Donkey Kong Country 2 Hands-On

Nintendo is bringing the popular Rare-developed Super Nintendo platformer Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy Kong's Quest to the Game Boy Advance later this year.

Just as the first game paired up Donkey Kong with Diddy Kong, DKC2 pairs Diddy up with Dixie Kong, who can whip her long hair around to attack enemies. The game lets you swap between characters at will, and you'll also find a lot of various animals to ride around. The first level of the game gives you access to a rhino, which can charge through most enemies without incident.

Graphically, the translation from SNES to GBA for Donkey Kong Country 2 is a pretty smooth one. The prerendered graphics are intact, and they manage to look a little bit smoother, thanks to the smaller screen of the GBA. The gameplay is also accurate to the original, with highly responsive control of your movement, jumps, and attacks.

Donkey Kong Country 2 will contain battery support for saved games, a few extra bonus minigames to try, and link cable support for two-player games. Diddy Kong's Quest is currently scheduled to hit the GBA in late 2004.