| Donkey Kong Country | |
|---|---|
 North American box art | |
| Developer | Rare |
| Publisher | Nintendo |
| Directors | Tim Stamper Chris Stamper |
| Designer | Gregg Mayles |
| Programmer | Chris Sutherland |
| Artists |
|
| Writers | Gregg Mayles Daniel Owsen |
| Composers | |
| Series | Donkey Kong |
| Platforms | Super Nintendo Entertainment System,Game Boy Color,Game Boy Advance |
| Release | |
| Genre | Platform |
| Modes | Single-player,multiplayer |
Donkey Kong Country, known in Japan asSuper Donkey Kong,[b][1] is a 1994platform game developed byRare and published byNintendo for theSuper Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES). It follows the gorillaDonkey Kong and his nephewDiddy Kong as they set out to recover their stolen banana hoard from the crocodileKing K. Rool and his army, theKremlings. The player traverses 40side-scrollinglevels as they jump between platforms and avoid obstacles. They collect items, rideminecarts and animals, defeat enemies andbosses, and find secretbonus stages. Inmultiplayer modes, two players workcooperatively or race.
After developingNintendo Entertainment System games in the 1980s, Rare, a British studio founded byTim and Chris Stamper, purchasedSilicon Graphics workstations to render3D models. Nintendo sought a game to compete withSega'sAladdin (1993) and commissioned Rare toreboot the dormantDonkey Kong franchise. Rare assembled 12 developers to work onDonkey Kong Country over 18 months.Donkey Kong Country was inspired by theSuper Mario series and was one of the firsthome console games to featurepre-rendered graphics, achieved through acompression technique that converted 3D models into SNESsprites with little loss of detail. It was the firstDonkey Kong game neither produced nor directed by the franchise's creator,Shigeru Miyamoto, though he contributed design ideas.
Following its announcement at theConsumer Electronics Show in June 1994,Donkey Kong Country was highly anticipated and backed by a large marketing campaign that cost$16 million in America alone. It was released in November 1994 to acclaim; critics hailed its visuals as groundbreaking and praised its gameplay and music. Its quality and design were favourably compared to theSuper Mario series.Donkey Kong Country received several year-end accolades and set the record for the fastest-selling video game at the time. With 9.3 million copies sold worldwide, it is thethird-bestselling SNES game and the bestsellingDonkey Kong game. Following the success, Nintendo purchased a largeminority stake in Rare, which became a prominentsecond-party developer for Nintendo during the late 1990s.
Donkey Kong Country re-establishedDonkey Kong as a major Nintendo franchise and helped maintain the SNES's popularity into thefifth generation of video game consoles. Journalists regard it as one of thegreatest video games, although its pre-rendered visuals became divisive. Nintendo rereleasedDonkey Kong Country on theGame Boy Color,Game Boy Advance, anddigital distribution services. Rare followed it with the SNES gamesDonkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest (1995) andDonkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble! (1996), and theNintendo 64 gameDonkey Kong 64 (1999). After a hiatus, during which Rare was acquired by the Nintendo competitorMicrosoft,Retro Studios revived the series withDonkey Kong Country Returns (2010) for theWii andDonkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze (2014) for theWii U.
Donkey Kong Country is aside-scrollingplatform game.[2] Areboot of theDonkey Kong franchise,[3][4] its story begins when the crocodileKing K. Rool and his army, theKremlings, steal theKongs' banana hoard,[5][6] which the gorillaDonkey Kong and his nephewDiddy Kong must reclaim.[6] Donkey and Diddy, theplayer characters of thesingle-player game, run alongside each other and the player can swap between them at will. Donkey is stronger and can defeat enemies more easily; Diddy is faster and more agile.[7] Both can walk, run, jump, pick up and throw objects, and roll; Donkey can slap the terrain to defeat enemies or find items.[8]
The player begins in aworld map that tracks their progress and provides access to 40levels.[9][10] The player attempts to complete each level while traversing the environment, jumping between platforms, and avoiding enemy and inanimate obstacles. Level themes include jungles, underwater reefs, caves, mines, mountains, and factories.[11] Some feature uniquegame mechanics, such as rideableminecarts, blasting out of cannons resembling barrels, and swinging ropes.[12] Each area ends with aboss fight with a large enemy.[13] Donkey and Diddy can defeat enemies by jumping on, rolling into, or throwing barrels at them. If hit by an obstacle, one of the Kongs runs off and the player automatically assumes control of the other. They will only be able to control that Kong unless they free the other Kong from a barrel.[13]
In certain levels, the Kongs can free an animal that grants them special abilities, similar toYoshi from theSuper Mario series.[7] Buddies include Rambi, a rhino that can charge into enemies and find hidden entrances; Enguarde, a swordfish that can defeat enemies with its bill; Squawks, a parrot that carries a lantern; Expresso, an ostrich that flies; and Winky, a frog that can jump high.[6][14] Each level contains collectible bananas, letters that spell out K–O–N–G, balloons, and animal tokens.[15] These items can be found within the main level or by discovering hiddenbonus stages, where they are earned via solving puzzles.[16][17] The player starts with sixlives.[18] Collecting 100 bananas, all the K–O–N–G letters, a balloon, or three of the same animal token grants anextra life.[18][19]
