Critics always say Nintendo has, this...go-to list of franchises.
And that with every console, it's always the same characters.
And I guess that's kind of true.
I mean, yeah, Nintendo has some characters they use a lot.
So does Disney.
But to say it's always the same characters?
Tell that to Donkey Kong.
See, when Nintendo launched the NES, Donkey Kong wasn't just on that list.
He was the list, arguably the biggest name in video games.
Less than a decade later, when Nintendo had their next console ready...that wasn't exactly
the case.
I mean, until Donkey Kong Country came along...Star Fox, had become a bigger name at Nintendo.
And that's the point.
Nintendo's go-to list?
It kind of changes, from console to console.
Their characters go through ups and downs.
And this game came a time when...Donkey Kong was only up.
Ridiculously up.
Even when he was just repeating himself.
Even when he wasn't even in the game.
It's Donkey Kong Land 2 for the original Game Boy.
So obviously, this game came right in the middle of the second wave of Donkey Kong mania.
Years after Donkey Kong and Donkey Kong, Jr. were hits, Donkey Kong Country was huge.
In fact, it's easy to forget how huge it really was.
Not only did it...revive the Donkey Kong series, but it also ended Nintendo's battle with Sega.
I mean, after years of being way off "the list," Donkey Kong did what even Mario couldn't.
He knocked out Sonic.
So...yeah.
We were gonna get sequels.
And spin offs.
And in this case, sequels to spin offs.
Donkey Kong Land brought the Donkey Kong Country formula from the Super Nintendo to the Game
Boy.
Sounds insane, in retrospect.
How do you bring a game that stunning and gorgeous and technically groundbreaking...to
a system as outdated as the original Game Boy was, even in 1996.
I don't know, but they did it.
And with Donkey Kong Land 2, they did it again.
Was just another barrel over the head...of, science, and logic.
In fact, reviewing it now...it's hard to believe this is running on the Game Boy.
In a way, this system was a lot like the NES.
As time went on, developers figured out how to squeeze more than we ever thought possible
from the hardware.
And the platforms were so successful, you could make games on them that late in their
lifespan.
So seven years after the Game Boy launched...the Tetris system, suddenly had this.
Amazing sprites, incredible animations...and all in eight bits.
Donkey Kong Land 2 is, very much...just more Donkey Kong Land.
That's why I haven't been saying much about the gameplay, in terms of this version specifically.
There are no specifics to this version.
If there's any serious flaw with this game, that's it.
It's basically just Donkey Kong Country 2, stripped down.
But you have to keep in mind what we were talking about earlier.
Donkey Kong Country was a huge deal.
And people just wanted more of it.
So Donkey Kong Land 2 just being more Donkey Kong Land, which was just more Donkey Kong
Country...that was okay.
We ate these games up.
I mean...that is, until Kiddy Kong.
Even in Donkey Kong mania, we had our limits.
No, the real story with this game is its presentation.
The graphics and music.
I mean, they're great enough on their own.
But the fact that they're coming from a Game Boy, makes it pretty mind-blowing.
And again...in terms of the gameplay, it's what you'd expect.
Just more of the classic platforming you know from Donkey Kong Country.
The difference with the Land games, of course...is that they're not quite as great.
The smaller window means you see less of the environment, which means you end up moving
a lot slower through the game.
And sometimes, you have some issues with things like hit detection.
But again...the fact that it's even running on a Game Boy...
I mean, if any game deserves a pass for that kind of stuff, it's this one.
From a modern perspective, it's easy to criticize a game like this.
It's a bit slow, it's super frustrating at times...but even so, there's just an amazing
handheld platformer beneath the issues.
It's amazing how much of what made Donkey Kong Country 2 so awesome...was actually replicated
here.
On the Game Boy.
Donkey Kong was solidly back on the list in 1996.
And Donkey Kong Land 2 was another example of why.
Thanks to our friend Daniel, from Palm Coast, Florida, for sending it in.