Poll: What's the best Donkey Kong Country game?

[Rangaman]

So having recently gone back and played the old Donkey Kong Country games, I started to wonder which of them was generally thought to be the best. I understand a lot of people will say DKC2, but from what I've seen DKC3, DK64 and Tropical Freeze also seem to have gained fairly substantial fanbases. So what do you guys think?

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

For me it's always a toss up between DKC2 and DKC3. The first game is too antiquated and straightforward by comparison - no DK Coins, no Bonus levels, no real incentive for replaying levels or finding all the secrets except for winning extra lives. By the second game I like how the game keeps track of each level's "completion" and by the third game I like the addition of RPG-ish trade quests in order to unlock more content and ultimately the "real" ending of the game.

So there's an evolution in terms of richness and complexity and by that rationale the third game is probably the better one (it's way more polished, that's for sure). Having said that I probably like DKC2 the best. Each world has a unique theme (pirate world, lava world, swamp world, cemetery world, etc) that is more interesting and appealing that the usual grasslands/desert/cavern/forest/ice world/fire world/techno world malarkey from Mario & Sonic, and I like the somber tone of the game. It has some of my favorite compositions from the trilogy too. The only flaw I see (I think) is that Dixie and Diddy are pretty same-y in terms of gameplay, as far as I recall. Was Diddy stronger, like DK from 1 and Kiddy from 3? I forget.

 

[Hawki]

I played 1-3 on a friend's SNES way back in the day, but only actually own DK64. In the scope of such experience, I'll say DKC2.

DK64 is reasonably enjoyable, but never connected with me in the same way that, say, Banjo-Kazooie did. In the scope of the original platformers, something about the second game grabbed me the most.

 

[Tanis]

I do love the original SNES games, but the recent ones on the Wii/3DS have been pretty damn fantastic.

 

[Scarim Coral]

I'm bias to say Donkey Kong Country since it was only one of the few games that my brother owned. I played that game so many time and no, I wasn't able played the sequels.

 

[The Purple Grape]

DKC2. It improved on DKC1 and had a better variety in worlds (The Beehive. the swamp, the amusement park and the spooky woods.). Also no Kiddy Kong.


And it had Stickerbrush Symphony.

 

[Rangaman]

Yup, DKC2 appears to be the sweet spot. God that game was good. Gave even SMW and Yoshi's Island a run for their money. DK64 was ok too, but sure as hell wasn't Mario64. Would rather have played Conker's BFD.

 

[BrawlMan]

I lacked an SNES (Sega kids), so I only had experience with DKL 1-3 at the time on Gameboy. I know of the GBA ports of the Country series, but never bothered with them. I played a little of the first two games at a cousins, but if I had to choose my favorite, it would be Tropical Freeze. Compared to Returns, it has a better balance in difficulty, Dixie is back and you get play as Cranky Kong, music from David Wise, and some of the most creative boss battles in the DK series. Returns was an overly difficult platformer with motion controls ans no other standard controller options. DK 64 I barely touched and was bored by collect-a-thon 3D platformers at that point.

 

[WhiteFangofWhoa]

Yep, another for DKC2, but the others are all good in different ways. When I first tried DKC2, I found it too difficult to enjoy past the 3rd world, so if it was someone's first time with the series they might want to warm up with one of the easier games first... or maybe I just sucked at platforming when I was ten. I appreciate it much more now no matter how much I would yell at Toxic Tower or Animal Antics.

I like how Wrinkly Kong's 'tip' for the final battle in that game was 'bring plenty of extra lives'.

Tropical Freeze is the modern-day equivalent of DKC2 however, everything that DKCR was with lots of gameplay improvements and increased difficulty. Kind of short by comparison to the other games, but the levels that are there are quite visually interesting, with my favourite probably being Sawmill Thrill or Grassland Groove.

 

[go-10]

either DK2 or Tropical Freeze for me, both were great and lots of fun and the music, man those monkeys had good music

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

DKC2. It improved on DKC1 and had a better variety in worlds (The Beehive. the swamp, the amusement park and the spooky woods.). Also no Kiddy Kong.


And it had Stickerbrush Symphony.

And Disco Train!

 

[Erttheking]

DCK2. The others were all good, but this one just has a special place in my heart. The music and level designs were just the cream of the crop.

DKC2. It improved on DKC1 and had a better variety in worlds (The Beehive. the swamp, the amusement park and the spooky woods.). Also no Kiddy Kong.


And it had Stickerbrush Symphony.

And Disco Train!

AND Mining Melancholy

 

[gsilver]

DKC 1
I played them all, but the atmospheric music makes DKC 1 stand out more for me than the rest of the series.

 

[Tuesday Night Fever]

Definitely DKC2. Hell, I still listen to its soundtrack from time to time.

 

[k0n9]

DCK2. The others were all good, but this one just has a special place in my heart. The music and level designs were just the cream of the crop.

DKC2. It improved on DKC1 and had a better variety in worlds (The Beehive. the swamp, the amusement park and the spooky woods.). Also no Kiddy Kong.


And it had Stickerbrush Symphony.

And Disco Train!

AND Mining Melancholy

Hey don't forget Crocidile Cacophony. DKC2 was one the first games I can remember playing, it will always hold a special place in my heart.

 

[Yoshi178]

DKC 1. haven't played DKC3 but DKC2 was meh. pirate theme was so boring and the first game had cooler animal buddies

 

[Yoshi178]

I played 1-3 on a friend's SNES way back in the day, but only actually own DK64. In the scope of such experience, I'll say DKC2.

DK64 is reasonably enjoyable, but never connected with me in the same way that, say, Banjo-Kazooie did. In the scope of the original platformers, something about the second game grabbed me the most.

i don't consider DK64 a DKC game

 

[busterkeatonrules]

DKC 2: Diddy's Kong Quest.

It galls me to this day that I never found that ONE last coin that would have unlocked the secret bonus world! I must have searched for years.

It really says something that for all those countless hours, the wonderfully atmospheric and diverse levels never once felt as if they were getting old!