Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble (800 Points): Revisit Donkey Kong Island and join the Kong family for their latest adventure. The Kremlings have a mysterious new leader named KAOS and are up to their usual mischief, even capturing Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong. Now it's up to Dixie Kong and the newest Kong, a giant infant named Kiddy, to rescue the two missing apes. They'll travel across previously unseen parts of the island in their search, and even take to the skies in a rocket at one point. Lucky for them, Dixie and Kiddy's powers complement each other (including Kiddy's talent for rolling like a barrel), so they form a powerful team capable of major Kremling damage. They're not completely on their own, either, since returning favorites like Funky Kong and Enguarde the swordfish provide help along the way. And in a series known for its abundance of secrets and high replay value, this entry doesn't disappoint, with enough hours of game play to satisfy Donkey Kong himself. Anyone else have a sudden urge for some bananas?
2:23 in and at 42% right now. I forgot how much fun this game was. And I really like Kiddy more this time around than I did when I played the game when I was younger. I'm swapping between Kiddy and Dixie extremely frequently for their different abilities, and I really like that.
EDIT: Should have read the whole thread before starting my playthrough. Guess I'm shooting for 103% this time around. I'm not going to start over from scratch for the extra 2%.
I really don't get most of the criticism of DKC3. Even as someone who generally dislikes Rare's collectathon-ing, I never had that issue with DKC3. The secrets and items in each area are actually interesting to find, and are a key part of the level design.
EDIT: @Het_Nkik Hmm, how do you get either Dixie or Kiddie again then? Wouldn't that pretty much require you to never get hit, ever, if you're permanently stuck with only one of the two Kongs after a single mistake?
I think I remember the collecting being satisfying. I'm going to start it up to see.
I just think that the characters and world surrounding the collecting made the game less fun in general. And obviously, past experience and preferences may make me biased, but DKC3 does certain things that I just don't go to Donkey Kong Country for.
That being said it's still a really, really good game. Definitely one of the best of the SNES' final games.
@X-pert74 Ah, I think I read you start every level with both Kongs, so it's not THAT bad. Also there are actually 5 DK barrels in the game at points where you need both Kongs.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't you hold the Jump button when hitting an enemy to get an extra boost in the first two games? I don't remember this feature being absent in DKC3.
Edit: Just beat the boss of the second world.
Let me start by saying some things that I think the game does BETTER than the first two games:
- Integrating Bonus Barrels into the level design. They are often hidden in clever ways, which is nice. This isn't to say that they aren't hidden cleverly in the first two games, but sometimes it was just like..."How the hell was I supposed to know there was a bonus level here?" Squawk's Shaft brings back some serious WTF moments for me haha. - Labeling the levels upon completion - I like how they put up the different colored flags. I think it's a clever touch, and it sort of fits in with the whole 'summer camp' vibe they have going early on in the game. The targets at the end of levels in DKC2 didn't really make any sense, even if it was awesome to see Diddy bust out the boom box, or Dixie play the electric guitar. - Koin - I like how the DK Coin is tackled in every level. Do I necessarily want to see Koin in every level? Maybe not. But still, it's at least a different way of finding the DK Coin. In DKC2, the DK Coin was simply tucked away like any other bonus level. Even though it's sometimes very easy to defeat Koin, it's at least one more thing to tackle in the game. - Saving the game is easier and more convenient than in DKC2. You don't have that pressure on you to get past a few levels just so you can save your progress. And you don't have to pay Funky Kong just to get to a place where you CAN save. - Accessing older areas isn't as much of a hassle. Again, you don't have to bother with Funky just to get back to a save area.
