with the help of my new EverDrive flashcart, i recently played through all 3 of the first Donkey Kong Country games on my SNES without having to worry about old cartridge batteries still holding saves. of them, my favourite was the threequel, subtitled “Dixie Kong’s Double Trouble”. i had the most fun playing it, and i also thought it was the most beautiful and the most technically advanced of the retro trilogy. it was the only one that i played to full completion because i really wanted to have some more fun with it. but going online, i was surprised to find that the typical consensus amongst “Gamers” is that DKC2 is the best one, which was my least favourite to play. or, it seems just as often, people say they just never played DKC3. which saddens me! it’s a great game with unique merits!
here’s my take: DKC2 and DKC3 are both great games, but they’re made for different types of players. consequently, people turned off by DKC2 aren’t likely to have stuck around to play DKC3, while those who adored DKC2 would naturally be disappointed by DKC3. the result is that DKC3 gets a lot of slack it doesn’t deserve, and at the same time not enough praise for what it gets right — which i think is nearly every change that it makes to the formula (besides those which are just a matter of taste).
(unpauseable animations below the cut.)
to compare the two games, i’ll also be providing some context on DKC2 throughout. the relationship that DKC2: Diddy’s Kong Quest takes with the player is a combative one, by presenting overcoming it as a challenge to the player, and it tries to sabotage the player in many ways that the other 2 games in this trilogy do not. for instance, one clear difference supporting this is that DKC2 is the only game that starts you with just 4 lives on boot, instead of 5.
this change is an example of something that makes it more difficult to progress through the game, but there are also several decisions the designers made that instead focus on making the game’s general aesthetics / “vibes” suit this. like, one of the first times, if not the first time, that i actually paid Cranky Kong to give me some advice on a stage, he just told me “I ain’t helping you with this one.” which is a pretty mean thing to do to the player! but it also contributes to achieving its goal of essentially telling the player “i’d like to try and see you beat me, chump!” (not to mention how the game literally ranks you on a podium based on how many “Cranky’s Video Game Hero Coins” you’ve collected after beating K. Rool, challenging you even further.) and the type of player which gets satisfaction from proving it wrong will have fun doing so. but the player who just wants to chill out with some fun platforming and pretty graphics will get frustrated instead. as you might be surmising, DKC3 is built for this latter type of player.
as such, one thing that consistently gets brought up when people criticize DKC3 is its difficulty. the types of players who love DKC2 in large part for its challenge, will complain that DKC3 is too easy. which like, yeah, but that’s a matter of preference! idk, personally i usually don’t sit down at my couch with a video game because i want to sweat. and to be clear, my lacking in platforming skill is not the issue (i have 201 berries in Celeste on my gaming résumé for god’s sake).
the reason i wanted to play the DKC trilogy in the first place was because i figured that the large objects, relatively simple mechanics, and pretty graphics indicated that they’d offer chill, fairly straightforward platforming challenges. i think that’s what those traits lend themselves to best, at least, and DKC3 really embraces this. i found it quite cohesive in terms of achieving its vision. it’s not like DKC3 is a walk in the park either though — i struggled a lot with Koindozer Klamber (one of the last non‐bonus levels), and if you really want the game to demand more of you, then you could always enter the TUFST cheat to require perfect play by removing checkpoints and almost all DK barrels.
nothing in DKC3 approached the level of frustration i reached with Screech’s Sprint in DKC2 though, which really felt like it was supposed to be a bonus challenge level rather than part of the main story. that level is the sole reason i did not beat DKC2 without cheating — i found and entered an infinite lives cheat on my EverDrive to make it less arduous to throw myself at this level. part of why it got so frustrating had to do with the overworld map rather than the level itself, which is a good segue opportunity into how DKC3 improves on it.
so the overworld map in the original DKC is quite restricted. it’s just a bunch of linear paths between levels dotted with Cheerios on static backgrounds, and in each world you’re restricted from saving and travelling to other worlds until you unlock the areas to do so, for some reason. this incentivizes you to stock up on lives so that when entering a new world you’re less likely to get a game over before reaching that world’s save point. and then the game doesn’t save on the cartridge how many lives you have, turning this into an exercise in frustration.
