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HardcoreGaming101.net just summed up for me why DKC2 is pretty much amazing. This article pretty much sums up all my reasons on why it's my favorite 2D platformer of all time, that I couldn't really explain as well as the author here could.

http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/donkey ... untry2.htm

I know there's people out there who dismiss the game after only spending 10 minutes with it or so or trying to just plow through it quickly, die and rage-quit and I feel there's whole layer of awesomeness they're missing out on.

I don't really disagree with that at all. DKC 1 is still my favorite, but DKC 2 is a mighty fine game from the get-go (best opening theme of all time just after Terra's Theme), with gorgeous scenery, as the HG-101 article shows.

Holy shit a HG101 update.

So much for going to bed now...

dkc2 is my favorite of the series!
i never owned it, but rented it all the time not long after it came out.

last year, a friend and i set out to beat the game together on 2-player mode. we got to the last boss, but then he had to leave and we postponed k. rool's defeat. a month or two later when we went back to try again, we found our save erased and started all over again, getting to the final world before having to call it quits. months later, we returned to find our save gone, and only a save gone halfway through the game. frustrated, we got to the final world once again when another friend and former roommate said "you guys know there are two dkc2 carts in the bin, right?"...
we found the right cart, loaded our original save that we thought was lost forever, and finally beat the game, nearly a year later. huzzah!

also, i collected some dkc2 trading cards from a toys 'r' us vending machine back in 1996 or so. spent a ton of money to get the whole set! (sadly had to sell it years later when i needed rent money badly)

dogman91 wrote:I know there's people out there who dismiss the game after only spending 10 minutes with it or so

Who are these people!?

DKC2 should be required reading for anyone who creates a platformer. There are things that I would change - I'd have preferred to have kept Donkey Kong as a playable character, for instance. And I think that Dixie Kong's utility far outstrips Diddie's. But man, are those minor gripes.

I think the only real failing of Donkey Kong Country 2 is that it raised our expectations too high for Donkey Kong Country 3.

even though i played all three when i was younger, i still prefer Donkey Kong just for the snow levels. It was just magical seeing it first time back when it was first out.

Was really interesting to see so many layers of snow.

AznKhmerBoi wrote:even though i played all three when i was younger, i still prefer Donkey Kong just for the snow levels. It was just magical seeing it first time back when it was first out.

Was really interesting to see so many layers of snow.

It's still impressive. Back then I was amazed that they could make graphics look like that. These days I'm impressed by the technical challenges they overcame and how well the graphics have aged.

I'm with the DKC > DKC2 crowd. Not that DKC2 isn't great, but young mind was mesmerized when DKC was released, and it still impresses me. The final boss is a bit of a let down, but everything leading up to it is an adventurous bonanza.

Plus, if heaven exists, I imagine the Aquatic theme from DKC would be playing when I enter the pearly gates. That has got to be one of the top soothing video game songs ever to be played on a console. Just thinking about that tune relaxes me.

I had the opposite reaction to DKC upon release. I really hated the graphical style and it dragged the rest of the game down with it for me. It's one of the handful of almost universally acclaimed games where the appeal just flies right over my head.

DKC 2 was an improvement. The level design seemed more thoughtful and while the graphics were still not my cup of tea, they were better overall. While it didn't make me a fan of the series it's the only one I own so that says something.

Gunstar Green wrote:the graphics were still not my cup of tea

What did you not like about the graphics? I think you're the first person I've encountered who did not like the DKC style visuals.