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Donkey Kong 64 Discussion (Nintendo 64) [game]
 
  Anand R  
Donkey Kong 64 on the Nintendo 64
7.98/10 from 32 user ratings

Welcome to the official discussion thread for Donkey Kong 64 on the N64!

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DK64. One of the more divisive games in Nintendo's(/Rare's) catalog. But was it always so? Or has it just become the cool thing to hate? How will historians ultimately look back on Lanky, Funky, and the rest?

Well, we shall soon find out!

My guess is that public opinion will swing back to the positive side when DK64 hits the Virtual Console. Because it really isn't a bad game at all. The presentation is nice, it's mechanically solid, and it's chock full of content (including two awesome classic games). I always felt that the 'collectathon' complaint was rather overblown. It might be a bit bloated, but the bananas exist primarily to route each character through each level in a different way. They're not really hidden away, or anything. I get that talking about FIVE HUNDRED bananas in each level makes for a funny bit, but I don't understand why people so resent having to platform in a platform game. (Go home, content tourists! Donkey Kong 64 isn't for you.)

The multiplayer was SO WEIRD, too. I remember it being fun, but broken. Like, in the FPS mode, if you just jumped in the water, it was almost impossible to be attacked. And wasn't there a Smash Bros.-y type mode? Top-down, maybe?

Anyway, it'll be interesting to see how DK64 is received the second time around, especially now that 3D platformers are less ubiquitous (and quite fondly remembered). Honestly, I'm not even sure if my opinion will remain the same. But I think DK64 has a chance to turn things around.

Really, it all depends on how the tastemakers react when they revisit the game. Your move, Jeremy Parish. Your move.

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04/16/15, 17:17    Edited: 04/16/15, 17:38
 
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  kriswright  
Pokefreak911 said:
Ah Kris, ever the source of positivity.

I am.
04/19/15, 00:55   
  PogueSquadron  
I kind of wonder though, maybe this game might be a little better now that I could just play it before bed every night as a time killer kind of game. Then again, I suppose there are better games to play in that regard.

I'm looking at my backlog now and it's.....long. Getting back into Fallout 3 soon. I wish I just had a Gamepad for all of these games.
04/19/15, 01:23   
  ludist210  
Finally got the last of the Kongs so I can breeze through the remaining stages (relatively speaking). The action has picked up a bit.
04/20/15, 16:31   
  Zero  
@kriswright Then why did you take off .2 in your score huh? EXPLAIN THAT MR. NEGATIVITY.
04/20/15, 16:48   
  Pokefreak911  
@kriswright
I really do need to play Pikmin 3...and finish Pikmin 2...and replay Pikmin 1...
04/20/15, 19:45   
  kriswright  
@Pokefreak911

I definitely recommend the NPC versions of the original two games. I can't enthuse enough about the IR controls.
04/21/15, 00:05   
  Mop it up  
The Pikmin games are better collect-a-thons than Donkey Kong 64. I s'pose they aren't platformers though.
04/21/15, 00:07   
  kriswright  
@Mop it up

Yeah, it's weird. I don't think of them as collectathons, even though collecting is clearly the motivation of the game. I guess because collecting things is so integrated into the exploration and story that it never feels like I'm collecting random stuff just to complete a checklist, even though I'm basically doing just that. Hmm... interesting.
04/21/15, 00:13   
  Hero_Of_Hyrule  
@kriswright

I think its because collecting things isn't a means to an end. The collectables are usually hidden behind enemies and obstacles that are fun to tackle on their own, regardless of any trinket that you get afterwards. I think most players would fight the bosses or solve the puzzles even if there was no reward for doing so. The collectable is just a cherry on top of the giant, insectoid cake.
04/21/15, 02:25   
Edited: 04/21/15, 02:26
  Smerd  
kriswright said:
Guillaume said:
I've never played Banjo Kazooie, and I've never played this either, and I'm looking forward to.

A mere 10 hours later...

Guillaume said:
Oh my god, this game is shit.


Funniest thing I heard all day. And I just watched a Dave Chappelle special.

Extra funny because, up until I read that, I literally had said to myself that I wasn't going to comment in this thread, just to keep everyone's good spirits up. But, seriously, this game is pretty sucky, guys. It's pretty well known how I feel about the N64, but I have to admit that I can see the other side in most cases. Like, it's not hard to understand what people admire about Ocarina of Time or Mario 64 or even Banjo Kazooie. They're hugely innovative and technical wonders for their time.

But DK64? That game is basically the apotheosis of every problem of the N64/PS1 era, in my opinion. It's dull, confusing, ugly, full of bad characters, one of the most egregious examples of a pointless collectathon ever, and really damages a venerable franchise.

No wonder they were throwing DK into conga-based games after this. It's a disaster.


I wanted to edit this "Kris quote" a little shorter but I couldn't - it's all true.. true I say!! Sorry Gui - but yes..you made me laugh too...
The only thing that was good about it was the expansion pack - which let me play Perfect Dark..and later Majora..

Banjor Kazooie was the better game for sure..but just barely. At least you were stuck with the same characters more or less - but DK64 really, single handedly destroyed my ambition to collect everything in a video game for 10 years.. It was just.too painful.
04/21/15, 06:00   
  Guillaume  
Played some more, unlocked Diddy, but the game is honestly physically unconfortable to play. Not sure why but it gives me a fever-dreamish headache.
04/21/15, 07:15   
  Zero  
@Guillaume

Zero said:
This is one of those rare games that I would actually get sick playing. I think it tends to be a combination of framerate and boredom that does this to me.

Interesting.
04/21/15, 07:46   
Edited: 04/21/15, 07:46
  Pokefreak911  
@kriswright
I have them both! I can't see any other way to play Pikmin than with the Wiimote. It works so well.
04/21/15, 13:43   
  Mop it up  
@kriswright @Hero_Of_Hyrule I think at the time, the platformers of the N64/PSX era were called "collectathons" to signify the type of progression in the games, and to differentiate them from games with level-based progression like Super Mario Bros. Collection as a means of progression has been around in some form, but it really became common starting with Super Mario 64. Since then, I think collection has been better integrated into most games, such as Pikmin for example, to make it feel more natural or purposeful, and it's now so prevalent in games that we don't really need a term like "collectathon" anymore.
04/21/15, 22:00   
  Anand  
Framerate issues with certain games make me nauseous. Descent and Metroid Prime, too, even though they had smooth framerates.
04/22/15, 05:45   
Edited: 04/22/15, 05:46
  kriswright  
@Anand Prime made me nauseous too, until I turned off the helmet animation around the edge of the screen. That would have been a deal breaker for me.
04/22/15, 06:28   
  PogueSquadron  
I used to get sick playing Half Life 2 sometimes. Maybe it was the field of view or playing in my laptop but I definitely got sick a couple times playing that.

I have a feeling GUI's type of sickness is a little different in this case, haha. Is the game that bad? I remember having fun with it years ago but I was young with a lot of time on my hands.
04/22/15, 16:33   
Edited: 04/22/15, 16:34
  Mop it up  
Interesting. I've never gotten sick from playing a game. Do you folks have other forms of motion sickness?
04/23/15, 00:29   
  Pokefreak911  
Only game that has made me feel sick from playing it is Dead Island. I was fine with the gore and zombies, but the movement made me so nauseous.
04/23/15, 09:29   
  ludist210  
I've given up on this one...for now (though to be fair, I've completed it before). It just feels more tedious than I remembered. It's still enjoyable, just...slow.
04/24/15, 19:13   
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