DKC2 iterates on this part of the formula by uh, making it even worse. (the only improvement is that the hub map of Crocodile Isle gets some animation, though the world backgrounds remain static images.) for one, even the Cheerios are gone now, leaving you to guess where you’ll end up when you push a direction to move in. but now your already‐restricted ability to save the game and travel around is now shackled by a currency system that makes you pay tokens to save your damn game or move between worlds. i could hardly believe that this game did this, especially since it still doesn’t save anything on the cartridge besides completion data — that means no lives or tokens are kept, making any trips to Swanky’s Bonus Bonanza truly meaningless across sessions. this made the game so much more frustrating to get through when played over the course of a couple weeks, rather than a single extended play session or an emulated play session with save states. (with Screech’s Sprint in particular, you’re facing it while thrown onto a new world map where you can no longer save, travel, or stock up on lives elsewhere.)
i think some people might argue this design is a matter of preference, but i also think there’s a very good reason why more modern platformers like Celeste and Rayman Legends opt for not having any concept of lives at all. (the debate on the value of “lives” in game design might rage on for the rest of eternity…)
DKC3 doesn’t quite manage this, but you can at least go collect lives whenever you want, because it removes all that other friction: you can travel the world and save your game freely, and also your currency does get saved on the cartridge this time. DKC3 lets you just run around and play the game, and i find it’s a lot better for it. (Funky Kong even comments on how you don’t need “cash” to use his vehicles in this game!)
the overworld maps are also given more purpose with the Brothers Bears trading quests and hidden Banana Birds providing fun little diversions every so often, and they’re also made more beautiful, with lots of little added details like environmental animations everywhere, and shadows that actually cast on the Kongs as they walk around and on rivers as they flow past (using the SNES’s colour math functionality to great effect). the entirety of the Northern Kremisphere is also a very pretty environmental design in general, but i also might be a bit biased on this opinion since it happens to be Basically Canada.
people criticize the environments of DKC3 a fair bit though, and i don’t understand why. i actually think part of this argument is just factually wrong, because there’s at least an implication that DKC3 doesn’t have as many level types as DKC2, which is just not true at all: it has exactly as many (13). yeah, most of them are outdoor nature settings, but like, who cares? they’re beautiful. meanwhile, DKC2 has 3 different level types that are just different parts of a wooden ship. i mean, they’re meant to fit with the game’s pirate motif, but still.
i’ve also seen people say this is an advantage DKC2 has over DKC3: consistency in theme. which, huh?? yeah most of the Kremlings wear pirate outfits, but what does this pirate theme have to do with volcanoes or roller coasters or like, literally a bunch of brambles and barrels floating in the sky. DKC3 being mostly outdoor nature settings seems way more consistent to me, if that’s what you’re looking for.
in any case, i think both games make great choices for their environments to suit their overall tones. the harsher, more mechanical environments of Kremling’s home base of Crocodile Isle in DKC2 suit its more challenging nature perfectly, while the idyllic nature settings of the Northern Kremisphere in DKC3 pair perfectly with its more chill approach.
in terms of objective improvements, DKC3 goes the extra mile in terms of polish by giving every single level a unique palette (or even more than one, for a few special cases), so even where levels share tilesets, they don’t look so alike. as such, all the levels can be identified by a single screenshot!
perhaps none of the level locales in DKC3 are as “out there” as a giant beehive, but at least it doesn’t have 4 beehive levels that all look exactly the same. look, think of it this way: sure, DKC2 gets to have Stickerbush Symphony, but it’s lucky that it has it at all given how the game doesn’t have any gorgeous water levels set in nature for it to be naturally matched with. instead it’s stuck with water levels that take place amongst a bunch of wet crates. meanwhile, DKC3’s coral stages are fit to be framed.
