It can't be understated just how important Donkey Kong Country was. Not just as an example of the advancement of computer technology, but by proving that the aging Super Nintendo could still hold its own as a 16-bit console going deep into an already heated 32-bit war as the development of the Nintendo 64 would take a lot longer than expected. It also turned developer Rare into a household name, proving they could deliver quality whenever the situation demanded. But Rare wasn't just content with proving their mettle on the SNES, they sought to bring their vision of the great ape of gaming to the smallest screen, thus giving us Donkey Kong Land.
Year of Release: 1995
Publisher: Nintendo
Released in June of 1995, Donkey Kong Land is a pseudo remake of Donkey Kong Country. Pseudo in that while developed with the same ACM technology that brought more dimension to the 16-bit big bro, the game varies differently in gameplay and story. And there is a story in this game, though the actual gameplay itself doesn't represent it well. Following the events of DKC, Cranky Kong isn't as impressed by the success of Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong, feeling that the advanced graphics and sound can't compare to the good old days. Cranky challenges the two Kongs to play through another adventure, only this time in 8-bit and on a portable system. The Kongs accept the challenge and we're off on another four worlds of monkey madness.
Donkey Kong Land is a one player game. You control Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong through four worlds, completing stages and bosses to complete the game. The Kongs retain some of their trademark moves like cartwheels and rolls, and the two Kongs feel different in gameplay, with Donkey being stronger but slower, while Diddy is nimble but weaker. Much of the basic gameplay remains the same with the goal being to make it to the end of a level while also hunting bonus barrels and the letters K, O, N and G.
One major difference from the original game is the implementation of the KONG letters. Collecting all four in a stage and completing that stage will allow you to save your progress. Given this is a game for a handheld, battery operated device, this ability for quick saves is a welcome concept that I do wish the other games had taken with them, both the 16-bit games and the follow ups to DKL. Another new item to collect are coins which feature DK and Diddy. These can be used in one of the bonus games to collect extra lives. The game also features Rambi the Rhino and Expresso the Ostrich from the original game, but in a more limited capacity.
The game's selling point is its graphics and they do look good. Too good, but I'll get to that in a moment. rare did an impressive job in trying to bring the look and feel of the SNES game to the Game Boy and these are some of the most impressive graphics the Game Boy has to offer. But it's not without its issues. I say they look too good because while the game can look solid on the Super Game Boy or a backlit console like the Game Boy Advance SP, on a regular Game Boy or Game Boy Pocket, things can look a bit cluttered and hard to see at times. Another issue with the graphics is that on said GBA SP, the sprites can often flicker and look messy, a possible case of not emulating well with the color console. I'd suggest pulling out the Super Game Boy for the most optimal play, or even the 3DS release.
The world is broken into multiple level designs. Jungles, mountain tops, caves and ancient ruins return from the original, but now there are cloud worlds, underwater ruins and construction sites, the latter being a loving callback to the great ape's origins. Many of the classic enemies return like Kremlins, Zingers and the like, but new enemies like giant urchins and flying pigs appear. And the game does a good job in recreating several tunes from the original game, while also giving us some amazing new tracks, my personal favorites being the new ruins and underwater themes.
And that's kind of where my praise hits a standstill. Gameplay wise is where there's issues. The game feels slippery. More slippery than even the original. The larger sprites for your Kongs can mean an unintentional death here or there. The game also implements vertical levels, but due to hardware issues, if you fall from a certain height, it doesn't matter if there should be a platform below you, you're still falling to your death. I guess in the nature of the game's story, it's a case of Cranky making sure the challenge was insurmountable. This, along with the game having no real ending and just going to a credits screen makes me feel that this game was rushed to completion in hopes of getting it out before the release of Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest. It's all manageable, but these issues keep it from really feeling as strong as its big bro.
Donkey Kong Land is just okay. A definite case of Rare experimenting with making a DKC-style game for Game Boy. And there are definitely many growing pains to be seen in the final product. But if you look past the issues, you find another really good platformer for the original Game Boy. We'll soon cover the sequels, which without spoiling too much, do improve on the failings of the original, but for a first furry foot forward into the Game Boy, Donkey Kong Land does the job. B-.
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