Rank Up! - Donkey Kong Country

It took a lot of waiting and bellyaching, but this past Thursday in North America, Nintendo finally released Rareware's Super Nintendo Donkey Kong Country trilogy on the Wii U Virtual Console. It seems to be a perfect time to break out the old "Rank Up!" machine. "Rank Up!" is a segment on SuperPhillip Central where I essentially take a game franchise and rank the titles from least great to greatest. There are five Donkey Kong Country games to rank, and here they are:

Donkey Kong Country (SNES, GBA)
Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest (SNES, GBA)
Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble (SNES, GBA)
Donkey Kong Country Returns (Wii, 3DS)
Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze (Wii U)

Let's get to ranking these banana slamma's!

5) Donkey Kong Country (SNES, GBA)

The original Donkey Kong Country was a massive success for Rareware and Nintendo. It brought Nintendo's main monkey out of retirement and gave him a starring role, this time as the hero. While the game is quite dated now, it was heralded for its beautiful rendered art style and glorious ambient and atmospheric soundtrack. The original Donkey Kong Country is still a pleasure to play today, but I find it the weakest of the main games because of a lack of extras in the form of a final Lost World area or the ability to collect DK Coins. The game also has one of my least favorite difficulty jumps in the series, a little level known as Snow Barrel Blast. Still, there is no denying that Donkey Kong Country still has got the gorilla goods.

4) Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble (SNES, GBA)

Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble has a weak partner character in the form of Kiddy Kong, and its animal transformations aren't the series' greatest either (I'm looking at you, Ellie the Elephant). However, for the greatest amount of level variety, there's no better game than Donkey Kong Country 3. From climbing the innards of trees while being chased be a giant saw to avoiding intermittent lightning strikes, each level imposes a new gameplay mechanic to keep players on their toes. The implementation of DK Coins allows for a puzzle element in figuring out how to defeat the collectible-carrying Koin by correctly tossing a barrel so it hits him in the back. Also, the overworld is the most open, allowing for the discovery of some awesome secrets. Add in a Lost World final series of levels, and you have a game that is a severely underrated one, being released when so many Nintendo fans were moving on up to the Nintendo 64.

3) Donkey Kong Country Returns (Wii, 3DS)

The folks behind the Metroid Prime trilogy, Retro Studios, could have easily emulated 100% Rareware's style with its Donkey Kong Country Returns. Instead, the studio gave the series its own flavor, offering a more starring role to Donkey Kong in the gameplay rather than the levels. When mastered, rolling and otherwise controlling the great ape feels fantastic. The level design lends itself well to Donkey Kong's movements, and the actual levels have a magnificent construction and rhythm to them that makes for amazing speedrun capabilities. The game is so good that the lack of any animal buddy outside of Rambi, the lesser bonus rooms, serviceable but not great soundtrack, and the Wii's waggle to roll and blow controls don't overly detract from the game all that much It's still superior to two of the original SNES trilogy's games. The Nintendo 3DS version lowers the frame-rate, but adds better controls, eight new levels, and sensational stereoscopic 3D, making it the definitive version in this blogger's book.

2) Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest (SNES, GBA)

The thing missing most from Retro Studios' Donkey Kong Country games are a sense of atmosphere. Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest nails this, even giving games released nowadays a lesson in creating amazing ambiance. From the sounds of sloshing water in the ship levels to the lighting and visual effects used in the game, Diddy's Kong Quest delivers in its presentation. However, it's not wholly skin-deep where the beauty lies. The level design is masterful. The location of hidden bonus rooms and DK Coins is astonishing in how clever they are tucked away. Levels mechanics spring up, offering unique and fresh challenges on a consistent basis. Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest may have been outdone in some regards by future games in the series, but as an overall package, there's little in the Donkey Kong Country line that can touted as better than Diddy and Dixie's adventure together.

1) Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze (Wii U)

Donkey Kong Country Returns showed that not just Rareware can make a satisfying and awesome Donkey Kong Country game. Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze showed that Retro Studios can make a game better than what Rareware offered. Tropical Freeze was the poster child for level design mastery. Hidden trinkets and bonus rooms were expertly placed, obstacles and enemies were set up in such a way that both regular romps through levels and speedruns were both possible, and each level brought something new to the table. The ability for Donkey Kong to team up with one of three other Kongs made for some fantastic gameplay, showing levels and their respective challenges could be completed in various ways. Additionally, things like swimming returned to the franchise, better than ever before; boss battles were improved and some of the series's best, and David Wise brought the musical goods, coming back to the franchise after such a long time away. Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze isn't just the best Donkey Kong Country game-- it's one of the best 2D platformers ever devised.

