Donkey Kong Country

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Donkey Kong Country
Developer(s) Rareware, Nintendo
Publisher(s) Nintendo
Release date(s) SNES version
EU November 24, 1994
NA November 25, 1994
JPN November 26, 1994
GBC version
NA November 4, 2000
EU November 17, 2000
JPN January 21, 2001
GBA version
EU June 6, 2003
NA June 9, 2003
JPN December 12, 2003
VC version
EU December 8, 2006
JPN December 12, 2006
NA February 19, 2007
Genre(s) Platformer, Side-Scroller
Mode(s) Single player, Two player
Rating(s) ESRB: K-A (Kids to Adults) (6+)
E (Everyone) (6+) (Players' Choice Re-release and Game Boy versions)
Platform(s) Super Famicom/Super NES
Game Boy Color
Game Boy Advance
Virtual Console
Media 32-megabit SNES cartridge
GBC cartridge
GBA cartridge

Donkey Kong Country (Super Donkey Kong in Japan) is a video game developed by Rare and Nintendo, featuring the popular arcade character, Donkey Kong. It was released for the SNES and Super Famicom in 1994. It was ported to the Virtual Console on the Nintendo Wii on December 8, 2006 in Europe and Australia, December 12, 2006 in Japan, and February 19, 2007 in North America.

It was produced by Tim Stamper. This was the first Donkey Kong game that was not produced or directed by Shigeru Miyamoto.

Contents

[edit] Story

In this game, Donkey Kong has to recover his stolen hoard of bananas from King K. Rool and the Kremlings. His banana hoard was located just in a cave underneath his house. Fortunately, he has the special help of his nephew and best buddy, Diddy Kong, who idolizes DK. Cranky Kong lends some advice along the way. Funky Kong and Candy Kong also lend a hand. It was also the first time Donkey Kong's home environment, Donkey Kong Island, was established.

[edit] Development history

[edit] Graphics

The game was revolutionary in that it was one of the first games for a mainstream home video game console to use pre-rendered 3-D graphics. It was a technique that was also used in Rare's Killer Instinct. Many later 3-D video games would also use pre-rendered 3-D together with fully 3-D objects. Rare took significant financial risks in purchasing the expensive SGI equipment used to render the graphics. Both Nintendo and Rare refer to the technique for the creating the game's graphics as "ACM" (Advanced Computer Modeling)

Nintendo producer Shigeru Miyamoto once criticized Donkey Kong Country, stating that "Donkey Kong Country proves that players will put up with mediocre gameplay as long as the art is good."[1] Miyamoto later apologized, saying he had been too harsh due to Nintendo's pressuring him at the time to make Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island more like Donkey Kong Country.[1]

[edit] Music

Donkey Kong Country also had a popular soundtrack which was released on CD under the title DK Jamz. Composers Robin Beanland, Eveline Fischer, and Dave Wise collaborated on this ensemble of jungle music. The diverse composition consists of over 20 tracks.

The soundtrack was also the focus of an OC ReMix collaboration entitled Kong in Concert.

[edit] Plot and setting

[edit] Plot

Like many games in the platform genre, the plot is not necessarily an integral part of the game, and therefore, much of it isn't discussed throughout the game itself. However, there is a fairly long and comical prologue in the instruction manual, covering the events leading up to the beginning of the game. A summarized version of this story can be read below.

It's a dark and stormy night on Kongo Isle. Donkey Kong has assigned Diddy Kong to guard his banana hoard. Diddy Kong is starting to reconsider about this job though because he is soaking wet. Soon however, King K. Rool and his Kremlings who Diddy was assigned to protect the hoard from show up, steal all the bananas, stick Diddy in a cage and throw it into the bushes. The next day, Cranky Kong wakes Donkey Kong up and tells him to look in his banana hoard for a surprise. Donkey Kong Wakes up and goes outside to the hoard where he finds that it's empty. So, he heads off to recover the hoard's contents.

[edit] Characters

Donkey Kong Country has several charecters in the game. Of all the charecters, Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong are both playable.

