Donkey Kong Country is one of the most important games to me. It was the first game I ever played, after it came bundled with my Super Nintendo in 1995. Despite that gravitas, my experience with the franchise pretty much starts and stops there. I've dabbled in playing DKC2, but I've never gotten far. It always gave me a headache. But I'm dumb, so let's give it a third try! And also do a lot of comparisons to game one!
Let's start by saying Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy Kong's Quest still gave me a headache. I eventually learned I could remove sprite layer one on the levels that harm me, which went well. The lava levels, bee levels, and any others with a filter were now safe to play. They also looked better, too! Outside of those foreground elements, the game looks exactly like Donkey Kong Country 1. And I called DKC1 the peak of the 16-bit era. The sequel somehow expands that, but it also takes a few steps back with headache inducing layers, and the busy backgrounds can accidentally hide some things. I also found myself asking, "Can I land on that?" far too often. The medical ailments were the biggest deterrent to Diddy's Quest being good, so I needed to talk about the graphics first. 5/10
No one played DKC2 for the story. Donkey Kong got kidnapped offscreen, and now Diddy, aided by his girlfriend, Dixie, must save him. That's it. And that's all described in the manual. Did and Dix have the same elements as Don and Did (from a story perspective). The villains are exactly the same, even down to who the BBG is. 6/10
The gameplay loop is also the same, but it's been vastly expanded upon. Back on Kong Island, navigating through the levels was done by running, swinging on ropes, and blasting out of randomly placed, floating barrels. Everything was horizontal, as well. The walking and barrel cannons have returned, of course, but the hows have been made better. I think half the levels are now vertical, so we'll be climbing a lot. I have mixed feelings about that, but they were still well made and interesting. And even those have variety. Sometimes it's a toxic flood that causes you to climb. Other times, it's a wall somehow. You're also blown about by the wind. Sometimes these can be very frustrating as the difficulty these new levels bring can get painfully frustrating. I nearly rage quit at the penultimate level. And the bosses, especially, are troublesome. Not only are they harder, which, in and of itself, is welcome, but they never seem to die. Seven hits is too much! There are also new animal companions, and can you guess it, they're a mixed bag. The snake is fine, albeit controls terribly, but the spider is awful. He slows the game down and makes it boring. He makes his own platforms, but you have to jump to reach them, so it's sluggish platforming. And the underlying need to collect several types of coins also rubbed me the wrong way. The bonus levels in DKC1 were just that: bonus. Now, though, they're mandatory. Dixie Kong also didn't do much for me. She replaces Donkey Kong in this game but plays vastly differently. She can use her hair to float through the air like the ostrich from game one. This is underutilized, so Dixie just feels like a worse Diddy. Gameplay is, like the graphics, one step forward, two steps back. 7/10
I didn't enjoy the music nearly as much, but I still found plenty to enjoy here. Donkey Kong got banger after banger after banger. Poor Diddy, though, got only a few crumbs. We all know about Stickerbrush Symphony, but there are only a handful of other songs I found rad. They fit the mood better, though, I'll give them that. The plot is pirate themed, and the soundtrack reflects that. Regardless... 9/10
The world doesn't feel as connected this time around either. All the levels and sub worlds had a clear path around them, and the themes were usually pretty clear. Now everything feels randomly placed. There are new NPCs, and they're...not terrible. A lot tertiary, mind you. The need to explore has been added, but making it an obligation kinda kills the fun for me somehow. I finished the game in about five hours, which is actually a good time to end it. 6/10
Sadly, there are more baffling decisions... You have to pay to save? I know the coins respawn and are abundant, but saving is sacred! And you lose those coins on a fresh load! I talked about this earlier, but the bosses have too much HP. It's more drag to this experience! -6.
I recognize that Rare tried something new with the old formula. In many ways, it worked, but they do too much. It's more complicated, but there's also a lot more new fun! Is this game good, and I'm secretly Kranky Kong, or is it actually just unenjoyable? Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Quest gets 27 points. I didn't enjoy it, but I don't know if it's bad. Probably not good, though.
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