Donkey Kong Country Trilogy: Rare's 16-Bit Masterpieces

Before they created awesome titles like Killer Instinct, Jet Force Gemini, and Viva Pinata, there were the Donkey Kong Country trilogy series. Rare(now owned by Microsoft) is the most well known developer in gaming history. Before engaging with Microsoft, they once hook up with Nintendo in developing exclusive titles for its 16-Bit and 64-Bit videogame consoles. Perhaps their biggest moments of fame came in the form of their first big project, Donkey Kong Country. The game was to be a 2D platform side-scrolling title with advance graphic rendering, the first time the game went into development, some big concerns pop-up especially from Nintendo's original DK creator, Shigeru Miyamoto, concerning that relying too much time on graphics may not sell the game. Unknown to Miyamoto though, Rare knew exactly what they were doing, they have had experience with side-scrolling titles before such as the Sabrewulf series and the once popular Battletoads series. The Donkey Kong Country project is just another one of those, but in a new shiny coat.

When the first Donkey Kong Country project was completed and went into final testing, it quickly became the title that Nintendo had hoped for. When the game is finally finished and went to retailers, the number of demands for the game was very high. Players at the time had never seen such incredible graphics on a 16-Bit console before, heck the game plays and look better than many of those found on the PlayStation and Sega Saturn. It also features outstanding audio sounds and music and great replay values, most people at first thought Donkey Kong Country was based on the 8-Bit arcade game, but when playing it, it's actually a complete new game by itself. Unlike previous Donkey Kong title, in Donkey Kong Country, Donkey Kong himself is actually the main protagonist this time around and not Mario, Donkey Kong, Jr., or Stanly. Donkey Kong Country was also famous for its features of Hidden Bonus areas, collecting tips, helpful animal buddies, save feature, both contest and team multi-playing mode, and area final boss, but all that wasn't enough to satisfied the many hungry DK fans. With the first game becoming such a hit, fans are demanding a sequel and a sequel they will get.

Immediately after completing the first DKC game, Rare had heard the numbers of demands for a sequel and yes they will surely fulfilled those demand. Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest was created and was met with high demand. It was the sequel to the first game but unlike the first, this time players get to control Diddy Kong as the main protagonist alongside his new companion Dixie Kong. Some fans were a bit down since Donkey Kong was unplayable but after some little bit of playing with the two chimps, the game is still kicking. New moves were added to both characters as well as many of the new and returning animal buddies. There are more secret bonus areas than the first and the game feature more levels than before, there is even a hidden lost world guarded by a huge macho kremlin name Klubba that can only be found after collecting all Bonus Krem Coins. This game is also the first to include multiple endings and open challenges such as collecting all Banana Coins and all DK Coins. Overall this game surpassed everything that was introduced in the first game. Like the first, the second game had surpassed almost everything that passing up on a third sequel is too good to let go so a third game is in planning.

Donkey Kong Country 3 was the final of the three games in the Donkey Kong Country trilogy. This time instead of either Donkey Kong or Diddy Kong, players now get to control either Dixie Kong or her new companion Kiddy Kong. Many of the features from the early games had also made a comeback including the ability to find treasure on the ground and the return of the steel barrel useful for knocking Koin, the guardian of the DK Coin. Some new animal buddies also make their presence as well as some returning ones but it's too bad Rambi is not going to join the crew this time. There are some new Bonus Coins to collect, new Bonus area to discover, new Banana birds to free, Bear Coins to collect, and even this time the DK Coin is much easier to grab than before. Though DKC3 is a hit in some ways, some fans feel that the second game is much better. The lost world found in DKC3 doesn't compare to the one in DKC2 and having an enemy to beat to get the DK Coin is very simple to some that they prefer the more leap of faith kind of challenge offered in DKC2. Overall, DKC3 is more of the same as DKC2, the only big changes this time around though is that you no longer had to go to Funky Flight to travel around the world, to access a world in this game, you'll need to actually find a tool for Funky to create in able to get a new vehicle for traveling. Even though DKC3 is not quite as compelling like its prequel, it was a great game to bring an end to a great series.

So as you can see, the Donkey Kong Country trilogy was indeed Rare's most greatest masterpieces, it's uncertain why it was never made into a trilogy package like the Super Mario Bros. series, its follower Donkey Kong 64 wasn't so great compare to these. Even though the Super NES era had already expired, these classics still lived on. To many DKC fans, Rare and Nintendo did indeed port all three of these gems for the Game Boy Advance; though, they are not in the same quality as the Super NES originals, they do share the same gameplay values. For the many that only want to get the original there's the Wii Virtual Console where the first two Donkey Kong Country games are ready for download, the third game is still pending though. For those that doesn't have a Wii or a Game Boy Advance and still got your Super NES, you could easily find these classics in online auction like eBay or online store like Amazon.com. Don't hesitate to let these classics passed you by because nowadays, finding games like these are very rare just like Rare themselves.