With the release of Donkey Kong Country Returns, everyone is excited to play the latest in the long lasting franchise, but let's turn out eyes to the past and see the beginnings of this Country. For this article, I'm only going to talk about the original Country game for the SNES. If I had to talk about every game Donkey Kong starred in, I'd be here all day. So, let's stop monkeying around and dig in.

 

The SNES is a console that needs no introduction. Giving us masterpieces like Super Mario World, Super Metroid and A Link to the Past, it's no wonder why many consider this to be one of the greatest console of all time. Along came a developer by the name of Rare, they were working on a Silicon Graphics engine for a boxing game, but when Nintendo bought 25% of the company, Rare was interested in making a Donkey Kong Country game using their new graphics technology, and I'm glad they did.

 

 

Gamers just couldn't believe what they saw. This was by far the prettiest game on the SNES. I remember my dad and I playing this and when we got to the snow area and it started snowing, my dad said "Wow, graphics aren't going to get any better than this". It was understandable as the engine used rendered the game in 3d. Luckily, the rest of the game was just as amazing. To this day, it is still one of the smoothest platformers I ever played. The music was just as incredible, giving us memorable tunes as Gangplank Galleon and Aquatic Ambiance. For Donkey Kong Country Returns, Retro remixed a lot from this soundtrack, neat.

 

 

So, what's the story? Well, Donkey Kong's banana hoard got stolen, and it's up to him and his pal Diddy Kong to get it back. Not really oscar winning material, but it sets the stage. Donkey and Diddy must travel all across the island to get it back from King K. Rool and the Kremlins. The island is broken up into sections, each with it's own theme and challenges. For instance, the forest area had a lot of vine swinging and a ton of vultures, while the snow area had ice to make platforming more slippery. Each area had an end boss, some more memorable than others, and some just being a copy of previous ones. 

 

Gameplay had it's fair share of variety. Besides the basic jumping, Donkey and Diddy Kong could swing on vines, go barrel blasting, or mine cart riding. Some levels had you to turn on the lights (it's more fun than it sounds), while other had you swimming away from octopi. Throughout the game were scattered crates with animal buddies. Rambi the rhino and Enguarde the swordfish to name a few. Each level had it's fair share of secrets as well. Alternate pathways or secret rooms for more bananas. There was also an interesting cast of characters. Kandy Kong saved your game and blew you kisses, Funky Kong allowed you to visit previous areas, and Kranky Kong made you feel like crap.

 

With the huge marketing campaign, it was able to become the best selling non-bundled SNES game, with over 8 million copies sold. So, what do you do when you make a game that popular? Why, make a sequel of course.