I
know that it’s absurd to compare two games that were released over a
decade apart, but what the hell, but I’m going to do it anyway. I’ve
recently become a bit of a pariah among my fellow 1UP editors due to my
opinions on Donkey Kong
Country, Rare’s 1994 foray into
the world of the SNES. While few would dispute the game’s technological
merits, not many around these parts agree with me that DKC is a far
better and much more playable platformer than the original Super Mario Bros.
Please set down your pitchforks
and extinguish those torches.
Donkey Kong Country was the
game that began Rare’s ascent to creative bliss. Anyone who owned a
Super Nintendo or a Nintendo 64 has undoubtedly fond memories of
playing any number of the British developer’s classic titles, whether
it was slapping down Jago in Killer Instinct
or planting the perfect proximity mine in GoldenEye,
and this hot streak all began with the reinvention of Mario’s original
nemesis. A few years after the plumber journeyed around the world,
Donkey Kong was tasked with exploring his island in search of his
stolen banana hoard. The game was a dense, cutting-edge package that
showcased the power of the SNES and provided what I feel to be a
perfect platforming experience. As you can probably tell by the video
below, my fellow editors do not share in these views.
I was shocked to discover that
DKC‘s visuals have grown to become divisive, with one of the main
complaints being that the entire world has a plastic sheen to it. As
one of the pioneers of pre-rendered 3D graphics in games, DKC didn’t
resemble a cartoon so much as an extremely detailed toy box. I fell in
love with the character models because they reminded me so much of the
action figures I grew up smashing against each other on the carpeted
floor of my bedroom. The fact that Rare was able to create an entire
world that out of the performances that I imagined with my toys evoked
a feeling in me that has yet to be matched to this day. Super Mario
Bros. asked you to imagine the expanse of the world you were running
through. Donkey Kong Country didn’t need to ask this of the player.
As much as the game’s visuals
resonated with me, it was the soundtrack that managed to burrow deep
into my mind. SMB may have a handful of the most memorable music in
video game history, but it’s DKC‘s amazing suite of jungle tunes that I
still find myself listening to 20 years later. Each track manages to
utilize elements of the environment, from wind to animals to the
morphing of sounds underwater, and incorporate them with truly
unforgettable melodies. Each track feels like an extension of the
visuals that represent the varying locales of the island. As you dive
to the bottom of a lagoon, the distant ambiance of the music highlights
the untapped majesty of the space you’re exploring. Likewise, when you
travel to the peak of a snowy mountain, the tracks become as ominous
and foreboding as the endless crevices that dangerously pepper the
landscape. The music pulls more than its weight in creating a succinct
and memorable world that unravels in varying amounts depending on how
much you put into the game.
SMB may have perfected the
concepts of timing and inertia in platformers, but DKC built upon these
pillars by adding a wealth of optional moves and techniques for players
to learn throughout the course of the game. One could make it through
to the end by using a rudimentary moveset, but by experimenting with
both characters, you quickly realize just how deep your control over
the pair of primates really is. Combat, exploration, and jumping all
change based on which chimp you control, giving the game unseen depth
for those willing to dive in. Super Mario Bros. demanded perfection
from the player; Donkey Kong Country encouraged experimentation. I’ll
take the latter over the former.
The scope of each game’s
control mechanics also go hand-in-hand with their respective level
designs. Despite having a majority of the game take place outside,
Super Mario Bros. consistently feels like you’re controlling the
plumber as he barrels down the length of an impossibly narrow hallway.
The extent of your exploration rarely exceeds the dimensions of the
frame that is presented before you. Part of this is obviously a
limitation of the 2D perspective, but Donkey Kong Country managed to
use a combination of level design and slight of hand to convince
players that the world they were exploring went on far beyond the
boundaries of your television. Walls to destroy, secret cannons to
destroy, and areas only accessible with the help of your fellow members
of the animal kingdom all combined to give the island a sense of scope
and wonder that made it feel like these locations actually existed long
before your character entered the frame.
Despite all of this, the most
important reason that I choose DKC over SMB is simple: Donkey Kong is
possibly the most dapper character in video game history. Just take a
look at DK as he rocks that red tie without even the slightest hint of
pants. Seriously, he’s as close to a Kennedy as we’re going to ever get
in video games. Wardrobe aside, I am in no way discounting the
monumental impact that Super Mario Bros. had on our medium. Without it,
not only would there be no Donkey Kong Country, but our industry would
be an unimaginably different beast. But in 2012, when I sit down and
want to experience platforming perfection, I’ll choose Rare’s
masterpiece every single time.
