Last week we were reminded by Nintendo that it was the 30th anniversary for the legendary Donkey Kong Country. The Super Nintendo game launched on 18th November 1994.
Our parents got us this one for Christmas. We knew we were going to get it for Christmas, being super hyped for the game, even WAKING UP our parents at around 6:30am to force them to begin Christmas Day. Just so we could get to this game! Bloody cheek, eh?
Anyway, apologies to our parents for that. We were only 10 after all! But the legacy of the first DKC game is such it left a delible impact on the whole gaming community.
Donkey Kong Country: Memories of a Defining Childhood Gaming Moment
Part of the big fuss for this one was its pre-rendered 2D graphics.
This was the type of thing that’d never been seen before on a home games console before and signalled an exciting new era ahead for gaming.
And here’s that iconic first level (Jungle Hijinxs) that seemed to mark a new era of gaming and what lay ahead.
The game seemed amazing in 1994, but playing it again over the years it’s actually pretty average as a platformer. Nintendo’s head creative honcho, the legendary Shigeru Miyamoto, was critical of its weak gameplay.
Everyone seemed to forget that in 1994 and it got lots of rave reviews, not least thanks to the outstanding score by British composer David Wise. And its huge sales figures won’t have bothered Nintendo or game developer Rare very much.
Since the game, this music (particularly Aquatic Ambience below) has taken on a life of its own.
It’s this music, in fact, that has helped maintain DKC’s reputation as some sort of gameplay masterpiece.
On Nintendo Life we saw a poll for the game where players enthusiastically rated it as one of the best games ever. It isn’t. Certainly one of the most iconic and memorable, but Rare took DKC, advanced on it, and landed the far superior DKC 2 within 12 months of the original. Huge credit to them for that.
Nostalgia plays a huge role in DKC’s status, but go back and play it. Seriously, despite some great moments, it’s pretty average stuff. Six months earlier, Nintendo had launched Super Metroid—a platformer so brilliant event now it dwarfs most modern releases.
The flip side to Donkey Kong Country’s goodness is its reputation leads modern gamers to give it a go, be less than impressed, then assume modern platformers are just much, much better than in the ’90s. Also not the case, not lease as DKC 2 proved that emphatically not long after. It’s still a masterpiece.
One of the main reasons DKC remains so legendary is down to the big technical leap forward it presented.
Not just for graphics, but the mesmerising music. It set a new standard, where a game about controlling apes and monkeys could suddenly become profound, even moving.
To this day we’re seeing references to the title and, particularly, Wise’s score online. That’s what we’re nodding to below after you’ve listened to the podcast and what Mr. Wapojif is droning on about. Memories and monkeys.
No donkeys, though. False advertising.
Donkey Kong Country’s Impact on Gaming Culture
The lady above does a lot of Nintendo related music content (and she’s very bloody good), last week posting the above.
In fact, covering Aquatic Ambience has become a rites of passage type deal for many content creators online. A quick search for it on YouTube and you’ll be bombarded with all sorts of variations. Its legacy is vast. Unconquerable.
Yet its humble creator remains forever humble about it and the impact it’s had.
Yet getting the Super Nintendo to achieve that noise was no easy feat.
As the ever-brilliant Nerdwriter notes below, it was a heck of an inventive slog to ensure the SNES could pelt at that level of quality music. Totally worth it, though, as Wise’s efforts have cemented him in video game legend.
Away from just the game’s score, the 30th anniversary had led to all manner of reflections on the title.
Below is one that resonates with us, although we didn’t think to include DKC in our finding solitude in video games feature. We mention this in the podcast and it’s an interesting, contemplative take on the nature of the game.
We should note the last entry in the series was with Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze. That launched on the Wii U in 2014 and enjoyed a port to the Nintendo Switch in 2014.
It’s the best title in the series. That time around, David Wise returned to the franchise again (now with Retro Studios, rather than Rare). It’s an incredible soundtrack once again and features the beautiful level Grassland Groove (one of the best video game stages ever).
But that’s it! A decade since the last DKC.
Nintendo is launching a HD update of Donkey Kong Country Returns (2010), which was a strong return for the series… 14 years ago. That’ll launch on the Nintendo Switch in January. The fact they’re bringing that back hints that, potentially, a new title is in the works.
Nintendo also recently launched a DKC ride to its theme park Super Nintendo Land over in Japan.
All of which hits the legacy DKC began back in late 1994 is still bubbling away. Players are eager for more. Now, we just await to see if Retro Studios launches its third outing from the series Rare kickstarted.