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Have a different opinion on the proper order of the Donkey Kong Country series? Let me know with a comment below!

SPC's Favorite VGMs - 3rd Rock from the Sun Day Edition

Welcome, citizens of Earth, to SuperPhillip Central's celebration of Earth Day. To commemorate the occasion we have music from five video games to share with you. Such games featured on this week's installment of SPC's Favorite VGMs include music from Star Fox, Donkey Kong Country 2, and Marvel VS. Capcom 3.

v356. Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts (360) - Grunty's Challenge

Hearing music from the first two Banjo-Kazooie games orchestrated was a dream come true for us. We've already posted music from Banjoland, which featured the themes of Freezeey Peak, Mad Monster Mansion, Click Clock Wood, among others. Now it's time for Grunty's theme to be heard in a most epic fashion. This theme plays during the challenges that Banjo and Kazooie face when they compete against ol' Grunty.

v357. Star Fox (SNES) - Corneria

This next song appeared in remixed form for Super Smash Bros. Brawl, but nothing beats the original. Star Fox-- a game that was mentioned in our Virtual Console Wishes piece-- was one of the first Super Nintendo titles that had Mode 7 graphics, that gave a 3D look to games. Corneria is the first mission of the game, and its song is perfect for the fast aerial maneuvers Fox McCloud and the gang need to perform to stay alive.

v358. Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest (SNES) - Hot Head Bop

We've probably mentioned this before, but our minds were blown when we realized that the subtitle of Donkey Kong Country 2 was actually Diddy's Kong Quest and not Diddy Kong's Quest. Regardless, Hot Head Bop is a mellow tune that sets the mood excellently for exploring the volcanic areas of the game. This is without a doubt our favorite SNES soundtrack, next to Final Fantasy VI.

v359. Mario Party 9 (Wii) - Now You've Done It

Mario Party 9 admirably did something to change the admittedly stale formula of the franchise by introducing a mechanic that had all players in the same vehicle. The game also introduced boss battles that happened at specific times on each of the game's boards. Now You've Done It is the theme for the second phase of each boss battle, where the action gets even more fast and frenetic.

v360. Marvel VS. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds (PS3, 360) - Galactus Theme

The theme of the final boss of arcade mode, Galactus, is a particularly and appropriately dramatic one. Galactus towers over players and can pick them off with just his fingers. It's definitely a tough challenge to endure, much more actually come out on top!

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Help Mother Nature and Earth by reducing your carbon footprint, recycling, and not polluting. As for the VGMs, we'll see them next week with five new video game themes to enjoy. Until then, here's the VGM Database for you to check out, which houses every tune ever listed in these weekly features.

SuperPhillip's Favorite VGMs - A Rare Treat Edition

Ever since Microsoft purchased developer Rare for an exorbitant amount of money, the company behind Windows slowly squeezed all life out of the house of Banjo, Jet Force Gemini, and Perfect Dark. You know when former staff are extremely bitter about the takeover and result from said takeover that there's a problem. Regardless, while Rare may be a shell of its former self and a company in name only, we can look back fondly on the company's past library and smile. That is the point of this week's installment of SuperPhillip's Favorite VGMs.

v21. Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts (360) - Banjoland (Daytime)


An orchestrated medley of some of the best Banjo-Kazooie themes of the series? Where do I sign up? ...NO! Forget signing up. Just hook it directly into my veins! All kidding aside, this medley plays during the daytime in the criminally overlooked Xbox 360 game Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts. Banjoland was made up of old parts of past Banjo-Kazooie stages, and the medley consisted of such themes like Click Clock Wood, Freezeey Peak, Mad Monster Mansion, Gobi's Valley, Cloud Cuckooland, Mayahem Temple, and Rusty Bucket Bay. It was the perfect way to take a loving look back at one of the greatest 3D platformers of all time. I'm talking about the original Banjo-Kazooie, of course.

