The original Donkey Kong Countܫry came around just as the Super NES was beginning to show its age, and thro🐟ugh clever graphical trickery, it was able to make 16-bit technology seem more advanced and exciting than it actually was. The hoopla surrounding DKC’s release led to eight million copies sold worldwide, and a string of sequels that raked in crazy numbers for several years afterward. In other words, Donkey Kong Country was a pretty big deal for Nintendo.

Above: And who could forget the 12-minute VHS tape shipped to Nintendo Power subscribers?

But since the early 2000s, Donkey Kong hasn’t mattered much. It’s been nothing but Mario cameos and weird spin-offs like Konga and King of Swing, leading many of us to wonder if we’d ever see a return to the bounce-heavy, bonus room-filled splendor of the game that kick-started DK’s career. We’re happy to say after years of waiting, DKC Returns ticks most of the boxes you’d expect and stands as a strong, recommendable lesson in class𝔍ic game design – with a few issues that irked us enough to take notice.

Above:Easy you two, you’re in a mostly great game

Above: As with prior DKC games, there are tons of hidden bonus rooms to find in each level. They tend to repeat, though

Above: The camera zooms in and out a lot too. This camera pulls out the farther away you get from the worm boss

With such visual diversity between the levels and all that swanky stuff going on in the environment, plus the expected intense platforming, what’s not to like? Do we sound like giant babies if we say the game is actually too hard? We’ll explain why on the next page.