K. Rool is the main antagonist of the Donkey Kong Country and Donkey Kong Land spin-off series, and he is the leader of the Kremlings. K. Rool appears suited in nothing but a gold crown and a red cape. K. Rool has stolen Donkey Kong's banana hoard and retreated to his pirate ship known as the Gangplank Galleon where he awaits the player. He has sent his various minions, the majority being that of the Kremling Krew, to many areas of the island, in hopes of capturing Diddy Kong and Donkey Kong.
Donkey Kong is the main protagonist in the Donkey Kong series (not to be confused with Cranky Kong, the main enemy in the original Donkey Kong game who is believed to be his grandfather). Donkey Kong is the game's main protagonist who has become mad that his banana hoard has been stolen and is willing to take any measures to recover every last banana.
Diddy Kong is the secondary protagonist in Donkey Kong Country and its spinoff Donkey Kong Land. He is Donkey Kong's "little buddy" and Donkey Kong always entrusts him with jobs during the night time. Diddy Kong, however somtimes Diddy Kong does not want to put hard work into the jobs and that trait is what led to the theft of the banana hoard.
Throughout Donkey Kong Country, players are able to find and ride animals to help them get through levels, defeat enemies, and find bonus stages. There are a total of five animal buddies in Donkey Kong Country. The animals can execute special attacks the kong could not otherwise use themselves. Using this may reveal a secret passage to a bonus stage, or this can possibly be used as a powerful attack. The five animal buddies are as follows:
When Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong ride on Rambi, he will use Rambi's charge to defeat enemies. Rambi is also capable of running very quickly.
  • Expresso the Ostrich
An ostrich wearing running shoes. He can run fast just like Rambi but can not jump on enemies. Expresso can fly in the air if the player hits the jump button repeatedly after jumping once.
  • Winky the Frog
A frog with green and red coloring. He is very adept at jumping and can instantly defeat any enemy he jumps on including Zingers who normally can not be jumped on.
  • Engaurde the Swordfish
A swordfish who is only found in underwater stages. He is a great swimmer and will improve the player's swimming ability when he is ridden. He can also stab enemies with his pointy nose.
  • Squaks the Parrot
A green parrot who is not directly controlable nor playable. He only appears in the level "Torchlight Trouble" where he holds the torchlight to give the player a viewing area.

The other kong family members are as follows:

Cranky Kong is the aging ancestor of Donkey Kong. Although their relationship is unclear, he is believed to be his father from Shigeru Miyamoto's original 1981 Donkey Kong arcade game. Cranky is best known for his wise cracks against DK and friends, his cranky attitude, and his blatant cockiness. Players will regularly run into the cabin he lives at where he offers help about stages in whichever particular world the player is in when speaking with him, while making a variety of jokes (often talking about the game's advanced nature or criticizing the player's skill level). Cranky can be found in Cranky's Cabin in every world.
Funky Kong is found at Funky's flights in every world map. He allows the player to travel back and forth through the many different worlds in Donkey Kong Country. This is the only way to travel from world to world with out having to defeat the world's boss again. Funky Kong uses a Jumbo Jet Barrel which is a barrel with wings and a cockpit resembling a Jumbo Jet protruding from it.
Candy Kong is found at Candy's save point on every world map. Candy's Save Point is the only way to save the game's data. She is the apple of Donkey and Diddy's eye.

[edit] Worlds

Donkey Kong Country is a fairly lengthy game for a platformer, with particularly large levels filled with a plentiful amount of secrets. It is divided into areas called Worlds, each which typically contain a set of levels revolving around a certain themed setting. There are only six main worlds, with a seventh area titled the Gangplank Galleon. The game's six worlds, in order, are as follows:

  • 1. Kongo Jungle: The first world of the game where Donkey Kong's treehouse and banana hoard are located. The world is a tropical rainforest and therefore is very prone to frequent tropical rainstorms like the one in the game's second level. There is a cave in the center of th world and a pond as well. The world's boss is Very Gnawty. He simply jumps back and forth as the player jumps on him.
  • 2. Monkey Mines: A system of caves where a mining process is currently taking place. The kongs will start by walking across a rickety scaffold with the ground below being gone. They then ride in a mine cart to a part of the caves the mining project has not yet reached. They then come to a gas station which seemes to be haunted before reaching an aicient ruin that the project revealed. The world's boss is Necky Sr., who spits out nuts before the player can jump on top of him.
  • 3. Vine Valley: A dense forest in the middle of Kongo Island. Donkey and Diddy must navigate through the dense canopy of the forest which has no ground at some points. They eventually come to another aincient ruin in the middle of the forest and a pond not far from that. The boss of this world is Bumble B. To fight him, the player throws barrels at him after which he turns red and invicible. The player must then throw barrels again and repeat the process until he is defeated.
  • 4. Gorilla Glacier: An icy themed world. The first half of the world takes place outdoors in a snowy field and the second half takes place in an icy cave. The boss of this world is Really Gnawty, who is fought the same way as Very Gnawty in Kongo Jungle.
  • 5. Kremkroc Industries Inc. An industrial area at the northern end of Kongo Isle the area where it's located has become completely industrialized. The only natural area left in the entire world is a pond which has become polluted by the fumes from the factory. The factory has problems with the lights in the basement and it is not clear what it manufactures. The boss of this world is Dumb Drum. It simply pours out enemies which the Kongs must defeat until the boss self-destructs.
  • 6. Chimp Caverns: Another cave area on the northern most tip of Kongo Isle. The boss of this world is a pair of Necky Srs., who are fought in the same way as in Monkey Mines.
  • 7. Gangplank Galleon: Not a full world but just the arena for the final boss battle. It is a pirate ship, on which is found King K. Rool.

