Sunday, October 20, 2024

Donkey Kong Country Level Ranking

The Donkey Kong Country trilogy is one of my most replayed platforming trilogies of all time for reasons I've delved into before. Their short length, brisk pacing, fluid movement, focus on mastery, and stellar atmosphere make them a joy to revisit over and over again. This was another series I wanted to do a slightly deeper dive into, so how about I go ahead and rank the stages and bosses in each entry in the Donkey Kong Country trilogy, starting with the first game.

Donkey Kong Country is probably the most consistent game in the series, as even its worst stages aren't especially bad, though its best stages don't quite reach the heights of its two sequels either. It's got a selection of really solid, tightly designed, no frills platforming stages that feel quite satisfying to run through.

33. Clam City

Donkey Kong Country's underwater stages tend to get a decent amount of praise and are often held up as underwater stages done well. Sadly, I don't entirely agree. They're certainly better than in some other series like Mario, and the atmosphere in them is almost always impeccable, but the loose swimming controls make it pretty easy to accidentally swim right into enemies and in general, it lacks the sheer skill ceiling of the standard platforming stages. In my most recent playthrough, Clam City was the one that stuck out as an easy least favorite because it has a bunch of rooms that are just filled to the brim with enemy spam only exacerbating the underwater gameplay even more. On the other side of the spectrum, the concept of the clam enemies that shoot pearl bullets is neat in theory, but it's not expanded upon all that much as you rarely have to deal with more than one at a time. In general, this is just the stage I get the least enjoyment playing.

32. Poison Pond

If I had a nickel for every time the first entry of a platforming trilogy tells a nature vs technology story through the levels becoming increasingly man-made, I'd have three nickels because Sonic and Crash Bandicoot did this too. Poison Pond used to be my least favorite stage in DKC but I think the unique setting and how it demonstrates the lack of care the Kremlings have for the environment does give it some points, even if the intentionally ugly green water filter is still pretty hard to look at. The main mechanic of dodging these sawblades is also pretty solid in concept, but you often have to wait for cycles to get past them which leaves this level feeling pretty overlong and dull. The final stretch being yet another enemy spam room filled with fish to narrowly dodge doesn't help this stage's case either.

31. Loopy Lights

Loopy Lights aims to combine the mechanics of Blackout Basement and Stop N Go Station, but it lacks the benefits of either stage. Racing to keep the lights on just doesn't have the same level of urgency as racing to prevent fast, invulnerable enemies from waking up, and the faster pacing means the thoughtful intuition puzzles of Blackout Basement are kinda lost here. On top of that, the jumping Claptrap enemies exclusive to this stage are an absolute pain to deal with, and even with the lights turned on, the stage is still so dark that I find myself straining to figure out where I am, which all adds up to a stage that feels more annoying than difficult. And then, of course, there's the GBA version which doesn't even bother as the screen is so bright that you can easily see everything with the lights off.

30. Coral Capers

I already made my thoughts on the underwater stages clear and being the first one, Coral Capers doesn't really do much to stand out beyond being a decent tutorial. I like how you can get Enguarde pretty early on which could be a decent help for beginner players, though his poor vertical movement means I'd usually just prefer playing as the Kongs. Just so you know, I'm actually not a huge fan of the animal buddies in general since how well they feel to play can feel pretty hit-or-miss, and Enguarde is firmly on the miss side of the spectrum for me. One thing I like about DKC1 though is that they're pretty much all optional which I can't say about the next two games.

29. Misty Mine

Misty Mine's main mechanic involves dealing with enemies that spawn from the Enemy Drums. You do get a few TNT barrels you can use to take them out, but that's a trick since usually you'll actually have to use them to open up a bonus room. Dealing with the constantly spawning enemies can be pretty annoying especially in the end when you start having to deal with a bunch of Enemy Drums at the same time, and the one real saving grace for this stage is that it has one of the most fleshed-out bonus rooms in this series which weirdly houses all of the KONG letters.

