For a character that created the empire that is Nintendo’s line of video games, Donkey Kong sure doesn’t get as much love as Mario. He literally brought Mario into existence with their first game together. In the end old DK got snubbed, but not for lack of Nintendo trying to reboot the banana loving ape.
That is where Donkey Kong Country comes in. Those games thrives on the Super Nintendo before dying out on N64 only to be brought back after a decade on Wii. Even with the recent re-release on Switch, this article has some ideas on why Donkey Kong and his franchise should be better utilized by Nintendo. The time is now!
10 It's The First Reboot Done Right
Donkey Kong was Nintendo’s first big hit in arcades. It could then be argued that all great Nintendo properties came from this including Mario. It first hit arcades in 1981 with the first Donkey Kong Country premiering on the SNES in 1994.
The original Mario games from the NES had been remade up to this point via the Super Mario All-Star collection also on the SNES, but those were remakes. This was Nintendo’s first big reboot though. That shows how much they cared to bring one of their originators of their success back from the dead.
9 The Rise Of Rare
Another big deal concerning the development of Donkey Kong Country was that Japan was entrusting the property to an outside, Western source via Rare. The company had made plenty of games up to that point, even some on the NES, but developing one of Nintendo's internal properties was a big deal.
It cemented their relationship together for years which bloomed sequels as well as some of the best games for Nintendo’s next console. The N64 would have been a less appealing system without Rare including the somewhat spiritual successor to Donkey Kong Country, Banjo-Kazooie.
8 It's Graphically Amazing (For The Time)
Donkey Kong Country launched on November 21, 1994 on the SNES. Why get so specific now? In this point for the console, Nintendo was looking at the impending 3D technology of the original Playstation along with the Sega Saturn as competition.
The N64 was far off from being ready so how could the SNES survive in a sea of 3D capable competitors? Donkey Kong Country was the answer. It was used to showcase the power of what was to be believed as an outdated console. Sure, the graphics don’t look amazing now, but at the time they definitely were.
7 It Rejuvenated The SNES’ Life
Because of how impressive the graphics were at the time, the release of Donkey Kong Country in 1994 could then be thanked for breathing new life into the SNES. Is it the only reason why games kept coming to the console?
No, but it is certainly a factor to consider. Just imagine a world where Chrono Trigger, Yoshi’s Island, Super Mario RPG, and others never came out. All of these were 1995 launches and beyond. Maybe they would have transitioned to the N64, or maybe not happened at all. Does that world sound like a good one to live in?
6 True Co-Op Before Mario
As to the game itself, Donkey Kong Country was influential beyond graphics. It implemented real co-op before Mario. Yes, simultaneous co-op existing years before this especially in the brawler scene, but Mario never had true co-op.
Two-player modes always made players switch off between missions in Super Mario World for example. Not this game. The whole thing could be completed with Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong working side by side with two people.
5 The Health Bar
Another interesting aspect about the gameplay goes beyond co-op. If one wanted to play the game alone, Diddy Kong accompanying Donkey Kong would represent the player’s life.
Most games show a health bar, or hearts in the case of Link, in order to indicate health, which is a good system. However, having one character stand in for another was also a clever idea at the time. Not as great an idea as co-op, but still worth noting.
4 Those Jungle Beats
Donkey Kong Country has one of the best music on the SNES. Not just in terms of actually how good it is to listen to it, because it is really catchy, but the composition itself was unique.
The sound chip really worked overtime to properly emulate every recording for this game to make it feel like something beyond a 16-bit console and one more immersive like a film.
3 It's The Dark Souls Of Platformers
Donkey Kong Country and its sequels are considered some of the hardest platformers ever created. The first was the most sadistic. This may be bad for some people, but Mario, as good as his games are, never really had any challenging games past Super Mario Bros.
It is funny shorthand to call Donkey Kong Country "the Dark Souls of platformers" because it indicates just how much a certain group of fans appreciate a good challenge without any handholding. And yet, it's very true.
2 Donkey Kong Had More Rideable Partners Than Just Yoshi
Donkey Kong Country was not the first game to include a ridable partner. For Nintendo, the big honor goes to Yoshi, which became a franchise unto itself.
The animals in the Donkey Kong games are better than Yoshi, though, because they actually have variety from a spider that can make platforms to a rhino that can charge through enemies. Finding the next creature was always a source of amazement from the original games.
1 Don't Overlook The Modern Games!
Most of this list has been spent talking about how the original game was so great on the SNES, but the two modern games are also worth praising. In fact, Donkey Kong Country Returns and Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze are some of the best reviewed games of their respective platforms.
One of the reasons why they might not have gotten as much excitement is because fans desperately wanted Retro Studios to work on a new Metroid Prime. Well, that wish has come true so perhaps now is the time to go back to these two games and appreciate them more now that that wish is seemingly in the works.