i used to like this game, but now i just see it for what it is.
donkey kong country (DKC) had a huge impact on me when i first played it. it was one of the first colour games i played. previous to DKC, i had mostly played on the original gameboy's tiny grey/green liquid crystal display.
so the impact of the game was big. it had 3D models that appeared to bulge out of the screen, detailed animated backgrounds, and full stereo sound that sounded like CD-quality.
the game itself had a big impact in 1994, because it looked like something you would see on the upcoming playstation console; it didn't seem possible that it could run on the SNES.
but this impact on the general video game landscape was happening at the same time (1995/96/97) to me, on a more personal level. if turrican on the gameboy was my first stab at an electronic game, then rare's games were the ones to pull me in and hold on to me, perhaps a little too tightly.
some of my favourtie levels were...the first few jungle places. i loved the ambient beats and the funky colours. the monkey characterisation and the funny lizard enemy designs also most probably amused me.
i liked how the music gradually evolved over the course of the journey. this progression also happend in the backgrounds, as day turned into night; I liked looking at the horizon line. these feelings had a deep impact because of how they were happening simultaneously and together with my input. a 10-year-old's view of what games are...is very different; it all happens on the subconcious level.
then, there was the sea area. the music here, and the deep blue colour pallete really felt stimulating and soothing.
the mine cart level! yes. i liked that one. i remember the thrill of having to time jumps. i wasn't very good at games then, so actually getting through an area was tough stuff. these were games i was proud to finish.
what did it all mean? how have things changed now?
for me, and for many players, nostalgia has created a division between the past and the present. we nostalgically reminisce about our old experiences...and this nostalgia distorts. some of us remain in the past, tethered to those feelings, and some of us manage to let go of the grip, and move on.
the problem with nostalgia is the influence it holds on our mind and senses. it's not necessarily a problem in itself...but when it comes to buying new games of old 'classics' it's proved to be very profitable for some companies (*cough* sega *cough*), as they use the exciting images of the past, in mediocre games.
but also...do we really want to live inside the past? en mass, nostalgia has resulted in the proliferation of many game series and remakes, beyond their relevence. this is far from a harmless process.
DKC now, is a somewhat unremarkable platformer. while games like super mario world have aged well, DKC relied too much on its 'advanced' graphics and sound.
miyamoto was right to ignore the pressure from nintendo to make yoshi's island a '3D-looking' game.
moreover, looking back...rare relied far too much on nintendo, and basically aped (pun intended) the mario (and eventually zelda) series for all it was worth. many of rare's games are like re-skinned marios, but without the originality, subtley, and longevity. DKC = super Mario world, banjo-kazooie = super mario 64, diddy kong racing = super Mario kart, star fox adventures = Zelda: ocarina of time.
but the fact remains that i enjoyed it back then...so does that justify it? companies like sega think they can get away with making mediocre games because children 'don't mind them'. it's fair to say that the sonics of the world are not the worst games by far, but children shouldn't be seen as a meal ticket for markerteers and shareholders; this can have a damaging and prolonged effect.
DKC is not one of those bad games, but it comes across as very average compared to what is out there now. it is a technical wonder from the mid-ninetees; a sort of fork, in the crossroads between the industry's two-dimensional past and its 3D future. classics like super metroid bombed because of DKC; because of its eye candy, and because of the imminent arrival of the playstation.
to me, DKC reminds me, dualistically, of days past, but also makes me consider it as a peculiar, bump-mapped relic that catapulted, and expanded the careers of its creators, eventually growing them into a household name.
'rareware' are now trying to recapture their name and their relevence, but maybe it never meant that much to begin with.