Donkey Kong Country
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Donkey Kong Country<tr><td colspan="2" style="font-size: 100%; text-align: center;"> | |
|---|---|
| Developer(s) | Rareware, Nintendo
<tr><th style="background-color: #ccccff;">Publisher(s)</th><td>Nintendo</td></tr> |
| Release date(s) | SNES version EU November 24, 1994 NA November 25, 1994 JPN November 26, 1994 GBC version NA November 4, 2000 EU November 17, 2000 JPN January 21, 2001 GBA version EU June 6, 2003 NA June 9, 2003 JPN December 12, 2003 |
| Genre(s) | Platformer, Side-Scroller |
| Mode(s) | Single player, Two player
<tr><th style="background-color: #ccccff;">Rating(s)</th><td>ESRB: K-A (Kids to Adults) (6+) |
| Platform(s) | Super Famicom/Super NES Game Boy Color Game Boy Advance Virtual Console <tr><th style="background-color: #ccccff;">Media</th><td>32-megabit SNES cartridge |
Donkey Kong Country is a video game developed by Rare and Nintendo, featuring the popular arcade character, Donkey Kong. It was released for the SNES and Super Famicom in 1994. The game was released in Japan under the title Super Donkey Kong.
It was produced by Tim Stamper. This was the first Donkey Kong game that was not produced or directed by Shigeru Miyamoto .
Contents |
[edit] Story
In this game, Donkey Kong has to recover his stolen hoard of bananas from King K. Rool. Fortunately, he has the special help of his best buddy, Diddy Kong. Cranky Kong lends some advice along the way. Funky Kong and Candy Kong also lend a hand. It was also the first time Donkey Kong's home environment, Donkey Kong Island, was established.
[edit] Development history
[edit] Graphics
The game was revolutionary in that it was the first game for a mainstream home video game console to use pre-rendered 3-D graphics. It was a technique that was also used in Rare's Killer Instinct. Many later 3-D video games would also use pre-rendered 3-D together with fully 3-D objects. Rare took significant financial risks in purchasing the expensive SGI equipment used to render the graphics. Both Nintendo and Rare refer to the technique for the creating the game's graphics as "ACM" (Advanced Computer Modeling)
Nintendo producer Shigeru Miyamoto once criticized Donkey Kong Country, stating that "Donkey Kong Country proves that players will put up with mediocre gameplay as long as the art is good."<ref name="kent">The Ultimate History of Video Games: From Pong to Pokémon--The Story Behind the Craze That Touched Our Lives and Changed the World by Steven L. Kent</ref> Miyamoto later apologized, saying he had been too harsh due to Nintendo's pressuring him at the time to make Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island more like Donkey Kong Country."<ref name="kent" />
[edit] Music
Donkey Kong Country also had a popular soundtrack which was released on CD under the title DK Jamz. Composers Robin Beanland, Eveline Fischer and Dave Wise collaborated on this ensemble of jungle music. The diverse composition consists of over 20 tracks.
The soundtrack was also the focus of an OC ReMix collaboration entitled Kong in Concert.
[edit] Marketing
As a part of Nintendo's marketing campaign, a 15 minute VHS tape titled "Donkey Kong Country: Exposed [1]" was sent to subscribers of Nintendo Power magazine. The video takes the audience on a brief tour of Nintendo's headquarters in Redmond, Washington and shows footage from the game when it was in the final stages of development. Several game testers provide tips on how to access bonus levels and perform tricks throughout the game. Various interviews promote the level of graphical complexity as being revolutionary for game systems at that time. A segment at the end of the video reminds viewers that the game is available only on Nintendo's 16 bit Super Nintendo console and not on rival 32 bit and CD-ROM based systems (ex: Sega 32x and Sega CD) that boasted superior processing power. In a "hidden" section at the end of the cassette, the host of the video opens a door and discovers that Nintendo of America testers are playing a SNES version of Killer Instinct.
[edit] Reception
Donkey Kong Country was very successful upon release and was also available as a pack-in game in the Super Nintendo "Donkey Kong Set" (which contained the control deck, a controller, connections and the game). This facilitated sales of over a million copies thus, becoming a Player's Choice re-release title around 1998.
[edit] Sequels
Two sequels, Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest and Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble!, were later made. All three games also had counterparts on the Game Boy in the form of the Donkey Kong Land series. In 1999, a Nintendo 64 game was released called Donkey Kong 64 that was a direct sequel to the DKC franchise. This title featured a playable version of the original 1981 arcade classic Donkey Kong. A new Donkey Kong game for Nintendo's Wii is currently in development, tentatively titled Donkey Kong Wii. The game is reported to be a 3D platformer, but it is unclear whether this will be a sequel or otherwise relate in any way to the Donkey Kong Country or Donkey Kong 64 games.
[edit] Ports
In 2000, a port of Donkey Kong Country for the Game Boy Color was released. In 2003, another port of the game was released for the Game Boy Advance. Both games had some new features including new minigames, hidden pictures, a new stage, (GBC version) a Time Trial mode & multiplayer games (GBA version). Both versions also had a number of minor changes.
[edit] See also
[edit] Notes
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[edit] References
[edit] External links
- Donkey Kong Country at MobyGames
- Donkey Kong Country (SNES) at GameFAQs
- Donkey Kong Country (Game Boy Advance) at GameFAQs
- Donkey Kong Country official promotional video at Google Video
fr:Donkey Kong Country it:Donkey Kong Country nl:Donkey Kong Country (SNES) ja:スーパードンキーコング pt:Donkey Kong Country fi:Donkey Kong Country sv:Donkey Kong Country
Categories: Donkey Kong platform games | Super NES games | Game Boy Color games | Game Boy Advance games | Rareware games | 1994 computer and video games | 2000 computer and video games | 2001 computer and video games | 2003 computer and video games | Wii Virtual Console games | Computer and video games featuring cooperative gameplay
