Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy’s Kong Quest builds upon and adds to everything the first game did well. By the way, if you didn't catch the pun in the game's subtitle, read it again—it's not Diddy Kong's Quest, as some have misread it.
Donkey Kong has been kidnapped by Kaptain K. Rool (formerly King K. Rool, a detail I didn't clock while playing). This may be an homage to the sequel to the Donkey Kong arcade game, Donkey Kong Junior, in which Mario took the big gorilla captive, leaving DK Junior to save him. Well, I don't know what happened to Junior, but now Diddy and his girlfriend Dixie must rescue DK.
The action takes place on Crocodile Isle, with a world map set up like in the original. Per usual, each of the seven worlds boasts a different, tropey biome: a pirate ship, volcano, poisonous swamp, abandoned amusement park, haunted forest, K. Rool's castle, and finally his airship.
The biggest change from the original is replacing DK with a chimp named Dixie Kong. Her gigantic ponytail resembles a banana. What's unique about her is her helicopter spin: holding Y when she's jumping causes her to hover, slowly descending. (She can't hover if she is rolling, though, like when she's launched from a barrel.) Hovering is useful during the game's many tricky platforming sequences or to cross large gaps. Diddy, on the other hand, is faster, as was also true in DKC. He can still cartwheel (press Y), even over ledges into midair. Dixie doesn't cartwheel when you press Y; instead, she spins, whacking enemies with her hair, but with a shorter range than Diddy's attack. The simians can team up if you press A: one climbs onto the other's shoulders. They can't run while like this, but pressing Y launches one, upward if you hold ↑ on the d-pad. If they land on a platform, the other jumps over to them. This allows access to platforms, barrels, or items that are otherwise out of reach.
The gameplay in DKC2 is exactly the same as in Donkey Kong Country. As is appropriate for primates, the emphasis is on jumping, with some climbing, too. I noticed there isn't as much getting shot out of cannon-like barrels this time. I guess that was well enough covered in the first outing. Also, bunches of ten bananas are less common, though single bananas are still plentiful. Every 100 bananas earns you an extra life, as do balloons. Red means 1 life, green means 2, and blue 3. The usual obstacles and enemies appear throughout stages, like pits, spikes, bees, and a wide cast of lizardish Kremlings. When a monkey gets hit, they run off, and the other continues on. The lost character can soon be regained by freeing them from a DK barrel, which are never far off. There are also some TNT barrels, good for eliminating enemies or blasting open a secret passage in a wall. A new item is chests. These are stronger than barrels and explode open only after hitting several enemies. Each stage contains a K, O, N, and G. If you get all four, you get an extra life. At the end of each stage, there is a target with a rotating selection of rewards. Whatever is showing when you hit the target, you get, but only if you hit the target with sufficient force, meaning you have to fall from above somehow (a jump won't cut it).
Many types of levels appear, such as vertical stages, swimming, or riding a cart on tracks. No two levels feel the same: in one the heroes swim through water that becomes deadly unless you jump on a seal in time (he spits into the water or something). In another, the simians outrace a rising toxic slime. In another, a powerful wind continually blows them upward. A particularly difficult level near the end requires them to transform into a parrot (see below), then outrace another parrot through a tight maze of brambles.
The cast of animal friends from the original has been expanded, minus Expresso the ostrich and Winky the frog, to include Rattly the rattlesnake, Squitter the spider, and the aforementioned Clapper the seal. Rattly jumps high. Squitter the spider is a powerful ally: he shoots webs at foes (press Y) and creates webby platforms (press A). These can be shot upward or downward a little by holding the respective direction on the d-pad. Sometimes you ride the animals, as before, but animal barrels turn Dixie and Didd into them. Some animals now have powered-up moves activated by holding A: for example, sending Rambi into a rampage.
Every world has a unique boss. These battles are much more interesting than the straightforward bosses in DKC. They are dynamic and creative, each moreso than the one before it. Krow the vulture tosses eggs, to be thrown back at him when he swoops down. Krow returns in a later world as a ghost! That time involves climbing ropes and dodging cannon balls. It took me many attempts to beat the ghost. Kleaver, an animated sword, shoots fireballs and swings himself. Kudgel jumps across the arena, pounding the ground when he lands. King Zing (a bee) has a small stinger as his only vulnerable point. For this fight you take the form of Squawks the parrot, who shoots coconuts. King Zing accelerates after each hit. At the end, when you think it's done, instead he shrinks to normal bee size, but is surrounded by other bees to protect him. The final confrontation with Kaptain K. Rool is also long and tricky, much harder than in DKC. His pattern, however, like other bosses, can be mastered through patience. Learning boss patterns is one of my favorite aspects of SNES games. It's much preferable to button mashing or dealing with randomized, reflex-testing attacks, because I always feel like I'm getting better with each try, even if it seems really hard at first.
