Levels end with one of the two main characters celebrating ostentatiously, with Diddy rapping while holding a boombox or Dixie busting out a rockin’ guitar solo, as if to say, “Yeah, I just got chased by giant skeleton ghost pirates while riding a giant skull minecart, but no biggie.” Even in the face of constant danger, these kids move ahead as though the terrors that surround them are just a normal part of life.
Each world contains a silly game show challenge as a way to cut through the tension with some levity. The player must save their progress at a school called Kong Kollege, whose sole inhabitant is an old, matriarchal figure in a rocking chair. The boss battles often have multiple layers of challenge, and are no longer just enlarged versions of regular baddies: Each boss ups the ante with a new set of perils.ĭiddy and Dixie are eager participants in all this, but they are effectively teenagers-and the game never lets you forget that. The enemies themselves also present an upgraded level of ferocity, as Donkey Kong Country 2 is riddled with deadly pirates, headless ghosts, spiny porcupines, and even an animated fire-sword. Other environments of note include an abandoned theme park, haunted woodlands, murky swamps littered with lost boats, labyrinthine wasp hives, and bramble enclosures that reach to the skies. DKC2, however, instantly submerges Diddy and Dixie in a sea of darkness and danger, with the very first game world taking place on a crashed pirate ship largely submerged in scummy, dark green water. The original Donkey Kong Country involves traversing from natural environments to remnants of man-made technology and industry. They’re bleaker, dimmer, and more menacing. Sounds straightforward enough.īut the worlds presented in DKC2 differ meaningfully from those found in the first DKC. Unlike its predecessor, Diddy’s Kong Quest immediately creates urgency, making the broader task at hand a matter of freedom or enslavement for Diddy’s closest pal. Rool), and it’s up to Diddy Kong (Donkey’s little buddy and companion in the first Donkey Kong Country ) and Dixie Kong (Diddy’s girlfriend) to save the namesake hero.
In DKC2, Donkey Kong has been captured by Kaptain K. And while the plot is fairly rote, a heartfelt narrative emerges from these moods and atmospheres, one that makes the player feel what these clothed simians must be feeling at nearly every turn. But if you take the time to examine everything else about it, from its gloriously haunting art style to its all-time great soundtrack, you’ll find a whole far greater than the sum of its parts.Įvery single level feels meticulously crafted not only to present challenges, but to create a mood, an atmosphere, a feeling. On its surface, Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy’s Kong Quest is a game about running, jumping, and avoiding obstacles to get to the end of a stage. But when I ask myself this question, my brain reaches to the same place: a 16-bit mid-90s platformer starring monkeys wearing hats jumping on crocodile pirates (or pirate crocodiles). If someone were to ask you which video game best embodies the idea of games as art, how would you respond? Would you mention a cinematic, linear narrative adventure like The Last of Us ? Would you highlight something purely on its mechanical ambition, such as Baba Is You ? Would it be more of a small, plot-heavy indie with scant action (e.g., Gone Home, Firewatch ), or a grand, enormous role-playing adventure with over a hundred hours of content (e.g., The Witcher 3, Persona 5 )?Īll games are art, so any one of these answers is equally valid. In this inaugural edition, Super Nintendo classic Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy’s Kong Quest will be the very first inductee. Welcome to the first post in our latest series, “Punished Hall of Fame.” In these pieces, writers at The Punished Backlog induct some of their favorite titles into this site’s own prestigious Hall of Fame.