The player can visit other members of the Kong family from the world map.Funky Kong operates a flight service allowing the player to travel across different areas of Donkey Kong Island;Cranky Kong, the aged incarnation of Donkey Kong from the originalDonkey Kong (1981), provides tips andfourth wall-breaking humour; andCandy Kong operates asave point service.[6][13][20] The player can increase their completion percentage by finding bonus stages. Reaching the maximum 101 per cent unlocks a different ending.[5]Donkey Kong Country includes twomultiplayer modes. In thecompetitive "Contest", players take turns playing each level as quickly as possible. In thecooperative "Team", they play as a tag team.[10][21]
In 1985, the British game developersTim and Chris Stamper establishedRare Ltd. The brothers previously founded the British computer game studioUltimate Play the Game and founded Rare to focus on the burgeoning Japaneseconsole market.[22] AfterNintendo rejected their efforts to form a partnership in 1983, Chris Stamper studied theNintendo Entertainment System (NES) hardware for six months.[23] Rare demonstrated it was possible toreverse-engineer the NES and showed severaltech demos to Nintendo of America presidentMinoru Arakawa; impressed, Arakawa granted Rare a Nintendo developer licence.[24][25] Rare developed more than 60 NES games, including theBattletoads series.[25][26]
When Nintendo released their next console, theSuper Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES), in 1991, Rare decided to limit their output. Around 1992, Rare invested their NES profit inSilicon Graphics, Inc. (SGI)Challenge workstations withAlias rendering software to render3D models.[25][27] It was a significant risk, as each workstation cost £80,000.[28] The move made Rare the most technologically advanced UK developer and situated them high in the international market.[25] In 1993, Nintendo formed a partnership with SGI to develop the SNES's successor, theNintendo 64.[29]
Though they had purchased the workstations to produce games for the Nintendo 64, Rare discovered it was possible to use them with the16-bit SNES.[24] Rare tested the SGI technology withBattletoads Arcade (1994) and began developing a boxing game,Brute Force, usingPowerAnimator.[26][28] Around this time, Nintendo was embroiled in aconsole war withSega, whoseMega Drive competed with the SNES.[28] Nintendo wanted a game to compete with Sega'sAladdin (1993), which featured graphics byDisney animators,[26][30] when Nintendo of America's chairmanHoward Lincoln learned of Rare's SGI experiments during a trip to Europe.[24] Nintendo sent several representatives, including the chief technology officerGenyo Takeda; they asked the Stampers if they could demonstrateBrute Force on the SNES hardware. Within two days, the Stampers developed a working build,[29] impressing Nintendo.[28]
Tim Stamper—inspired byMortal Kombat's (1992) use of digitised footage in place of hand-drawn art—suggested developing a platform game that usedpre-rendered graphics.[27][31] Nintendo granted the Stampers permission to use theDonkey Kongintellectual property.[31] The franchise had been largely dormant since the unsuccessfulDonkey Kong 3 (1983),[32][33] so Nintendo figured that licensing it posed minimal risk.[31] Some sources indicate that the Stampers obtained the licence after Nintendo offered them their catalogue of characters and they chose Donkey Kong.[25][28] Conversely, the lead designerGregg Mayles and his brotherSteve recalled that it was Nintendo that requested aDonkey Kong game.[30][29]Donkey Kong's creator,Shigeru Miyamoto, said that Rare approached Nintendo and offered to handleDonkey Kong since other developers were preoccupied with franchises such asMario andThe Legend of Zelda.[34]
Rare assembled a team of 12, the largest in their history at that point, and development began in mid-1993.[30][29] Nintendo was sceptical of Rare's approach to graphics,[30] concerned it would make the game unplayable.[35] Early in development, Mayles and other developers presented a demo to Nintendo staff in Japan. One in attendance, theGame Boy creatorGunpei Yokoi, felt the game "looked too 3D", but Mayles said Miyamoto was supportive and gave Rare his approval.[30] Nintendo codenamed the project "Country" (based on Rare's location inTwycross), leading to the titleDonkey Kong Country.[36] Other titles considered includedRumble in the Jungle,Monkey Mayhem, andDonkey Kong and the Golden Bananas.[29]Donkey Kong Country was the firstDonkey Kong game that was neither directed nor produced by Miyamoto,[10] who was working onSuper Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island (1995).[37] Miyamoto was still involved with the project and Rare said he provided crucial input.[38]
Nintendo is usually highly protective of their intellectual properties, but was relatively uninvolved withDonkey Kong Country, leaving most of the work to Rare.[28][30] Programmer Brendan Gunn noted that the Stampers worked to shield the team from outside influence.[28] Rare spent 18 months developingDonkey Kong Country from an initial concept to a finished game,[28] and according to product managerDan Owsen, 20 people worked on it in total.[27] It cost an estimatedUS$1 million to produce,[39] and Rare said that it had the mostman hours ever invested in a video game at the time, 22 years.[38] The team worked 12–16-hours every day of the week.[40] Gunn said that the team was under significant pressure from the Stampers and to finish the game in time forThanksgiving due to Nintendo's competition with Sega.[28]
The stages were painstakingly arranged so that the player could "go first time" past obstacles ([i.e.] if there was a swinging rope then when it came on screen it was swinging towards you so you could jump onto it straight away)... If you time everything correctly, you can get through the level efficiently and impressively.
