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    Donkey Kong Country

    Game » consists of 27 releases. Released Nov 24, 1994

    For the first time in Nintendo history, take control of Mario's former adversary as he travels through the island (with his nephew Diddy Kong) to recover his stolen banana hoard in this side-scrolling platformer from Rare (now Rareware).

    20 Years of Donkey Kong Country

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    TheMasterDS

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    Edited By TheMasterDS

    20 years ago today (November 21st) Rare’s first super huge hit Donkey Kong Country hit store shelves in North America. It was an amazing showpiece featuring at the time incredible sprite work, incredible animation fidelity, a profoundly great soundtrack, snarky manual writing, solid fast paced gameplay and attention to detail which was rare then. It was a sensational game that was hard to find for ages and revitalized the SNES in its last years. Yes, it had issues which would only be fixed entirely in its sequel DKC2 but that doesn’t diminish what DKC was. An accomplishment.

    One of the things that I love about DKC is the atmospheric qualities. Mario always seemed sterile and lame in comparison to me. DKC had lush jungles, beautiful sunsets, dark stormy weather, background wildlife, fluid character animation with 30 frames of animation per second (for comparison Mario’s SMW run animation has 3 sprites whereas DK’s has 20), charming baddies which made honky noises when they were felled, etc etc. It had life. I loved that. Still to this day while the prerendered graphics are no longer cutting edge I can see that life and the detail in it. It’s best seen in GIFs I think where the animation quality can really shine.

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    Anyway, what should you do to celebrate? Well for one Smash Wii U is out today. Maybe write your congressman, tell him that K Rool should be DLC for it. He’s one of the most popular requested characters right now and it’s his 20th birthday as well! Another thing you can do is buy Donkey Kong Country Tropical Freeze for your Wii U. It’s a phenomenal game in its own right that’s as good in 2014 as DKC2 was in 1995. You can also buy the original trilogy on Wii U VC if you’re in Europe. Sadly Nintendo of America hasn’t seen fit to rerelease them yet. Again, write your congressman. Maybe watch a speedrun of DKC or DKC2 from one of the Games Done Quick. DKC2 is the 8th most common game ran at Games Done Quick because it’s a great speed game and 1 and 3 are not too far behind. You could also just play some DKC or think nice things about it.

    I’m probably going to just play some of it and think nice things about it. Happy Birthday DKC! I love you. Quick, make a wish!

    Edit: More things to check out if you're down for it! Here's a link to a Twitch Non-Highlight VOD (It'll vanish one day) of a DKC Anniversary Race the SpeedRunsLive guys put on. There was also an update to DKC-Atlas's Maps feature that adds navigable overworld maps, music, animation and other cool shit. Check it out!

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    ArbitraryWater

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    Yay DKC. I know it's weirdly popular to hate on the old ones among the gaming press (with the common dismissal being "I was too busy thinking about getting a Playstation so I could play hot 3D games like Toshinden") but in my mind DKC 2 is still a classic that holds up on the same level as many other platformers from that era (1 and 3 have their own special problems, but they're still pretty great too). Haven't played Tropical Freeze, but Returns seems really solid from the little I've messed with on my 3DS.

    Though, if you wanted to be really committed to all things Kong, I'd point out that it's the 15th anniversary of Donkey Kong 64 in 3 days. Hmmmm.... Maybe I'll write something up if you don't.

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    JPeeples83

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    #2  Edited By JPeeples83

    I love the original trilogy, but DKC Returns has been a huge disappointment for me since they butchered the whole team-up mechanic. Sure, it's nice to have more hit points, but I miss the ability to explore levels by tossing your partner around and discovering new stuff.

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    damodar

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    You're not wrong about the old DKC games doing atmosphere really well. DKC3 especially really nails all these different settings with the design, animation, music, basically everything.

    I don't really visit gaming sites other than GB, so I don't know how widely held the opinion is, but the lack of love for those SNES games among the staff is a bit disappointing. I played 3 again within the last 12 months or so and still really enjoyed my time with it.

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    TheMasterDS

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    Holy shit. DKC-Atlas rolled out a big update to their maps of DKC levels in honor of the 20th. Check this shit out! You use the map screens to navigate to specific levels now! And enemies animate now! Really quite impressive shit.

