best platformers of all time donkey kong country

#Best platformers of all time donkey kong country series#

Ultimate DLC.) The level design was excellent but not as memorable as that of the first two games. (Nobody’s asking for Returns‘ final boss, Tiki Tong, to round out the Smash Bros. The new Tiki enemies couldn’t compare to the wacky Kremlings and K. The art style lacked the same retro charm as the SNES originals. Returns reminded the gaming world just what Nintendo’s most famous ape is capable of, kick-starting a duology that stands among Nintendo’s best efforts of the 2010s.Įven at the time, however, Returns did not quite live up to the pedigree of the series’s first two games.

Returns also enjoys nice, colorful art direction and great music, as well as some actual difficulty - something fairly uncharacteristic of post-GameCube-era Nintendo.

#Best platformers of all time donkey kong country series#

Retro successfully revived and reinvigorated the series with fun level design, including new rocket barrel levels, which are a favorite of mine, and silhouette stages, which have since appeared in many other platformers on account of how satisfying they are to look at. Donkey Kong Country ReturnsĢ010’s long-awaited revival of the series came from Retro Studios, who brought Donkey Kong Country back into the limelight after a 15-year hiatus. It’s a solid platformer that is still worth playing thanks to franchise hallmarks like excellent art, tight gameplay, and a wonderful soundtrack, but it pales in comparison to the rest of the series. Releasing quite late into the SNES’s life, Donkey Kong Country 3 lacks the series’s notable difficulty and outstanding level design. It’s far from a great game, though, and that’s enough to firmly establish it as the worst Donkey Kong Country game in the rankings. Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong’s Double Troubleĭonkey Kong Country 3 is a good game. Here’s my ranking of this spectacular platforming series. Ranking all of the Donkey Kong Country games is no easy task, but as a long-time fan of the classic series, I feel that I’m up to it, and I gave it my best shot.

The series defined the funky and spunky identity of one of the most iconic characters in gaming, catalyzed Rare’s incredible partnership with Nintendo, and built some absolutely fantastic adventures to boot. The Donkey Kong Country series rightfully rests among the greatest of 2D platforming franchises, but how do the games stack up against each other? At five games old and without a single dud, the influence and reach of the Donkey Kong Country games are enormous.