After Donkey Kong Country for the SNES, Rare had nowhere to go but up. The sequel not only has way more content than the previous one, but polishes up the gameplay so much more. As Diddy and Dixie Kong, you set out to rescue big Donkey himself. Both partners this time around are more differentiated from each other: Dixie Kong can glide with her hair for example. There is also a special team move in which one Kong throws another for accessing some special areas.

This game was also the beginning roots of Rare’s penchant for “collect-a-thons.” Scattered throughout every level are more bonus levels and collectibles than the original, including DK coins for unlocking the true ending. The map also has more special places at the cost of what you obtained in the levels; play a game show with Swanky Kong to earn prizes, cross bridges, and the save function has now been brought together with the hint section in Kong Kollege.

The only fault with the game is that the game doesn’t save everything you have; when you load the game all of your lives are back to the default for example. This is easily managed however.

DKC2 is known as one of the most favorite platformers of the area for good reason, and those who haven’t should play this when given the opportunity.

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