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Re: Donkey Kong Country 3 fans UNITE

Posted: Sun Jul 20, 2014 10:36 pm
by Zing
I created a similar topic on Nintendo Age two years ago.

http://nintendoage.com/forum/messagevie ... adid=81015

Here is the content for those who do not wish to visit that site:

It seems that most people feel DKC2 is the best in the series. However, having played through all three games this year (for the first time), I believe DKC3 is the overall best. The first two games have some rough edges that were smoothed out, and the overall flow of the game and level design are more enjoyable.



The first thing anyone will notice is the character design. I admit that Dixie and Kiddy are not my favorite characters, but Rare has perfected the balance between the two characters and really made them feel different. The first game had strong Donkey and fast Diddy, although “strong” just meant he could kill a certain enemy that Diddy could not. The second game had fast Diddy and floating Dixie, but characters felt very similar. The third game has floating Dixie and strong Kiddy. Dixie walks slowly while carrying items and cannot throw Kiddy very far. Kiddy cannot float, but can throw Dixie far and run at normal speed while carrying items. You can really sense the difference between the two, and it creates many situations where you clearly need to use one over the other.



The second thing players will notice is the map. The first two games had a simple point-to-point map with no hidden levels or objectives. It felt rather clunky, since you could not easily or immediately move from section to section. Once you entered a section, you could not leave until you either completed the level, or reached “Funky’s Flights”. The third game allows you to come and go as you please. It also adds an explorable world with hidden caves and secret levels. Another change for the better is the ability to save whenever you wish. While these changes lower the challenge a bit, they remove the the more frustrating design of the previous games.



Another greatly improved aspect is the level design in regard to the bonus rooms. In the first game, you often had to guess or make blind jumps to find the rooms. The second game significantly improved this by adding subtle cues of where to look or jump. This often took the form of bananas in odd or hard to reach locations, which naturally draw the eye and invite the player to explore. The challenge of finding the hidden rooms in the third game is perfect, with them being hidden enough that you must actively seek them out, but easy enough to find on your first or second play-through of each level. Often, the challenge involved figuring out how to get to the room, not just find it. In the previous games, finding the rooms was the challenge. I greatly prefer the former type of challenge, involving puzzle-solving rather than guesswork.



Speaking of puzzle-solving, the way DK coins are handled is much more interesting this time around. The second game simply had a DK coin hidden somewhere in each level. The third game takes this to the next level by requiring you to solve a puzzle involving a barrel and a Kremling with a shield. The coins are noticeably easier to find now, but the mini-puzzle compensates for this and makes finding the coins fun, while they were often a chore in the previous game.



Swap Diddy for Dixie and Donkey for Kiddy, and you would have a perfect game. Otherwise, it is still great and, in my opinion, the best in the series. I almost passed on this game due to the criticism online and how different it is from the rest of the series. I am glad that I gave it a chance, as I enjoyed every minute of my journey from 0% to 103% completion.

Re: Donkey Kong Country 3 fans UNITE

Posted: Sat Nov 29, 2014 2:26 pm
by Felipebf
I have one question... In the beginning of the topic someone posted a guide telling that the code TUFST would get an alternate ending.

Is there a third ending? Or this alternate ending is just the banana bird Mom ending with 105% accomplishment?

If there is a third ending I really would like to see it, and replay the game again for the 10th time, hahaha. I never finished on TUFST.

Re: Donkey Kong Country 3 fans UNITE

Posted: Sat Nov 29, 2014 2:31 pm
by Kkasino
Man, i really don't like DKC games. I don't understand what people see in these Rare games(oh man how much i hate that "collect every fucking thig, and half of them are hidden" mechanic).
Sure, they have absolutely gorgeous music but that really all.

Re: Donkey Kong Country 3 fans UNITE

Posted: Sat Nov 29, 2014 4:21 pm
by Xeogred
The original DKC has like no true permanent collectibles at all.

Re: Donkey Kong Country 3 fans UNITE

Posted: Sat Nov 29, 2014 5:30 pm
by ZeroAX
Kkasino wrote:Man, i really don't like DKC games. I don't understand what people see in these Rare games(oh man how much i hate that "collect every fucking thig, and half of them are hidden" mechanic).
Sure, they have absolutely gorgeous music but that really all.


An excuse to play the awesome stages again and again? :D. I don't know mate, I always found them AMAZING platformers by level design standards, but I guess to each his own :).

Re: Donkey Kong Country 3 fans UNITE

Posted: Sat Nov 29, 2014 6:40 pm
by Felipebf
Kkasino wrote:Man, i really don't like DKC games. I don't understand what people see in these Rare games(oh man how much i hate that "collect every fucking thig, and half of them are hidden" mechanic).
Sure, they have absolutely gorgeous music but that really all.


I like the collectible mechanic.
Well, first time I beat those games took me around 8 hours to make 100%.
In the second gameplay you make it in less than 3 hours.
Is not a long game, and that's why I like it so much.

DK3 has that bear objects trading, and the best graphics on the series.
But, what kills DK3 is Kiddy kong, terrible gameplay, and he is only useful to throw Dixie and in one bonus level in the first world that the only way to get there is rolling on the water.
The rest of the entire game I played using Dixie.
The music is not so good as DK1 and 2, but still is pretty good compared to others platformers on SNES.
The only flaw on DK3 is the character gameplay. All the rest is as good as DK2.

Re: Donkey Kong Country 3 fans UNITE

Posted: Mon Dec 01, 2014 1:34 am
by Pulsar_t

Re: Donkey Kong Country 3 fans UNITE

Posted: Sat Apr 04, 2015 8:37 pm
by Xeogred
I've been replaying them now that they're all on the Wii U VC again (NA).

I can definitely confirm that I still like DKC way more than DKC2. Despite DKC2 being appropriately more challenging and having cooler boss fights... I just like the original way more.

I always kind of lose steam when I try to marathon these games for some reason haha, but I am really excited to hit up DKC3 again. It's probably the most alien to me after all these years. I replayed it a ton throughout the years and growing up, but it's still the one I probably know the least. Outside of not liking the first two worlds all that much, I'm looking forward to it and will be curious how it stacks up after playing the other two again. I'm kind of more excited about it going against DKC3. I like that the environments and all seem more diverse. DKC2 is just dreadfully dark and drab!

Re: Donkey Kong Country 3 fans UNITE

Posted: Fri May 01, 2015 4:27 am
by ZeroAX
Xeogred wrote:I always kind of lose steam when I try to marathon these games for some reason haha, but I am really excited to hit up DKC3 again. It's probably the most alien to me after all these years. I replayed it a ton throughout the years and growing up, but it's still the one I probably know the least. Outside of not liking the first two worlds all that much, I'm looking forward to it and will be curious how it stacks up after playing the other two again. I'm kind of more excited about it going against DKC3. I like that the environments and all seem more diverse. DKC2 is just dreadfully dark and drab!


I know it's weird but these 2:

Image

Image

are my two favorite environments in the DKC series, so I'm probably on the other side with you on this argument :lol: .

I just found the jungle setting of DKC1 kind of boring, while seeing monkeys where they clearly DON'T belong always seemed more fun to me :).

Did you finish the game, or did franchise fatigue kick in? It's seriously a bad idea to marathon so many games in the same exact style on a short period of time. I can't even do it with the Sonic games :/

Re: Donkey Kong Country 3 fans UNITE

Posted: Fri May 01, 2015 6:32 am
by darsparx
Wow that second level you quoted caused me no end of frustration followed by utter joy when I finally got through it...you really had to be quick about those things but enemy placement around them from what I recall didn't help matters :lol: