, which is a collection of older titles. Hopefully Everwild will be good.
It is such a big shame that Rare and Nintendo had a falling out, someone else in the comments mentioned how Rare was basically the Pixar to Nintendo and it makes sense for how many quality games they released in that 90’s era. I’m glad Donkey Kong was able to be saved tho, even tho his games don’t come out quite often Hope Rare can turn it around but we’ll see what happens
Based upon how much you seem to have enjoyed Returns and Tropical Freeze, I'd highly recommend checking out Rayman Origins and Rayman Legends if you haven't played them before. Just like Donkey Kong, Rayman got a 2D platformer revival at the turn of the 2010s, and it was similarly followed a couple years later with an even better sequel. Depressingly it's also in the same boat as DK of not receiving any further instalments since 😭
It's always fun to see the younger generation "researching" stuff we already knew way back in the 90's. Better late than never though. And one more thing, you young whippersnapper, the game doesn't just throw you straight into the action with no story... there was actually an award-winning storyline to start things off but it was found in the instruction manual. It's a physical thing that used to be included with each game we bought back then. We would read it while driving back home with the game we just bought, cuz y'know, no internets or digital distributions back then. Now get off my lawn.
Haha don't worry I'm not too young lmao, I was playing games during the DS and Wii era which still had video game manuals at the time as well. In fact I'm pretty sure I still own the Mario 64 DS video game manual which is probably sitting in my garage somewhere. Although I'm not a 90's kid I can still have some "relatable" experiences lol
Donkey Kong. Everyone's favorite monkey. After playing Mario Kart 64, my first DK adventure was Donkey Kong 64. It turned me into an avid fan of his expansive world, characters, and humor. The Donkey Kong Country series really is special. I played the original in 2010, and it didn't take long for it to become my favorite platformer in the DK series. Simple as it is, it really did put DK himself into his lovable world and launched a juggernaut of a series. DKC2 is my least favorite, but is far from a bad game. As for why? Mmm, I suppose that the difficulty curves are bit more intense there. Also, I remember being scared by Kreepy Krow from the GBA remake... Props for it introducing Dixie though. DKC3 is the one everyone likes to hate, but frankly I think it's fine. The idea of Dixie and Kiddy rescuing DK and Diddy is fun. I don't see Kiddy Kong as the worst thing ever. For the modern adventures, yeah, they're both excellent. Seeing Donkey Kong back in action as the hero in Returns was a big green flag. I miss individually controlling Diddy, but having him augment DK's moves is nice. Couple that with the improved presentation and tight levels, and it's a treasure. Like you, I prefer the 3DS port; the extra health is nice. Tropical Freeze? I've seen unanimous praise for it. Honestly, it's worth all the hype. Retro Studios went above and beyond what a 2D platformer can be. I can't bring myself to overlook the marvelous graphics, banger OST, fair difficulty, and memorable level designs. Although I have an idiotic bias for New Super Mario Bros. U, Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze is wonderful. I think that I'm going to stick with the original Wii U version. Solid video! I liked your jokes about emulation and using save states. Incidentally, my favorite DK game of all time is Barrel Blast. After that is 64, then DKC1. Excellent!
That was a nice mini-review of all the DK games! Your like the first person I've seen say that DKC2 is your least favourite but honestly can't blame you for how hard the games can be sometimes. All in all it's a wonderful series and I should really try playing some of the spin-offs and Dk 64 as well. Also thanks! I'm glad you liked the video!
14:25 I mean if anything, the N64 Zelda games have it worse with certain hub worlds. These make sense cause it's still an SNES game at the end of the day
Yeah that's fair. It's a weird criticism I have but after seeing how cool Mario world's world map was I was left kinda unsatisfied with how the SNES trilogy handled it. Since they are on the same console as well.
Even Diddy Kong Racing was ahead of its time, doing things even Mario Kart took a while to do. Still a shame there’s no easily accessible way to play it rather than owning the original or getting the meh DS remake.
I've unfortunately not yet played that game but from what I've seen from it and heard, it's actually insane how many things Mario "adapted" from DK games when those DK games came out like decades ago.
While not as good as DK Country series, DK 64 is still a good game to put into this collection of games to show how Crazy the DK series got before RARE was sold to Microsoft.
I've heard many good and bad things about DK 64 and a part of me did wanna play it for this video. However, it would feel a little disconnected to talk about 5 games that play very similar to one another and then talk about a game that has nothing to do with any of that. Plus the script was already 18 pages long and since DK64 is regarded as a VERY long game I didn't wanna make this video any longer lol
@@theglasshalffull6958 That sounds like you had loads to talk about with the entire series. So I don't blame you for only just focusing on the DKC games and not DK64, DK Arcade and GameBoy/GBA games of similar nature. All of which would require their own separate videos to fully explore the content that DK games had to offer.
@@theglasshalffull6958 Donkey kong land 2 is the best one of them in my opinion and it compares really well to the Donkey Kong Country 2 version. The other ones are fine, I would say that Donkey Kong Land 1 is the weakest of them and it is not as polished as the other land games.
Interesting, even though I'll probably never visit the GBA versions, it's still cool that RARE was able to convert those big games onto lesser hardware
@@theglasshalffull6958 The donkey kong land games are GB or Gameboy colour games and then there are Gameboy Advance versions which came later and are just ports of Donkey Kong Country games without additional content.
