Donkey Kong Country 2
Diddy and Dixie rescue Donkey Kong from King K. Rool.
Diddy Kong and Dixie Kong are the playable characters in this 1995 SNES platformer, the second Donkey Kong Country game from Rare and Nintendo. They must save Donkey Kong from King K. Rool across Crocodile Isle's eight worlds and 52 levels. Using pre-rendered 3D graphics, it earned high praise for its music, visuals, and gameplay. It was the SNES's sixth best-selling title and got a Game Boy Advance port in 2004, plus later Wii and Wii U Virtual Console releases.
Quick Facts
- Developer
- Rare
- Publisher
- Nintendo
- Director
- Tim Stamper
- Producer
- Gregg Mayles
- Designer
- Gregg Mayles; Andrew Collard
- Programmer
- Chris Sutherland
- Artist
- Steve Mayles
- Mark Stevenson
- Adrian Smith
- Composer
- David Wise
Facts from the source article.
Gameplay
Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest is a 2D side-scrolling platformer where the player controls either Diddy Kong or Dixie Kong through 52 levels across eight worlds. The goal is to rescue Donkey Kong from King K. Rool. Enemies include land-based Kremlings, rats, porcupines, bees, and vultures, while underwater sections feature pufferfish, stingrays, starfish, and piranhas. Each world ends with a boss fight. The active character can defeat enemies by jumping on them, cartwheeling, or throwing barrels. When hit, the active character runs away and control switches to the other; the partner can be reclaimed from DK barrels. Losing both characters costs a life, and the player restarts from the level start or a checkpoint barrel. Losing all lives results in a Game Over. Diddy is faster and more agile, while Dixie jumps higher and can glide with her hair. The player can pick up and throw the other character. Animal friends return, including Squitter the spider, Rambi the rhino, Rattly the snake, Enguarde the swordfish, and Squawks the parrot, each with unique abilities.
Plot
After Donkey Kong Country, Donkey Kong is kidnapped by Kremlings and brought to Kaptain K. Rool, who demands the Banana Hoard as ransom. Diddy Kong and Dixie Kong travel to Crocodile Isle to rescue him. With help from animal friends, they defeat K. Rool and free Donkey Kong. K. Rool escapes, and the pair later confront him in the Lost World, a secret area powered by a geyser. They defeat him again, and he is hurled into the geyser, causing it to clog and explode. The explosion sinks Crocodile Isle as K. Rool escapes on a small sailboat.
Development and release
Development of Diddy's Kong Quest began shortly after Donkey Kong Country's release, before its commercial success, as Rare employees wanted to present new concepts. Tim Stamper directed, and Brendan Gunn returned as designer. The game was made more challenging than its predecessor in response to complaints from veteran gamers. Working titles included DK Rescue!, Diddy's Day Out, Diddy's Wild Country, and Diddy's Wild Frontier; the final title was altered from Diddy Kong's Quest to Diddy's Kong Quest as a play on 'conquest'. The game was announced at E3 1995. A Virtual Boy port was in development but never released. It uses SGI and ACM rendering technology, with pre-rendered 3D images turned into 2D sprites. The pirate theme was influenced by designer Gregg Mayles's fascination with the Golden Age of Piracy. The team maintained the sense of speed and timing from the original while making gameplay less linear and more exploratory.
Reception
When it hit store shelves, Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest was so popular that retailers could not keep it in stock. On the SNES, it sold a total of 4.37 million copies across the United States and Japan, with 2.21 million of those in Japan and 2.16 million in the US. It became the second best-selling game of 1995, trailing only Yoshi's Island, and ranked as the sixth best-selling game on the SNES overall. Critics loved it, and it took home several Game of the Year awards. The SNES version earned a 92% aggregate score on GameRankings, while the Virtual Console and Game Boy Advance releases each scored 80% on GameRankings and Metacritic, respectively. Reviewers most often praised the graphics and gameplay. GamePro's Scary Larry gave it a perfect 5 out of 5 in every category, calling it longer, better-looking, and more enjoyable than the original, though he warned that some levels might be too tough for younger players. AllGame's Aaron Kosydar felt its visuals surpassed the first game. Eurogamer's Dan Whitehead admired the graphics but worried the sequel lacked ambition, noting the design philosophy seemed to be "if it ain't broke, don't fix it." GameSpot's Frank Provo described the graphics as more detailed but stylistically similar to the original. In a retrospective, IGN's Mark Birnbaum said that while the first game had stunning graphics for its time, Diddy's Kong Quest offered a better experience thanks to its detail, smooth animation, and varied color palette.
Frequently Asked Questions
What platforms is Donkey Kong Country 2 available on?
Donkey Kong Country 2 was released for Super NES and Game Boy Advance.
Who designed Donkey Kong Country 2?
Donkey Kong Country 2 was designed by Gregg Mayles and Andrew Collard.
Who composed the music for Donkey Kong Country 2?
The music for Donkey Kong Country 2 was composed by David Wise.
More in Super Nintendo Entertainment System Game Library
Spotted an error? Know more?
Reader corrections go straight into our review queue. Suggest an edit · How this site is sourced