Donkey Kong game
lacks good graphics
The re-release maintains
the original’s fun but lacks
the vivid graphics lauded
by the SNES version’s fans
By Aaron Shakra
Pulse Editor
The phrase "everything old is new
again" is most apt when describing the
present state of portable gaming. Nin
tendo, whose Game Boy system holds
a de facto monopoly on the market,
has been re-releasing a slew of older ti
tles such as F-Zero, Mario Kart and Su
per Mario Bros. If it's old and popular,
chances are it's coming to a Game Boy
cartridge near you.
GAME
REVIEW
Yet anoth
er example is
Donkey
Kong Coun
try, originally
released for
the Super Nintendo back in 1994 and
made available for the Game Boy Ad
vance last year. Developed by Rare, the
game was heralded for its "ACM," or
Advanced Computer Modeling graph
ics. Every art element in the game was
graphically rendered — a first for con
sole gaming. Translation: Back in the
day, this was the absolute shit.
And of course, there was the game
play to back it up. If the Mario Bros,
games for the Super Nintendo were the
best side-scrolling platformers, the
Donkey Kong Country series was easily
(forgive the pun) second banana, or,
perhaps, holds a tie for first.
So, this is basically the same game re
leased for the Super NES. Plot: zero.
Donkey Kong's bananas are all stolen
and it's time to get them back with his
friend Diddy. Extra features: minimal.
Although Nintendo might try to sell
gamers on the "time-based DK attack
mode," this is about as exciting as
watching apes groom themselves. Actu
ally, such a statement is an insult to the
apes. However, one useful feature is the
ability to save at any point during the
game, making the Cranky Kong save
points from the original game inert.
The audio soundtrack remains
Courtesy
more or less intact. More, because
there are supposed additions to the
soundtrack, such as character grunts
from Diddy and Donkey Kong. Less,
because the Game Boy Advance stereo
sound is paltry compared to the Super
Nintendo version.
The biggest and most unfortunate
drawbacks here are the graphics. Allow
me to illustrate this with a story. This
past summer, spending time at a
friend's house in the hills, I saw sunsets
so beautiful I likened them to "Donkey
Kong Country skies." Well, unfortu
nately, there are no such vistas here.
Drab, pixelated, washed-out jungles
are the norm. The technique of anti
aliasing seems to have been largely for
gotten. All of this is sort of inexplicable,
considering that the Game Boy Ad
vance is supposed to be as powerful, if
not more so, than the Super NES hard
ware. And on the Super Nintendo,
with any decent television, everything
is beautiful and crisp. Does the now
Microsoft Corporation-owned Rare,
still a Game Boy developer, perhaps
hold a grudge toward Nintendo?
Maybe Nintendo will re-release the
title again and call it "Donkey Kong
Country Advance" with the graphics
the game deserves. But if the game play
is what it's about for you, don't hesitate
to try out the present version. Anyone
playing for the first time will obviously
be unable to notice a difference. Here's
hoping greater attention will be paid to
the next Donkey Kong re-release.
Contact the Pulse editor
at aaronshakra@dailyemerald.com.
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