My personal order is Returns, then a big leap up to DKC1, then another big leap up to Tropical Freeze, then a moderate step up to DKC3, and finally an inch up to DKC2... despite having played them in order shortly after the release of each. Oh, BTW, if you want more DKC music, the GBA port of DKC3 has a completely original soundtrack done by David Wise. Personally, I prefer the SNES original, but it's very much a Sonic CD situation where both soundtracks have their own charm.
When you say "big leap" are you saying that you didn't enjoy Returns and DKC1 that much? Or you still enjoyed it but the other 3 games are THAT much better? Ahh that's actually a pretty interesting detail. Crazy, how much effort the team goes through when making these games even when they don't really need to
@theglasshalffull6958 Something between those two? Returns is the only one that can bore me at times, and DKC1 is simplistic compared to the rest... but DKC2 is my favorite game of that era, and the other two temporarily supplanted it.
I kinda just decided that I didn’t really wanna cover the secret worlds in this video. I felt like this video was already long enough as it is so I decided I would play the secret worlds on my own time
It's interesting that you feel the controls are awkward on SNES because they feel way better than the newer games to me but that's probably because I i grew up with them
That’s pretty Odd since I never felt like I was truly in control of DK/Diddy when I was playing the game. Like it was never to the point where it was hindering my experience but it always felt off. (This especially goes for some of the animal buddies like squawks)
Your right donkey kong country games are still great games today, to bad we have only gotten 3 in the series, and 3 spinoff in dk land trilogy (Dk returns and dk tropic freeze aren't dkc games except in title)
I think the soundtrack for DKC3 is pretty good, there’s some standouts like the water and treetop level music. I kinda like it more than the first game, that one has some classics but the rest is pretty atmospheric and kinda unremarkable.
Ngl while I was adding the background music for the DKC3 section of the video I realized some tracks were better than I remembered. A majority of them are still pretty forgettable, but there's some good tracks here and there.
5:27 Okay, but hear me out: Back in the day, devs directly communicated with the players through stage design, enemy placement, and breaking common conventions. If something is outside of the norm for that particular game you'd naturally wonder, "Why is this out of place"? More exploration is required. Maybe it's nothing, but there could be something! You see this small structure to the left? This is different than the usual hole in the wall. And so, being a platformer, you naturally think "Can I jump on that?" Then you try it. YES! Is this an arbitrary design choice? Not if it's a good game. Good games don't do that often, ever if they can help it. So what about that bird? Why is it so close? You might miss an opportunity to jump on it if you're too busy thinking or too slow to jump on the igloo. Then it flies off-screen! You think "Crap! I missed IT! I could have jumped on the bird but missed my chance!" Now, you still don't know what, if anything, is up there. That's not even the primary focus at this time. What you are sure of is, if you're fast enough, you can jump on the bird. So you try again. Try again again. Eventually you hit it. Now, seeing as they already broke the left-to-right convention straight out the gate like this by inspiring you to jump on the igloo, you'd naturally think there might be more to the left side. Why not hold left after jumping on the bird? _barrel noises_ *SUCCESS!* Everything was tied together, because that's the kind of quality and consistency in design that was _expected_ from video games. The developers were so detail-oriented that nothing need be left to chance. Every enemy placement, every location of every platform, where moving platforms started, how fast every platform and NPC was, where they would be when the player reached them if the player was moving at different speeds when they got loaded in... ALL OF THIS and more was heavily considered for any game worth its salt. Devs accounted for different styles of play, different approaches, and specifically geared their stage design to match specific approaches, so much so that the stage itself and the placement of enemies specifically informed you how it was intended to be approached. Things like this barrel are not really hidden at all, simply out of the way. The truly hidden things have NO indication. Those are the things you find by chance, the stuff most people don't know about, the kind of thing you'd talk to other players about. They'd inspire discussions, you'd exchange secrets, and grow to become more knowledgeable and skilled players.
That is an incredibly interesting way to look at that barrel section. And honestly I do agree with how you said “game devs communicate with players through level design” and even with one little section can still create something masterful and somewhat complex. Although I will say I still don’t love some of the secret entrances just for how hidden and weird they are, I will admit That the level designers at Rare really were something else back then
What is your favourite Donkey Kong Game??
the one where he time travels and has a big sword
DKC2
unironically a game like that would go so hard
good choice!
Jungle Climber on DS is my favorite non-rare game but I still love the Rare trilogy.
As a huge DK fan, it's interesting to hear this kind of stuff from the perspective of someone who hasn't had prior exposure to the Donkey Kong franchise or Country series.
I'm glad you found my perspective interesting I guess.
That's exactly why I love making these videos! I did the same thing with the entire Pikmin series a couple months back where I had barely any prior knowledge on the series and then I go ahead and play and review all the games in a row and it's so much fun to make. And this one is no exception, I honestly can't believe I didn't play this amazing series any sooner
You are telling me. This was the biggest game for all of us in elementary school. Everyone knew it; and wanted it. Our after school had a snes and everyone waited in lines to play this. It’s insane to hear someone else talk about never hearing about any of them.
Well I definitely knew they existed for the longest time, but I never knew how much of a cultural impact they had back then
I see a video praising DK Country, I give a like at 0 seconds, simple as that. All three of these games are beyond goated.
I respect it my man, these games really are some of the most polished Nintendo games I've ever played.
Obviously DK returns and tropical freeze are also Goated right?