v22. Starfox Adventures (GCN) - Thorntail Hollow


The last game from Rare that would appear on a Nintendo console (console, mind you, not portable), Starfox Adventures was initially a Nintendo 64 project called Dinosaur Planet. When famed game developer, director, and producer Shigeru Miyamoto asked the team to throw in Fox McCloud, Rare opted to follow his guidance and do just that. Many gameplay elements and battles would be carried over to this Gamecube title. The final product was a Zelda clone with tons of collecting items. Collect this, collect that, etc. Not the note that Nintendo fans wanted Rare to leave on, but it was an admirable effort nonetheless. This theme, Thorntail Hollow, sounds like something taken directly from The Lion King, doesn't it? It's rather soothing if I do say so myself.

v23. Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest (SNES) - Snakey Chantey


Taking the melody from Donkey Kong Country's Gang Plank Galleon, Snakey Chantey plays in only one level of Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest, and that's Rattle Battle, a stage where Diddy and Dixie get transformed into Rattler the Snake. The snake can bounce high into the air, leap off of enemies (even the usually dreaded Zingers), and reach unheard of heights. This toe-tapping tune gets you filled with excitement as you traverse through and aboard one of the Kremlings' many pirate ships. What is your favorite theme from Donkey Kong Country 2?

v24. Kameo: Elements of Power (360) - Thorn's Pass


Performed by the Prague Philharmonic, Thorn's Pass from the Xbox 360 launch title Kameo: Elements of Power is one sensational theme. Imagine yourself on horseback as you control Kameo through a variable battlefield of ogres and trolls. For a launch game from 2005, Kameo: Elements of Power is still one excellent looking game. Kameo was originally planned as a Gamecube title, but when Microsoft bought Rare, the game turned into an Xbox title. Once it was figured that the game wouldn't make it to the Xbox, it was transferred over to the 360 to be a launch title. Aren't game development stories fascinating?

v25. Viva Pinata (360) - Night 3


Viva Pinata was Rare's chance to make an ultra-popular series. It had all the elements: a collectible aspect, cute and cuddly characters, a TV series, and three video games (Viva Pinata, Viva Pinata: Trouble in Paradise, and Viva Pinata: Pocket Paradise). Unfortunately, Xbox 360 gamers tend to skew towards teenagers and young adults who prefer the drab, gray and brown worlds of Call of Duty and Gears of War as opposed to Rare's colorful output of titles. Night 3 is a gentle, flowing piece beginning with a comforting piano and then followed with pleasing strings and a poignant clarinet (which I used to play in middle school) that crescendo into something special.

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Another Monday in the books which means another installment of SuperPhillip's Favorite VGMs is complete. Stay tuned next week when the favorite VGMs expand to ten for a special Mario & Sonic edition. There will be five Mario tracks and five Sonic tracks to listen to and enjoy. I hope to see you then!

Best Boss Battles in Gaming History - Part Two

This article features spoilers, so please tread carefully. Warning given.

It was just one week ago that I introduced a new segment to the lineup here at SuperPhillip Central, and it turned out that it was pretty popular. It's time to give the people what they want and give them more Best Boss Battles in Gaming History! If you missed out on Part One, just click the appropriate link to magically be transported to your destination. Without any further ado, it's time for more close encounters of the epic kind!

Gruntilda - Banjo-Kazooie (N64)


After besting her at her own game show, The Furnace of Doom, Gruntilda retreats to the top of her castle. Banjo with Kazooie in tow closely follow, and soon the final battle begins. Starting off the fight, Gruntilda jets on her broomstick and aims to ram into bear and bird. When her broomstick stalls, the player should leap onto the ledge of the tower and chuck a plethora of eggs at old ugly's rear to damage her. After doing this enough, a new phase of battle with begin. Grunty will launch a homing attack that can only be avoided by Kazooie shielding Banjo with the help of the golden feather ability. Throwing firecrackers at Banjo, Gruntilda moves around the arena, and the heroic bear must time his egg shots carefully unless he desires to get burned. Once enough damage has been taken, Grunty will retreat to the skies.