28. Winky's Walkway

Upon my most recent playthrough, I was surprised to find that Winky is easily my favorite of the animal buddies in this game. His generous hitboxes and high jumps make it pretty easy to use him to break the stages he's in, not that Winky's Walkway needed to be broken because it's also absurdly short and easy. Most of the stage takes place on these simplistic ledges with little in the way of hazards to dodge or engaging secrets to find, it's kinda just... there.

27. Torchlight Trouble

From a pure level design perspective, Torchlight Trouble isn't a half bad stage. It combines tight platforming sequence across sawblades with beefy enemies that only Donkey Kong can defeat which makes it one of the few stages that really encourages swapping between the two characters. Unfortunately, it's brought down by yet another annoying darkness gimmick as you have to use Squawks' limited torchlight to see ahead of you. It's already not a mechanic I particularly enjoy, but the fact that Squawks flashes his light at the player's face every time you turn around just hurts my eyes. I'd say I appreciate the attempt at realism, but maybe this one should've been left on the drawing board.

26. Bouncy Bonanza

Bouncy Bonanza as a whole is kinda just mildly dark, around the same level of darkness as Loopy Lights with the lights on, and I'm not a fan. Dulling out the stage like this doesn't make the game harder, it just means I have to squint more. Otherwise, though, this is a fine enough cave stage that mostly iterates on the mechanics that the earlier Reptile Rumble introduced. There are some neat puzzles around pushing tires onto moving platforms at just the right time, with one well-placed tire in particular allowing you to reach an upper path where you can find Winky.

25. Ice Age Alley

Ice Age Alley is mostly just a test of what you've learned so far, bringing together a number of mechanics from prior levels like the Neckies from Vulture Culture, the Orangutans from Orang-Utan Gang, and the swinging ropes from Ropey Rampage. The level geometry being mostly composed of steep slopes not only makes these hazards feel a lot more threatening, but can also be pretty fun to mess around with in terms of movement. Sadly, this level also puts a pretty heavy emphasis on my least favorite animal buddy in the game, Expresso. His inability to jump on enemies just makes using him feel like a hassle, and yet several collectibles in this stage require you to keep him around.

24. Manic Mincers

Manic Mincers takes the sawblades that populated Poison Pond and actually builds a pretty decent platforming stage around them, even if it can feel a bit forgettable so late in the game. It's nice to see Rambi get some time to shine though, especially since you don't really get to use him much throughout DKC1. The most interesting thing about this stage is how it has a bonus area that doesn't count for your total and is thus pretty much entirely optional for 100%. It makes sense that DK's house in Jungle Hijinx was optional, but I wonder why this one was too?

23. Reptile Rumble

Reptile Rumble is a pretty early stage so as a whole, it's fairly simple and lacking in especially complex platforming. It introduces jumping enemies and tires you can bounce on, but both of these mechanics get expanded upon much further in later stages. What I do like about Reptile Rumble, however, is the secrets and the pacing. This stage has an incredibly smooth flow to it, and most of the bonus areas can be fairly easily intuited and accessed without breaking your momentum, which makes for a really fun stage to just run through even if it isn't super remarkable.

22. Ropey Rampage

Ropey Rampage is a solid second stage that I'd argue is the first one in Donkey Kong Country to really establish the game's formula of taking a single mechanic and slowly fleshing it out, in this case being these ropes that you swing on. It also serves as a bit of a skill check to make sure you know the run button exists, which I know because that was not something I was aware of as a kid which led to me struggling at this stage quite a lot back then. I also really like the atmosphere of this stage, having the second stage take place in this raging storm is a really cool change of pace visually.

21. Rope Bridge Rumble

Rope Bridge Rumble is the perfect mid-tier Donkey Kong Country stage. It doesn't do anything especially standout, but it also doesn't do anything especially wrong either. It takes the mechanic of bouncing off of tires on moving platforms and builds on it in complexity and difficulty as the stage goes on, it brings back the cool treetop town setting albeit with a somewhat snowier look to it, and you get to ride Winky, who's just as unbelievably broken as always.

20. Barrel Cannon Canyon

Barrel Cannon Canyon properly introduces one of my favorite mechanics in the entire series, the barrel cannons. I absolutely love these timing challenge and this stage is a great introduction to them, introducing the barrel cannons in a safe spot before slowly amping up the challenge and culminating in a genuinely tough final stretch. It's, uh, just a shame you can skip so much of the first half of the stage, including the parts that are meant to actually teach you the mechanic the level is about.

