Donkey Kong Land III was never released in Japan.
Instead, a colorized version of the game, titled Donkey Kong GB: Dinky Kong & Dixie
Kong, was released on the Game Boy Color in 2001.
I am not sure if I should be more puzzled as to why Donkey Kong Land III was never released
in Japan in its original Game Boy form, or why this colorized version of the title was
never released in the West.
It is weird for sure, but I’m thankful it exists.
This colorized version greatly expands upon the visual presentation of the first two DKL
titles.
Sprites now have their own color palettes, meaning enemies, heroes, and items no longer
share the same 4 colors.
Same goes for the tile work, with different background tiles using different colors, greatly
expanding the visual variety.
This completely eliminates many graphical compromises from the past games.
Character sprites no longer blend into the backgrounds for example, and gradients in
the 3D artwork are more subtle, with less high contrast areas looking out of place.
Of course, one might question some of the color choices chosen by the artists.
A few enemies are especially vibrant or garish.
Perhaps this is a result of the original Game Boy Color screen which lacked a backlight,
or perhaps it was more deliberate, I can’t be certain, but the days of enemies not standing
out… are definitely over.
What remains consistent is the visual style.
Donkey Kong Land III retains the pre-rendered 3D look defininge the series.
This means the world is filled with texture and depth, with semi-realistic shadows and
reflections, offering a unique visual style that has all but vanished with the advent
of fully polygonal graphics.
Despite the low resolution of the hardware, it works.
The various set pieces are easy to discern.
Be it the docks, mill, snow, river, coral, tree, cliffs, machine, falls, cave, jungle
or tubes, each area of Donkey Kong Land III does an admirable job implementing the 3D
assets into the resolution and color limitations of the platform.
Also remaining admirable is the animation.
Both Diddy and Dixie move with a fluidity rarely seen on 8-bit hardware.
The walking, running and jumping animation frames are excellent, with all of their limbs
moving in harmony, while their faces shift side to side.
I continue to be amazed at what the artists were able to achieve, with the animation cycles
easily surpassing most games released on superior hardware.
Of course, Donkey Kong Land III marks the return of Kiddy Kong, the most hated Kong
in Donkey Kong History.
Seriously, something about this character bothers some to their core.
There are two schools of thought.
The first is a sort of opportunity cost.
With Kiddy Kong on the roster, there was no room for the return of Donkey Kong.
For others, the fact there is a baby in the game cheapens the spirit of the series.
Be it the Super Nintendo games, the Retro Studios titles, or the Game Boy spin offs,
the franchise has always been in the upper echelon of challenge and difficulty.
For some, the introduction of a baby clashes with what the series was built upon.
The only other video game character which can draw such ire is… the Werehog from Sonic
Unleashed.
Myself, for better or worse, I don’t care.
That isn’t to say I don’t respect people’s opinion on the subject, but having never played
the series prior to 2018, the character designs have no particular meaning for me.
Kiddy Kong has been there for me since the beginning and I just sort of accept him as
part of the DK crew.
Anyway, as best as I can tell, Dixie and Kiddy share the same momentum, acceleration and
jump arcs, meaning despite their noticeable size difference, their base moveset is identical.
This is a good thing as the Kongs remain some of the most nimble, responsive, and satisfying
characters to control in all of 2D gaming.
Acceleration is near instant, which is especially helpful for reacting to obstacles on the truncated
screen.
The jumping is also excellent, with the perfect amount of hangtime.
The jumping feels neither floaty, nor stiff, and instead weighty but predictable.
Seriously, the level of refinement in both 2 and III is exceptional, rivaling just about
any 8-bit title not named Mario.
Of course, the two Kongs are not the only characters one commandeers during the adventure.
Enguarde The Swordfish returns and is available in the underwater areas.
Per usual, he has a free range of motion, eliminating the button tapping when the Kongs
are swimming solo.
Squawks the Parrot also returns, with the button pressing flapping and a projectile,
along with Squitter the Spider, who can shoot webs as an attack, or use them to make platforms.