Utilizing some air combat (aka ramming into Gruntilda while avoiding her aerial firecrackers), will take the nefarious witch back down to earth for the time being. A shield will then appear around Gruntilda and Jinjo statues will arise all around the arena, ready for Banjo to launch a few eggs into to activate them. Activating these statues will free the almighty Jinjo from its statue prison and strike the shield of Gruntilda. After all of the Jinjos have been freed and have attacked Grunty, the mighty Jinjonator statue will rise up from the center of the arena. Shooting eggs into all four sides of the statue while avoiding Grunty's fast and furious firecrackers and homing attacks will activate a final blast of Jinjo power that will knock Gruntilda over the edge of her tower and with a long fall to Spiral Mountain below, her evil reign will be vanquished.

Kaptain K. Rool - Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest (SNES)


From pirate ships to castle keeps, Diddy and Dixie Kong (no relation) have had a long journey in their mutual quest to rescue their pal, Donkey Kong. One final encounter stands in their way, and it's a tough one against the sinister Kaptain K. Rool. This Kremling just won't give up! The battle begins with K. Rool launching a cannonball from his launcher. He then propels himself to the other side of the arena. His launcher has the ability to suction anything near him, including the Kongs. Unfortunately for him that ability can also be used against him. By chucking said cannonball into the launcher, the launcher will backfire, damaging K. Rool. The next go-round, K. Rool shoots out a spiked ball in the center of the arena. The Kongs must avoid this while dodging the propelled K. Rool who zooms across the battlefield. After the bad ol' Kap'n halts to a stop, he resumes vacuuming, and the spiked ball retracts its sharp barbs, allowing Diddy or Dixie to pick up and chuck into K. Rool's launcher, once again doing damage to him. This pattern continues once more, but this time two spiked balls are shot out. Once K. Rool is damaged, he falls to the ground, and victory is retrieved as Donkey Kong falls from the sky. However, the encounter isn't over. Kaptain K. Rool rises up, and the battle continues.

Donkey Kong gets hoisted back up, and K. Rool shoots out multiple spiked cannonballs at varying heights that the Kongs must duck and jump over. A final shot reveals a barrel that one of the Kongs must leap on to unveil a cannonball to chuck into K. Rool's launcher. The next barrage of balls bounce up and down at different heights, then after that, the spiked balls circle around as they scroll across the screen. Bouncing on the barrel and chucking the exposed cannonball into K. Rool's mouth of the weapon will once again make the krooked Kremling fall to the ground in defeat.

Fooling the player into thinking they've won once more, K. Rool shoots out blue and red amoeba blasts. If these touch the Kongs, the player's controls will become inverse, left is now right and right is now left. As K. Rool jets across the room, with each pass he'll become more and more transparent. The Kongs will have to endure three rounds of this varying attack pattern, tossing cannonballs into the mouth of K. Rool's weapon before he is finally defeated. Donkey Kong breaks free from his roped restraints, attacks K. Rool with a powerful uppercut, sending the Kaptain krashing down Crocodile Isle and into the sea below.

Dr. Wily - Mega Man 7 (SNES)


Dr. Albert Wily just never seems to give up. After his eight new Robot Masters have been destroyed once more, Wily aims to take out the blue bomber himself in one of the most difficult battles in series's history. There's two parts to this fight, and the first is relatively and deceivingly easy. Dr. Wily's two-legged skull robot marches into the arena, crossing the screen, dipping and rising as he goes. It's when Dr. Wily rises that Mega Man should slide underneath him to avoid damage. This is all the while attacking the open window of the skull's left eye to do damage to the dastardly robotic menace. Occasionally, Wily will launch two mini-robots to foil Mega Man in his plan to take down the mad scientist. However with enough practice and patience, round one of this fight goes to the blue bomber.

Round two is a bit more challenging as Wily teleports around the room, shooting off four small, elemental spheres that if they touch Mega, will inflict a certain type of damage to him. Blue spheres will temporarily freeze Mega Man, red will burn him to a crisp, and white will shock him. Then Dr. Wily zaps the ground with a bolt of lightning which disperses into four shockwaves. Suffice to say the elemental spheres home in on Mega, and these are very hard to avoid making this battle one that the player should definitely stock up on E-tanks. It's a battle of endurance, and the fate of the 20XX world depends on it, Mega Man!

