Donkey Kong Country

Template:Short description Template:About Template:Featured article Template:Use British English Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox video game Donkey Kong CountryTemplate:Efn is a 1994 platform game developed by Rare and published by Nintendo for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES). It is a reboot of Nintendo's Donkey Kong franchise and follows the gorilla Donkey Kong and his nephew Diddy Kong as they set out to recover their stolen banana hoard from the crocodile King K. Rool and his army, the Kremlings. The player traverses 40 side-scrolling levels as they jump between platforms and avoid obstacles. They collect items, ride minecarts and animals, defeat enemies and bosses, and find secret bonus stages. In multiplayer modes, two players work cooperatively or race.

After developing Nintendo Entertainment System games in the 1980s, Rare, a British studio founded by Tim and Chris Stamper, purchased Silicon Graphics workstations to render 3D models. Nintendo sought a game to compete with Sega's Aladdin (1993) and commissioned Rare to revive the dormant Donkey Kong franchise. Rare assembled 12 developers to work on Donkey Kong Country over 18 months. Donkey Kong Country was inspired by the Super Mario series and was one of the first home console games to feature pre-rendered graphics, achieved through a compression technique that converted 3D models into SNES sprites with little loss of detail. It was the first Donkey Kong game neither produced nor directed by the franchise's creator, Shigeru Miyamoto, though he contributed design ideas.

Following its announcement at the Consumer Electronics Show in June 1994, Donkey Kong Country was highly anticipated and backed by a major marketing campaign that cost Template:US$ in America alone. It was released in November 1994 to acclaim; critics hailed its visuals as groundbreaking and praised its gameplay and music. Its quality and design were favourably compared to the Super Mario series. Donkey Kong Country received several year-end accolades and set the record for the fastest-selling video game at the time. With 9.3 million copies sold worldwide, it is the third-bestselling SNES game and the bestselling Donkey Kong game. Following the success, Nintendo purchased a large minority stake in Rare, which became a prominent second-party developer for Nintendo during the late 1990s.

Donkey Kong Country re-established Donkey Kong as a popular Nintendo franchise and helped maintain the SNES's popularity into the fifth generation of video game consoles. It is considered one of the greatest video games of all time and has been ported to platforms such as the Game Boy Color, Game Boy Advance, and digital distribution services. Rare followed it with two sequels for the SNES, Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest (1995) and Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble! (1996), and the Nintendo 64 game Donkey Kong 64 (1999). After a hiatus, during which Rare was acquired by the Nintendo competitor Microsoft, Retro Studios revived the series with Donkey Kong Country Returns (2010) for the Wii and Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze (2014) for the Wii U.

Gameplay

From a side-scrolling perspective, Diddy Kong jumps in the game's first level, Jungle Hijinks. Donkey Kong trails behind him to the left, while a Kremling enemy hobbles away from him on the right.

The player character, Diddy Kong, jumps on a Kremling the game's first level, Jungle Hijinks.

Donkey Kong Country is a side-scrolling platform game.<ref name="GSpotRev" /> A reboot of the Donkey Kong franchise,<ref name="ABC: Reboot" /><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> its story begins when King K. Rool and his army of crocodiles, the Kremlings, steal the Kongs' banana hoard.<ref name="HG101: DKC" /><ref name="NLife: Review" /> The gorilla Donkey Kong and his nephew Diddy Kong set out to reclaim the hoard and defeat the Kremlings.<ref name="NLife: Review" /> Donkey and Diddy serve as the player characters of the single-player game; they run alongside each other and the player can swap between them at will. Donkey is stronger and can defeat enemies more easily; Diddy is faster and more agile.<ref name="IGN: Review" /> Both can walk, run, jump, pick up and throw objects, and roll; Donkey can slap the terrain to defeat enemies or find items.Template:Sfn

The player begins in a world map that tracks their progress and provides access to the 40 levels.Template:Sfn<ref name="DS: RetroCorner">Template:Cite web</ref> The player attempts to complete each level while traversing the environment, jumping between platforms, and avoiding enemy and inanimate obstacles. Level themes include jungles, underwater reefs, caves, mines, mountains, and factories.Template:Sfn Some feature unique game mechanics, such as rideable minecarts, blasting out of cannons resembling barrels, and swinging ropes.Template:Sfn Each area ends with a boss fight with a large enemy.Template:Sfn Donkey and Diddy can defeat enemies by jumping on, rolling into, or throwing barrels at them. If hit by an obstacle, one of the Kongs runs off and the player automatically takes control of the other. They will only be able to control that Kong unless they free the other Kong from a barrel.Template:Sfn

