One of the most solid DKC ports yet, but it's still missing some key features.
So here we are, at Donkey Kong Country 3. Immediately I notice a few things: The lengthy introduction sequence displaying the corporate logos isn't skippable (which takes a good 30+ seconds). Sprites are still washed out and resized (with no option for in-game contrast adjustment at all). And, most impressively: The game has an entirely brand-new soundtrack. This soundtrack has much more of a techno beat to it, similar to the soundtrack found in Donkey Kong Country 2; most of the songs are originals, but every now and then I spot a very cleverly done remix of a song from one of the previous games (such as the music for the underwater levels). Compared to the previous ports, this Soundtrack was created with the Gameboy Advance in mind, and it really shines because of this. Instruments are crisp, and clear, and have a very nice beat to them. The usual sound-effect changes remain: Characters get voices switched for Donkey Kong 64 counter-parts, that sort of thing. Hammy dialogue is kept to a bare minimum - Cranky pops out after you defeat a boss to give you a few words of encouragement before sending you on your way to the next world.
Gameplay-wise, Donkey Kong Country 3 never really interested me on the Super Nintendo. I rented it and beat it in less than 3 days. Each Donkey Kong Country game has a theme - Donkey Kong Country's was more of an island feeling, Donkey Kong Country 2 was full of pirate ships, and Donkey Kong Country 3 went for more of a woodsy feeling; with lumber jacks, bears, and pine trees - which didn't really hold my interest as well. This feeling is less pervasive in the port, and I'm glad - it was as if I had rediscovered the game all over again.
For those unaware with the gameplay, Donkey Kong Country 3 is a standard platformer: You run, you jump, hop-and-bop some enemies, and get to the finish line with as many bananas, coins and lives as possible. At the end of each world, you face a boss, and after beating it, you move on to the next world to do the same - until all worlds are clear. Then, you face the final boss and finish the game. There is one thing that made Donkey Kong Country as a series stand out from the pack in this regard: Secrets. Every single level in every single world of all three Donkey Kong Country games contain at the very least two secret bonus minigames; and the only way to see the true ending to the game is to find every single secret in the game. This really helps break up the action and extend the replay value of this game immensely; finding every secret bonus barrel is no small task when there are nearly 100 levels.
However, Donkey Kong Country 3 shows the beginning of RARE's tendency to make their platformers too reliant on collecting doo-dads. In addition to finding all the bonus minigames, you must collect Bear Coins (the currency of the game), Hero Coins, and Banana Birds. And if that didn't sound daunting enough, new minigames have been added for the Gameboy Advance version, giving you still even more junk to amass.
Overall what we are looking at is a game that, while not the best port in the world, is still a pretty solid game, and will give you many, many hours of enjoyment.