though on that note, the one thing that can be reasonably argued is that DKC3 does not have the strongest soundtrack of the trilogy, but i think this is only true insofar as it might not have as many classic bangers. IMO, in DKC1 these are DK Island Swing, Aquatic Ambiance, and Gang‐Plank Galleon, and in DKC2 they’re Forest Interlude, Stickerbush Symphony, and Kannon’s Klaim.
these all happen to be by David Wise, but like, Eveline Fischer’s contributions to the trilogy are just as good as all the other stuff by David, if you ask me. (for context, David is the series composer, but DKC1 also has contributions from Eveline, and then DKC3’s soundtrack is almost entirely Eveline including all the level music, with David only doing a handful of supplementary tracks.)
i mean, when people think about DKC1, they often start hearing that catchy Simian Segue from the map screen in their head — and that’s her work, not David’s. well, DKC3’s overworld music for Northern Kremisphere is even better, IMO. meanwhile, i really don’t care for Welcome to Crocodile Isle in DKC2 at all. i will say that these overworld map themes fit each game’s vibes very well though, with DKC2’s being the only one set in a minor key since that game’s also set in the most hostile environment. my opinions of them also match how i feel about each game, incidentally. (kind of like how you can tell the quality of a Cave Story cover soundtrack by how well they cover the track Balcony.)
anyway, in DKC3 some of my favourite tracks are Mill Fever, Frosty Frolics, Nuts and Bolts, and Rockface Rumble.
now, worth bringing up is that the GBA remake of DKC3, while appearing to be largely inferior, is notable for having a new soundtrack by David (including new versions of the tracks he’d already done, for some reason). i gave it a listen, but… i really can’t imagine playing the game with this music. it’d give it a completely different feel from what i think it was going for — it’s too upbeat and silly! i mean, listen to the differences between the SNES and the GBA versions of Treetop Tumble. while David’s style of music was great for DKC2, i think Eveline’s more ambient style suits DKC3’s serene nature settings much better.
the way everything in each game is designed to match its vision extends even to stuff like enemy designs. the non‐Kremling enemies generally are more rounded and less spikey and angry in DKC3, but the differences in design are even more apparent when looking at the Kremlings. in DKC2, the Kremlings often have weapons like swords or clubs, and pirate outfits that make them look more conniving and militarized. in DKC3, almost none of them are wearing anything, and only a couple have any sort of weapon. they also generally have sillier designs and demeanors in this game. these details all add up, and in DKC3 it makes the Kremlings feel less like villainous adversaries and more like just a bunch of goofy lizards.
comparing equivalent classes of Kremlings between the two makes these differences even more obvious. both games have Kremlings that hide in barrels until you come close, at which point they emerge and run at you to push you around. in DKC3, these are the Knockas (depicted above), which sit in these obvious green barrels with eyeholes and painted‐on mouths (perhaps reminiscent of shark face aircraft nose art, but with a big grin shape), and flail their arms through the top of the barrel when running. they look quite silly and aren’t very threatening, and are often placed in areas where there aren’t even any pits or hazards for them to knock you into.
in DKC2, you have Klobbers instead. these have a much more intimidating design when they pop out of the barrel, as well as a more deceptive one beforehand, since they look exactly the same as a regular barrel. also the noise they make when they emerge, whatever it is exactly, is creepy as shit. if this doesn’t instill a persistent anxiety in you on its own, there’s also a variant which wears a TNT barrel that will damage you on contact, as well as a yellow variant that makes you drop bananas when it bumps into you, and a grey variant with blood‐red eyes that makes you drop lives on contact that you start seeing in the last world. if you’re not expecting this one and lose control of the situation, you can very easily and very quickly get bullied out of all your lives. it’s ludicrously mean! nothing like this exists in DKC3 at all.