In certain levels, the player can free an animal that provides the Kongs with special abilities, similar to Yoshi from the Super Mario series.<ref name="IGN: Review" /> Buddies include Rambi, a rhino that can charge into enemies and find hidden entrances; Enguarde, a swordfish that can defeat enemies with its bill; Squawks, a parrot that carries a lantern; Expresso, an ostrich that flies; and Winky, a frog that can jump high.<ref name="NLife: Review" /><ref name="Jeux: SNESTest" /> Each level contains collectible bananas, letters that spell out K–O–N–G, balloons, and animal tokens.Template:Sfn These items can be found within the main level or by discovering hidden bonus stages, where they are earned via solving puzzles.Template:Sfn<ref name="USG: RetroReview" /> The player starts with six lives.<ref name="GSpotGBC" /> Collecting 100 bananas, all the K–O–N–G letters, a balloon, or three of the same animal token grants extra lives.<ref name="GSpotGBC" />Template:Sfn

The player can visit other members of the Kong family from the world map. Funky Kong operates a flight service allowing the player to travel across different areas of Donkey Kong Island; Cranky Kong, the aged incarnation of Donkey Kong from the original Donkey Kong (1981), provides tips and fourth wall-breaking humour; and Candy Kong saves the player's progress.<ref name="NLife: Review" />Template:Sfn<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The player can increase their completion percentage by finding bonus stages. Reaching the maximum 101 per cent results in a different ending.<ref name="HG101: DKC" /> The game also features two multiplayer game modes. In the competitive "Contest" mode, players take turns playing each level as quickly as possible. In the cooperative "Team" mode, they play as a tag team.<ref name="DS: RetroCorner" />Template:Sfn

Development

Tim (right) and Chris (left) Stamper; the middle-aged men both wear black polos with red logos on the right of the buttons. Tim has a beard, while Chris is balding.

Rare founders Tim and Chris Stamper (right to left) in 2015

In 1985, the British game developers Tim and Chris Stamper established Rare Ltd. The brothers previously founded the British computer game studio Ultimate Play the Game and founded Rare to focus on the burgeoning Japanese console market.Template:Sfn After Nintendo rejected their efforts to form a partnership in 1983, Chris Stamper studied the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) hardware for six months.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Rare demonstrated it was possible to reverse-engineer the NES and showed several tech demos to Nintendo executive Minoru Arakawa; impressed, Arakawa granted Rare a Nintendo developer licence.<ref name="IGN: GCDevProfile" /><ref name="IGN: History">Template:Cite web</ref> Rare developed more than 60 NES games, including the Battletoads series.<ref name="IGN: History" /><ref name="DF Retro">Template:Cite AV mediaTemplate:Cbignore</ref>

When Nintendo released their next console, the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES), in 1991, Rare decided to limit their output. Around 1992, Rare invested their NES profit in Silicon Graphics, Inc. (SGI) Challenge workstations with Alias rendering software to render 3D models.<ref name="IGN: History" />Template:Sfn It was a significant risk, as each workstation cost £80,000.<ref name="NLife: MakingOf">Template:Cite news</ref> The move made Rare the most technologically advanced UK developer and situated them high in the international market.<ref name="IGN: History" /> In 1993, Nintendo formed a partnership with SGI to develop the SNES's successor, the Nintendo 64.<ref name="JXV: BTS" />

Conception

Though they had purchased the workstations to produce games for the Nintendo 64, Rare discovered it was possible to use them with the 16-bit SNES.<ref name="IGN: GCDevProfile" /> Rare tested the SGI technology with Battletoads Arcade (1994) and began developing a boxing game, Brute Force, using PowerAnimator.<ref name="DF Retro" /><ref name="NLife: MakingOf" /> Around this time, Nintendo was embroiled in a console war with Sega, whose Mega Drive competed with the SNES.<ref name="NLife: MakingOf" /> Nintendo wanted a game to compete with Sega's Aladdin (1993), which featured graphics by Disney animators,<ref name="DF Retro" /><ref name="RG: MakingOf" /> when Nintendo of America's chairman Howard Lincoln learned of Rare's SGI experiments during a trip to Europe.<ref name="IGN: GCDevProfile" /> Nintendo sent several representatives, including the chief technology officer Genyo Takeda; they asked the Stampers if they could demonstrate Brute Force on the SNES hardware. Within two days, the Stampers developed a working build,<ref name="JXV: BTS">Template:Cite web</ref> impressing Nintendo.<ref name="NLife: MakingOf" />

