It didn’t take long for Rare and Nintendo to release the sequel to Donkey Kong Country back in the nineties. In fact, Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy’s Kong Quest came out the very next year that the original was released.
It’s actually impressive to think of such a swift release for a game’s sequel back in the days when the number of staff developing it was most likely in the two digit figure. With the release of the sequel, it was clear that Rare wanted to focus more on the content.
This time around, Donkey Kong has been kidnapped by the evil King K. Rool and it is up to Diddy Kong and new sidekick Dixie Kong to rescue the ape. One of the better advantages of this new duo is that Dixie can use her long hair to slowly descend down after a jump. This makes some of the trickier platform sections more bearable after dying a couple of times.
Oddly enough, Diddy’s Kong Quest is very challenging right from the first area. Whereas the original slowly gets harder with each new area, this sequel lures players to the side of the swallow end of the pool and pushes them in. In a way, it’s reasonable to imagine that Rare likely thought most who played this sequel would have already completed the original.
Yet it also poses the problem that the steep difficulty spike found in early levels also make it somewhat less enjoyable. Fortunately, the Virtual Console’s restore point makes it possible to save at any point. Otherwise, it would have likely made it quite frustrating to constantly lose progress, due to not reaching the next save point by completing the levels necessary to reach it. Even more because coins obtained in levels are used to purchase various resources from the Donkey clan and it costs a certain amount of coins to save.
In terms of performance, the game holds up quite well for most of the time. However, there were some rare occasions where severe frame rate drops were observed when multiple enemies appeared on-screen. As with the Donkey Kong Country 3DS port, this title also doesn’t have the option to switch to full screen. Although it’s easier to get used to playing it on the Nintendo 3DS handheld’s top screen with the side black bars.
The game also looks better than the original and it seems to hold up well when compared to ports of the title on other systems. Some of the areas such as the volcano in the second area make good use of colour to display vibrant environments.
This title makes use of more intricate backgrounds and many new gimmicks. Although, it also seems to lack the originality of the first game in terms of the areas used. The areas in the first game are more interesting to explore because they don’t seem as out of place. Which is a shame given how it looks slightly better. The focus on gimmicks such as an air balloon that must be ridden to complete one of the levels somewhat makes for a less pleasant experience. It forces players to slow down and isn’t as enjoyable because of it.
Due to the way that most levels revolve around gimmicks or even climbing, it makes it less likely to get a hand cramp when playing on a 3DS system. As with the original, it is still possible to hold down the attack button to run, but it isn’t necessary to use it as much in this sequel. Holding down the attack button to run could have caused some discomfort in the right hand due to the nature of the way that the handheld system is held.
What the sequel does rather well compared to the original is that it makes better use of the animals found in some levels and their abilities. There are even more collectibles to find and the soundtrack has some of the best music tracks in the series.
As a port, Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy’s Kong Quest does a decent job of bringing the sequel to the Nintendo 3DS handheld. However, its steep difficulty curve and the lack of some basic port features makes it not as enjoyable as it could have been.