Rare drew inspiration from theSuper Mario series, Mayles citingSuper Mario Bros. 3 (1988) as the primary influence on thelevel design. Mayles wanted to make a game that was accessible but would flow seamlessly for a skilled player; as such, objects were placed so well-timed players could continually move through a level.[30] Mayles noted that although the concept ofspeedrunning did not exist at the time, "the way the game was designed definitely supports it".[41] The level locales were inspired by the filmsReturn of the Jedi (1983) andIndiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984).[29]
The team designed levels usingPost-it Notes; they conceived set pieces (such as swinging ropes), created every variation they could think of, drew them on Post-it Notes, and pieced them together.[42] Rare featured barrels as a primary game mechanic to pay homage to the original arcade game,[43] and included hidden collectibles like coins and balloons to add depth.[44] Diddy Kong originated from Rare's search for a game mechanic akin toSuper Mario'spower-up system in that he would serve as the player'shealth. Mayles said: "We thought a second character could perform this function, look visually impressive, and give the player a feeling that they were not alone".[30]
Donkey Kong Country did not have much scrapped content; Gunn said he only regretted that Donkey Kong walks across dotted lines instead of paths on the world map, which could not be implemented due to time constraints.[28] One scrapped idea, a collectible that would evade the player by running or hiding, served as the basis for theJinjos in Rare's subsequent gameBanjo-Kazooie (1998).[45] ReviewingDonkey Kong Country for release, Nintendo directed Rare to reduce the difficulty to appeal to a broad audience, reasoning that the secrets would provide sufficient challenge for hardcore gamers. At this point, Miyamoto made some last-minute suggestions, such as Donkey Kong's terrain slap, that were incorporated.[46] Nintendo'sKensuke Tanabe flew to Twycross tolocalise the game with Rare.[47]
Kevin Bayliss was in charge of redesigning Donkey Kong. He wanted a character that looked believable and could perform animations like pounding his chest.[43] His initial design was blocky and muscular to make Donkey Kong easy to animate, but it became more cartoonish when Nintendofaxed reference material. Some of Bayliss's designs were in the style of hisBattletoads work,[48] and the final design's eyes came from those of theBattletoads.[35] Miyamoto provided some suggestions, including the red tie,[30] but left the design's specifics to Bayliss.[43]
BecauseDonkey Kong did not have much of an established universe, Rare was free to expand it with new characters. Mayles conceived Diddy as a redesign ofDonkey Kong Jr.,[30] and Bayliss designed him.[29] Unlike the original Donkey Kong Jr., Rare did not want Diddy to share his build with Donkey Kong, so Bayliss based the design on aspider monkey and made him agile to give him distinct moves.[49] The redesign was also motivated by Bayliss's distaste for Donkey Kong Jr.[29] Nintendo considered the redesign too great a departure and asked it to be reworked or presented as a new character. Mayles felt the redesign suited the updatedDonkey Kong universe, so he chose to make it a new character. Naming the character was a challenge; considered names included "Diet Donkey Kong", "Donkey Kong Lite", and "Titchy Kong".[29] Rare settled on "Dinky", but ultimately changed it to "Diddy" due to legal problems.[30]
Rare staff spent hours at the nearbyTwycross Zoo recording gorillas for reference, which they described as "a complete waste of time".[28] They found their movements unsuitable for a fast game and their noises too quiet to be captured by a microphone, so they based Donkey Kong's running animation on a horse'sgallop and had programmerMark Betteridge provide Donkey and Diddy's voice clips.[30][28] Rare positioned Cranky Kong as the original Donkey Kong character from the arcade games but avoided mentioning this in the game and marketing materials out of fear that Nintendo would disapprove of the idea,[35] though it was mentioned in the instruction manual.[50] Rare created each character using Donkey Kong's model as a base and made the Kong designs consistent to reflect that they were relatives.[29]
All story drafts centered on the theft of Donkey Kong's banana hoard.[29] According to Mayles, the team pitched theSuper Mario characterWario as the antagonist,[51] but Nintendo asked them to use original characters.[52] They recycled the Kremlings fromJohnny Blastoff and the Kremling Armada, a cancelledMonkey Island-styleadventure game.[29] Their name is a play on theMoscow Kremlin.[53] Rare's initial story was extensive and spanned 15 pages, but Nintendo had it condensed to fit into aninstruction manual.[27]
.jpg)
Donkey Kong Country was one of the first games for a mainstream home video game console to use pre-rendered 3D graphics,[28] a technique used in the earlier 1993Finnish gameStardust for theAmiga.[27] Rare developed acompression technique to incorporate more detail and animation for eachsprite for a given memory footprint, which better preserved the pre-rendered graphics. Nintendo and Rare called the technique Advanced Computer Modelling (ACM).[30] Rare briefly feared competition fromDMA Design'sUniracers (1994), which also featured pre-rendered graphics, but the staff was relieved upon learning that the player character wasUniracer's only element that was pre-rendered.[28]
The artists began by modelling the characters inNURBS using PowerAnimator and addingtextures. They then created the animations and rendered them frame by frame before compressing them for the game. The ACM process was handled by a designated computer that had a proprietary utility similar toDeluxe Paint.[26] Adapting to the cutting-edge SGI workstations was difficult;[28] Gregg Mayles's brotherSteve said they had a steep learning curve. To help, Nintendo provided Rare with research material regarding apes, barrels, and caves.[27] The pre-rendered graphics allowed for variety and detail uncommon at the time,[30] and Tim Stamper constantly pushed the team to go further and incorporate weather and lighting effects.[28]