@@theglasshalffull6958 YES they ARE
all five*
100
I love that Tropical Freeze‘s final world is literally just the island from Returns. I mean it makes sense, but it’s so cool seeing all the exact same world themes again, but icy. It’s a weird nostalgic feeling that feels fresh at the same time
It really is such a cool detail but also a little expected knowing Retro If that makes sense? They pride themselves on the little details and callbacks so much and having the final world being one huge callback seems right up their alley
20:57 "BANANAAAAA SLAMMMMAAAA!!"👊😉
The best thumbnail i've seen on a video about this game
There was no better way than to honour DKC than with this imo
Actually the current rumor from DK Vine is that the next DK game is being developed internally at Nintendo by the Mario Odyssey Team, which is not as insane as it sounds, since the Mario Galaxy Team developed Donkey Kong Jungle Beat. I guess Nintendo wants to make DK back into a household name. Hence the huge role DK had in the Mario movie, the theme park opening up, and now more recently, Donkey Kong related merchandise has been using the Donkey Kong logo instead of the Super Mario logo. There's definitely something cooking with the franchise, I just think Nintendo's not gonna show it to us until the next console arrives.
I’ve heard about those rumours a couple weeks back and ofc it’s hard to credit how real they are but it would make a lot of sense. Even tho we haven’t got a new DK game in a very long time the series has shown up lots of times elsewhere. Of course the theme park being the obvious one. However my only concerns with that would have to do with a new 3D Mario game because it’s also been a very long time since odyssey came out at this point and I doubt Nintendo wants to go another 3 or so years until a new big 3D Mario comes out since the team is currently hard at work with DK game. It’s also weird since what does that mean for Retro and their involvement and the series as well.
I really hope something DK related comes out soon tho. Since this is the DKC 30th anniversary and it’s a shame if he gets shelved again
You HAVE to play Dk64. One of my favorite N64 game. People complain about it being a collectathon but no one said you have to collect everything.
It’s on my list for games I need to play sometime soon. Perhaps not right away since I’ve played so many DK games in a row already but I’ll get to it eventually
I'm with this guy
how can you (edit: by you i mean anyone)complain that a collectathon is a collectathon ???? it is SUPPOSED to be a collectathon
@@chapolinm_ I guess complaining that DK64 was made into a collectathon as opposed to the style of DKC
@@LilacMonarch that makes sense
Great video, I like the meme at the end
49:17 This is one of the only bosses where Diddy proves quite useful, since you can use his rocket barrels to jump in advance and hover a little to land on Fredrik at the right spot.😉
Diddy or dixie definitely felt the most useful while playing this boss
I hate to be that guy, but..... Only 55 views??? Huh??? Great video, man!! Keep at it :))
It's currently 555 views
Trust me I never get tired from seeing these types of comments lol, I’m glad you enjoyed the video it really helps me keep being passionate about making videos!
It’s steadily increasing!
You look like you're about the age I was when this came out. Which a) makes me feel really old, but b) makes it really interesting to hear your honest review of these games. 👍
DKC really is a timeless series I guess
10:42 I especially like how the music starts happy and jolly, but then turns smoothly into a heavier, grittier tune.😄😰
Tropical Freeze is arguably the best 2d platformer Nintendo has ever made
100% up there for sure. Again I might prefer Mario wonder a little bit more but damn Nintendo knows how to make their platformers
Agreed!
@@theglasshalffull6958 That they do and to be honest Wonder is probably the main reason I said arguably because that's the only one that can give Tropical Freeze a run for its money in my mind.
Nice to see people still discovering the DKC series, it's a real shame more people don't know about them when it doesn't have a single bad or even mediocre game. A bigger shame that Nintendo hasn't done anything with DK for almost 10 years now, despite Tropical Freeze being one of the best 2D platformers to this day.
Well, Donkey Kong is in a very interesting position where it's not like his games don't really sell well so Nintendo doesn't really prioritize it. Like I said the original DKC games sold very well and both Returns and TF also sold pretty well on their original consoles and their ports. But for some reason (probably with retro) they just haven't made one for a long time.
It is it's 30th anniversary tho, and with the whole DK theme park coming out soon I hope Nintendo is cooking up something for the series.
It's always nice to see new fans seeing just how amazing these games are. Welcome to the fold, good sir.
Favorite game: DKC2. Atmosphere and music are top-notch, and I always preferred the classic physics to the modern ones.
Thank you, glad to be apart of it!
Dude what an amazing video, and how are there not more likes?! This is my favorite franchise of all time. Bravo!
Ayy I’m glad you liked the video that much! After playing the entire DKC series I can definitely say that the entire franchise climbed into my top 5 favourite Nintendo series and i honestly can’t wait to see what the next instalment is gonna be like
This is the funniest DK review I ever watched (yes I saw a lot despite the fact I already played them all)
Saying that my video was the funniest out of the ones you've watched is such an honour. And I will take it to heart
@@theglasshalffull6958 your joke of losing with the stickerbrush symphony killed me hahaha
Would've been so cool if Donkey Kong Country 4: Kiddy Kong's Adventure existed!
I don't know if I could handle a game with kiddy kong as the main character..
@@theglasshalffull6958 oh, I see. Well then lucky for you to live in the trilogy timeline.
"too bad he died after this game"
I mean, if you ignore every single game without "Country" in the title... because his last non-Smash appearance was actually in 2008, where he was actually in a Mario game of all things (Super Sluggers), or 2007 where he was in DK: Jungle Climber and Barrel Blast. DK64 even introduced a brand new persona, King Krusha K. Rool.
I am aware that King K rool was still around after DKC3 in a lot of ways but it's a shame for his own home series that Retro made the decision to removing the kremlings from the game.
Also I thought that joke was pretty funny so I left it how it was
Interesting, I knew he was in DK64 but not the other ones
It's always nice to see my favorite series get some appreciation from people who didn't grow up with it. I've been a fan since the original installment, received as an Xmas gift in '94. It's hard to pick a favorite, as I love each of them. I probably run through, the first most often, as it is my favorite to casually speedrun. The second is my favorite for music and general atmosphere. The third deserves more credit than it gets, and has my favorite overworld in the series. I couldn't believe it when Returns was announced, my favorite E3 trailer memory, for sure. Tropical Freeze has my absolute favorite roster of playable Kongs, even more so with the Switch port.
All of the games offer so much in terms of variety and quality even though they look so similar. Donkey Kong Country fans must feel so blessed to be given a near-perfect series that can be replayable for many years.. but also DK fans must hate how they only get games once in a blue moon nowadays
I still remember to this day when I went to the store with my parents and they bought dkc1 for me.
What a game. I beat it many times in a row.
It almost became a Christmas tradition for the next two years to get the sequels for Christmas every year. Even though it's been over a quarter century, I still remember unwrapping dkc2 and having the best holidays ever.
This video was a great trip down memory lane, even though I found the "sunglasses and waving arms in front of pc" parts kinda unnecessary and annoying.
Thanks for the video!
No problem glad I was able to give you some sort of "nostalgia" while watching the video!
DK1 does tell you the story, just uses a show don’t tell method like Sonic three. You see the bananas are gone so you gotta get them back
I knew that was supposed to be the plot of the story, but I didn't know that when the game first tarted so I couldn't get a first impression right away
Best snes trilogy of all time. Best platformers of ever. Nice video 😎
Thanks, glad you liked it!
Toxic Tower in DKC2....that is the ultimate test that I never want to do again
Probably the closest I came to rage quitting during my marathon, the game wants you to be so god damn precise with your jumps
I'm glad you liked Returns so much, it often gets overlooked or just dismissed because of Tropical Freeze. Yeah Tropical Freeze is better, and I personally still prefer DKC2, but Returns is still like one of the greatest 2D platformers ever made.
I'm honestly kinda surprised to see how Returns doesn't get as much praise as I thought it did from the DK fans. There's almost nothing I think this game does that's worse than what the SNES trilogy offered (other than the forced motion controls I guess). It is unironically a great Return for the series and should be held up to the same regard as the other games.
Also quick side note I've actually tuned into a couple of your videos when I edit my own sometimes so it's kinda wild to see you here commenting on my video lol. (great content btw)
@theglasshalffull6958 Oh thanks! I think this is the first time the creator of a video I've commented on has recognized me lol.
The thumbnail SCREAMS “You may touch it… once”
That was the EXACT vibe I was going for!
Bro quick tip for dkc1, roll jumping makes most levels easy as hell, basically just roll off the edge and jump, you'll get some good momentum to skip certain dangers like the oil barrels
Oh I actually figured out how to do a roll jump mid way through the game. And yea it is very useful for clearing gaps for sure. However that oil can level still got to me since the platforms were really small and I ended up falling off and dying rather than actually perfecting it so I opted to damage boost a lot in it
@@theglasshalffull6958 Yee i get you!
Also you should probably try jungle beat, it was the closest thing to a dk platformer in the gamecube era before returns was a thing! Its full of personality!
I’ve heard good things. If I can find a way to play it (emulate or not) then I’ll definitely try it out!
I grew up with DKC3 on the SNES and so many of the levels were nightmare fuel for me. Especially that damned forest with the spiders. I remember that took up so much time. I also played a ton of the DK game on the GBC, then GBA. I remember playing Country Returns at my first job on I think it was the DS and 100% completed it while on the clock. Every level, every puzzle piece, every KONG, and then all of the secret levels too. It was hardcore. I have Tropical Freeze on the Switch now but I haven't really touched it. DK has a super high skill ceiling but at the start it always feels like it's just too easy.
The forest level with the spiders is in DKC Returns.
Damn fully 100%ing Returns while on the clock is very impressive even I haven’t fully completed it yet.
So I got this video in my recommended, and I gotta say, I definitely think your channel is going to hit the algorithm soon and you’ll grow really fast
Really good video, even if there were some things I didn’t agree with like your criticisms of the DKCR minecart levels which I think more aptly describes the original SNES minecart levels more than the DKCR ones. Or the fact that Tropical Freeze should have had more ice levels near the end which I think is a really dumb idea, as that would ruin the great atmosphere of the worlds we currently have and also the game is called Tropical Freeze because the Snowmads froze DK Island over. In world 6, each level is based off the respective world in Returns, just frozen over. Level 1 jungle, 2 beach, 3 ruins, 4 cave, etc. I am definitely glad they didn’t go the “Oops. All ice levels” route.
Anyway, really good video, and I’m excited to see what you post next!