19. Croctopus Chase

Croctopus Chase is far and away my favorite underwater stage in the game as the main mechanic of swimming away from the titular Croctopuses through tight, linear corridors suits DKC's underwater movement systems a lot more. The stage as a whole is fairly constrictive and easy, but there's still a whole bunch of branching paths that hide most of the collectibles, and the basic difficulty serves as a really nice breather at this point in the game.

18. Elevator Antics

Elevator Antics' first half is yet another pretty unremarkable cave stage with some pretty annoying segments where you have to squeeze through small passages while also dodging the newly introduced snake enemies. It's not until the second half when the titular elevators are introduced and the stage becomes truly great, as quickly hopping across the elevators while dodging Zingers makes for some incredibly fun and engaging platforming sequences.

17. Orang-utan Gang

Orang-utan Gang is arguably one of the most iconic stages in the game to the point where it almost hurts putting it this low. The one-off sunset background this stage uses is absolutely gorgeous, the Orangutan enemies being blatantly inspired by arcade Donkey Kong is a very cool tough, and this stage is infamous for having the most bonus areas out of any stage. However, in terms of gameplay, Orang-utan Gang is a bit weak. Despite the quantity of bonus areas, most of them are pretty sloppily hidden right at the end of the stage and don't feel especially rewarding to find. And like with Ice Age Alley, this stage puts a pretty big focus on Expresso who does admittedly work better here thanks to the long straightways but still isn't especially fun to use.

16. Temple Tempest

I quite like the temple stages for their cool aesthetics and unique mechanics, and Temple Tempest puts a pretty neat spin on the millstone mechanic introduced in the previous temple stage by having them chase you down. Sadly, I don't think this stage is quite as tense as it could've been as you move way too fast for the millstones to be much of a threat, especially if you can hang onto Expresso. And yeah, this is another Expresso stage, but his ability to outrun and fly over the millstones and run over the many small enemies in the stage means he feels like a more worthwhile upgrade here.

15. Vulture Culture

Vulture Culture is a fairly basic stage with a fantastic sense of flow to it. Bouncing off of several Neckies at a time feels incredibly satisfying, and it's even better in the moments when the cannon launches you onto a Necky allowing you to gain some serious speed. Necky as an enemy is also just quite versatile thanks to the many variations in this game, and Vulture Culture does a good job at showing off all of them. On top of that, I just really like the forest setting thanks to the pretty background and serene music.

14. Tree Top Town

As I mentioned with Rope Bridge Rumble, I think this stage has an incredibly cool setting. The unique 2.5D look of it really stands out among all the other biomes in the game. Beyond that, though Tree Top Town is a solid expansion on the groundwork that Barrel Cannon Canyon laid. It's a slightly tougher barrel cannon stage with trickier cannon arrangements and far fewer shortcuts that could let you bypass it all, you have to master the timing and power through this one.

13. Millstone Mayhem

Millstone Mayhem is the first temple stage and it's built around these giant millstones that you have to dodge. As just the Kongs, you'll usually have to wait out cycles and run from under the millstones, but there's also a cleverly hidden Winky box that allows you to easily jump over all the millstones which feels incredibly cathartic. It's a very well-executed reward for your exploration. On top of that, this stage is the first to really sprinkle in a bunch of enemies that Donkey Kong can have a better time defeating so this is where you need to really get it into your head that you shouldn't just stick to one of the Kongs.

12. Jungle Hijinxs

Jungle Hijinxs is a fantastic first level, a stellar tutorial, and an incredibly dynamic stage that's a joy to replay. It slowly, carefully, and silently introduces all of the game's major mechanics including switching between the Kongs, dealing with various enemy types, using animal friends, and the fact that some of the walls and floor may hide secret collectibles and even secret items. I also love being able to visit the DK hut at the start, it's a fun easter egg that helps make the game world feel more alive, and it immediately encourages the player to look around. Being able to use Rambi in the second half is also a fun change of pace, and the stage ending with a gradual shift to nighttime is an incredibly impressive visual effect that sets the stage perfectly for Ropey Rampage.

