racketboy.com

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.