Honestly it completely flew over my head that every level in the final island of DKCTF was based on the worlds of DKCR which is such a cool thing that makes me appreciate Tropical freeze even more. Again, I wouldn't say that my whole issue of "Tropical freeze doesn't use it's ice aesthetic to it's advantage" is a huge problem, it really is just a nitpick and I can understand why you think my idea is pretty horrible. But again it's just me throwing ideas out there.
And thanks, I'm really glad you thoroughly enjoyed my video! I've been doing this whole TH-cam thing for a while now and it seems only recently I've been able to hit a good stride. These hour or so reviews/analysis takes a lot of time to make but seeing people enjoy the content I do makes it all worth it!
When you said floating head bosses in Nintendo games, Queen Zeal in Chrono Trigger is a floating head boss
Chrono trigger was technically developed by Square Enix but I guess was only available for Nintendo Platforms.
Either way WOW there is a lot of floating head and hand bosses
Keep up the good content!
Thanks I'm glad you enjoyed it!
I'm so glad we can all celebrate the global holiday of Kong John January together.
A holiday that should be celebrated by all until next month where we celebrate Donkebuary!
I would’ve loved to see what Rare could’ve done with Starfox since I actually liked Starfox Adventures and I imagine if they were given the chance to make a sequel they would made Krystal the main character as originally intended in Dinosaur Planet since Fox already had a whole game to himself while Krystal was trapped in well, a Crystal for the whole game.
Personally I’ve never played a star fox game so I don’t generally know how liked the series was or how good the games are. It’s a shame that star fox Zero came out the way it did since it feels like Nintendo doesn’t have much belief in the series moving forward
I really need to give this series a proper try!
You really should! It's one of the most polished and unique Nintendo series I've ever played!
I'm not gonna lie. I like your humor. Which makes it more frustrating that you didn't give your takes on the Lost World in DKC2 and the added levels in Returns 3D.
Well some of the sections felt long enough and I honestly didn’t really know what else I could say for the added levels.
But uh I’m glad you liked my sense of humour!
@@theglasshalffull6958 It's kinda like watching people on youtube rage while playing Cuphead. It's the reactions that make the videos fun. You already got the jokes!
0:31 😎 Jungle Japes January. **drops mic**
God damn it that’s another good one
To give you younger gamers some context, Rareware were the Pixar to Nintendo's SNES/N64 games.
StarFox Adventures for the Nintendo GameCube was Rareware's final game for Nintendo before being brought by Microsoft. The magic was still there in early XBox 360 gen with Kameo Elements of Power but Microsoft restructured Rare after the failure to meet Microsoft's unrealistic standards.
Biggest mistake in Nintendo history was letting rare be bought by MS
I've heard the story many times before and man it's so depressing that Nintendo ditched Rare like that. And ever since then Rare hasn't made games of the SNES/N64 quality since (although I hear Sea of Thieves is pretty good)
Outstanding video, brother. Not sure if it's just me, but your voice seems very quiet in the live action sections of this. Just something to consider for future videos. Great work, and I look forward to more content like this!
I’ve gotten a couple of comments already how the audio needs to be louder there so I’ll try to improve on that aspect in my next video. But otherwise thank you! I’m glad you enjoy my video that much and look forward to what I have planned next!
DKC songs are audio GOLD
I know right!? Past few weeks I've been bumping some DK tacks on my bus rides to school
20:02 Now that's true "love-hate relationship"!🥰😖
ngl, haven't finished the video but you have earned a sub, because I love your style
Thank you! I'm glad you enjoy the way I make my videos!
DK. Donkey Kong. DK. Donkey Kong is here.
Man I wish Donkey Kong was here right now
I love new gamers re-discovering these gems (and not so much low-key calling me old), The DKC saga brought so much to the platformer genre, and while the newer games refined the formula in many ways, I agree that they were ahead of their time.
Well I always knew the SNES trilogy existed for a long time but I never tried to give it a shot until recently and MAN it did deliver. (also wow it's hard to believe these games are 30 years old)
41:35 Cranky Kong does actually have his own unique barrel, with yellow "CK" on it.🤨
Yeah I know.. but all the PNG's I found were too low quality so I used DK's barrel and hoped no one would notice lol
dude its a fucking tragedy just how underrated those games are.
Couldn’t agree with you more man… gone so long without a new game that im willing to buy a Country returns remake at this point
DKC Tropical Freeze is one of the few 2D platformers I’d consider a masterpiece, one of the greatest games of all time with phenomenal music (the aquatic ambience remix is incredible)
100% even if I only played the game pretty recently it’s still by far one of fun/polished/creative and probably more games I’ve ever played
have you ever seen the donkey kong country tv show?
I've watched a couple of episodes from it and it is indeed a TV show that exists..
But the songs are pretty fire though
19:25 I always thought it was "Stickerbrush Symphony".😅
It's a common misconception within the fandom actually, I also thought thought it was spelled with a r until I looked it up
Oh, dude, if you grew up in the 90s, Donkey Kong Country was THE GAME
Crazy how big of an influence the series had back then!
Subscribed!
Thanks!
29:55 This footage is presumably from the 3DS port. Which I can understand, because there the rolling is much more functioning sine you do it with buttons instead of shaking the controller.🤔
Much more convenient than mindlessly shaking the controller
As a kid, I was so impressed with the graphics and still am considering when it came out
And it’s still pretty damn impressive till this day
37:21 That's more like a giant worm than a dragon.🤔
yea I see what you mean
Something I have to give to DKC3 is it's by far the most fun game to 100% of the classic trilogy. There's a consistent 2 bonus barrels and 1 DK coin per level, and they rarely if ever feel unfairly hidden. The world map also gives you a visual indicator of what you're missing in each level.