11. Forest Frenzy

Forest Frenzy is yet another stage that I just find incredibly tight and thoughtfully-designed. It takes the rope mechanics from the previous stages and fleshes it out by turning them into pseudo moving platforms. You have to hang on the rope and slide up and down on it to dodge a variety of increasingly tough hazards, culminating in a standout final stretch where it feels like the devs at Rare are throwing everything but the kitchen sink at you to dodge.

10. Trick Track Trek

Despite being an autoscroller, I find Trick Track Trek to be quite fun. The moving platform you stay on moves quite fast and you're constantly being tossed hazards to dodge and enemies to deal with, so there really is never a dull moment. The only real reason why this stage isn't higher is because one other stage executes upon this premise even better

9. Mine Cart Madness

I absolutely adore the minecart stages in the Donkey Kong Country game, they're incredibly fun reaction tests that get to show off some of the wildest level design in the series. Mine Cart Madness is the weaker of the two in this game, but it's really not that bad. Hopping between minecarts makes for a really fun and dynamic stage, even if that means it's a bit slower-paced than its predecessor, and using these two different modes of movement can make finding the bonus levels really engaging.

8. Blackout Basement

Despite how much I criticized the other darkness levels in this game, I actually love Blackout Basement and find it to be a really good challenge. What I like about this stage is that the lights are either 100% on or 100% off, you don't have to strain your eyes to try and see your surroundings. Instead, the challenge is in making a mental map of the level as you play it which I find to be quite engaging. It also helps that this stage isn't especially long and the level design itself is quite basic, so you can really just focus on dealing with the flickering lights and nothing else. Also, that one bonus room you access by riding on a steel keg is a very fun and memorable secret.

7. Snow Barrel Blast

Snow Barrel Blast is another one of DKC's most iconic stages, and for great reason as it's got pretty much everything. Most of these bonus areas are quite well-hidden and fun to find, the barrel cannon sequences are some of the most fun and engaging in the game, and the sense of atmosphere with the snowstorm getting more intense as the level progresses is really strong. There's also something really cheeky about that final sequence between how absurdly difficult that one cannon shot with the Zinger is and how easily you can bypass it with a shortcut. Normally I'd complain about being able to skip such a large chunk of the level, but in this case, I think it adds to the stage's charm.

6. Platform Perils

Out of the final levels in the Donkey Kong Country games, Platform Perils is easily my favorite of the bunch. It's a brutal platforming gauntlet that makes use of both Kongs in tandem, with you often having to make wide jumps across moving platforms while also dealing with the tanky Krushas. This stage absolutely crushed me as a kid, but beating it felt like one of my biggest accomplishments ever. Nowadays, I can beat Platform Perils fairly easily but it remains an incredibly rewarding and satisfying stage to complete.

5. Oil Drum Alley

Oil Drum Alley is another stage I find pretty iconic for a number of reasons. I adore the factory biome in this game, primarily because of how stellar of a theme Fear Factory is. The main oil drum mechanic is also really fun to use because of how generous the hitboxes are for the fire, which really encourages you to play it risky and try to find cycles you can use to get through the stage quickly. Hell, the final section which has you hopping across several oil drums with no breaks pretty much demands it. This stage also has the second most bonus areas out of any level, but unlike Orang-utan Gang, most of these bonus areas are quite cleverly hidden. The one bonus room hidden inside another bonus room in particular is just brilliantly devious.

4. Tanked Up Trouble

Tanked Up Trouble is basically a more frenetic version of Trick Track Trek. Having to constantly scramble for fuel makes the stage more tense and engaging throughout, and my praise for its predecessor for not having many dull moments is doubled here. You do not have any time to rest in this stage, you've gotta be constantly moving. The end bit where you're just barely trying to keep your platform from running out of fuel and all the fuel cans only fill up on bar is especially tense and memorable.