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    Nick

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    That map is completely awesome. I love DKC, I played the hell out of DKC 1 and 2 back in the 90's.

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    Dalai

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    Fuck I feel old.

    Maybe it's the nostalgia, but those games are still great and even if the graphics don't quite hold up compared to other SNES games, it's still pretty awesome. And if we're talking atmosphere, I remember being amazed by some of the stages, particularly the snow levels which I think still looks incredible.

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    Slag

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    Man were these good games, had no idea they were hated until really only a couple years ago.

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    TheMasterDS

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    #8  Edited By TheMasterDS

    Hahaha, some of the details in the updates to the DKC-Atlas DKC1 maps are amazing. They have a WIP thing for Loopy Lights (which, by the way, should probably be talked about more. It's a fantastic level) where you can turn the lights on and off. Apparently there's also other interactions elsewhere such as clicking on ropes that move when activated to see them move. Also Ropey Rampages' rain can be enabled. Also damn that sunset looks great. Also annotations such as in Manic Miners which has an unused bonus game and a weird bonus game like passage you might remember.

    Fucking incredible. I loved Nintendo Power's DKC maps back in the day. This is like a modern version of them and then some before the update. Now... It's just absurdly good. Is there any video game map projects that are comparable to this?

    Also worth noting: Speedrun race of DKC done for the anniversary. It's a Twitch link and they appear to have not made it a highlight so it will vanish one day but hey, check it out.

    One more thing: I replayed DKC yesterday, it was fun, wanted to talk about something briefly: Loopy Lights. I don't think that level is talked about enough. That may just be because I forgot about how atmospheric that level is myself but still. It's a pretty dope level that totally on the level of Stop N Go Station, Ropey Rampage or Snow Barrel Blast. It's lit so darkly even when the lights are on and the white of enemy teeth/eyes glow bright white. It's just fantastic.

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    Justin258

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    Yay DKC. I know it's weirdly popular to hate on the old ones among the gaming press (with the common dismissal being "I was too busy thinking about getting a Playstation so I could play hot 3D games like Toshinden") but in my mind DKC 2 is still a classic that holds up on the same level as many other platformers from that era (1 and 3 have their own special problems, but they're still pretty great too). Haven't played Tropical Freeze, but Returns seems really solid from the little I've messed with on my 3DS.

    Though, if you wanted to be really committed to all things Kong, I'd point out that it's the 15th anniversary of Donkey Kong 64 in 3 days. Hmmmm.... Maybe I'll write something up if you don't.

    Pretty much my thoughts on the DKC series, too.

    I love DKC2, I'd like to see the Giantbomb crew try to go back and play it instead of constantly bagging on the first game without trying the second. They look the same at first but a lot of the first game's issues are ironed out in the second one.

    Also I don't see the complaints about the controls coming from Dan. I've played DKC2 recently and the controls feel just as, if not more, tight than Mario games.

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    TheMasterDS

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    #10  Edited By TheMasterDS

    @believer258: I replayed the first one the other day and I feel the same. You can basically start and stop on a dime even in midair. It's really really good feeling platformer. Super Mario World is a little slippery by comparison since you have to sort of build up to a run. Sonic is especially so by comparison.

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    BigBoss1911

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    #11  Edited By BigBoss1911

    One of best games ever made, amazing soundtrack with some of the best boss battles. Rareware was a force to be reckoned with back in the 90's.

    The main theme just hits me, brings back so many memories.

    Loading Video...

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    csl316

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    #12  Edited By csl316

    Good memories from back in the day. But nowadays, it's hard to go back after DKC Returns.

    Tropical Freeze is in my top 3 this year, and one of my favorite platformers of the past couple years. The gameplay, the music, the art, the heart, and the level design are all fantastic.

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    TheMasterDS

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    #13  Edited By TheMasterDS

    @csl316: Oh I think the only reason it's hard to go back is because it's not currently available for purchase in Wii or Wii U VC in North America. Hopefully they'll change that. The trilogy came out in Europe last month and in Japan next week.

    You are right though that, unlike 2D Mario's resurgence, DKC's resurgence is as great in 2014 as the originals were in 1994. They're phenomenal games. DKCTF is my top pick this year.

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    csl316

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    @themasterds: You know, when all is said and done, Tropical Freeze might top my list, too.

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