Also, while the soundtrack is still the weakest of any of the games, I've come around a lot to it. The tracks for the underwater, cliff, factory, and waterfall levels are pretty great. I've come around to liking it overall more than DKC1 (after playing all of the games 2 or 3 times at this point), but it's still not DKC2 level.
I was actually gonna mention how all the collectibles in DKC3 are much easier and more fun to collect since it wasn’t super hidden but I couldn’t find any place in the video to say that. But yeah even tho I didn’t 100% the game, DKC3 felt very fair to the player and actually enjoyed trying to find things in levels rather than it feeling like a hassle like before.
And yeah I admit some songs in the game are quite catchy and I might’ve roasted it too hard in the video. However, still doesn’t hold a candle to the music in the first 2 games
@@theglasshalffull6958 Oh yeah I definitely agree DKC2's soundtrack especially is unmatched. Fischer did do more of the first game's soundtrack than people seem to realize, including Treetop Rock, Northern Hemispheres, and Ice Cave Chant.
Damn, and those tracks are some of my favourites as well. The entire Music team deserves their flowers for sure
The first is one of the best soundtracks of all time for a video game. That bonus theme still lingers in my head
By far it has so many iconic tracks. I remember playing it for the first time and recognizing some tracks I’ve heard in other videos or different social media platforms and being amazed at how timeless it is
35:31 Now that's true "love-hate relationship"!😉
This is the second retrospective style video that says that DKC had no special gimmick, or didn't bring anything into the genre.
DUDE you can play TWO different characters, with different physics and abilities that can be changed in real time.
What game made that into some stable platforming mechanic that makes young people completely overlook that, it was a huge feature at the time.
Great video! I am a speedrunner of dkc 1 2 3 and tropical freeze. If your ever interested in learning more about the speed side of it, I would be happy to help
Yooo that's cool af! Maybe if I ever try speedrunning the games for a video or a stream I'll hit you up!
that elderly man is the original donkey kong from the arcade, which i weird since that would mean mario is old as hell, but is hanging around dk jr which is the dk in smash brothers and mario kart
Well there’s this whole thing that the Mario that was in the arcade games was actually Mario’s father or grandfather… but also Nintendo doesn’t care at all about continuity or a timeline so you never really know
Considering the way it was able to push the limits of the SNES, yeah I'd say its aged more than well. Also that thumbnail is top tier.
RARE was so Goated for making a game not only so visually distinct but a masterpiece in it's genre as well.
And thanks I was really proud of myself when I first commissioned that thumbnail.
@@theglasshalffull6958 Kinda unfortunate what happened to Rare after they got purchased by Microsoft, the only games since that lives up to their past reputation I feel is Sea of Thieves and Rare Replay, which is a collection of older titles. Hopefully Everwild will be good.
It is such a big shame that Rare and Nintendo had a falling out, someone else in the comments mentioned how Rare was basically the Pixar to Nintendo and it makes sense for how many quality games they released in that 90’s era. I’m glad Donkey Kong was able to be saved tho, even tho his games don’t come out quite often
Hope Rare can turn it around but we’ll see what happens
My favourite Donky Kong Game is the one with the bongos
fun game, played it at a friends house once
13:57 I don't think that's actually lava, but instead hot water that can only be cooled off with seal spit (gross).🤔
That...gives me a whole new perspective on that level and I don't know if I like it
22:14 Little foreshadowing for the upcoming Nintendo 64 console.😉
Based upon how much you seem to have enjoyed Returns and Tropical Freeze, I'd highly recommend checking out Rayman Origins and Rayman Legends if you haven't played them before. Just like Donkey Kong, Rayman got a 2D platformer revival at the turn of the 2010s, and it was similarly followed a couple years later with an even better sequel. Depressingly it's also in the same boat as DK of not receiving any further instalments since 😭
I'm disappointed that this wasn't 52 minutes of you appreciating the genius of the cartoon show, but this was a good analysis anyway
Don't worry my next video will be a 2 hour analysis on every episode of the TV show and a reenactment of all the songs in it as well
Side note, iirc, that floating head and hands boss trope came from Kirby Superstar with Wham Bam Rock. Just think that's kinda cool as a Kirby fan.
It's always fun to see the younger generation "researching" stuff we already knew way back in the 90's. Better late than never though.
And one more thing, you young whippersnapper, the game doesn't just throw you straight into the action with no story... there was actually an award-winning storyline to start things off but it was found in the instruction manual. It's a physical thing that used to be included with each game we bought back then. We would read it while driving back home with the game we just bought, cuz y'know, no internets or digital distributions back then. Now get off my lawn.
Haha don't worry I'm not too young lmao, I was playing games during the DS and Wii era which still had video game manuals at the time as well. In fact I'm pretty sure I still own the Mario 64 DS video game manual which is probably sitting in my garage somewhere.
Although I'm not a 90's kid I can still have some "relatable" experiences lol
The DKC Series is about Secondary Characters Evolating to Main Protagonist in each sequel.
Yea but like… DK is so cool tho and I like to play as him
Donkey Kong. Everyone's favorite monkey.
After playing Mario Kart 64, my first DK adventure was Donkey Kong 64. It turned me into an avid fan of his expansive world, characters, and humor.