3. Slipslide Ride

Slipslide Ride is a stage I really didn't give much credit for at first, but upon replay, I actually think this is a quintessential example of what makes Donkey Kong Country as a series so great. It takes a simple concept of ropes that you can either slide up or down and expands on it over the course of the level. There's a surprising amount of depth since you can climb up the purple ropes with enough skill. I remember that used to be so hard for me, but nowadays, I can do it pretty easily. The secrets are all incredibly well-hidden and encourage you to go off the beaten path without feeling too obscure for the sake of it. And on top of all that, this stage has an entirely original ice cavern setting and one of the best music tracks in the entire game that just so happens to only be used once.

2. Mine Cart Carnage:

As I said, I adore the minecart stages, and this one in particular is a stage I have played countless times. I'd practically gotten it memorized by now. The way the stage slowly amps up in intensity, increasingly the amount of pits you need to jump over and enemy carts you have to dodge, culminating in an incredibly fast-paced and frantic conclusion makes for a really standout stage. And that final enemy is such a brilliant troll that I can't even get mad at for how many times it got me. Is this stage a bit too early on in the game for how hard it is? Sure, but it's still fun as hell.

1. Stop & Go Station

Stop & Go Station boasts an incredibly brilliant concept. Fast, large, invulnerable enemies that you can only disable by briefly turning them off. The murky atmosphere, tense music, and the design of the Rock Krocs themselves make for a uniquely creepy and unnerving stage, and the tension only increases as the stage goes on and you have increasingly less time to get past the Rock Krocs. But on top of that, despite essentially being a stealth stage, Stop & Go Station has an incredible sense of flow. If you're skilled enough, you can blast through the stage, briefly touching each Stop/Go barrel you see. And like with the oil brums, the Rock Krocs also actually have pretty generous hitboxes which makes it really fun to just narrowly graze by them as they wake back up. It's not just one of the most inventive platforming stages on the SNES, but it's also an incredibly fun speedrunning stage which I think is enough to elevate Stop & Go Station to being the best stage from this first entry.

As for the bosses, yeah, most of them aren't really great. Don't be surprised if I don't have much to say about them.

7. Very Gnawty

Very Gnawty is an incredibly easy and mindless boss who you can defeat with pretty much zero effort. All he does is hop around mindlessly and even that's pretty useless since he's very easy to stunlock. Even by first boss standards, he's pretty pathetic.

6. Master Necky

Master Necky is slightly more involved as the arc of his projectiles can be a bit tough to deal with at first. However, he's still pretty basic and repetitive to beat once you get his pattern down.

5. Really Gnawty

Really Gnawty is a decent step-up over the original as he can now jump higher and has some moments of invulnerability. However, most of his higher jumps can be dodged pretty easily by hugging one of the walls which leaves this boss still pretty easy.

4. Master Necky Sr

All Master Necky Sr really changes is that he now shoots a few more projectiles. It's a little bit harder, but not by much if you're already skilled at the first iteration of this fight.

3. Queen B

Queen B is the first actually interesting fight. Her attack pattern is a bit tough to learn, she has dedicated moments of invulnerability, and she actually poses a decent challenge. And this is doubly so in the GBA version where she also calls other Zingers to defend her which does make her more challenging and involved... even if it arguably makes her a bit more annoying to deal with.

2. Dumb Drum

People tend to rag on Dumb Drum because of how it's basically just a glorified enemy rush and that it kinda just takes itself out. But here's the thing, DKC1's bosses are so dull that I unironically think an enemy rush is more engaging and interesting than most of them, especially when the later few waves introduce enemies you need Donkey Kong to deal with. On top of that, the GBA version makes the objective improvement of having you throw barrels at Dumb Drum yourself so even the boss's main criticism has been addressed a while ago.

1. King K Rool

Of course, King K Rool gets the only genuinely great boss fight in the game. With three dedicated phases, a decent variety of attacks and some tough patterns that are incredibly satisfying to learn and conquer, this is just a straight-up great final boss even beyond the standards of this game. On top of that, what elevates the fight further is the fantastic presentation. King K Rool's animations convey so much personality in the few minutes we spend with him, Gangplank Galleon is obviously a classic, and I don't think there's anyone on the planet that dislikes that Kredits gag. It's a no-brainer, this is DKC1's best boss.

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