another good direct comparison is DCK2’s Kannons, big burly Kremlings with real‐ass cannons and visible nipples, to DKC3’s Bazukas, silly little lizards with big trash can bazooka and a useless laser sight (i mean you’re not sniping anyone with that thing, come on). or compare DKC2’s Kaboings, wearing armour and jumping around on spring‐loaded bionic legs, to DKC3’s Re‐Koils, bouncing on their tails (which makes a goofy noise) with their tongue perpetually hanging out of their mouth. And DCK3’s Skiddas, magenta Kremlings that just flail back and forth in the snow, are possibly the least‐threatening Kremling in any game.
it seems folks do at least concede that DKC3 has far and away the most creative boss fights of the trilogy. admittedly, a few don’t end up playing all that well if you ask me, but they are at least all interesting, and they’re certainly all memorable. unlike the first two games, none of them are just “a regular enemy but Big and Mad now”. plus there are a lot of them! 7 unique ones in all, compared to 5 in the other games (with every game also having 2 “remixes” of an older boss). most of DKC3’s bosses also command a huge presence now, taking up an enormous part of the screen and making them very impressive. there’s some excellent leverage of the SNES’s hardware on display here to get all these graphics on the screen.
on the other hand, i often see people complain about Kiddie Kong for some reason, which confuses me. ok admittedly i don’t love the name, though none of the alternatives that were considered are that great either. but he’s cute, i like his blue colour scheme, his unique abilities justify adding a new character, and making the playable cast younger suits the game’s atmosphere and difficulty level well. i’m a much bigger fan of Dixie than i am of Diddy too, far as the playable cast goes. i also find the two player Kongs have more distinct abilities and feels in DKC3 and DKC1 compared to DKC2, and i like having more variety between them. anyway, Kiddy’s design just seems a pretty inconsequential thing to harp on, to me. (also Funky Kong’s character progression to this dad‐energy “grease monkey” building boats for you in this game is wonderful. A+.)
there are also several vague critiques that the level design in DKC2 is just better, somehow. again, i think both games accomplish their goals very well, but they’re just different goals is all. DKC2’s levels provide more difficult but still well‐crafted challenges, which, depending on who you ask, would make them feel either “tight” or “frustrating”. but DKC3 does just fine at providing a fun experience with a ton of variety. both games have lots of unique gimmicks that they play to well, many of which you’ll only see once or maybe twice.
DKC3 did have a couple levels that i found to drag on a bit, but DKC2 probably would’ve had as many that felt the same way if my thoughts weren’t so preoccupied with trying to get through them at all. idk, i’m not always trying to be a critic when i’m playing games, so i wasn’t doing nitty‐gritty analyses of game design while chilling on my couch in front of my CRT.
speaking again from my casual experience though, i have a huge preference for how DKC3 handles bonuses and collectibles in its levels. a big part of the reason i didn’t want to 100+% the first 2 games is that what’s needed for full completion is more nebulous. in DKC1, the bonuses hidden in random walls or above random pits are pretty awful, and there’s no reward for finding them all besides some new dialogue with Cranky Kong. what was tied to the completion percentage was also pretty nebulous in general — i figured out after playing it that you don’t have to collect any KONG letters, or even beat the world bosses! (the 101% TAS skips one!)
in DKC2, bonuses became generally less terrible (though the “fake walls” that you could just walk through are also not secret designs i much care for), but the friction of the higher difficulty and map navigation, and the inconsistency with how many bonus rooms are in each level (1–3, at random), made it feel like more work than it would be worth. going back to a level and finding one bonus room you hadn’t found before leaves you wondering if there are up to 2 more you hadn’t found yet, or if that was the only one and you don’t need to keep playing anymore. you can’t tell without exiting to the map, and in the former case you’ll lose a bunch of progress into the level. DKC3 keeps the bonus rooms at a consistent 2 per level, making this more manageable.
