Dec '24 Monthly Game Club - Donkey Kong Country 3

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With winter on its way, the Monthly Game Club is doing a special edition suggested by @Kiki - Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong’s Double Trouble! for the SNES.

Kiki has to say this about the game:

One of the games I think of as christmas-y is Donkey Kong Country 3, particularly with the code that makes all the bonus levels holiday themed. That game has gotten some undeserved flak over the years, and I think maybe it stands out better when you’re NOT playing it as the third game in a series marathon. Pretty good for this format, in other words.

Let’s see DKC3 earns its flak or not! :mag:

About the Game

Donkey Kong Country 3 is a platformer developed by Rare and was released for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System on 18 November 1996.

Donkey Kong Country 3 Box Art
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Your Thoughts

Do you have any memories or thoughts on DKC3? I don’t think I’ve ever played it! Just the first two DKC when I was a kiddo at a friend’s house.

wow

Activate Christmas Bonus Games :snowman_with_snow:

To activate the Christmas bonus games in Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong’s Double Trouble! for Super NES, you can use the following code:

  1. Go to the Select Game menu
  2. Highlight a saved game
  3. Press L, R, R, L, R, R, L, R, L, R
  4. Enter MERRY

:eyes: Even more cheats!

16 Likes
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I’ve never given this game a fair shot because I think Kiddy Kong is a hideous character. Maybe now is the time.

I really disliked how the games got away from playing as the only Kong character I actually like, Donkey.

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Aww, heck yeah! Time to replay the feminist Donkey Kong Country!

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People say videogame are super expensive now (and they are) but I recall an uncle of mine spending $100 AUD for this game to give to me as a present back when it came out in 1996. That’s like a million dollars today (adjusting for inflation).

I really like DKC3. I replayed it maybe a year or two ago and beat it for nostalgia reasons. Plus I replayed it because I didn’t know about circling those rocks for the secret island as a kid.

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I got 100% of all the damn little things in DKC1, DKC2, and DK64 as they released. I played DKC3 exactly once a friend’s house and didn’t have a strong opinion. I think you drive around a boat on the map at one point? That’s cool. Like in Super Mario Bros 3.

So I’m ready for baby’s holiday out.

6 Likes
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Oh, I really like DKC3! It feels like RARE was firing on all cylinders here. Lots of level variety that feels gimmicky-good much more often than gimmicky-bad. It’s a good continuation of what they had built in the first and especially the second game. The boss design is an improvement and a nice showcase of what they had learned over three games.

I still prefer DKC2, which I think is a little tighter and a preferable tone, but of the five Donkey Kong Country games DKC3 ranks second for me and DKC1 comes in third.

I understand the Kiddy Kong hate (I too wish it had just been Donkey instead) but also from a game mechanic standpoint his moveset complements Dixie’s a little more than Donkey’s would so I kinda understand the decision

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I never got very far in this game because I thought the baby looked stupid. I still think that, but I’ll give it another go. It’s been a while. I also remember an elephant friend.

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Dixie’s Double Trouble is fun! At least, when you’re playing as feminist icon Dixie Kong. Diddy’s Kong Quest proved you don’t need a heavy ape like Donkey or Kiddie so it felt like a little bit of a step backward to me and Kiddie’s animations don’t do him many favors. The levels where you play as Ellie or Squitter were also not as fun to me as the traditional monkey platforming. Enguarde is still cool, but iirc you don’t get to ride her as much as straight up play as her?

The world map also always felt like an obstacle rather than a fun idea to me, because I just wanted to jump into the levels, but I think as I get older and replay it, it is less of a concern.

It’s a super solid game, and I wish it was better received in its time so we could have seen more Dixie after it.

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The whole DKC series is on my “get to it someday” list. I’ve dabbled in the first one but never really committed to a playthrough. Now I’m wondering, should I really start with this one? I guess it doesn’t matter that much, but perhaps I should just play through 1.

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I haven’t played much of 3, but the first two are pretty samey and also kind of different? The main difference is the characters you control.

I’d say it’s fine to start with 3, and then you can join the discussion. I’m fairly confident that you can go back to 1 and 2 later if you want without feeling like playing 3 first ruined them for you.

5 Likes
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Bad vibe patrol checking in.

I have bounced off Donkey Kong Country 1 & 2, and after beating the first world of three on my analogue this afternoon, this is not going to be the one to win me over.