Now, some things that are standing out to me so far as things I'm NOT a fan of:
-The game doesn't really start off with a bang or anything. I think maybe Wrinkly mentions that DK and Diddy have gone missing, but if if she did, then I missed it. In the first game, you can go into the banana horde cave and see that the bananas were missing. In the second, you had the letter from Kaptain K. Rool egging you on. This game doesn't really have anything like that. You have no connection to the enemies, really. There isn't exactly a defined goal for you, which could have the player saying "What exactly am I doing right now?" - Kiddy's water skipping ability. Every time I think I have it down, I don't. Is it me? I feel like sometimes I'm amazing with it, while other times, I can't do it to save my life. I must've spent 10 lives on Tidal Terror before realizing that I could just use Dixie to 'roll jump' and fly over the water. Anywho, I wish it was easier to pull off the ability, because right now, I'm dreading it just as much as I did when I was younger. It's cool in theory but it's just annoying in practice. - Some of the levels feel kind of stupid. I'm all for level variety, but there are times where I'm like "Ugh, THIS level?" I don't like the level "Squeals on Wheels." I don't know what it is about the level, but I just don't like it. I think it has something to do with having to pick up a barrel every 10 seconds, and then if you miss, you have to go pick it up again. I also don't really care for the level with the elephant and the spotlights and the rats. I don't know if it's because the levels feel slower or what, but I don't really find them all that fun. - There are too many of these 'mill' levels in the first two worlds. They're kind of depressing. - The music in general, while fitting with the environments, is kind of sleep inducing. - I've said it before, but the environments and colors and art in general isn't as fun as the first two games. The enemies are pretty ugly in general, while the enemies in the first two games had a LOT of character to them (especially in DKC2). I was actually afraid when we originally saw the Tikis in DKCR, but I feel now that they turned out to be more fun than I thought. With the enemies in DKC3, there aren't many that stand out. - So far, the new animal buddies stink. The elephant can't really do anything except shoot water and get scared of rats. Then there's that bird that flies above you that just collects stuff. It actually feels kind of weird having Enguarde, Squawks, and Squitter in the game. I almost feel like they don't belong in the game at all for some reason. Am I crazy? There are many elements in the game that don't feel like they retain continuity from the first two (the enemies, the art, the world, etc) that it feels kind of odd to still have Enguarde, Squawks, and Squitter around. (I AM still very excited to play through the Squitter level where they shoot fireballs at you. - I don't particularly like how the game handles Swanky and Cranky Kong. Cranky Kong generally feels wasted. Do you even really get anything in the minigames besides Bear Coins? - I think the bonus levels might actually be a little too challenging early on. I haven't had much problems with them (I have all Hero Coins and Bonus Levels in the first two worlds) but I can tell that they're a little rough. - The bosses don't have the impact that I feel like they should. I think it's generally because they don't have a whole lot of character to them. And there isn't much fanfare upon beating them. - Speaking of fanfare....I wish Kiddy and Dixie had some sort of celebration animation. Beating each level feels kind of anticlimactic. No dance or anything. Just the level completion jingle (which is also the same level completion jingle from DKC2 as long as you don't trigger the boom box/guitar).
It's been a long time since I played any of the DKC games, but I do recall your jump height being increased when holding down the jump button on an enemy, just like with most Mario games.
Currently playing the original DKC. It really looks like crap on my HDTV. I think I'm going to look for my SDTV Wii cables and connect it to my sisters CRT which she left me. Not now though, I'll just continue through world 1.
@Guillaume Was it anything in the 'race' level? I had to restart that a few times because even when I DID get Kiddy's water skipping down, I was one pixel off and missed the ledge I was supposed to get to.
The hit detection is probably the exact same as in the first two games, but for some reason I'm finding it a bit more unforgiving.
This can include some difficulty with: - Placing barrels in the water with the elephant and jumping on said barrels - Reaching platforms with Kiddy's water skipping ability - Landing on the wheels in the "Squeals on Wheels" level - Trying to jump through (or not jump through) the holes in the tree levels - Trying to not get hit by the rocks that the monkeys through at you while you're on the rope. - Bumping into the closing doors in the mill levels and bouncing off them (just feels odd to me).
Edit: I added a lot to my other post because I didn't want to double post at the time.
Here's a recommendation - if you HAVEN'T played DKC2, you should play that first. I think it gives you a better idea of what has changed between the games. It's also IMO a much better game, and you'd have more fun playing that anyway.
Maybe we could loosely just call this month "Donkey Kong Country" month. Talk about all DKC games will only inform opinions on DKC3. It's also very tempting for me to start playing DKCR on my Dolphin emulator again. Game looks AWESOME in HD.