[edit] Gameplay

The game played much like typical platforming games of the day. One noticeable difference was the inclusion of two characters: Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong. Each Kong could take a hit, and once both were gone, a life was lost. The two had different abilities and strengths; Donkey could slap the ground and unveil secrets, as well as defeat stronger enemies, while Diddy was faster and more athletic. The player could switch between them via a "tag" that would be reused throughout the series. Donkey is best used in Caves, because there are stronger enemies in caves (according to the manual). Diddy is best for "acrobatic" levels.

There were six worlds: Kongo Jungle, Monkey Mines, Vine Valley, Gorilla Glacier, Kremkroc Industries Inc., and Chimp Caverns (as well as one final level, Gangplank Galleon). Due to the game's graphical abilities, the levels could look quite different from each other, with one being a snowstorm-ridden mountain, and another being a dangerous factory. The Kongs' goal was to get to the end of the level, while collecting bananas (100 would give an extra life), extra life balloons, or animal tokens, which would send them to an animal partner themed bonus level. As with the Mario series, the Kongs could beat typical enemies simply by jumping on them. They can also throw barrels, slap the ground to turn enemies into a banana, or roll/cartwheel to knock them out. There were normal barrels, partner or DK barrels (which had a missing partner inside), steel barrels (which could bounce off walls and be ridden on), and TNT barrels which destroy enemies with a powerful explosion. A prevalent part of the game were barrel cannon courses, where the player had to navigate the Kongs through cannon-like blast barrels.

Helping the Kongs were five animal friends:

Rambi: A powerful rhino who could charge enemies and destroy hidden walls.

Expresso: An ostrich who could "glide" by attempting to fly and run very fast, but could not jump on enemies. Whenever he is attacked by an enemy or lands on an enemy his scream is equivalent to the Mini-Neckys'.

Enguarde: A swordfish (obviously only in water areas) who could charge and skewer enemies with his nose.

Winky: A powerful frog who could jump very high, and kill Zingers and other enemies the Kongs cannot touch by jumping on them. Whenever he is attacked by an enemy, his scream is equivalent to the Kritters'.

Squawks: A parrot who only appeared in the level, Torchlight Trouble in Gorilla Glacier and could not be ridden. He held a lantern so the Kongs could get through the pitch-black level.

Also helping them were other Kongs. Cranky Kong (a Kong in his 80's), Donkey's grumpy father, would offer advice amidst his ranting about the glory days of video gaming. (It was revealed in the instruction manual that Cranky Kong is actually the original DK who fought against Mario in Donkey Kong.) Funky Kong, a "surfer dude", offered the Kongs a ride in his Jet Barrel, allowing them to revisit worlds. Candy Kong, Donkey's girlfriend, offered a Save Barrel that allowed the player to save their progress and view their statistics.

Hidden among the levels were bonus levels. They could be in hidden barrels or behind weak walls. Some bonus levels were free-range, allowing a player to collect bananas or other items, but most were mini-games and offered a prize if won. Finding all the bonus levels changed the ending of the game very slightly.

[edit] Marketing

As a part of Nintendo's marketing campaign, a 15 minute VHS tape titled "Donkey Kong Country: Exposed [1]" was sent to subscribers of Nintendo Power magazine. The video takes the audience on a brief tour of Nintendo of America's headquarters in Redmond, Washington and shows footage from the game when it was in the final stages of development. Several game testers provide tips on how to access bonus levels and perform tricks throughout the game. Various interviews promote the level of graphical complexity as being revolutionary for game systems at that time. A segment at the end of the video reminds viewers that the game is available only on Nintendo's 16-bit Super Nintendo console and not on rival 32-bit and CD-ROM based systems (e.g., Sega 32X and Sega CD) that boasted superior processing power. In a "hidden" section at the end of the cassette, the host of the video opens a door and discovers that Nintendo of America testers are playing a SNES version of Killer Instinct.

[edit] Reception

Donkey Kong Country was very successful upon release and was also available as a pack-in game in the Super Nintendo "Donkey Kong Set" (which contained the control deck, a controller, connections and the game). This facilitated sales of over a million copies, thus becoming a Player's Choice re-release title around 1998.[citation needed]

The title also received Game of the Year honors from EGM for 1994 although it is now also considered by the magazine to be one of the Top 10 Most Overrated Games of All Time before their 200th issue anniversary.[2]

[edit] SNES versions

Donkey Kong Country The original, well-known masterpiece.