Finally, there is newcomer Ellie the Elephant, who can attack with a water shot, which can
be aimed forward, high, and low.
Sadly, I can’t help but feel like the four animal buddies are under utilized.
For example, Enguard has a dash attack, however little in the levels requires this attack.
The DK Coins and Bonus Barrels are readily available without it.
It isn’t until the boss fight against Barbos that the buddy is utilized to its full potential.
In fact, the water stages mark a significant downgrade compared to Donkey Kong Land 2.
DKL2 varies up the water stages.
Clapper the Seal will cool boiling water, but the effect is temporary, meaning the player
has to race through the water obstacle and escape, before being boiled.
Another water area features light barrels which light up the level.
Again, the player is tasked with racing through the level, so they aren’t left stranded
in the dark.
Both do a reasonable job changing up the water stages so they don’t become stale.
Even the first Donkey Kong Land had a few chase sequences, again varying up the gameplay.
Donkey Kong Land III, lacks any sort of gimmick for the water stages.
The lack of any speed challenges, or unique enemies definitely makes Enguarde feel more
like a nicety rather than something integrated into the level design.
Squitter the Spider fares a little better.
It is initially introduced as an optional buddy, not needed for a 103% completion, but
rather a way to score an extra life.
Later on in the adventure, the skills learned earlier, become required to complete a save
file.
Maybe this is how I should view Enguarde.
The player learns the techniques in the levels, before being tested on a boss fight.
Anyway, Squawks is similar.
In DKL2, it felt like levels were designed with the bird in mind, with passageways not
traversable with a normal Kong.
However, in DKL3, the implementation feels shoehorned in.
Ellie is even worse, with the character stripped down considerably from the console game, with
just a projectile attack.
It begs the question on when something is a gimmick, versus part of the game design.
In Donkey Kong Land III, the animal buddies feel like after thoughts, something put into
the game for legacy sake.
While I appreciate the occasional break in the action, gameplay variety can be a good
thing, it feels lacking when compared to the variety in the previous titles.
Just note, these are not bad, with perfectly acceptable controls, responsive attacks, and
accurate hit boxes.
Also clumsy is the level design.
With each play through, I found myself somewhat bored.
I then had to ask myself if there is something wrong with the game, or something wrong with
me.
Afterall, this is the eight time I’m reviewing a game from the franchise.
However, as I inspect the levels I can’t help but feel the development team took their
foot off the gas.
Without a doubt, Donkey Kong Land III is the easiest game in the series.
The reason why is because it is remarkably hard to fall to one’s death.
DKL3 just doesn’t feature many bottomless pits.
It isn’t until the halfway mark where the game finally picks up steam and punishes players
for sloppy jumping.
This isn’t me speaking as an elitist who hates easy games.
I love the Kirby franchise for example, and Kirby is one of the most overpowered characters
in all of gaming.
It has more to do with engagement.
With the animal buddies not offering sufficient engagement opportunities for players, extra
pressure is put on the level design, and I feel DKL3 takes far too long to get up to
speed.
The lack of punishment for sloppy play makes the first half of the game feel... unsatisfactory.
There is one exception to this rule however.
There are two toboggan levels, and wow these stages are fast.
These effectively act like mine kart stages with a different aesthetic, but man does the
screen zip by fast, noticeably faster than the previous Land games.
The reaction times required are almost inhuman, turning the breezy gameplay into a trial and
error fest.
It is not clear to me why this gimmick in particular had its difficulty dialed up a
few notches, while the platforming challenge was decreased.
It is an odd decision for sure, and the toboggan stages felt out of place during the course
of the adventure.
Also out of place is collecting the DK Coins.
In non-water levels, DK Coins are obtained by taking down a Koin.
Koin carries a shield which will always face a Kong.
Therefore, the player must ricochet a steel barrel to take him down.
Sadly, the implementation is poor in two ways.
First, Koin is easy to find.
In fact, I found him on my first try, in every level he is featured.
Worse yet, there is little strategy to take him down, with the same motion being successful
in nearly every instance.
