The original Donkey Kong Country was a huge surprise for me for two reasons. First of all the graphics were above and beyond anything I could have ever expected for the Super Nintendo. Second of all it was rather surprising that the Donkey Kong franchise was re-invigorated and re-purposed into a side scrolling platformer ala Mario. I always assumed that was a one off game, and the fact that a sequel was released shortly after was a pleasant surprise. It didn’t hurt that this turned out to be one of the very best platformers ever released either. Then there was part 3. This came at a time when nearly everyone had already moved on to more powerful hardware. The Nintendo 64 was already a few months old, but developer Rareware still wasn’t done with the Super Nintendo. Unfortunately this had a few consequences. Because of the late release date this was the least popular of the trio. I myself couldn’t afford more powerful hardware, and was extremely happy that such a high profile new title was still available to me to play on my humble Super Nintendo. Donkey Kong Country 3 may be a bit of a lost sequel, and it didn’t innovate the franchise, but it is just as fun to play as it once was. At least someone was keeping the dated hardware relevant.
The only area in which Rareware phoned in is the story. Donkey and Diddy Kong are off on vacation somewhere and they go missing. Dixie and her cousin Kiddy head off to find them. That’s what we’re given here, but it’s not a problem for me because this isn’t a sweeping RPG or other storyline focused release. What is important however is that this is a side scrolling platform game. If you’ve played the previous Donkey Kong Country titles then you know the drill. Instead of coins your two characters gather bananas and when you reach one hundred of these you get an extra life. Your kong can only take one hit before they die, but after releasing the other from a specially marked ‘DK’ barrel they follow you around and you take control of the other when you take a hit. Both kongs can run, jump, pick up and throw barrels, perform a rolling attack via the Y button, and swim. Despite their similar functions each does have a few abilities that differ from one another. For example, Dixie is much smaller than Kiddy and is therefore much more agile. She can also float to the ground slowly by spinning her hair which is the most handy skill in the game. Kiddy Kong is large and handles very similarly to Donkey Kong in the original game.
Unfortunately not a lot has changed since the last installment. All of the abilities return, and there’s only one new one. While playing as Dixie you can throw Kiddy and ride atop his rolling body to defeat enemies, but that’s not really a great addition. The development team was not particularly ambitious in this case. Who could blame them what with other areas in the company making Nintendo 64 titles? The biggest new addition to the core gameplay is in the world map. This was basically a static level select in previous titles, but now it’s more interactive. While on foot the static level select returns, but there’s a big change. You can obtain vehicles and actually traverse it. The boat in particular is very interesting. With this you can freely cruise around the world map and this is one of the main ways to unlock hidden areas. DK coins hidden in each level return and are used to unlock post game content. Coins also return, but rather than being themed after bananas they are instead based on bears. Several bear brothers make an appearance at places on the world map and these take on a variety of roles. You can pay them for items, keys to unlock more of the map, and more. It adds an RPG flair to the adventure which accents the more open map.
Donkey Kong Country 3 falls somewhere in between the other two franchise installments in terms of level design. One of the big new additions here is the forced scrolling stages. In one of these you’re chased by a large saw that’s cutting down a tree, and another has a timer which you must beat in order to unlock a hidden area. That’s just about it as far as level innovations go. One of the many returning elements here are the animal helpers. Enguarde the swordfish makes another appearance and helps you through a few of the aquatic areas, Squawks once again flies and carries your characters while spitting nuts, and squitter the spider also makes a triumphant return and carries over his same functionality from the last game. New to this adventure is Ellie the elephant. She’s unique in that she’s the only animal buddy that can pick up and toss barrels like the default kongs, but she can also squirt water at a limited range. This is better in my opinion than any of the other companions introduced in the last title. Unfortunately there’s just not enough new elements here. The additions are nice, but none are half as significant as what was introduced in part 2. The game is still solid however, but hardly feels like a sequel. It’s more of an expansion than anything.
Even the graphics aren’t a leap forward. Rareware obviously re-used many of their assets which makes Donkey Kong Country 3 feel like even more of an afterthought. I do like the lighting on the 3D models though. One boss is a large barrel, and it’s especially nice to see the reflections from the steel brim. Even with a lot of the sprites being re-used this game still looks marvelous. The developers put a lot of effort into all of the new animations including those for Dixie Kong. I really like the effort put into her new frames wherein she’s holding Kiddy Kong with her hair or the ones where she’s riding atop his rolling body. The graphical elements for the backgrounds are entire new. They don’t stand up as well as the pre-rendered characters, but they are all colorful, full of detail, and there’s a lot of variety. Overall the game still looks like something you would see on the Sega Saturn or Sony PlayStation which is a huge compliment. Now we get to the soundtrack. This is the first in the series which wasn’t composed by David Wise. It’s fair to assume it wouldn’t hold up, but it does. Eveline Fischer did a wonderful job of mimicking Wise’s signature style. The forest themes in particular are incredible, and everything else fits the franchise exceptionally well.
I’ve been a little harsh on this title. It’s not that I don’t like Donkey Kong Country 3, rather, as a sequel it’s a little disappointing. This holds especially true when compared to part 2. Still, this is a very solid platformer, and one of the best of its generation. I will always be grateful that Rare and Nintendo gave those of us who couldn’t pick up a Nintendo 64 at launch something to play. I had a lot of fun with this title, and you know what? I still love it and hold it to the same esteem I do all of the best SNES platformers.