Dixie Kong is cool but this other character just screams, “why can’t I be donkey Kong in donkey Kong”. Whatever not the point. My continuing gripe with donkey Kong country throughout the entire series is just how loose it feels to play. I’m always accidentally bumping into enemies I’m trying to attack, and that dash jump is just horrendously wonky, particularly this many years past Mega Man X.

Elephant level felt so bad I almost threw my game boy.

They’re pretty and the music is good! I get that! But I would love to hear where folks land on the actual platforming because it has just never worked for me. It feels like playing sonic in a bowl of soup.

Maybe I’ll make it to Christmas

6 Likes
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The RARE DKCs have always felt really great to me, but I am not the biggest platformer fan (not a hater, just not super experienced with the genre - I just played my first Sonic last month). The biggest comparison point for me is Mario and well, they made the 2D Marios feel pretty bland to me when I went back to them
I’m not sure I can articulate a thorough defense of the platforming since I’m not sure I have the vocab to explain why it feels good to me. However, what’s really interesting to me about what you said is that your complaints about it feeling “loose” and the roll-jump feeling wonky are the exact same complaints I have about the Retro DKC games. Retro Studios made Donkey so much heavier and lumbering and gave him a delay for jumping out of his roll… It just doesn’t feel good like the faster-paced movement in the RARE games does.
Related to your question, the Retro games also have a pretty glaring issue in my eyes which is that they are incapable of making a difficult level centered around platforming. When it comes to jumping from thing to thing, they just really struggle to make it engaging. To compensate, they try to mimic the challenge of the original trilogy by introducing tons of levels with insta-kill mechanics:

Honestly, it’s kinda hilarious that they chose to do this in the same game where they decided to give Donkey Kong a proper HP meter

And so, I really appreciate the platforming in the original trilogy because I know what it’s like when the platforming doesn’t feel quite right. I like how much those games were able to challenge me just by making it interesting to jump from thing to thing

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I completely understand what was meant by “loose” regarding the SNES trilogy.

I think the issue is with the pre-rendered graphics. It’s never 100% clear where the platform is, because they’re never completely flat like in a Super Mario World. You stand a few pixels below the top of the surface. It’s also never completely clear where the edges are.

The melee attack feels bad because it moves you forward a little, then seems to slow down, and you’re vulnerable immediately after. It’s hard to identify the range and hitboxes of your attack, and the hurt boxes of your character and the enemy characters, and parse if you’re pressing attack too early, which will get you hit, or too late, which will also get you hit.

I like the first DKC a lot, but that’s because of vibes, graphics, and music. It doesn’t platform as well as SMB on NES, let alone the platforming greats of the SNES era.

I played the first few stages if DKC3 on my lunch break on Steam Deck today. My initial thoughts:

It takes way longer to get into the action than the first two. I didn’t like having to motorboat Funky Kong just to get to the first level.

The movement feels exactly like DKC and DKC3. So, pretty good, minus the inaccuracies mentioned above due to the pre-rendered style. The music and graphics are still fantastic, especially for the SNES.

Kiddie Kong is an abomination. Rare character design is the worst.

It’s almost always better to play as Kiddie, so you cna keep Dixie’s slow fall in reserve for when you need it. This is bad, because playing as Kiddie is bad.

There’s no reason they couldn’t have given Kiddie’s moveset to Donkey Kong.

I miss the more moody and naturalistic environments of the first DKC. These levels all feel like they’re made of wooden planks.

5 Likes
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What does the Elephant do? It seems like it can pick up and throw barrels, but Dixie/Kiddie can already do that? Does it have any other powers, or is it just there to turn into a coin if you get it to the elephant sign?

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Ellie has specific properties based on context. She can suck with her nose to attract barrels, she can collect water to shoot, she’s also scared of mice.

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This sums me up pretty well and is part of the reason why I am a 2 over 1 guy

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Kiddy Kong is a fantastic cousin.

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Must be a European thing…

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I always thought the DKC trilogy doesn’t play well. There’s a momentum and lack of responsiveness that the characters have that I don’t think feels very good.

BUT

So far, DKC3 is my most positive experience I’ve had with any of these games. Is it considerably easier than the first two? I’ve made it through the first 3 levels without dying, only losing a kong once, and getting all the KONG letters.

I’ve never been much of a platformer fan, and DKC1+2 always hit a wall really quickly that makes me put down the controller and walk away. So far, the difficulty ramp on DKC3 has been excellent, and I’m looking forward to playing more

2 Likes