The Donkey Kong Country series really is special. I played the original in 2010, and it didn't take long for it to become my favorite platformer in the DK series. Simple as it is, it really did put DK himself into his lovable world and launched a juggernaut of a series.
DKC2 is my least favorite, but is far from a bad game. As for why? Mmm, I suppose that the difficulty curves are bit more intense there. Also, I remember being scared by Kreepy Krow from the GBA remake... Props for it introducing Dixie though. DKC3 is the one everyone likes to hate, but frankly I think it's fine. The idea of Dixie and Kiddy rescuing DK and Diddy is fun. I don't see Kiddy Kong as the worst thing ever.
For the modern adventures, yeah, they're both excellent. Seeing Donkey Kong back in action as the hero in Returns was a big green flag. I miss individually controlling Diddy, but having him augment DK's moves is nice. Couple that with the improved presentation and tight levels, and it's a treasure. Like you, I prefer the 3DS port; the extra health is nice.
Tropical Freeze? I've seen unanimous praise for it. Honestly, it's worth all the hype. Retro Studios went above and beyond what a 2D platformer can be. I can't bring myself to overlook the marvelous graphics, banger OST, fair difficulty, and memorable level designs. Although I have an idiotic bias for New Super Mario Bros. U, Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze is wonderful. I think that I'm going to stick with the original Wii U version.
Solid video! I liked your jokes about emulation and using save states. Incidentally, my favorite DK game of all time is Barrel Blast. After that is 64, then DKC1.
Excellent!
That was a nice mini-review of all the DK games! Your like the first person I've seen say that DKC2 is your least favourite but honestly can't blame you for how hard the games can be sometimes. All in all it's a wonderful series and I should really try playing some of the spin-offs and Dk 64 as well.
Also thanks! I'm glad you liked the video!
Aquatic ambiance is my favorite track and love the rest of the OST.
Something about aquatic ambience makes me tear up a bit, idk how David wise does it
I really like dkc3s soundtrack like how the hell is rockface rumble “forgettable”? Its such a banger and is likely in my top 10 fav music tracks lol
Dkc 2 is my fav platformer ever
hard to argue with you there
Dkc 2 and 3 are by far some of the best video games ever. I'm also glad I'm not the only one who think super mario wonder had bs boss battles.
I think the majority of people who played Mario wonder agreed that the bosses were bad (except for the final boss but it was pretty easy)
14:25 I mean if anything, the N64 Zelda games have it worse with certain hub worlds. These make sense cause it's still an SNES game at the end of the day
Yeah that's fair. It's a weird criticism I have but after seeing how cool Mario world's world map was I was left kinda unsatisfied with how the SNES trilogy handled it. Since they are on the same console as well.
35:41 The classic "one more time" scenario.🤔
Even Diddy Kong Racing was ahead of its time, doing things even Mario Kart took a while to do. Still a shame there’s no easily accessible way to play it rather than owning the original or getting the meh DS remake.
I've unfortunately not yet played that game but from what I've seen from it and heard, it's actually insane how many things Mario "adapted" from DK games when those DK games came out like decades ago.
While not as good as DK Country series, DK 64 is still a good game to put into this collection of games to show how Crazy the DK series got before RARE was sold to Microsoft.
I've heard many good and bad things about DK 64 and a part of me did wanna play it for this video. However, it would feel a little disconnected to talk about 5 games that play very similar to one another and then talk about a game that has nothing to do with any of that.
Plus the script was already 18 pages long and since DK64 is regarded as a VERY long game I didn't wanna make this video any longer lol
@@theglasshalffull6958 That sounds like you had loads to talk about with the entire series.
So I don't blame you for only just focusing on the DKC games and not DK64, DK Arcade and GameBoy/GBA games of similar nature.
All of which would require their own separate videos to fully explore the content that DK games had to offer.
The DK series may not seem like it sometimes but it's very expansive, maybe I'll get around to playing all of them at a later date
you should listen to the music of the DKC3 for the GBA! David Wise was on it
I'll give it a listen sometime in the future!
Theres another trick with the rolling mechanic where it allows you to jump mid air this allows for more creativity in platforming
WOW, DKC keeps surprising me in so many ways. Damn is this series good
Hand gestures on fleek
Awesome perspective bro. I have to tell u tho you so look like Adam Richman's son. Bring back Man vs Food!
That is DEFINITELY a first I’ve never had anyone tell me that before
@@theglasshalffull6958I see it too. Lol.
Cuz once u see u can NEVER unsee it 😂. ABSOLUTELY LUV U BRO. Ur a legend!
33:08 Ironic (in a way), because both Super Mario and Donkey Kong were originally created by Shigeru Miyamoto.😅
49:44 One Punch Kong!🤣👊
Kirby’s head game has always been S tier
Probably the best out of any video game character in my opinion
There also were Donkey Kong land games which were the Gameboy ports but they also had some exclusive and unique content.
I’ve heard of them while researching this video actually, how good were they compared to the regular DKC games?
@@theglasshalffull6958 Donkey kong land 2 is the best one of them in my opinion and it compares really well to the Donkey Kong Country 2 version. The other ones are fine, I would say that Donkey Kong Land 1 is the weakest of them and it is not as polished as the other land games.