The game was Rare's first to require multiple programmers,[41] and they worked with little guidance.[26] The ACM process pushed the SNES hardware to its limits;[30] Betteridge said Rare wanted to do everything they could with the hardware similar to what they had done with the NES gameBattletoads (1991).[42] A single SGI screen took up morememory than an entire SNES cartridge, and Gregg Mayles described transferring the backgrounds into the game by splitting them into tiles as "the bane of the project".[30] Models took hours to render,[26] so the team would leave the computers running overnight.[28] Sometimes, artists would shut down other artists' computers in the middle of the process so they could render their own models.[26] The SGI machines required a massiveair conditioning unit to prevent overheating, while the team worked in the summer heat without relief.[28] ProgrammerChris Sutherland was responsible for implementing the graphics and found reducing the characters' frames of animation challenging.[26]
David Wise composed most of the soundtrack.[54] Wise initially worked as afreelancer and assumed his music would be replaced byKoji Kondo because of the importance ofDonkey Kong to Nintendo.[55][56] Rare asked Wise to record three jungledemo tunes that were merged to become the "DK Island Swing", the first level's track.[56] Miyamoto was impressed,[55] and Wise was enlisted to produce the final score.[56] Before composing, Wise was shown the graphics and given an opportunity to play the level they would appear in, which gave him a sense of the music he would compose. He chosesamples and optimised the music to work on the SNES'sSPC700 sound chip.[40][53] Wise worked separately from the team in a former cattle shed, visited occasionally by Tim Stamper.[28][53]
Donkey Kong Country features atmospheric music that mixes natural environmental sounds with prominentmelodic and percussive accompaniments.[57] Its soundtrack attempts to evoke the environments and includes music from levels set in Africa-inspired jungles, caverns, oceanic reefs, frozen landscapes, and industrial factories.[28][57] Wise cited Kondo's music for theSuper Mario andLegend of Zelda games,Tim and Geoff Follin's music forPlok! (1993), and 1980ssynthesiser film soundtracks, rock, and dance music as influences,[56] and wanted to imitate the sound of theKorg Wavestation synthesiser.[57] He wrote lyrics for each melody, thoughThe New York Times noted "no one is really meant to hear them".[55]
SinceDonkey Kong Country featured advanced pre-rendered graphics, Wise wanted to push the limits to create "equally impressive" music and make the most of the limited memory he was working with.[53] Wise found Donkey Kong "a little more brutal" thanMario, so departed fromSuper Mario'sLatin andcalypso-inspired sound.[55] He wanted to compose in the style of1940s jazz, seeking to imitate theGlenn Miller Orchestra in the "DK Island Swing",[55] but was restricted by the SPC700's limitations; he "used a lot of small samples and made [the soundtrack] very synthesised" to work around them.[40] His colleagueGrant Kirkhope said that Wise's familiarity with the SNES hardware meant he could "make it do things that people hadn't heard before".[55]
"Aquatic Ambience", the music that plays in the underwater levels, took five weeks to compose. Wise was inspired by a recent breakup, which made him feel as if he was drowning.[55] He considers the track his favourite and the game's biggest technological accomplishment in regards to the audio.[53] The boss theme was inspired by theNine Inch Nails song "March of the Pigs" (1994), and K. Rool's theme was influenced bysea shanties,barrel organ music, and the work ofIron Maiden.[55] For the title screen theme, Wiseremixed Nintendo's originalDonkey Kong theme to demonstrate Donkey Kong's evolution.[53] Wise said his primary focus was to make the most of the SPC700, and he input the music by hand to save memory. He noted the process was easier than composing for the NES due to the larger number of sound channels.[28]
Eveline Novakovic contributed seven tracks, including the world map theme, as her first SNES project.[54][58] Novakovic was inexperienced with the SNES hardware and Wise helped teach her as they worked together. She attempted to provide the levels a sense of purpose and drew inspiration from film composers likeAlan Silvestri andKlaus Doldinger.[58] Funky Kong's theme was originally written byRobin Beanland.[54] According to Beanland, the track was intended for an internal progress video about another Rare game,Killer Instinct (1994), before Nintendo decided to use it in aDonkey Kong Country promotional trailer. Beanland said Tim Stamper liked it and wanted to include it in the game,[59] so Wise adopted it.[28]
Lincoln unveiledDonkey Kong Country at theConsumer Electronics Show inChicago, which took place from 23 to 25 June 1994.[60] The unveiling was the finale of Nintendo's conference and did not reveal thatDonkey Kong Country was a SNES game until the end of the presentation, fooling the audience into believing that it was for the upcoming Nintendo 64. Gregg Mayles recalled the audience was stunned in silence before bursting into applause.[30]
As one of the flagship games of Nintendo'sPlay It Loud! promotion,[26]Donkey Kong Country was backed by an exceptionally large marketing campaign—"marketingblitzkrieg", asHardcore Gaming 101 put it.[5] According to theLos Angeles Times, Nintendo spentUS$16 million on marketingDonkey Kong Country in America alone; at the time, major games typically had an average marketing budget ofUS$5 million.[61] Marketing materials emphasised the revolutionary graphics—often noting that Rare's SGI workstations had been used to create theJurassic Park (1993) film's dinosaurs[62]—and positionedDonkey Kong Country as a direct competitor to Sega'sMega-CD and32X platforms to remind players it was not for next-generation hardware.[63]
Nintendo sent a promotionalVHS tape,Donkey Kong Country: Exposed, to subscribers of the magazineNintendo Power.[10][63]Exposed, hosted by comedianJosh Wolf, provides a "behind-the-scenes" glimpse of the Treehouse, the Nintendo of America division where games are tested.[10][63]Nintendo World Report wrote thatExposed was "probably the first time most people outside of Nintendo learned about the [Treehouse]" and the promotion allowed players to see the game for themselves at home, rather than having to learn about it secondhand from a magazine.[63]Exposed also features gameplay tips and interviews with localisers,playtesters, and Tim Stamper.[10][63]
In October 1994, Nintendo of America held an online promotional campaign through the internet serviceCompuServe. The campaign included downloadable video samples of the game, a trivia contest in which 800 people participated, and an hour-longonline chat conference attended by 80 people, in which Lincoln, Arakawa, and vice-president of marketing Peter Main answered questions. Nintendo's CompuServe promotion marked an early instance of a major video game company using the internet to promote its products.[64] Nintendo gave awayDonkey Kong T-shirts as a pre-order bonus,[62] and partnered withKellogg's for a promotional campaign in which the packaging for Kellogg'sbreakfast cereals featuredDonkey Kong Country character art and announced a prize giveaway. The campaign ran from November 1994 to April 1995.[65]Fleetway Publications published a promotional comic in the UK in 1995.[66]
By October 1994, Nintendo was still in fierce competition with Sega and its popularSonic the Hedgehog franchise.Donkey Kong Country was released a month afterSonic & Knuckles for the Mega Drive. TheLos Angeles Times characterised the coinciding releases as a battle; both featured company mascots, boasted "Hollywood-sized" marketing budgets, and advertised revolutionary technological advances (lock-on technology forSonic & Knuckles and 3D-rendered graphics forDonkey Kong Country).[61]
Donkey Kong Country was highly anticipated.Hardcore Gaming 101 wrote: "It was everywhere. You couldn't escape it. It was on the cover of every magazine. It was on gigantic, imposing displays and marquees atWal-Mart andBabbages... For kids of the era, November 20th seemed like the eve of a revolution".[5] TheExposed VHS tape contributed significantly to the hype.[67]Donkey Kong Country was expected to gross at leastUS$140 million in the US if it matched sales projections.[61] Nintendo anticipated that it would sell two million copies in a month, an expectation that Main acknowledged was unprecedented but was "based on the off-the-chart reactions we've received from game players and retailers".[61]
USGamer noted that Nintendo, at the time ofDonkey Kong Country's release, faced difficulty to keep the SNES profitable. Thefifth generation of video game consoles was on the horizon, the32-bit prowess ofSony'sPlayStation and theSega Saturn far exceeding the SNES's capabilities. The Nintendo 64 was not due for release until 1996, soDonkey Kong Country, wroteUSGamer, served as Nintendo's "bluff" to make it seem that the SNES could hold its ground against next-generation hardware.[33]
Donkey Kong Country was released worldwide in November 1994, two weeks ahead of schedule and around theBlack Friday shopping season.[38][62] It was released in the UK on 18 November,[38] in North America on 21 November, in Europe on 24 November, and in Japan on 26 November.[68] In Japan, the game was released under the titleSuper Donkey Kong.[69]Donkey Kong Country set the record for the fastest-selling video game at the time:[70] it sold over 500,000 copies within a week,[71] and sales reached one million copies in the US alone in two weeks. In its second week on sale in the US, the game grossedUS$15 million, outpacing the week's highest-grossing film (The Santa Clause,US$11.5 million) and album (Miracles: The Holiday Album,US$5.2 million).[72] In the UK, it was the top-selling SNES game in November 1994.[73]Donkey Kong Country sold six million copies worldwide in its first holiday season,[74] grossing$400 million in worldwide sales revenue.[75] Cumulative sales reached 9.3 million copies. Based on available sales figures, it is thethird-bestselling SNES game[26][76] and the bestsellingDonkey Kong game.[77]
| Publication | Score |
|---|---|
| Computer and Video Games | 90/100[78] |
| Electronic Gaming Monthly | 10/9/9/9[c][79] |
| Famitsu | 7/8/8/8[d][80] |
| GameFan | 100/100[81] |
| Next Generation | 4/5[82] |
| Total! | 97/100[83] |
| Entertainment Weekly | A+[84] |
| Top Secret | 5/5[85] |
| Publication | Award |
|---|---|
| 1995 Kids' Choice Awards | Favourite Video Game[86] |
| EGM | Game of the Year, SNES Game of the Year, Best Animation, Best Game Duo[87] |
| GamePro | Best Graphic Achievement[88] |
| Video Games: The Ultimate Gaming Magazine | Game of the Year, Best SNES Game, Best Action Game, Best Graphics, Best Gameplay[89] |
Donkey Kong Country received critical acclaim and was lauded as a paradigm shift that set new standards for video games.[e] It received perfect scores from several outlets.[81][84][85]Diehard GameFan andTotal! said it changed expectations for 16-bit and platform games,[90][91] andEntertainment Weekly wrote it "is to most 16-bit games what most 16-bit games are to theirAtari forebears. Once you've played it, everything else before it seems like a peewee".[84]Electronic Gaming Monthly (EGM) calledDonkey Kong Country "one of the few games that is actually as good as the hype",[79] andTotal! declared it the best game of 1994.[91]GameFan said thatDonkey Kong Country set a new quality standard that many developers would attempt to imitate.[92]
The visuals were considered the best aspect. Reviewers considered them a major technological achievement, their detail unprecedented for a 16-bit game.[f]EGM said that the graphical quality prompted questions about the purpose of 32- and64-bit hardware.[79]Total! said the character animations surpassed those of a Disney film and applauded theparallax scrolling.[93] Several critics said the graphics were the best on available hardware,[g] withEntertainment Weekly writing that they were comparable tomatte paintings.[84] The soundtrack and audio were also lauded.[h]Total! said the music built atmosphere,[91]Top Secret wrote the "captivating" soundtrack asserted itself as a masterpiece in its own right,[85] andEGM andEntertainment Weekly said the audio quality was unprecedented for the SNES and on par with a CD's.[79][84]