the Koins are another sore point others have with DKC3, but i thought they were fun! sure, a bunch of them have the same setup of putting an easy‐to‐use wall right behind the Koin, but finding the Koin (or maybe the steel barrel) in the first place is sometimes the given challenge instead. there are also some very charming instances where the level’s gimmick is made part of the Koin’s environmental puzzle, and these otherwise wouldn’t exist without the Koin mechanic.
in any case, every single Koin in DKC3 is still better than DKC2’s meanest way of “hiding” its DK Coins: as an End of Level Target prize (literally not “hidden” at all as such since you have to see it when completing the stage). while getting enough height to win a prize from these is an environmental puzzle just like the Koins, you only get one shot at the End of Level Targets after getting through the whole rest of the stage — and not only do you have to figure out how to get a prize at all, you also have to time it perfectly so that you actually get the DK Coin, which sometimes scroll by faster than all the other prizes! again, while some people will appreciate the satisfaction that comes with successfully besting this, others (like me) see it as an exercise in frustration every time i miss it and have to start from the beginning to try again (rather than from the checkpoint i already got on my way there).
was there stuff i didn’t like about DKC3? of course. i already mentioned that the lives system feels pointless and obstructive, and especially so because lives aren’t saved on the cartridge. this ends up making a lot of collectibles in levels like bananas, KONG letters, and extra‐life balloons feel pointless and unrewarding as well, which sucks since they’re regularly used as rewards. this all applies to the other games by extension though.
DKC3 does have another interesting item type, the bear coins, but i ended up amassing a lot more of them than i could have possibly had use for just by playing through the levels. (you accrue even more by playing Swanky’s Sideshow at all, which throws coins and bananas at you pretty liberally.) if they were persistent collectibles, it probably would’ve been harder to amass so many of them (when i was dying often retrying a section where i knew a bear coin was hidden and i grabbed it on every attempt, they would add up very quickly), and it would’ve encouraged exploration to find more of them (they often had pretty clever hiding places!). making bear coins a finite resource would also mean you can’t spend them on Swanky’s Sideshow, but I really don’t care for anything Swanky’s doing in any of these games anyway, so i’d just do without it entirely.
uhh what else. oh i did not like that they added plot dialogue, it felt extremely out‐of‐place for K. Rool, DK, Diddy, and Dixie to be talking at all, and the coloured text was hard to follow in general. it was also disorienting that the whole plot of DK and Diddy being kidnapped was not set up in‐game at all (it’s only mentioned in the manual!) and they just kind of show up at the end suddenly, where i thought we were just wandering around the Northern Kremisphere having fun this whole time. similarly, K. Rool’s mad scientist getup didn’t have much to do with anything else, and i wasn’t really into it much either, cute as it is to keep dressing him up in other villain tropes. while the game’s bosses were all creative, some of them felt fairly unintuitive to me.
also the “103%” ending was uh. i mean idk if i disliked it exactly, but. look just read this opening sentence from a Mario Wiki article:
The evil barrier is a large wall prison found in Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble! that Baron K. Roolenstein used to trap the Banana Queen.
but yeah, these shortcomings are fairly minor. i still think DKC3 is the strongest of the retro DKC trilogy, and very much so worth your time if you want some good fun platforming. give it a try!
†i captured these screenshots with BizHawk, and made them into GIF and WebP animations using FFmpeg. BizHawk’s SNES graphical debugger allows toggling the visibility of objects and BG layers, which let me capture these environments on their own pretty easily in most cases. for a few of these, i used RAM watch features to make just the player Kong invisible or lock its position, and i also used FFmpeg to crop and combine multiple captures with different graphics layers a couple times.
random aside: the aspect ratio on the initial 4 GIFs is correctly set to make the PAR ⁓8:7, but most software ignores this field! in the case of WebP, idk if the format even has fields for aspect ratio data, but i just used CSS to force the right aspect ratio in this post (fortunately made super easy using the aspect-ratio property that browsers added support for in 2021).