There was just one or two times where I would have to use an alternate strategy to take
him down.
It is disappointing for sure and like the animal buddies, the concept doesn’t feel
like it was used to its full potential, which is a shame.
On the opposite end of the spectrum are the bonus barrels.
Again, I find seeking these out to be one of the high points of the game.
I’m not a completionist, but I do like how the developers used little visual clues to
hint at potential barrels, or required a little exploration to find.
I especially loved having to bounce off a barrel shot by a Bazuka.
It is a great test of skill for the player, to understand the timing of the projectile,
and then bounce off into a cleverly hidden barrel.
However, a few bonus barrels are hidden in incredibly obtuse ways.
Perhaps I was too positive on the hiding locations of previous games and am now just running
out of steam, but a few of these are just absurd.
Miller Instinct contains no clues whatsoever, the player just has to know to jump into a
blank space on the screen.
Redwood Rampage offers a similar conundrum, the barrel is not visible and is easy to miss.
The worst has to be in Whiplash Dash, which requires the player jump into an invisible
barrel next to a bonus barrel, which is a concept never hinted at in the entire game.
Donkey Kong Land III suffers from difficulty balancing whiplash.
Where the game is either rather easy, or insanely difficult, or unfair, with little happening
between these extremes.
Anyway, this level is in the Lost World, which happens after the final credits, so let us
back up a bit and talk about the bosses.
The bosses in the first game were often too easy, lacking any challenge and failing to
be spectacles.
Donkey Kong Land 2 was a bit better, with some great bosses, and some awful bosses not
working within the confines of the screen.
Donkey Kong Land 3, doesn’t mark an improvement.
The bosses follow a similar formula of the previous title.
Once the boss pattern is learned, there is little challenge to be found.
As the boss does not change or react to the player, little skill is required.
Barbos Bastion has safe spots on the screen, where the projectile attack cannot reach.
Bleak Magic has the player dodging snowballs, but the safe spot on the roof in addition
to an easy pattern makes this fight rather breezy once one becomes familiar with it.
Arich is a little better.
The projectile attacks require anticipation, as multiple are fired at once.
Once cleared, the player needs to jump on the spider to damage it, then avoid the bounce
attack.
While still easy once the player knows the pattern, the multiple projectiles with no
safe spot on the screen is nice progression.
Crazy Kaos isn’t so bad either.
The attacks are easy to dodge, especially with Dixie and her hovering… but the timing
window on the jump to actually do damage is small, and finally puts the incredibly tight
controls to good use.
The final boss is alright, with quick reactions needed from the player to dodge lightning
attacks and a bounce attack, but all-in-all, it isn’t the cherry on the top of an epic
adventure nor is it a particular awesome visual spectacle.
And just as a frame of reference of what is possible on the Game Boy, here is the final
boss from Metroid II.
It is a massive beast filling the screen and requires some twitchy fingers in order to
defeat.
It works as both a final test of player skill, and a visual spectacle, and is vastly superior
to anything found in the Donkey Kong Land trilogy.
Anyway, defeating K. Rool brings the adventure to a close and the credits roll.
Of course this is not the end of the adventure.
To unlock the final area, Lost World, the player needs to collect all 35 DK Coins available
at this point, as well as the 5 stop watches.
The 5 stopwatches and five of the DK Coins are actually collected from a matching mini-game.
A player has to quickly match 10 pairs while a timer races down at the bottom of the screen.
Even better, the timer moves quicker with each passing level, increasing the challenge.
Anyway, completing the matching game is required to unlock the Lost World and continue on towards
completion.
These final 6 levels are arguably more challenging than the normal levels, but if I’m honest
none of them are all that memorable.
There is no Animal Antics or other iconic level.
Just, more of the same.
Still, it leads to the final, final boss, K. Rools Last Stand.
This expands upon the previous battle with new projectile attacks, and a charge attack,
demanding more dexterity from the player.
However, the greatest contribution is the pits on either side of the screen.
This little wrinkle demands just that extra bit of attention from the player, as a mistimed
jump will send players to an instant death.