Reviewers praised the gameplay for its variety and depth;[79][97][98]Entertainment Weekly appreciated that it did not build upon the original arcade game's design.[84]Total! describedDonkey Kong Country as addictive, accessible and exciting, with humour, imagination, puzzles and secrets, that proved there was still potential in the platform game genre.[98]EGM andGameFan wrote that the game was lengthy and offered plenty of technique,[79][99] andGamePro commended thereplay value that searching for bonus stages provided.[13]EGM andGamePro found searching for bonus stages was challenging,[79][100] thoughGamePro said it was easy to "breeze through the game" without them and criticised the boss fights as simplistic.[100] The four reviewers inFamitsu complimented the gameplay, with one reivewer,Hirokazu Hamamura; finding it too difficult.[80]
Critics frequently comparedDonkey Kong Country to theSuper Mario series,[79][98] particularlySuper Mario World (1990).[78][91][97] Some consideredDonkey Kong Country an improvement upon theMario formula.[79][97][98]GameFan said it would be a worthy successor toSuper Mario World even without the graphics[97] andTotal! wrote that it tookMario's best elements, increased the speed, and presented them better.[98]Next Generation felt the gameplay, though good, did not meet the standards of previous SNES games such as theMario andLegend of Zelda series and prevented it from being a "typical Nintendo blockbuster".[82]CVG wrote thatDonkey Kong Country was the only SNES game that matchedSuper Mario World, but that it would be a conventional platformer without its graphics. It warned that experienced players may find the game, designed for a broad audience, unoriginal.[78]
Donkey Kong Country received manyGame of the Year awards.[25] ForEGM's Best and Worst of 1994, it won Game of the Year, Best SNES Game, and Best Animation; Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong won Best Game Duo.[87] It also receivedVideo Games: The Ultimate Gaming Magazine's awards for Game of the Year, Best SNES Game, Best Action Game, and Best Graphics.[89]Donkey Kong Country was the only video game included inTime's Best Products of 1994 list, coming in second behind theChrysler Neon,[101] and it became the first game to win theFavourite Video GameKids' Choice Award at the1995 Kids' Choice Awards.[86]
In April 1995, followingDonkey Kong Country's success, Nintendo purchased a 25%minority stake in Rare,[24] which increased to 49% over time.[25] Rare was the first non-Japanese studio to enter such a relationship with Nintendo, making them asecond-party developer; Nintendo published Rare's subsequent games and allowed them to expand their staff from 84 to over 250 and move out of the farmhouse to an advanced development site elsewhere in Twycross.[24] Rare was one of the first developers to receive Nintendo 64software development kits and decided to start spending more time developing fewer games.[24][31] Nintendo and Rare's partnership produced acclaimed Nintendo 64 games such asGoldenEye 007 (1997),Banjo-Kazooie (1998),Perfect Dark (2000), andConker's Bad Fur Day (2001).[24][25]
A proposed Game Boy port ofDonkey Kong Country was repurposed as a separate game,Donkey Kong Land (1995), after the programmer Paul Machacek convinced Rare that it would be a better use of resources and expand the potential audience.[102] Rare began developing concepts for aDonkey Kong Country sequel during production,[103] and Nintendogreen-lit the project immediately after the success.[104]Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest, released in 1995, features Diddy rescuing a kidnapped Donkey Kong from K. Rool and introduces Diddy's girlfriendDixie Kong.Diddy's Kong Quest was designed to be less linear and more challenging,[105][106] with a theme reflecting Gregg Mayles' fascination with pirates.[106] Like its predecessor,Diddy's Kong Quest was a major critical and commercial success.[107]
Other teams at Rare usedDonkey Kong Country's technology in the fighting gameKiller Instinct andDonkey Kong Land,Donkey Kong Land 2 (1996) andDonkey Kong Land III (1997), which attempted to replicateDonkey Kong Country's visuals and gameplay on the handheld Game Boy.[26] FollowingDiddy's Kong Quest, theDonkey Kong Country team split in two:[58] one half began working onProject Dream, arole-playing game that used theDonkey Kong Country technology,[i][108] and the other onDonkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble! (1996).[58] Rare followedDixie Kong's Double Trouble! withDonkey Kong 64 (1999), the firstDonkey Kong game to feature 3D gameplay.[26] In 2002, Rare was acquired by Nintendo's competitorMicrosoft and theDonkey Kong rights reverted to Nintendo.[25][104]
Asoundtrack CD,DK Jamz, was released in North America via news media and retailers in November 1994,[109] with a standalone release in 1995.[110] It was one of the earliest video game soundtrack albums released in the United States.[111] The Japanese soundtrack CD,Super Donkey Kong Game Music CD ~ Jungle Fantasy,[j] was released in January 1995. In addition to the game music, it features seven rearrangements by Yoshiyuki Ito, who previously composed rearrangements for Nintendo'sZelda andMetroid soundtrack releases.[112] The soundtrack was rereleased through theDonkey Kong Country Trilogycompilation album in November 1996 and viaNintendo Music, Nintendo'smusic streaming service, when it launched in October 2024.[113][114]
A competition-oriented version ofDonkey Kong Country was sold throughBlockbuster Video. Its changes include atime limit for the playable levels and ascoring system, which had been used in theNintendo PowerFest '94 and Blockbuster World Video Game Championships II competitions. It was later distributed in limited quantities throughNintendo Power. The competition version ofDonkey Kong Country is the rarest licensed SNES game; only 2,500 cartridges are known to exist.[5]
