It’s funny; I know this game is considered the weakest entry among the three original DKC games, but it might just be my favorite of the bunch. At the very least, it was considerably less punishing than the other two, so I found myself able to relax much more often while playing it. It was definitely too short though, and unless my memory is way off, was a few worlds short of the second game. Can’t remember the first one well enough to say at this point, but I know that one took longer as well. DKC 3 was done in a week, and it would’ve been sooner if I played more than 30 minutes to an hour each night. Either way, length aside, I had fun with what was on offer.
In many ways, you’re simply playing a continuation of the same game as before. Movement has hardly changed, the enemies certainly haven’t, and the story is only slightly different from the previous entry. This time, you’re rescuing both Diddy and Donkey Kong from the terrible K. Rool, and so enlist the help of Kiddy Kong on your journey… Who, by the way, is easily my least favorite of all the Kongs introduced in this series. He felt a bit pointless, and his face in the game over screen was terrifying at night. Add to that he wouldn’t return to you on his own after you threw him towards a barrel or the like, and I was sick of him by the end.
Despite my grumps about Kiddy Kong, however, he rarely got in the way of playing the game itself. The platforming was good throughout, and in some ways more creative than anything showcased in the previous entries. While the basic object of each level is the same, make your way to the end of each level and grab the pulley, the level design in this game took quite a few turns I wasn’t expecting. Instead of racing boiling acid, a level will have you racing up a tree to avoid a buzzsaw. Another has you moving about in the dark, only occasionally lighting the world up by striking blowfish drifting through the level. There are quite a few more, but these are some standouts that I never would have expected after the previous entry. Rare really was a creative force to be reckoned with back in the day.
Something else worth noting is the music. I knew this was the only entry without David Wise at the helm, but honestly? The music was still good. No, nothing stands out quite like Bayou Boogie or Bramble Blast (although that could be from hearing the music less, having made my way through the levels much more easily this time around), but I still found most of the tracks to suit the levels they were made for, and fun to play with as a result. The one biggest letdown was probably the music near the end of the game. I was actually unaware when I first reached the final boss, both because of how short the time was to get there, and the toned down track that accompanied the battle itself. It’s not a huge deal for any game to have a single weaker track, but when it’s the final one you hear? It doesn’t leave the best taste in your mouth once you’ve finished. Regardless, it’s a small thing, and I still enjoyed the game for what it was, a fun, but very short 2-D platformer. At the time of writing, this game only has about a year left before Nintendo shuts down the Wii virtual console (how I played it). If you are interested in picking it up, I’d say go for it. Even if it is much shorter than its predecessors, you’ll like it as long as you liked the other 2 entries, and eight dollars certainly isn’t a bad price.