It's not just the boss fights: the whole game is noticably harder than Donkey Kong Country. I was struck in several different levels by how frustratingly hard it could get, like it was an NES game! I think Rare realized they went too hard, because I hear the third game dials it back down. But it never reaches the point of unfairness. Every stage has a midway checkpoint barrel, thank goodness, so you don't spend too long replaying the same level segments.
The game has many collectibles, but not so many as to fall victim to the dreaded "collectathon" barb that was later leveled at Donkey Kong 64. In addition to bananas, there are now banana coins, to be spent at the various Kong family establishments on the map. Every stage contains a hidden DK coin. I enjoyed searching for them. The stages are so well crafted, fun, and not overly long, with just the right number of nooks and crannies to explore. Secrets are often indicated by a suspicious banana or trail of bananas, as in DKC. Each stage has two or three secret areas, just like the first game. Now, though, most of these are accessed through red barrels labeled "B." Every bonus area contains a Kremcoin. In some you must defeat all the enemies to earn the Kremcoin. A big Kremling named Krubb, at any of his five kiosks, will accept payment of 15 Kremkoins to unlock a bonus level in the Lost World. If you beat all five, you reach the final bonus level and an alternate boss fight against Kaptain K. Rool, with the possibility of a secret ending. DKC didn't have a bonus world, so this is a significant addition. Because of the good, but not excessive, amount of collectibles, secrets, and bonus stages, DKC 2 has excellent replayability. As in the first game, when you find all of a stage's bonus areas, its name (most of which are alliterations) gains an exclamation point, and the DK coin is shown once you've gotten it, so it's simple to track which stages you have completed. Also, once you get an item, you keep it even if you die or simply return to the map screen by pressing START, then SELECT!
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| Cranky's second screen shows how you are doing on collecting DK coins. |
Cranky Kong and Funky Kong return, but the Marilyn Monroe-type Candy Kong has been replaced with a schoolmarm-type named Wrinkly Kong, who is Cranky's wife. In addition to saving your game (often at the cost of a couple banana coins), she will sell you secrets and tips, similar to Cranky. Funky still offers flights back to previous worlds. A new character, Swanky Kong, looks like Donkey Kong in a wig and sparkly jacket. He runs a cheesy game show. If you correctly answer three multiple-choice questions about the game, you win between 1-3 lives, depending on the difficulty of the set. Once the prize is won, it cannot be replayed.
Donkey Kong Country 2 uses the same pre-rendered, pseudo-3D graphical technology as the original. Everything looks fantastic, especially the backgrounds, and the characters' movements and expressions are as sophisticated as before. The graphics still look amazing today. I've been playing on the Switch, which recently gained a more sophisticated CRT filter. I never liked the old filter, but I do like the new one, maybe even more than the crisp HD look I'm used to. (Maybe I'm just getting more nostalgic in middle age!)
The soundtrack, composed by David Wise, like that of DKC, is one of the most celebrated in all of video-gaming history! I adore it; I played it loud and proud, whereas I normally keep old video game music relatively quiet. A rule of thumb: the more the music slaps, the harder the level will be!
Donkey Kong Country 2 delivers on the promise of its predecessor and surpasses it. It's more Donkey Kong Country action, without a hint of staleness or repetition. I think these games are so highly regarded because they are a triple threat: fantastic platforming, top-notch graphics, and an A+ soundtrack. What more could a person want in a classic video game? I recommnend this game to anyone who has already played DKC and liked it. My sole caveat is the increased difficulty, but anyone who can complete DKC can probably manage their way through this one, too, with perseverance. Long live Donkey Kong!
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| Grade: A+ |
Linked Reviews
"Diddy’s Kong Quest is about as close to a perfect game as the SNES got, and every single aspect of it feels like it belongs, there’s no superfluous content in the slightest, and nothing feels like it’s missing."
— Alex Olney, Nintendo Life, 9/10
"Bigger, badder, and more barrel-filled than the original, Donkey Kong Country 2 took the DKC recipe and pumped it up with gorilla steroids."
— IGN, #16 of Top 100
"Graced by gorgeous Silicon Graphics visuals and David Wise's superb score, this rightful bestseller is the apex of platformers."
— Asheton Phinney, Ultimate Nintendo: Guide to the SNES Library, 5/5
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