In 2000, Rare developed a port ofDonkey Kong Country for Nintendo'sGame Boy Color (GBC) handheld console. It was released in North America on 4 November 2000, in Europe on 17 November, and in Japan on 21 January 2001.[115] The port was developed alongside theGBC version ofPerfect Dark[116] and many assets, including graphics and audio, were re-used from theDonkey Kong Land games.[5] Aside from graphical and sound-related downgrades due to the GBC's weaker8-bit hardware, the port is mostly identical to the original release.[117] One level was redesigned and another was added.[5] It also adds bonus modes, including twominigames that supplement the main quest and support multiplayer via theGame Link Cable, as well asGame Boy Printer support.[117][118] The GBC version was a runner-up forGameSpot's annual Best Game Boy Color Game and Best Platform Game awards,[119] and during the4th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards, theAcademy of Interactive Arts & Sciences nominated it for the "Console Family" award.[120] It sold 2.19 million copies worldwide.[121]
Despite its acquisition by Microsoft, Rare continued to produce games for Nintendo'sGame Boy Advance (GBA) since Microsoft did not have a competing handheld.[25] It portedDonkey Kong Country as part of Nintendo's line of SNES rereleases for the GBA.[122] The GBA version was released in Australia on 4 June 2003, Europe on 6 June, in North America on 9 June, and in Japan on 12 December.[123][124][125] It adds a new animated introductory cutscene,[126] redesigneduser interfaces and world maps,[5] the ability to save progress anywhere, minigames, and atime trial mode.[126] It features downgraded graphics and sound,[5][126] the former due to the GBA's lack of abacklit screen.[26] The GBA version sold 1.82 million copies,[127] including 960,000 in the US by August 2006. Between January 2000 and August 2006, it was the 19th highest-selling game for a Nintendo handheld console in the US.[128]
The SNES version ofDonkey Kong Country has been digitally rereleased for later Nintendo consoles via Nintendo'sVirtual Console service. It was released for theWii Virtual Console in Japan and Europe in December 2006, and in North America in February 2007.[129] In September 2012, the game was delisted from the Virtual Console for unknown reasons, thoughKotaku'sJason Schreier suggested it may have been related to licensing problems with Rare.[130]Donkey Kong Country returned to theWii U's Virtual Console in February 2015[131] and was added to theNew Nintendo 3DS' Virtual Console in March 2016.[132] It was included in theSuper NES Classic Edition, adedicated console released by Nintendo in September 2017,[133] and was released on theNintendo Switch via theNintendo Classics service in July 2020.[134]
Donkey Kong Country's visual appeal helped the SNES remain popular in a period of uncertainty for cartridge-based games.[17] Consumers were unfamiliar with 3D graphics at the time.[33] According toOfficial Nintendo Magazine, by bringing next-generation graphics to the SNES just 12 days before the PlayStation's Japanese launch,Donkey Kong Country persuaded consumers that an immediate upgrade was unnecessary.[135]IGN wrote that the game "saved the SNES" and revitalised sales by bringing back lapsed fans.[7]Donkey Kong Country also helped Nintendo pull ahead of Sega and win theconsole wars of the 1990s.[136] Whereas Nintendo continued to releaseAAA games such asDonkey Kong Country, Sega had alienated audiences with add-ons such as the Mega-CD and 32X,[74] and its subsequent console, the Saturn, failed.[136]
TheDonkey Kong Country series re-establishedDonkey Kong as one of Nintendo's most popular and profitable franchises.[104]Donkey Kong Country heralded Donkey Kong's transition from villain to hero;[104][137] Rare's redesign became his standard appearance,[138] and its gameplay format was followed by sequels.[104] The game inspiredan animated series that ran for40 episodes from 1997 to 2000,[139] and Diddy Kong starred in a Nintendo 64racing game spin-off,Diddy Kong Racing (1997).[140] FollowingDixie Kong's Double Trouble!, theCountry series went on a hiatus untilDonkey Kong Country Returns, developed byRetro Studios, was released for the Wii onDonkey Kong Country's 16th anniversary in 2010. A sequel,Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze, was released for the Wii U in 2014.[104] Wise, who left Rare in 2009, returned to composeTropical Freeze's score.[40]
.JPG)
Reviewing the Virtual Console rerelease,Nintendo Life felt the visuals were still among the SNES's best,[6] andJeuxvideo.com said they had offered a new depth of realism.[14]IGN andAllGame said the visuals remained impressive for the SNES (thoughIGN thought they were no longer as significant a draw),[7][141] whileGameSpot thought the graphics rivalled 32-bit consoles.[2] Conversely,USGamer said that, though technically impressive, they did not age well, with "cringe-inducing", "paper-thin backgrounds".[17]Hardcore Gaming 101 agreed, writing that the visuals looked plastic-like, did not hold up well once the novelty of pre-rendering had worn off, and were clearly experimental, even if their detail was admirable.[5] Critics praised the GBC version for attempting to preserve the visuals in spite of hardware limitations,[18][142] but criticised the GBA version's downgrades,[124][143] whichIGN considered detrimental to the experience.[126]
Donkey Kong Country became divisive in the years following its release.[33]Eurogamer wrote that it became popular to dislike it in the early 2000s,[144] and it was often described as one of the most overrated video games.[138][145][146] For example,Vice wrote that it did not deserve to be considered a classic and, alongsideGameSpy, called its gameplay unremarkable and lacking depth.[138][147] According toIGN, critics accusedDonkey Kong Country of "sacrificing gameplay for the sake of a short-run attention grab and quick impulse sales",[7] whichUSGamer attributed to the "flimflammery of its visuals and the relative mundanity of its actual game design".[33]USGamer wrote the game was often criticised as an example ofstyle over substance, with gameplay that was arguably inferior to SNESlaunch games such asSuper Mario World andSuper Castlevania IV (1991).[33]GameSpy complained thatDonkey Kong Country overshadowed games such asYoshi's Island, which it considered superior.[138]
