While Donkey Kong Country’s visuals are its most prominent and celebrated attribute, Rare also managed to create a truly refreshing platformer. Looking to Super Mario Bros. 3 as the pinnacle of 2D platformers, Rare aimed for the same structure while emphasizing “flow.” Through meticulous fine-tuning of stage layouts and gameplay mechanics, Rare created a playground where “skilled players would be able to move effortlessly through levels at great speed.”
If Donkey and Diddy’s feet couldn’t carry them fast enough, stages were littered with an abundance of barrels that would rocket the Kongs from point A to B, often in rapid succession. This allowed even casual players to feel a sense of exhilaration with very little exertion—at least in the earlier areas of the game. And of course, it wouldn’t be a game with gorillas without being able to swing from ropes and vines!
Donkey Kong Country reinvented the concept of “hit points” with the Tag Team system. Both Donkey and Diddy can travel together, and players can swap between them at will to make use of their individual strengths and playstyles (Diddy’s faster, Donkey’s stronger). If one Kong takes damage, he runs off to lick his wounds, allowing the player to proceed as the remaining Kong. Finding a DK barrel revives the missing character (don’t question the science behind all of this), and prevents the next hit from sending them back to a checkpoint or the start of the level like it would in other platformers.
But where Donkey Kong Country truly excelled was in rewarding players with a seemingly endless cornucopia of collectibles and secrets. From the very first screen of the very first level, players are rewarded for daring to go against the typical “run right” formula of previous sidescrollers: they can visit Donkey Kong’s empty banana hoard for a quick reminder of why they’re on this adventure; they can jump up and enter Donkey Kong’s treehouse for a sneak peek at the character’s home and a free 1-up balloon; and they can take to the treetops, which allows them to avoid enemies and access otherwise unreachable goodies.
This was the most important lesson in the entire game: be vigilant and experiment and you will be rewarded. Throughout the game there are barrels waiting to launch the Kongs into secret areas just off-screen. TNT barrels or animal buddies can reveal secret passageways. If a bottomless pit seems different from all the others, try jumping into it and you’ll likely be rewarded with another secret! Secrets are sometimes even layered on top of each other for some extra satisfying secret-ception! Quite often, playing Donkey Kong Country feels like a frantic sprint through a carnival, with prizes and exciting new discoveries in every direction.