DKC Atlas Forum

[shadowjosh85]

I haven't posted much, I mostly lurk. Nevertheless, I wondered what you thought about how DKC plays in relation to other games of it's type.What I mean is, are there any things DKC does like other series, or does vastly better? Not vastly worse, this is a fan site. I thought about this while reading an old thread about the series being "overrated", and people compared it to Super Mario World unfavorably.

When I was recently playing through the SNES trilogy, I noticed that the levels have tons of secrets, with lots of hidden content to explore like Mario games. But you can play them at a fast pace like Sonic titles, with a lot of interesting psychics that you can explore with jumping and rolling. I think that's why I loved the series so much. I always loved Sonic and Mario, but DKC felt like a complete package. Depth and action. Secrets and polish. It hit that "sweet spot" that no other platformer has.

If you think my observation is stupid, forgive me. Just something I thought about recently.

*edit: Accidentally typed a word twice.

[DK4Ever]

Hmm...good question.

Honestly, I'd say for one thing, DKC's soundtrack was far superior to other platformers of its time. Even in relation to platformers today, DKC reigns supreme in the OST department, and I don't see alot of people arguing that its soundtrack was not magnificent.

Personally, DKC hit me on a different level as well. SMW was an awesome, iconic game, but DKC's levels and atmosphere brought something into the mix that SMW's seemingly empty backdrops and landscapes didn't have. Also, the Animal Buddies brought a very interesting twist to parts of the game, making them easier or in some cases more difficult, yet still being interesting to have around.

Don't get me wrong, I love Yoshi, but there's no beating Rambi. (This is starting to sound like DKC vs. SMW, but that's not what I'm going for at all)

DKC2's theme was so masterfully done and integrated into the levels and story, that to this day when I think of baddies in games, or just in DKC, my first thought is of Klomp and other enemies from DKC2, simply because they left such a lasting impression.

Hopefully that all made sense. I feel DKC's atmosphere, music and themes, as well as certain gameplay features are what make the series much more unique and, in my opinion better, than the majority of platformers out there.

[Scraps69]

I'll tell you what's to like as well (as I agree with DK4ever)

In DKC - Traction. The monkies don't slide. In SMW, half the battle is keeping mario from falling off a platform by estimating a landing a bit before the edge.

IN DKC - Roll + jump in mid air. There's no platformer that really does it.

Here's something that was missing from DKC - Wall jumping. You would think monkies would be able to do wall sliding based puzzles which would have been awesome. But sadly that's not the case.

Here's something I was not impressed about - The monkey's throwing each other. It felt like a gimmick really.

[Scraps69]

I'm an idiot.

I just realised something I never knew about until figuring it out now for DKC1 and DKC2...

I didn't know that a '!' next to the level name meant that you found all (or collect the kremkoin in DKC2) all the bonus stages. wow. and because I didn't know about it, I never actually finished DKC1, or DKC2 properly. Though I nailed DKC3 pretty well because the bonus/dk coin system was more obvious.

And here I was thinking that DKC3 was a more advanced level design because of the level flag systems. *d'oh!* I honestly thought everyone just had to manually find those bonus stages and hope for the best. Wow.

So, I suppose the DKC series is more advanced then most 2D platformers in that it tells you when you have found all the relevant bonuses

[ereadfan]

I feel that the Donkey Kong Country trilogy, or more in particularly Donkey Kong Country 2, nails down what a 2D platformer should be PERFECTLY. If you think about the games, you will realize that Rareware crafted some of the best sidescrollers in the entire world. For example, where Super Mario World came in and introduced the idea of a ridable companion, DKC came in and took that idea to the next level. Yoshi in SMW seemed more like an item for novices to help, but wasn't used to particularly innovate a level to any extent. In DKC, animal buddies are placed and used in only certain levels where they feel right, and are used smartly (again, DKC 2 represents this the best). The reason I love DKC 2 is because almost every level consists of some kind of new idea or gimmick. Be it riding the different animal buddies, swimming, sticking to honey in a bee hive, or flying with the wind, there always seems to be something new in each level, making the game feel incredibly fresh throughout. Also, as mentioned, the physics in the DKC's are perfect. Theres no slip or slide, its pretty straight up and works magnificently. One more thing that stole my heart in DKC 2 was the Lost World and the way it worked. One thing that I absolutely HATE in video games is when you reach 100% in a game and theres no real reward, or something that is so lackluster that it upsets you because you made the extra effort to wholly complete the game. In my opinion, the reward for finding every nook and cranny in a game should be, simply, more gameplay. And in DKC 2, thats exactly what your rewarded with. But not just another set of mediocre levels, instead the Lost World presents you with the most challenging levels inside of the game, topped off with a special final boss, and once you complete that you unlock the secret ending and your time with DKC 2 is officially over, and I've never felt better beating a game then when I first beat DKC 2 102%. So in relation to other platformers, DKC 2 just does EVERYTHING right.