End of the trilogy

Fortunately, it's on a high note. 

Donkey Kong Country 1 was... ya know. DKC2 was not great. The need to be different to mess up a formula ruined the fun. But Dixie Kong's Double Trouble found the middle ground, and it was fantastic! 

That being said, the characters are still generic. This isn't an RPG, so I'm the only one who cares. 6/10. 

It feels like I'm playing OG DKC but differently. Levels feel nostalgic, while still feeling new and refreshing. But it didn't forget what Kong Quest tried. Many levels still feel nonlinear, rise, or open, but you still feel like you're going the right way. The bonus rooms are more fun (albeit too long), and the collectathon aspect of the game feels rewarding. I don't know why I want DK coins, but at least finding them is easy. And even a fun and/or easy puzzle. But I do know why I needed the Bear Coins. It wasn't for the sake of it. And I felt overly rewarded for finding all the banana birds and their Simon Says mini game. Heck, even the barter system was neat! Could they have done more callbacks? Yes! Quick and simple bonus rooms, bouncy tires, minecarts - all would have been rad! Should they have? Absolutely! With such a wide range of stuff, why limit yourselves? Especially in mob variety... Upon further review, I take that back. Kiddie's team up move is used to its full potential once the entire game. And it's the first level. You don't get to break floors past then. Why even create it? Fortunately, there's a lot of other stuff going on. 9/10

The soundtrack is back to being cool, which is interesting because David Wise didn't record for this game. DKC3's OST doesn't get much love from various SNES mixtapes on YouTube (not that I'm keeping track). There is no Aquatic Ambiance or Stickerbrush here, but there are several tracks that I'd like to hear more. They could fit right in with the banger after banger that was DKC1, or improve 2. 10/10

I mentioned this with enemy variety earlier, but I feel like we only see seven mobs. Every level is filled with bees! So many bees... And there are virtually no unique mobs, but at least very few are pallet swaps. Which is weird because the first game's fake credits lasted so long because of all the mobs. Of all the things to get worse, why mon variety? There are so many to call back to. In Diddy's game, I can understand because both characters are light. But Dixie brings her Donkey Kong Jr. Jr. Jr. cousin, Kiddie, with her. He's big and can squash things, so bring back the Klumps!  Otherwise, it looks like Donkey Kong! I called it the best graphics on the SNES, and I'm sticking to it. More importantly, I didn't get a headache the last four days! 8/10

The most obvious change is the nonlinear world. This changes nothing, but I like the idea anyway! And the barter system sometimes makes previous sub worlds remain relevant. That also makes the NPCs feel more essential than ever, and the two most vital ones change as the world does. It's super rad! I started getting bored with the game just before I beat Rool, so you can't get any more of a perfect game length than this. Not sure if I'll ever replay this one, though... 9/10. 

Not enough was changed, though. I found several of the bosses to be confusing messes, more frustrating than anything. I let out a sigh of relief that I was done, and not because it was fun, too many times. The final boss, especially. -2 

All that adds up to Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble gets 40 out of 50 points. Unlike the previous game, which was new but annoying, DKC3 is new but refreshing. It pops nostalgia while holding its own in the franchise. All fun and no headaches, but I still wish it felt more similar. That might be a me problem, though! 

Anyway, diversion over. Back to the grind.