Doomsday Robotnik - Sonic & Knuckles (GEN)


If Sonic does not collect all of the Chaos Emeralds, then the final boss of Sonic & Knuckles occurs at the Death Egg Zone, but we'll assume the player gathered all seven of them and reached a desperate Dr. Robotnik as he escapes through space with Angel Island's Master Emerald in The Doomsday Zone. With the power of the seven Chaos Emeralds, Sonic transforms like a flash of lightning into the omnipotent Super Sonic!

The Doomsday Zone logo pops up, and the action quickly begins. Super Sonic must make his way to Robotnik's cruiser which holds the Master Emerald. By bobbing and weaving through asteroids and missiles alike, Super Sonic must collect rings as his count slowly trickles down. If it hits zero, the player loses a life and must start the chase anew. Once Super Sonic catches up to Dr. Robotnik, he should circle around the crooked doctor's device, allowing Robotnik's own missiles to slam into the face of his own robot. With enough missiles doing damage to Robotnik, the second phase will begin.

A faster robotic creation will emerge from the mechanical beast with Master Emerald in tow. This time all that is needed is for Super Sonic to dodge the capsules that Robotnik launches from his machine and boost into the head of the robot. After several hits Robotnik will once again have his sinister plans foiled, and the Master Emerald will be back where it belongs at Angel Island.

Ganon - The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (N64)


Just like the Hyrulian legend stated, the Hero of Time would go up against an ancient evil. After playing ping-pong with Ganondorf's magic and after his castle falls down around him, the evil pig beast known as Ganon rises from the ashes. It's only with Princess Zelda's help that Link can defeat him and rescue Hyrule from Ganon's grasp.

Ganondorf gathers strength from the Triforce of Power, summons a circle of fire around the arena, transforms into the beast-like Ganon, and smacks away the Master Sword from the Hero of Time. Without his trusty sword, this confrontation is set to be a perilous one. The evil is weakened by rolling between his legs and striking Ganon's tail with whatever weapon the player sees fit. Those seemingly useless Deku Nuts come quite in handy in this battle. Ganon soon falls to the ground in agony, weakening the flame force field that surrounded the battlefield, allowing Link to pick up the Master Sword and damage Ganon.

With enough pain given to the Evil King, Ganon will once again fall to the floor. Princess Zelda will hold him down with her magic, allowing Link to distribute the final blows to evil reincarnate. The Six Sages gather their power and chuck Ganon back into the Evil Realm where he belongs. Hyrule is saved, and a wonderful ending is in store for the player-- a wonderful ending for a truly tremendous title.

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That just about wraps it up for Part Two of Best Boss Battles in Gaming History. What did you think? What are your favorite boss encounters of gaming past? Let everyone know in the comments section. Perhaps your favorites will appear in a future installment!

Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest (SNES) Retro Review

This past Sunday we took a look at the O.G. Donkey Kong Country. Today we're taking time out from SuperPhillip Central to examine the second in the trilogy. I happen to enjoy this one the most, so sit down, relax, and unwind with this brand-new review.

Do-wah-diddy.

In 1994, Donkey Kong Country was released to much fanfare both critically and commercially selling millions of copies. No less than a year later did Rare create what I consider to be the best of the Donkey Kong Country trilogy, Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest. It is the ultimate 2D experience from the fine folks at Rare, so hop inside a blaster barrel and get ready for the ride of your life!

K. Rool is back, and this time he's pulled rank! He's a Kaptain now-- Kaptain K. Rool to be exact! He's somehow, someway captured Donkey Kong, and has fled to Crocodile Isle. It's up to Diddy Kong and Dixie Kong to save the day, plunder the isle, and void it of all Kremling pests. The story is very small in this game. It's just the means to an end-- an excuse for all this running, rolling, jumping, and twirling the game throws at you.

Cartwheels are the only way to travel.

Donkey Kong Country 2 is made up of 40+ levels and eight areas to explore. The locales you'll be visiting are much more varied in this installment. From windy mines to hot volcanoes to icy waters to sunken depths to shipwrecked vessels, Diddy's Kong Quest has a lot to offer the player. Each area map has multiple levels all concluding with a boss encounter. These are as simple as dodging the boss' attack patterns, tossing a barrel, egg, or shooting a nut at the boss' weak point, and rinse and repeat until it is defeated. The boss battles have a lot more variation to them than the original DKC, and it is certainly welcomed. Also on each area map are helpful Kongs to assist you along the way. Banana coins are newly introduced in Diddy's Kong Quest, and they're the currency of the game. They're spent on tips at Cranky's Monkey Museum, spent to give the ability to save at Wrinkly's Kong Kollege, and used to be a contestant on Swanky Kong's hit game show where answering questions correctly could earn you extra lives.