In hindsight, I think this one little detail could have greatly increased other fights
in the trilogy, helping push some of them all over the top.
Alas, it wasn’t meant to be.
To my surprise, this final, final fight is not the end of Donkey Kong Land III.
Once a player finds all of the bonus barrels in the Lost World, and in the regular levels,
they should amass a total of 77 bonus coins, which will unlock the final matching game,
rewarding the final stopwatch, and something I did not expect at all.
A time attack mode!
Yeah, somehow I’ve watched nearly 15 years of online video and had no idea this little
gem was hiding at the end of Donkey Kong Land III.
Basically, it represents the final 6 percent of a save file, bringing the total to 103%,
the only Land game to surpass 100.
Honestly, despite having no particular interest in speed running, I rather enjoyed all 12
of these trials.
The challenge I often found lacking, is cranked to 11 here.
A player needs to memorize each and every level, knowing the precise location of each
platform and enemy, in addition to any barrel shortcuts some levels may provide.
Even better, little nuances from the controls come into play as well.
For example, after a rolling or spinning attack, the Kongs briefly stop.
However, if a player jumps before the stop, they can retain their momentum and continue
forward.
The water stage is especially brutal, as the Kongs can increase forward momentum by holding
the speed button and down, or jump, but not a normal forward swim.
The player is forced to carefully manipulate the Kongs, and Enguarde, using every nuance
the game mechanics provided, to be successful.
Of course, while incredibly challenging, none of the 12 stages is impossible with some allowing
more slop than one might expect.
I am frequently told I suck at games, and my lack of skill is what causes me to complain
about certain difficulty spikes found in games, so perhaps these are easier than I am leading
on.
However, I did feel like these stages were some of the few moments where precision jumping,
quick reactions, and skillful play were required for the player to be successful.
And as I look back at Donkey Kong Land III, I desperately wish the back half of the game
offered more of these moments.
While this review has been mostly negative, and I am keenly aware many consider this title
the best of the trilogy.
My negativity is more a byproduct of covering the positive aspects of the trilogy already.
As best as I can tell, the controls are exactly as they were in the second game.
Which is to say, they are sublime, supremely responsive with the awesome acceleration giving
players exactly what they need, to deal with enemies and the limited screen resolution.
The jumping is some of the best I’ve ever experienced in the 8-bit realm with excellent
mid-air maneuverability.
Slowing inertia mid-air feels amazing and I feel bad for the 8-bit handheld title I’m
reviewing next, because it doesn’t even come close to the level of tightness on display
here.
Do I wish the platforming was a bit more technical?
Sure.
Enemy patterns can be far too simplistic and DKL3 rarely tests a player's mettle.
Difficulty comes at the player in strange bursts, and of course, the time attack challenge
at the end.
The animal buddie implementation is also the worst in the franchise.
Still, despite these critiques, I still find the game to be exceptionally playable and
definitely better than most 8-bit platformers.
The soundtrack remains amazing, Water World, Rockface Rumble, and Jungle Jitter stood out
to me, representing some more fantastic 8-bit chiptunes.
Much like the controls and overall presentation, I don’t have much new to say about the soundtrack,
the quality remains exceptionally high and I can’t imagine anyone not enjoying it.
So, here we are.
While I don’t find Donkey Kong Land III to be the best game in the series, or even
the Land trilogy, it is still a good game.
The presentation is excellent, with no slowdown, little flicker, and features the best visual
pop in the trilogy thanks to this Game Boy Color port.
While I wish certain gameplay elements were better, like bonus barrel placement and animal
buddy usage, neither of these are enough to bring down the experience as a whole.
More impressive, this is the eight title in the Donkey Kong Country franchise I have reviewed,
and while I should be feeling fatigued at this point, I don’t.
DKLIII held my attention from beginning to end, twice.
That is rather amazing.
Few other franchises have been able to retain such a ridiculous quality standard.
If you are like me and can’t get enough of the superb gameplay the franchise provides,
and are looking for some new levels to play, Donkey Kong Land III will most definitely,
satisfy.