But something definitely went awry when Nintendo put a team to work on bringing Donkey Kong Country back to the scene. The company had already produced a Game Boy Color version of the design a few years back with relative success, which was an impressive feat considering the limited capabilities of that 8-bit handheld. But the GBA, with its high color palette as well as some nifty sprite and background effects built into the hardware, could and should have handled some of the awesome graphical effects of the SNES game far better than it does in its final form. The game remains completely intact, thought...and even more so thanks to brand new additions to the existing gameplay. But, it has to be said: the element that made Donkey Kong Country such a monumental game was its graphical presentation...and in its unexpectedly watered-down format, it's just not nearly as impressive as it could have been in its GBA form.
Features
- 33 levels
- Two playable characters
- Extra mini-games: Fishing and Dance
- Link cable support for two players (multiple cartridge
- Cartridge save (three slots)
- New DK Attack and Statistics tracking
- Only for Game Boy Advance
Strategy Guide Available! Don't let them make a monkey out of you! Get our detailed walkthrough and become king of the Kongs.
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What made Donkey Kong Country so special on the Super NES was its attention to graphical detail. The game was the first to utilize rendered imagery for every art asset in the game. Donkey Kong, Diddy Kong, the kremlings, the barrels, even the jungle scenery were first rendered in 3D on SGI workstations, then converted to lower-color 2D for use in the game design. Beyond that, Rare also implemented some amazing programming tricks to add another layer of depth, including realtime lighting conditions and fogging effects that utilized the Super NES' hardware capabilities.To cap it off, the Rare sound team pushed the system's audio chip to new levels with an absolutely stunning soundtrack that is still considered one of the best today. It was a stunning presentation when it was released in 1994, and it's still impressive seen today.
A couple years ago, Nintendo and Rare brought back the design for the Game Boy Color, and, of course, all those wonderful graphic and sound capabilities had to take a backseat because of the GBC's extreme limitations. Still, even in abridged form, the gameplay held up on the 8-bit portable.
But now, we've got Nintendo and Rare working together once again to bring the design back for a third round. And with the GBA's capabilities almost exceeding the Super NES system in several areas, it certainly would have been great to experience the same presentation that Rare created for the tail end of the SNES' life. Unfortunately, while the gameplay and level designs are nearly identical to the original, the same experience just isn't in the Game Boy Advance rendition. The brightness and colors are cranked up for the handheld game, which actually washes out the awesome detail used in the level backgrounds and objects. Trees no longer have a rendered "sheen" to them, for example, since the developers bump up the contrast so that the images can be seen on the GBA LCD screen
To be fair, developing on the Game Boy Advance isn't exactly the same as working on the Super NES, as the art department has to take into account the GBA's screen that can't show off dark hues as well as a CRT monitor can. But even with this in mind, a lot of the realtime effects, like night-to-day and dawn-to-dusk transitions, as well as creepy thunderstorms didn't make the move over. And even though they're just nifty little effects, they really did add to the overall Donkey Kong Country experience. Without these awesome effect, the game's simply another action platformer on the GBA. A fun, solid action platformer, sure...but not one that had the same impact almost a decade ago.
But at least the GBA developers add to the experience in other areas. There are two brand new challenges in the design, including a simple-but-fun fishing mini-game that can be played solo or linked up, as well as a Dance Dance Revolution clone featuring Candy Kong busting some moves to the game's soundtrack.. The cartridge also has a "save anywhere" function, and it also keeps track of several elements, including jotting down if you've completed KONG or uncovered all the hidden areas in a specific level. There's also a new mode, "DK Attack," where players can run through each of the previously completed levels in a "time trial" style mode. Hidden among the levels are camera icons that, when collected, will reveal an image (or part of one) in the GBA's scrapbook. There's a good chance that all of these extra features reveal other items in the game, so make sure you're completing all the set tasks when running through the adventure. There are also new conversations between the characters during the game, including a new, animated introduction that shows how DK's bananas got stolen in the first place.
And even though the Game Boy Advance isn't known for its audio capabilities, at least effort was spent bringing the awesome Donkey Kong Country soundtrack to the handheld version. While many of the tunes don't sound quite as "full" as they did on the Super NES, they are wonderfully recreated on the handheld. Nintendo went a little further and added a few new sound effects to the mix, much like it has done with the Super Mario Advance series. Diddy and Donkey Kong now let out more grunts and yelps as they romp through the jungle.