Donkey Kong Country 2 Game Boy Advance Review

I have fond memories of first playing Donkey Kong Country 2 when it was released for the Super NES in 1995. It improved upon its predecessor in every way imaginable: it had a higher difficulty level, more secrets, more amazing levels, more impressive graphics, and one of Rare's best soundtracks. In 2004, the game was ported to the Game Boy Advance, much like the first game was a year earlier. Rare opted to give the title a bunch of new features to impress even those who have beaten the original game. I dare say that for the most part, they were successful, as the GBA version of Donkey Kong Country 2 offers a wonderful variety of game play and hours of enjoyment.

As was the case with the port of the first game, this game's story is presented in a cut scene not featured in the original version. A day of lounging around on the beach turns sour for Donkey Kong when the reptilian Kremlings attack and kidnap him. Soon, the other Kongs discover a ransom note from the Kremling leader, Kaptain K. Rool, demanding that they hand over the banana hoard if they ever wish to see Donkey ever again. Instead, Diddy Kong, along with his girlfriend Dixie Kong, decide to journey to Crocodile Isle to defeat the Kremlings and save Donkey before it is too late. This is yet another story from Rare that is not particularly strong, but then again, the company focused more on game play than on the story.

Much like in the first game, your mission is to explore a variety of stages in many environments, ranging from pirate ships to mines to haunted forests and even some roller coaster rides. There are enemies to defeat and items to collect along the way. These items include golden letters, bananas, and balloons that can help you earn extra lives. Also, there are banana coins that you can use to buy level and game play hints from Cranky Kong and Wrinkly Kong, and enter trivia challenges run by Swanky Kong, all of whom can be found in various locations in each world. Several useful moves make their debut here, such as Dixie's helicopter spin-useful for crossing large gaps-and the team throw for grabbing items that are out of your reach. Every level features a target, which gives you a prize if you jump on it from a high point. Each stage also has their own gimmicks, such as a couple in which you deal with wind that blows horizontally or vertically, which is part of what gives the game such wonderful variety. New to this version is a save anywhere feature, which is useful for when you have beaten a particularly difficult area.

Oftentimes, our heroes will need extra help from some animal friends, and this time, seven such creatures can be used to find secrets or get past obstacles. Rambi the rhinoceros can once again break through weak walls and run down even the strongest foes. Squawks the parrot can fly our heroes to safety and spit eggs at his adversaries. Rattly the snake can leap really high. Squitter the spider can fire webs to knock out foes as well as create temporary platforms. Enguarde the swordfish can poke various underwater enemies. Clapper the seal can cool down or freeze the water so that the Kongs may travel safely. Glimmer the angler fish will light the Kongs' way in very dark areas. You can ride on, and even transform into, most of these animals throughout the game.

More secrets than ever before can be discovered throughout the game. Every stage has at least one mini game in which you earn a Kremkoin if you are successful. These Kremkoins can be used to unlock stages in the Lost World, where the Kongs' biggest challenges await them. Completing the bonus areas can also help you reach the maximum score of 102%. Also found in each stage is a Hero Coin with the initials DK on it. By collecting these valuable coins, you can eventually reach true hero status and dethrone such Nintendo favorites as Mario and Link. There are new collectibles not featured in the original version, as well.

First, there are the golden feathers, one of which is hidden in each stage. These feathers can be used in Cranky's hut to power up Expresso the ostrich so that he can race against other birds. In these races, your mission is to place first in a three-lap race. Along the way, you can use zippers and birdseed to give you a temporary speed boost and feathers to fly over obstacles. Victory in these races will earn you a gold trophy and a Hero Coin. These races can be difficult, but they are quite fun, and you will want to win every last one of them to help you complete 102% of the game.

Also hidden in various levels are cameras, a returning item from the port of the first game. Many of these cameras can be earned by defeating the enemies that hold them (identified by the cameras hovering over their heads). Other cameras are hidden out in the open or given to you by various Kong relatives for completing certain tasks. Each camera will add a picture to your scrapbook, and as you fill up each scrapbook page, you can visit Wrinkly Kong and earn Hero Coins. This side quest is quite addictive, and you will find yourself wanting to pick up every last camera and see what pictures you can unlock.

Funky Kong has his own set of mini games for you to try, as well. In these challenges, you must pilot the gyro copter while completing such tasks as finding the pieces of a statue and constructing it and saving kidnapped members of the Kong family. As you win these mini games, you can earn Hero Coins as well as the privilege of using the gyro copter to fly from one unlocked world to another. The games are pretty fun and challenging, though the gyro copter controls take some getting used to. However, they are nowhere near as broken as the vehicle controls for Funky's mini games in Donkey Kong Country 3. The games are also quite forgiving: in most cases, if you lose all of your energy, you can still continue the mission from where you left off. You do not actually lose it until time runs out or you opt to abort the mission.

The game is quite polished, and filled with a lot of neat challenges that adds to the overall experience, but it is a bit inferior to the original version. Some areas are a bit harder than before, to the extent that you may be using up a lot of lives. Once again, extra lives are easy to collect, and getting a game over can be challenging since the game saves the amount of lives that you have. Some of the game's more humorous dialog has been taken out, and Klubba's Bag a Bug mini game, while a nice diversion, is rather pointless since you only win prizes that you can get for free in various levels. Most ill-served is the game's final ending, which was perfect enough as it was in the SNES version, but has been somewhat butchered here (I will not spoil it for you here, but you can read my list of worst Rareware endings for more information about the ending). All that said, this port is still quite solid, and like the port of its predecessor, shows that Rare's magic is not completely gone just yet.

As before, the graphics are a bit worse than in the original. Some levels look a bit too bright or have been designed so that the spooky atmosphere in some areas is no longer existent. The maps are more attractive, however, and you can still get a nostalgic feel from the graphics taken from the original title. The classic music is back, but does not sound quite as good since the Game Boy Advance's audio is weaker than that of the SNES. The tunes themselves are still quite memorable, and as with the first game, some nice new songs are added to the mix, as well. Oddly, one of the songs, Run, Rambi, Run, has been taken out of the last part of the Rambi Rumble level and replaced with the music that plays when you race against Screech the bird, which does not fit the action as well. The former track can still be heard on the sound test, however (enter "onetime" on the cheats menu to unlock it).

Once again, Rare has taken a classic Donkey Kong Country game and turned it into a solid port, filled with plenty of nostalgic and exciting new features. In some ways, it seems even more polished than its predecessor, though it does not quite surpass the original, which itself was a tough act to follow. Sadly, when Rare ported the third Donkey Kong Country game to the Game Boy Advance, it largely felt rushed and limited compared to the other ports, as if the company was in a hurry to release it with the portable system living on borrowed time due to the Nintendo DS' rising popularity. You can read my review of the GBA version of Donkey Kong Country 3 for more information. In the meantime, be sure to track down a copy of the hand held version of Donkey Kong Country 2, as it is a fine port of an already amazing game, and sadly, the closest to a "new" Donkey Kong game (along with the other ports) from Rare that we are going to get.