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Donkey Kong Land is a series of three platform video games modeled after the Donkey Kong Country trilogy for the lesser-powered Game Boy handheld console.

Donkey Kong Land

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Donkey Kong Land
Developer(s)Rare
Publisher(s)Nintendo
Platform(s)Game Boy
ReleaseJune 1995[1][2]
Genre(s)Platforming
Mode(s)Single-player

Donkey Kong Land is a side-scrolling platform video game{cn} for the Game Boy handheld console, released to accompany the similar game, Donkey Kong Country, for the more powerful Super Nintendo home console. In comparison to the latter, Donkey Kong Land has a reduced scope and technical fidelity, so as to match handheld console's limitations.[3] The games share settings (jungles, mountains, and caves[2]) and game mechanics (e.g., roll and "butt bounce" jump moves). The portable release adds new settings (such as skyscrapers and cliffs) and is closer to a new game than a copy.[1] Though the handheld version has fewer levels, they are longer in length.[1] There are 30 levels in all, with 46 bonus areas and four boss battles.[4]

As the gorilla Donkey Kong, the player progresses through levels by jumping on enemies and over obstacles. Donkey Kong can pick up barrels to throw at enemies invulnerable to jump attacks, such as bees.[3] The handheld game's new enemies include a flying pig, mutated prawn, and whirlwind-generating Tasmanian Devil. The player can also mount a rhinoceros and ostrich, as in the game's predecessor.[5] Due to the small screen size, some of the handheld game's enemies will appear unexpectedly.[1] Barrels labeled "DK" contain another monkey, Diddy Kong, who becomes the playable character if Donkey Kong is hit by an enemy.[3] (Unlike the home console game, which displayed both characters on-screen at once,[6] the Game Boy player toggles between the two playable characters by pushing a button.[3]) If both Kong characters are defeated, the level ends and the player must start over. The player can return to completed levels to find hidden areas and collectibles. The game is compatible with the Super Game Boy accessory, which enhances the game's graphics with color and other improvements over the portable device.[3]

It was the first Game Boy game to consist entirely of pre-rendered graphics.[1]

At the time of its release, reviewers considered Donkey Kong Land among the Game Boy's best titles.[7][2][5] It was GamePro's "Best Game Boy Game" of 1995.[9] GameFan called the game "unequivocally" the best action game for the Game Boy,[7] and AllGame said it was among the best platformers for the Game Boy since Super Mario Land.[2] Reviewers compared the handheld game to its home console predecessor, whose pre-rendered graphics had astounded the industry.[1][6] [2] Initial reviewers (1995) were impressed by the handheld game's graphics and technical ability,[7][4][2] considering the limitations of the aging Game Boy.[3][6][2][5] Ultimately, its release was not the sea change that Donkey Kong Country had been for the Super Nintendo.[6][5]

Those who were impressed by the game's graphics cited in particular its character animations,[1][3][5] pre-rendered imagery, and parallax scrolling.[7] GameFan called its level of background detail "unprecedented".[1] But owing to the Game Boy's "outdated" graphical capabilities—its color palette is four shades of gray[2]—Game Players magazine considered Donkey Kong Land "just another solid side-scrolling Game Boy title".[6] Rare had used a similar graphics technique for the Game Boy's Killer Instinct, but AllGame felt that the technique proved more successful in Donkey Kong Land.[2] Critics also cited issues with look-ahead, and found themselves making leaps of faith where they could not see platforms on-screen.[5] GamePro thought that the game better fit the Super Game Boy: "the green-and-white Game Boy monitor ... doesn't do this game justice",[3] and GameFan did not recommend playing the game without the Super Nintendo adapter.[1] The Super Game Boy made the characters easier to separate objects from the game's background.[5]

The handheld title is similar in gameplay to its home console predecessor,[2][6] but has comparatively larger levels[3] and harder difficulty, with some levels requiring "painstaking" care.[3][7] Game Players appreciated that Rare built new levels instead of simply porting the original's.[6] Critics praised the tightness of the game's controls,[6] [2][5] though some also found it "derivative".[5]

Reviewer comments on the game's sound ranged from "decent",[2] to "tinny", "benign", and "subtle".[3] Electric Playground and GameFan both offered high praise and called the soundtrack a "near perfect replication" of the home console's audio[5] when paired with the Super Game Boy add-on.[1]

A decade after the game's release, The Guardian recalled the handheld game as the "Game Boy's most technologically impressive title", considering how the developer was able to fit pseudo-3D character models onto the small cartridge. But in retrospect, its aged graphics cluttered the screen. The Guardian thought that the game's lasting appeal was mostly for nostalgia.[8]


  • NP issue 74, has a gameplay spread on p. 10–
  • NP issue 265, March 2011, revisits DKL

DKL 2

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Donkey Kong Land 2
Developer(s)Rare
Publisher(s)Nintendo
Platform(s)Game Boy
ReleaseSeptember 1996
Genre(s)Platforming
Mode(s)Single-player

Similar to the mechanics of the previous side-scrolling handheld game, Donkey Kong Land 2 takes place in the same pirate setting as its console counterpart, Donkey Kong Country 2, with the same enemies and collectibles. The player jumps atop enemies to defeat them, and collects bananas and K-O-N-G letters to earn extra lives. There are 42 levels to explore, and multiple hidden areas within them.[10]

Reviewers commended the sequel's graphics as exceptional.[10] GamePro considered it "the best handheld game of the year".[10]

Series

DKL 3

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Donkey Kong Land 3
Developer(s)Rare
Publisher(s)Nintendo
Platform(s)Game Boy
ReleaseOctober 1997
Genre(s)Platforming
Mode(s)Single-player
  • GamePro?
  • NP 101 Oct 1997, p. 98

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Rickards, Kelly (July 1995). "Donkey Kong Land review". DieHard GameFan. 3 (7): 82.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Williamson, Colin. "Donkey Kong Land Review". AllGame. Archived from the original on December 11, 2014. Retrieved December 28, 2016.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l The Axe Grinder (July 1995). "ProReview: Donkey Kong Land". GamePro. No. 72. p. 78. The component scores of the displayed average are 4.0 (graphics), 3.5 (sound), 3.5 (control), and 4.0 (fun factor).
  4. ^ a b "Now Playing: Donkey Kong Land". Nintendo Power. No. 74. July 1995. pp. 102–103.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Lucas, Victor (August 31, 1995). "GAME REVIEWS: ARCHIVE '95: Donkey Kong Land". Electronic Playground. Archived from the original on August 6, 1997. Retrieved December 28, 2016.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Donkey Kong Land review". Game Players (54): 70. July 1995. The review included separate ratings of the game's components: graphics (7), music and sound (8), innovation (6), gameplay (8), and replay value (9).
  7. ^ a b c d e f Halverson, Dave; Dean Des Barres, Nicholas; Rickards, Kelly (July 1995). Halverson, Dave (ed.). "Donkey Kong Land review scores". DieHard GameFan. 3 (7): 12.
  8. ^ a b Kamen, Matt (November 10, 2014). "Donkey Kong Land review visuals are dated, but gameplay stays fresh". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077.
  9. ^ "Editor's Choice Awards 1995". GamePro. No. 89. February 1996. p. 26.
  10. ^ a b c d "Donkey Kong Land 2 review". GamePro. No. 90. January 1997. p. 44.

Category:Donkey Kong games

 

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