Tim Stamper—inspired by Mortal KombatTemplate:'s (1992) use of digitised footage in place of hand-drawn art—suggested developing a platform game that used pre-rendered graphics.Template:Sfn<ref name="Bloomberg: History" /> Nintendo granted the Stampers permission to use the Donkey Kong intellectual property.<ref name="Bloomberg: History">Template:Cite news</ref> The franchise had been largely dormant since the unsuccessful Donkey Kong 3 (1983),<ref name="1Up: 10">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="USG: Bluff">Template:Cite web</ref> so Nintendo figured that licensing it posed minimal risk.<ref name="Bloomberg: History" /> Some sources indicate that the Stampers obtained the licence after Nintendo offered them their catalogue of characters and they chose Donkey Kong.<ref name="IGN: History" /><ref name="NLife: MakingOf" /> Conversely, the lead designer Gregg Mayles and his brother Steve recalled that it was Nintendo that requested a Donkey Kong game.<ref name="RG: MakingOf">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="JXV: BTS" /> Donkey KongTemplate:'s creator, Shigeru Miyamoto, said that Rare approached Nintendo and offered to handle Donkey Kong since other developers were preoccupied with franchises such as Mario and The Legend of Zelda.<ref name="MiyamotoNOM" />

Rare assembled a team of 12, the largest in their history at that point, and development began in mid-1993.<ref name="RG: MakingOf"/><ref name="JXV: BTS" /> Nintendo was sceptical of Rare's approach to graphics,<ref name="RG: MakingOf" /> concerned it would make the game unplayable.<ref name="Kotaku: Worried" /> Early in development, Mayles and other developers presented a demo to Nintendo staff in Japan. One in attendance, the Game Boy creator Gunpei Yokoi, felt the game "looked too 3D", but Mayles said Miyamoto was supportive and gave Rare his approval.<ref name="RG: MakingOf" /> Nintendo codenamed the project "Country" (based on Rare's location in Twycross), leading to the title Donkey Kong Country.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Other titles considered included Rumble in the Jungle, Monkey Mayhem, and Donkey Kong and the Golden Bananas.<ref name="JXV: BTS" /> Donkey Kong Country was the first Donkey Kong game that was neither directed nor produced by Miyamoto,<ref name="DS: RetroCorner" /> who was working on Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island (1995).<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Miyamoto was still involved with the project and Rare said he provided crucial input.<ref name="Rare: DKC">Template:Cite web</ref>

Nintendo is usually highly protective of their intellectual properties, but was relatively uninvolved with Donkey Kong Country, leaving most of the work to Rare.<ref name="NLife: MakingOf" /><ref name="RG: MakingOf"/> Programmer Brendan Gunn noted that the Stampers worked to shield the team from outside influence.<ref name="NLife: MakingOf" /> Rare spent 18 months developing Donkey Kong Country from an initial concept to a finished game,<ref name="NLife: MakingOf" /> and according to product manager Dan Owsen, 20 people worked on it in total.Template:Sfn It cost an estimated Template:US$1 million to produce,Template:Sfn and Rare said that it had the most man hours ever invested in a video game at the time, 22 years.<ref name="Rare: DKC" /> The team worked 12–16-hours every day of the week.<ref name="Poly: Remaking" /> Gunn said that the team was under significant pressure from the Stampers and to finish the game in time for Thanksgiving due to Nintendo's competition with Sega.<ref name="NLife: MakingOf" />

Design

Rare drew inspiration from the Super Mario series, Mayles citing Super Mario Bros. 3 (1988) as the primary influence on the level design. Mayles wanted to make a game that was accessible but would flow seamlessly for a skilled player; as such, objects were placed so well-timed players could continually move through a level.<ref name="RG: MakingOf"/> Mayles noted that although the concept of speedrunning did not exist at the time, "the way the game was designed definitely supports it".<ref name=":0">Template:Cite web</ref> The level locales were inspired by the films Return of the Jedi (1983) and Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984).<ref name="JXV: BTS" />

