| Platform(s) | Game Boy |
| Genre | Platformer |
| Players | 1 |
| Developer | Rare |
| Publisher | Nintendo |
| Released | 1995 |
| Playtime | Between 2-3 hours for 100% |
When news broke about a Game Boy port of the excellent Donkey Kong Country, I was stunned. How could Rare possibly compress all that ACM tech into a tiny 8-bit cartridge? It seemed like an impossible feat! But when the game launched in late summer 1995 and I finally got to play it, I was utterly blown away. The graphics were just as impressive as on the SNES and ran just as smoothly.
The game doesn't offer much of an introduction. After selecting a save file, you're immediately dropped onto DK Island to begin your new adventure - no letter from King K. Rool explaining he's stolen Donkey's banana hoard, nothing. To understand the story, you'll need to whip out the good old manual. According to it, Cranky Kong was mocking Donkey and Diddy for surviving what he considered a "cushy adventure" in Donkey Kong Country, claiming that kids would buy any game with modern graphics and sound. To prove him wrong, Donkey and Diddy let Cranky strike a deal with K. Rool to steal the banana hoard again. This time, the two buddies must retrieve it on the Game Boy. Talk about breaking the fourth wall!
For anyone who's played Donkey Kong Country, the sights and sounds should feel instantly familiar. The first stage is a lush jungle, accompanied by the excellent track "DK Island Swing" from the original game, now beautifully reimagined as an 8-bit chiptune. The controls are impressively faithful, replicating nearly all the moves from the SNES version, with the exception of the hand slam which in all honestly wasn't that widely used. While the controls may feel slightly touchy and floaty at times, they still provide excellent precision for running, jumping, and taking down Kremlings.
Even though the game looks and feels like its Super counterpart, this is far from a straight port. It features entirely new levels and unique enemy designs, adding a fresh twist to what may seem a familiar experience. Among these is Hogwash, a flying pig who makes its debut in this game. Perhaps his inclusion is a cheeky nod to the seemingly impossible task of porting Donkey Kong Country's advanced visuals and gameplay to an 8-bit system, achieving something that could only happen "when pigs fly."
The game is relatively short, featuring only four distinct worlds: Gangplank Galleon Ahoy!, Kremlantis, Monkey Mountains & Chimpanzee Clouds (these two areas being one consistent world), and finally Big Ape City. Each world consists of seven stages, including a final boss at the end of the map, for a total of 32 stages. The difficulty varies, especially since collecting the KONG letters scattered throughout the stages is necessary to save your progress. These letters can be easy to spot or devilishly hidden near pitfalls or tucked away in secret rooms. Speaking of secrets, achieving 100% completion requires finding all the hidden bonus rooms, which significantly extends playtime. Discovering that elusive secret bonus level and earning a completion tick on the map is incredibly satisfying!
Alongside its short length, my main complaint about the game is the lackluster boss fights. These encounters are fairly uninspired, basically boiling down to the bog-standard fare of avoiding attacks and retaliating by jumping on the enemy's head repeatedly until they're defeated. They lack the creativity and impact of the larger-than-life battles from the original. These boss fights could have been far more impressive should the developers had employed some clever design tricks to create room-sized foes, like Master Necky from the SNES version. As it stands, these bosses feel more like an afterthought rather than a conscious design choice.
The Game Boy screen can be difficult to see, with its dark and murky display complicating the ability to make out of what's going on at times. Because of this, I highly recommend playing the game on the Super Game Boy for the best experience. Not only does this eliminate any issues with visibility, but it also enhances the graphics with an expanded color palette, breathing new life into the game. Despite these minor shortcomings, I thoroughly enjoyed this bite-sized Donkey Kong adventure on the go. Hunting down the secret rooms to fully complete the game was particularly rewarding and added an extra layer of challenge to an already fun experience.
I reward the game with 4 well-deserved, large banana bunches out of 5.
Cranky's Corner
"Listen here, you Doofus! Always keep a buddy on spare. You never know when you'll need a helping hand. You can't do it all alone, kid!
And don't forget about those Kong Tokens! Grab 'em whenever you see 'em. You can turn those into extra lives in one of the hidden bonus rooms! Trust me, they'll come in handy.
The hidden bonus rooms? Well, those are sneaky little devils. You need to look everywhere, Donkey-brain! Sometimes they're on top of the screen, sometimes near a pit, but you might find them hidden right on the ground. Jump high enough and you'll pound the spot where a magic rope appears. Keep your eyes peeled!
Maxed out on lives? Well, don't stop now! Keep collecting bananas and tokens. Those 1-ups just keep piling up beyond the screen, even out of sight! Remember, you can never have enough retries!
Heading for that second playthrough to find all the secret rooms? Good idea! But here's a trick - once you find a secret room, you don't actually have to finish the level. Unless, of course, you feel like saving your progress. I'm not one to tell you what to do!"