16 years later... this is still one of the best games around.
Gameplay: This is an excellent side-scrolling 1 or 2 player platformer. Donkey Kong is the big gorilla and Diddy Kong is the smaller monkey. They have different abilities and strengths. Donkey is very strong and has brute force. He can jump on most enemies and kill them with one pounce. He can also do a ground-pound that kills some enemies right in front of him. Diddy on the other hand is fast, quick, smooth, and jumps a couple milimeters higher. Both have the ability to run with turbo held down. There's also several animals to ride on in this game including the Rhino, Frog, and Swordfish. I think there's an Osterich too. The Rhino is my favorite and he can bulldoze anything in his path. If you get a barrel you will have both characters on the screen to choose from by pressing select. If one guy gets hit he dies, but you can take over with the other one. This game is technically not a true 2 player co-op, but very close to it. Anytime both characters are on the screen, the second player can switch in and take over. The level design is very basic but also done to absolute perfection. Environments include hills, caves, glaciers, and water areas. You will run, swim, slide, crawl, swing, jump off tires, and pick up barrels. Enemies are mostly animal-like and include ground hogs, orangutans, and crocodiles. At the end of each stage you will of course have to subdue a large boss. They are usually huge overgrown animals such as a gigantic ground hog or an enormous flammingo.
10/10
Graphics: For the SNES the graphics are excellent. This is less cartoony and more realistic looking than many other games of the time period. The environments are nicely varied and look beautiful. Rain glistens as it pelts the ground, green leaves hang on the trees, and deep dark caves seem damp and secluded. The character and enemy sprites are medium-large in size and look great. They're easily distinguishable, fluid in their movements, and never blocky in appearance. The characters themselves also have comical animations during the game, which adds to the overall appeal of this old school gem.
9/10
Audio: This game has great jungle themed music at all times. Lots of drums and jungle beats, with excellent sound quality. Turn it up! The water level has beautiful, dreamy, ambient music that echos in your ears. The sound effects are also memorable and very well done. From the pounding of the Rhino's feet, to the characters' vocalizations and squeaks, the audio quality in DKC1 is top notch.
9/10
Controls: Very nice. The movement of your character is responsive and never stiff. Jumping is easy and the game's physics are spot-on. Players can switch in and out effortlessly.
9/10
Replay: I think there's some pretty solid replay value here. First off it's a true classic so people love to play it. It's also one of the best 2 player games on the entire system so that helps too.
7/10
Pros: Top notch graphics and sound. Excellent controls and gameplay.
Cons: Hard to think of anything.
Overall: This is an instant classic. Very basic, straight forward gameplay done to perfection. Definitely one of the best 2 player games available for any system ever. You will enjoy the beautiful graphics and music everytime you play. Not too easy, not too hard. An absolute classic through and through.