What are they scared of more--
the boss or the club he's carrying?

The level themselves constantly throw different objectives and obstacles at you. One you're racing up a tower while a pool of acid slowly rises underneath, another you're hopping off the heads of crocodiles where one false step could mean certain (fiery) doom. Each level is cleverly constructed and the difficulty level rises gradually instead of having spikes like in the previous installment.

Enguarde the swordfish returns from the first game.

The same general rules of Donkey Kong Country are in effect in Diddy's Kong Quest. You have two Kongs to work with, this time Diddy Kong stars alongside Dixie Kong, his girlfriend. Apparently they share the last name and are related. What is this-- the South? Anyway, Diddy Kong is fast and nimble while Dixie Kong is a little slower lugging around all that hair. Conveniently, her hair gives her the ability to perform a hair spin, giving her time to hover down to the ground and across long chasms. Dixie is invaluable in later levels or with levels with plenty of pits and gaps to cross. The two Kongs can now work together. One Kong can pick up the other and toss him or her at enemies or at a high, out-of-reach ledge. When one Kong takes damage, the other Kong enters the fray. If that Kong gets damaged, the player has to start from the beginning of the stage or at a halfway continue barrel located in the middle of a given level. By hitting a DK barrel, a missing Kong returns to battle, ready to go. These barrels are strewn about the various levels waiting for your Kongs to be rescued.

Animal buddies from the first game return. This time there's three that come back, a larger Squawks, Enguarde, and Rambi, and two new animal friends in Rattly the rattlesnake and Squitter the spider. Rattly can leap high in the air, bounce off the backs of bee baddies, and reach high up goodies that are out of reach for the Kongs on their own. Meanwhile, Squitter can shoot web shots out that can defeat enemies as well as ones that are able to be walked on. Shoot out several in quick succession, and you can reach higher areas otherwise inaccessible to the Kongs. This time around, there's special barrels that actually transform the Kongs into specific animals. Special signposts show up in levels to revert the Kongs back into their simian shapes.

Sometimes you'll be transformed into
an animal instead of just riding it.

In the Donkey Kong Country series, the main source of optional content comes from the various hidden bonus areas included in the game's levels. In the original Donkey Kong Country, all you had to do was reach the bonus area. In Diddy's Kong Quest, not only do you have to discover the location of a bonus area, of which there are 1-3 in each level, you have to complete a task inside the room such as finding a kremkoin token, collecting all the stars, and defeating all enemies. All of these tasks are timed with the reward of completing before time runs out being a kremkoin. Kremkoins are used at Klubba's Kiosk to reach the Lost World, a secret world where there's much more difficult levels to endure until one final showdown with Kaptain K. Rool himself. Additionally, there's secret hero coins shaped liked a circle and possessing the letters D and K inside them. They are new to the series. There's one per level, and when they're collected in a given level, stamp will appear next to the level's name on the overworld map.

Hero coins like this appear
once in every non-boss level.

Donkey Kong Country 2 is a good-looking game. The pre-rendered character models may come across as dated, but everything else is top-shelf quality. The backgrounds are busy (in a good way) with plenty to see and drool at. Everything runs rather smoothly, too, with little in the way of slowdown. On the soundtrack side of things, this game definitely has one of the best scores of the 16-bit era. It holds up remarkably well. I love how there's ambient noise like water sloshing or metal chains smacking into one another in addition to the music. It's a perfect fit completely, and it gives a unique sound and a great rhythm without sounding too synth-y.

Overall, Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest may be a mouthful to say, but it's an honest to goodness joy to play. Collecting everything and going for 102% completion will last players anywhere from 3-10 hours depending on skill levels and first time players. The levels are some of the 16-bit era's best as is the magnificent soundtrack (track down the soundtrack, people). The absence of a playable Donkey Kong may be a low blow to some players, but for me, having Dixie Kong as a substitution was quite alright with me. If you're looking for a classic game from the Super Nintendo era, here it is. Go bananas!

[SuperPhillip Says: 9.5/10]