DKCR looks so awesome

[A Black Falcon]

The Donkey Kong Land games are fine, but the 2nd and 3rd are basically just DKC2 and 3 ported to the Gameboy. Apparently there's some new level designs for 3? DKL1 is the only one that was made to be a truly original title in that series rather than a "retelling" of DKC1. That said, they, for obvious reasons, didn't really compare with the SNES series. I recently played through DKL1. It's a fun game with some creative level designs (and I had forgotten just how hard the game is later on, some of it due to smaller screen to character ratio).

Actually, only DKL2's story is a straight retelling of the SNES game. DKL3 isn't that, it's a new game; from what I've read it does sound a little closer to the SNES game than DKL is to DKC (those two are completely different), but it's not a GB version of the SNES game like DKL2 is.

As far as DKL2 goes, I've been playing it as I said, and it's actually pretty interesting. While the story is DKC2's unaltered, and every level has the same theme and general concept as it did on SNES, because of system power and screen size issues, they didn't just port over the SNES levels -- they did design new levels, just new levels that are supposed to feel a lot like the SNES ones. So as a result it feels familiar (and thus less interesting than the original title that the first DKL was), but it isn't just a port, it is different as well.

Once I get DKL3 eventually I'll see how that one is, but I do know that the story is new, and at least certainly the levels are new designs. Beyond that I'm not sure.

As for DKL, that's the only one of them I got back in the '90s. I remember liking it well enough, but obviously not enough to buy either sequel for whatever reason. I guess I felt like one of them was enough... I also remember preferring Donkey Kong '94 to DKL. Also some of its simplistic game design elements, like I think I remember that that you can't backtrack (even if you're standing on a screen right above a platform you were just on, I think I remember that you'd die if you fell...), like that there are no other Kongs to visit, to save you have to collect the KONG letters, etc... oh yeah, and on an original GB screen it's hard to make out the enemies from the backgrounds. That's true for all three DKL games. At least the story and themes were new, though, even if it is shorter (I think; at least, it has only four worlds).

I'm also playing DKC GBC as I said, and that's interesting too, mostly to see how well the game works on a GBC. Obviously graphically it's limited, but they really pushed the system; this is probably one of Rare's best GBC games, though admittedly otherwise Rare was a little mixed in quality on the system -- Perfect Dark and the first Mickey racing game aren't the greatest. Conker's alright, but that's GB/GBC (though each game (GB and GBC mode) actually has different level maps and some different design elements, so they are sort of two different games). Anyway, DKC GBC is pretty cool, but isn't exactly essential. I mean, it's an SNES port to GBC, the game's there, but in a lesser form. It is cool to see how well they managed to do it though, and having a version of DKC with autosave after every level is nice... it makes it much easier and less frustrating, not having to constantly restart sets of levels because you died before getting to the save hut in a world. It's also got minigames and stuff added, and DK64-style menus (with DK holding barrels and such). DKC just isn't quite the same without those amazing SNES graphics, but considering what it's running on this is pretty good.

On that note, I wonder what they did to make the game work on the smaller screen, "being able to see where you're going" wise... the levels feel the same, not redone, but I'd bet that they did change some stuff to make jumps visible, because I'm not constantly having to jump and having no idea if there's something in front of me or not. I remember that they did exactly that in the Lost Levels ("Super Mario Bros. For Super Players") part of Mario Bros. Deluxe, in order to make some of the harder parts possible on a screen which doesn't have the same aspect ratio.

DKC3 is great, but for me the cleverness of level design topped at DKC2. Plus, that music is amazing. I think the music went a little downhill with the third one. It's not bad, but it's the Bramble Scramble theme that ended up remixed in Brawl, for a reason.

No way, in DKC3 a lot of levels have some kind of clever and unique elements to them beyond just running right and hitting things. That' less true in DKC2, you do more straightforward platforming in that game. It's nothing like the first DKC for sure, where that's almost all you do (DKC2 was a huge improvement in level variety!), but DKC3 was another improvement. I do think, though, that the gap between DKC3 and DKC2 is much smaller than that between either of them and DKC1, which is a great game but just doesn't match up in comparison to either sequel.

In addition to the levels I mentioned above (the sawblade stage, the lightning stage near the end), DKC3 also had stuff like that water level with the reversed controls or something, a frustrating waterfall/barrel stage, the challenge of figuring out how to get those Koins (more collectibles!), and more. But yeah DKC2 is certainly also an amazing game.

Oh yeah, I do think that graphically each game improved over the last, but like with the games overall the third is less of an improvement over the second than the second is from the first.

I still think it's a shame they didn't add a few underwater levels, but if things go as I expect and this sells crazy good, they'll be back later with DKCR2, and that one probably will include some swimming.

It's too bad too, because the DKC games actually have good water levels, a real rarity in gaming...

Hmm... Actually I wonder if there are going to be any of the ol' kremlings in this game? I mean I'm fine with a new big bad and all, but completely insane K.Rool is a fun guy to fight. It's been a while since we've seen that guy anyway. I don't think a trophy or two in Brawl really do them justice.[/qute]

I haven't heard that there will be any, but yeah I agree that I'd like to see them... oh well.

[quote]I'm really looking forward to this game. They're doing a good job of making both impressive innovations like Yarn Kirby and "classic returns" like this one.

Same here, I really want DKCR. :)