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Showing posts from November, 2024

Donkey Kong Country: 30th anniversary

Rare released a number of quality games for the NES:  R.C. Pro-Am ,  Solar Jetman , Snake Rattle 'n' Roll , and Battletoads come to mind. But all these were surpassed by Rare's masterpiece, Donkey Kong Country (DKC). DKC uses faux-3D sprites to produce an incredibly beautiful and well designed platformer. The game was so successful it spawned two sequels, DKC 2: Diddy's Kong Quest and DKC 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble! All three games were such hits they got Game Boy spin-offs (renamed Donkey Kong Land , of course!) and later Game Boy Advance ports! DKC even got a port on the Game Boy Color somehow! Two more recent sequels, DKC Returns and DKC: Tropical Freeze , have brought the series, and the classic character of Donkey Kong himself, back into the limelight for modern gamers. But it all started with the original. Usually I describe gameplay first, but DKC is most notable for its stunning graphics and music. Hype for the game was real: I watched a preview for ...