Donkey Kong Country has been described as one of thegreatest video games of all time.[k]USGamer wrote that the criticism was unfair because it "exudes craftsmanship ... Rare went to great pains to create a consistent, seamless world that managed to conveytrompe-l'oeil immersion", something few developers could replicate.[33] Though retrospective reviewers criticised the boss fights,[5][6][17] they praised the rhythm, variety, and replay value.[l]Polygon said that although some aspects had not aged well,Donkey Kong Country remained among the bestDonkey Kong games and deserved praise for resurrecting the franchise.[152] Its soundtrack is considered one of the best in games,[76][126] praised for its atmosphere and diversity.[5][14][17]Hardcore Gaming 101 said it was the one element that had unquestionably aged well and contained some of the16-bit era's most memorable music.[5]
In the years following its release, rumours spread that Miyamoto dislikedDonkey Kong Country and found it amateurish,[33] and had created the hand-drawn art style ofYoshi's Island in retaliation for its pre-rendered visuals.[33][153] Miyamoto spoke highly ofDonkey Kong Country in a 2000 interview; he said that Rare "breathed new life into" Donkey Kong, had demonstrated excellent research into what made a Nintendo game work, and proved they could be trusted with theDonkey Kong franchise.[34] However, the authorSteven L. Kent claimed Miyamoto said that "Donkey Kong Country proves gamers will put up with mediocre gameplay if the art is good" in a 1995Electronic Games interview.[153] Kent said that Nintendo's marketing department had rejectedYoshi's Island as it lackedDonkey Kong Country's pre-rendered graphics, and that this had possibly motivated Miyamoto's remark.[153] Miyamoto denied this in 2010, noting he "was very involved" inDonkey Kong Country and had corresponded with Stamper throughout development.[154] In 2014,USGamer described Kent's claims as "seemingly apocryphal",[33] and in 2019, the video game historianFrank Cifaldi found that theElectronic Games interview did not contain the alleged quote from Miyamoto.[155]
Donkey Kong Country exerted "revolutionary influence", according toGameSpot.[137]Kotaku said its unprecedented graphics represented the future of games andNintendo World Report wrote that it set standards for how platform games could look and play.[62][156] Sega commissionedBlueSky Software to develop the Mega Drive gameVectorman (1995) in response toDonkey Kong Country's popularity.[157][158] Many developers imitated the visuals;[33]IGN identified the Saturn gamesClockwork Knight (1994) andBug! (1995) as examples.[159]USGamer wrote that few games achieved the same quality and that2.5D games, such asCrystal Dynamics'Pandemonium! (1996), exposed the "illusion upon which [Donkey Kong Country] was built".[33]Kotaku saidDonkey Kong Country was an event that could not be replicated in modern times due to the game industry's growth.[62]
Naughty Dog's foundersAndy Gavin andJason Rubin citedDonkey Kong Country as the primary influence on their break-out gameCrash Bandicoot (1996).[160]Crash's first functional levels drew upon techniques employed byDonkey Kong Country, such as steam vents, drop platforms, bouncy pads, heated pipes, and enemies that move back and forth.[161] The pre-rendered visuals inspired other games, includingKirby Super Star (1996) andSonic 3D: Flickies' Island (1996),[162][163] and critics have identifiedDonkey Kong Country references or influence in games such as the Mega-CD version ofEarthworm Jim (1995),[164]Sonic Blast (1996),[165]Rayman Origins (2011),[166]Mekazoo (2016),[167] andKaze and the Wild Masks (2021).[168] TheAustralian Broadcasting Corporation creditedDonkey Kong Country for maintaining the popularity of 2D games and ensuring the development of new entries in theMario,Kirby, andYoshi series.[3]
Wise's soundtrack was considered highly influential, developing acult following for his work.[169]IGN saidDonkey Kong Country contributed to an increased appreciation forvideo game music as an art form,[170] andThe New York Times called it the video game equivalent tothe Beatles'Revolver (1966).[55] Rearrangements of the music appear inDonkey Kong 64,Donkey Kong Country Returns, andDonkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze,[171][172][173] and incrossover games such as Nintendo'sSuper Smash Bros. fighting series.[174] Its tracks are often remixed, Wise contributing to anOverClocked ReMix album in 2004.[175][176][177] "Aquatic Ambience" has been particularly influential. It has been described as "the 'Eleanor Rigby' of video game music", praised by artists such asTrent Reznor andDonald Glover,[170] andThe A.V. Club wrote that it spawned a "minor cult" dedicated to remixes.[178] Glover sampled it in his 2012 song "Eat Your Vegetables", to which Wise expressed approval.[179]
Donkey Kong Country established Rare as one of the leading video game developers[25] and set the standard for its work.[147] It originated conventions characteristic of Rare's later output, including an emphasis on collecting items,[5] irreverent humour,[180] visual appeal, and tech demo-like design.[147] Nintendo and Rare's partnership continued untilStar Fox Adventures (2002) for theGameCube, after which Rare was acquired by Microsoft.[25] The 2019 gameYooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair—developed byPlaytonic Games, whose staff includes Rare alumni that worked onDonkey Kong Country—was noted for its gameplay similarities toDonkey Kong Country,[181] though Playtonic's head Gavin Price declined to label it aspiritual successor.[182]Nintendo Life also identified similarities betweenDonkey Kong Country andKroko Bongo: Tap to the Beat! (2017), a platform game developed by the Stampers'mobile game studioFortuneFish.[183]
Let's see. Once he'd polished off the new DKC3 GBA score Dave found the time to dig up a full list, and it looks like this: Robin did Funky's Fugue, Eveline did Simian Segue, Candy's Love Song, Voices of the Temple, Forest Frenzy, Tree Top Rock, Northern Hemispheres and Ice Cave Chant, and the rest was the doing of Mr. Wise. Hot damn! It always makes me feel empowered when we can provide actual, genuine, non-fabricated information.
| Main series |
| ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mario vs. Donkey Kong | |||||||||||||
| Spin-offs |
| ||||||||||||
| Characters | |||||||||||||
| Music | |||||||||||||
| Television and film | |||||||||||||
| Related |
| ||||||||||||