Donkey Kong Country version 1.1 Almost exactly the same as the original release, with the exception being that a few glitches were fixed.

Only 2,500 copies of the extremely rare Donkey Kong Country competition cartridge were made.
Only 2,500 copies of the extremely rare Donkey Kong Country competition cartridge were made.

Donkey Kong Country: Competition Cartridge A very rare version of the game used in competitions. The goal was to get as many points as possible before time ran out. Points could be gained by defeating enemies, throwing barrels, collecting bananas, collecting balloons, and collecting KONG letters. This is the full version of the game, but it has been slightly modified:

  • A timer and point meter were added to the top of the screen, showing how much play time and how many points the player has, respectively.
  • All maps have been removed; exiting a level will immediately lead into the next one.
  • When the timer reaches zero, the game comes to an end.

The cartridge and label's appearance are nearly identical to the non-competition releases, but can be identified as a Competition Cartridge if the top-right of the label has orange coloring with the words "Competition Cartridge" on it.

[edit] Sequels

Two sequels, Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest and Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble!, were later made. All three games also had counterparts on the Game Boy in the form of the Donkey Kong Land series. In 1999, a Nintendo 64 game was released called Donkey Kong 64 that was a direct sequel to the DKC franchise. This title featured a playable version of the original 1981 arcade classic Donkey Kong. In September 2004, Nintendo released Donkey Konga, and in May 2005, Donkey Konga 2 was released. In March 2005, Nintendo released Donkey Kong Jungle Beat for the Gamecube. All three of these games took advantage of the "DK Bongos". Also in September 2005, Donkey Kong: King of Swing was released for the Game Boy Advance.

[edit] Ports

In 2000, a port of Donkey Kong Country for the Game Boy Color was released. In 2003, another port of the game was released for the Game Boy Advance. Despite the fact that the GBA is much more powerful hardware than the SNES, the GBA port has considerably weaker graphics (especially backgrounds) than the original SNES version. Both games had some new features including new minigames, hidden pictures, a new stage in the GBC version, and a Time Trial mode and multiplayer games in the GBA version. The GBA port also suffers from audio performance problems. Both versions also had a number of minor changes. Candy Kong no longer runs a Save Point, so you can save the game in any area. The GBC version has an exclusive level known as Necky Nutmare, and some of the music was scrapped and replaced, often with music that originated in Donkey Kong Land.

This game has also been released on the Virtual Console for the Nintendo Wii. The game was officially released in Europe and in the Oceanic region on December 8, 2006, in Japan on December 12, 2006, and in North America on February 19, 2007.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b The Ultimate History of Video Games: From Pong to Pokémon--The Story Behind the Craze That Touched Our Lives and Changed the World by Steven L. Kent
  2. ^ http://www.1up.com/do/feature?cId=3128401

[edit] External links

v • d • e
Donkey Kong video games

Donkey Kong • Jr. (Math) • 3 • Donkey Kong (1994) • Mario vs. DK • 2 • Country • 2 • 3 • Land • 2 • III • 64 • Jungle Beat
Konga • 2 • 3 • King of Swing (DS) • Diddy Kong Racing (DS) • DK Bongo Blast
All games • Characters
Rare video games
v • d • e
Banjo-Kazooie games Banjo-Kazooie • Banjo-Tooie • Grunty's Revenge • Banjo-Pilot • Banjo-Kazooie 3
Battletoads games Battletoads • Battletoads (Game Gear) • Battletoads & Double Dragon • Battletoads in Battlemaniacs • Super Battletoads
Conker games Conker's Pocket Tales • Conker's Bad Fur Day • Conker: Live & Reloaded
Donkey Kong games Donkey Kong Country / Land • Donkey Kong Country 2 (GBA) / Land 2 • Donkey Kong Country 3 (GBA) / Land III • Donkey Kong 64 • Diddy Kong Racing (DS)
Perfect Dark games Perfect Dark (GBC) • Perfect Dark Zero
Killer Instinct games Killer Instinct • Killer Instinct 2 • Killer Instinct Gold
Sabreman games Sabre Wulf (GBA) • Underwurlde • Knight Lore • Pentagram • Mire Mare
Jetman games Jetpac (Refuelled) • Lunar Jetman • Solar Jetman: Hunt for the Golden Warpship
Other games Blast Corps • GoldenEye 007 • Jet Force Gemini • Star Fox Adventures • Grabbed by the Ghoulies • Kameo: Elements of Power • Viva Piñata • It's Mr. Pants
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