RARE takes familiar gameplay and amps it up to a factor of 11 with revolutionary graphics (for the SNES).
What we're looking at, here, at it's very heart, is Super Mario World with Monkeys. The big ape, Donkey Kong, has his precious giant-banana horde stolen by a bunch of nasty crocodiles called the Kremlings, headed by King K. Rool. Similiar to how Super Mario World is structured, you move DK (or, alternatively, his pal Diddy) around on a world map from stage to stage, clearing worlds as you go until you reach the end of the game. Stages generally consist of platforming staples; running, jumping, and bopping enemies on the head. Action is occasionally broken up by a Minigame here or there, and at the end of each world you face a boss - generally a beefed up version of a enemy you already met in previous levels of the game, but now twice it's normal size, while toting a bag of new tricks. Every now and then you'll run into an animal buddy you can hop on and ride around.
But it's truly the level of polish the game recieves that elevates it above it's regular platforming kin. Levels are structured with pixel-perfect flow. Every object and enemy is precisely positioned so that a skilled player may run through the game without ever stopping once. This means the game is fast and furious when you get the hang of it; but never uncontrollable. It truly embodies the "easy to learn, difficult to master" anecdote in this reguard; anybody can beat the Blast Barrel Sequence in the first level of the Snow World; but can you beat it without pausing once to aim? This is, at it's core, what keeps people coming back to Donkey Kong Country time and time again, and is the deep key to the success of a game. This kind of polish and balance doesn't just fall out of the sky; it takes years to construct and master.
If you get bored of running through levels, the game hits you again with another chunk of game design genius: Every level in the game has at least two secret bonus games. This works to break up the monotony of platforming by offering you more unique challenges, like a game of roulette or having to guess which barrel the 1up Balloon is hiding in; and the only way to see the true ending to the game is to find every single secret bonus area; a challenging task that never feels as worn out or tired as you'd might expect.
Rounding off the package is a ground-breaking visual style. This was the first game ever created which implemented actual SGI 3D renders as sprites. The effect is used gorgeously; more gorgeously than any series has ever used pre-rendred sprites. Colors are lush, locations varied, and animation is smooth and natural. To put it simply: Even if you aren't a fan of pre-rendered graphics used in videogames, Donkey Kong Country is a gorgeous game that pushed the Super NES hardware into a new dimension.
Even sound manages to amaze; Donkey Kong Country was one of the few first games to use instruments sampled from real actual instruments. The amazing sound quality is blended seamlessly with a very awesome soundtrack that you will find yourself humming in the shower.
What we're left with is a Super NES game that fires on every cylinder; it is difficult to be dissapointed by Donkey Kong Country, because it just throws so much good gameplay at you. Do not miss this game.