Interesting, even though I'll probably never visit the GBA versions, it's still cool that RARE was able to convert those big games onto lesser hardware
@@theglasshalffull6958 The donkey kong land games are GB or Gameboy colour games and then there are Gameboy Advance versions which came later and are just ports of Donkey Kong Country games without additional content.
My personal order is Returns, then a big leap up to DKC1, then another big leap up to Tropical Freeze, then a moderate step up to DKC3, and finally an inch up to DKC2... despite having played them in order shortly after the release of each.
Oh, BTW, if you want more DKC music, the GBA port of DKC3 has a completely original soundtrack done by David Wise. Personally, I prefer the SNES original, but it's very much a Sonic CD situation where both soundtracks have their own charm.
When you say "big leap" are you saying that you didn't enjoy Returns and DKC1 that much? Or you still enjoyed it but the other 3 games are THAT much better?
Ahh that's actually a pretty interesting detail. Crazy, how much effort the team goes through when making these games even when they don't really need to
@theglasshalffull6958 Something between those two? Returns is the only one that can bore me at times, and DKC1 is simplistic compared to the rest... but DKC2 is my favorite game of that era, and the other two temporarily supplanted it.
Ah makes sense I guess, RARE definitely peaked with DKC2 but the other 2 games are not far behind imo
Bananuary would've been a great pun for DKC January-
...shit that's an amazing idea. I'll write it down for next year
You technically never truly beat dkc 2 or 3 since you didn't beat the secret world. Especially since they both have one more final boss.
I kinda just decided that I didn’t really wanna cover the secret worlds in this video. I felt like this video was already long enough as it is so I decided I would play the secret worlds on my own time
@@theglasshalffull6958 That's fair.
Cranky deserved it.
DKC music is great. DKC2 music may be my favorite in any video game.
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve listened to snakey chantey or any version of the rocket barrel theme on my way to school
It's interesting that you feel the controls are awkward on SNES because they feel way better than the newer games to me but that's probably because I i grew up with them
That’s pretty Odd since I never felt like I was truly in control of DK/Diddy when I was playing the game. Like it was never to the point where it was hindering my experience but it always felt off.
(This especially goes for some of the animal buddies like squawks)
4:54 And also, probably because Donkey Kong was already throwing different kinds of barrels in his arcade debut.😉🛢
how...how did I not draw the connection
Your right donkey kong country games are still great games today, to bad we have only gotten 3 in the series, and 3 spinoff in dk land trilogy
(Dk returns and dk tropic freeze aren't dkc games except in title)
I think the soundtrack for DKC3 is pretty good, there’s some standouts like the water and treetop level music. I kinda like it more than the first game, that one has some classics but the rest is pretty atmospheric and kinda unremarkable.
Ngl while I was adding the background music for the DKC3 section of the video I realized some tracks were better than I remembered. A majority of them are still pretty forgettable, but there's some good tracks here and there.
0:54 -- Dude, it's called the instruction manual.
I played this game on the Switch Online so unfortunately I didn't get the chance to look at the instruction manual
5:27 Okay, but hear me out:
Back in the day, devs directly communicated with the players through stage design, enemy placement, and breaking common conventions. If something is outside of the norm for that particular game you'd naturally wonder, "Why is this out of place"? More exploration is required. Maybe it's nothing, but there could be something!
You see this small structure to the left? This is different than the usual hole in the wall. And so, being a platformer, you naturally think "Can I jump on that?" Then you try it. YES! Is this an arbitrary design choice? Not if it's a good game. Good games don't do that often, ever if they can help it. So what about that bird? Why is it so close? You might miss an opportunity to jump on it if you're too busy thinking or too slow to jump on the igloo.
Then it flies off-screen!
You think "Crap! I missed IT! I could have jumped on the bird but missed my chance!" Now, you still don't know what, if anything, is up there. That's not even the primary focus at this time. What you are sure of is, if you're fast enough, you can jump on the bird.
So you try again. Try again again. Eventually you hit it.
Now, seeing as they already broke the left-to-right convention straight out the gate like this by inspiring you to jump on the igloo, you'd naturally think there might be more to the left side. Why not hold left after jumping on the bird?
_barrel noises_
*SUCCESS!*
Everything was tied together, because that's the kind of quality and consistency in design that was _expected_ from video games. The developers were so detail-oriented that nothing need be left to chance. Every enemy placement, every location of every platform, where moving platforms started, how fast every platform and NPC was, where they would be when the player reached them if the player was moving at different speeds when they got loaded in... ALL OF THIS and more was heavily considered for any game worth its salt. Devs accounted for different styles of play, different approaches, and specifically geared their stage design to match specific approaches, so much so that the stage itself and the placement of enemies specifically informed you how it was intended to be approached.
Things like this barrel are not really hidden at all, simply out of the way. The truly hidden things have NO indication. Those are the things you find by chance, the stuff most people don't know about, the kind of thing you'd talk to other players about. They'd inspire discussions, you'd exchange secrets, and grow to become more knowledgeable and skilled players.
That is an incredibly interesting way to look at that barrel section. And honestly I do agree with how you said “game devs communicate with players through level design” and even with one little section can still create something masterful and somewhat complex. Although I will say I still don’t love some of the secret entrances just for how hidden and weird they are, I will admit That the level designers at Rare really were something else back then
33:53 His name is actually Squiddicus. Funny, right?🤣🐙🦑
I fully completed all DKC 1,2,3 as a kid
Impressive 👏
DK country top 10 games of all time
But which one is your favourite??🤔