The team designed levels using Post-it Notes; they conceived set pieces (such as swinging ropes), created every variation they could think of, drew them on Post-it Notes, and pieced them together.<ref name="Edge">Template:Cite magazine</ref> Rare featured barrels as a primary game mechanic to pay homage to the original arcade game,Template:Sfn and included hidden collectibles like coins and balloons to add depth.Template:Sfn Diddy Kong originated from Rare's search for a game mechanic akin to Super MarioTemplate:'s power-up system in that he would serve as the player's health. Mayles said: "We thought a second character could perform this function, look visually impressive, and give the player a feeling that they were not alone".<ref name="RG: MakingOf" />

Donkey Kong Country did not have much scrapped content; Gunn said he only regretted that Donkey Kong walks across dotted lines instead of paths on the world map, which could not be implemented due to time constraints.<ref name="NLife: MakingOf" /> One scrapped idea, a collectible that would evade the player by running or hiding, served as the basis for the Jinjos in Rare's subsequent game Banjo-Kazooie (1998).Template:Sfn Reviewing Donkey Kong Country for release, Nintendo directed Rare to reduce the difficulty to appeal to a broad audience, reasoning that the secrets would provide sufficient challenge for hardcore gamers. At this point, Miyamoto made some last-minute suggestions, such as Donkey Kong's terrain slap, that were incorporated.Template:Sfn Nintendo's Kensuke Tanabe flew to Twycross to localise the game with Rare.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Characters and story

Kevin Bayliss was in charge of redesigning Donkey Kong. He wanted a character that looked believable and could perform animations like pounding his chest.Template:Sfn His initial design was blocky and muscular to make Donkey Kong easy to animate, but it became more cartoonish when Nintendo faxed reference material. Some of Bayliss' designs were in the style of his Battletoads work,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and the final design's eyes came from those of the Battletoads.<ref name="Kotaku: Worried" /> Miyamoto provided some suggestions, including the red tie,<ref name="RG: MakingOf" /> but left the design's specifics to Bayliss.Template:Sfn

Because Donkey Kong did not have much of an established universe, Rare was free to expand it with new characters. Mayles conceived Diddy as a redesign of Donkey Kong Jr.,<ref name="RG: MakingOf" /> and Bayliss designed him.<ref name="JXV: BTS" /> Unlike the original Donkey Kong Jr., Rare did not want Diddy to share his build with Donkey Kong, so Bayliss based the design on a spider monkey and made him agile to give him distinct moves.Template:Sfn The redesign was also motivated by Bayliss' distaste for Donkey Kong Jr.<ref name="JXV: BTS" /> Nintendo considered the redesign too great a departure and asked it to be reworked or presented as a new character. Mayles felt the redesign suited the updated Donkey Kong universe, so he chose to make it a new character. Naming the character was a challenge; considered names included "Diet Donkey Kong", "Donkey Kong Lite", and "Titchy Kong".<ref name="JXV: BTS" /> Rare settled on "Dinky", but ultimately changed it to "Diddy" due to legal problems.<ref name="RG: MakingOf" />

Rare staff spent hours at the nearby Twycross Zoo recording gorillas for reference, which they described as "a complete waste of time".<ref name="NLife: MakingOf" /> They found their movements unsuitable for a fast game and their noises too quiet to be captured by a microphone, so they based Donkey Kong's running animation on a horse's gallop and had programmer Mark Betteridge provide Donkey and Diddy's voice clips.<ref name="RG: MakingOf" /><ref name="NLife: MakingOf" /> Rare positioned Cranky Kong as the original Donkey Kong character from the arcade games but avoided mentioning this in the game and marketing materials out of fear that Nintendo would disapprove of the idea,<ref name="Kotaku: Worried">Template:Cite web</ref> though it was mentioned in the instruction manual.Template:Sfn Rare created each character using Donkey Kong's model as a base and made the Kong designs consistent to reflect that they were relatives.<ref name="JXV: BTS" />

All story drafts centered on the theft of Donkey Kong's banana hoard.<ref name="JXV: BTS" /> According to Mayles, the team pitched the Super Mario character Wario as the antagonist,<ref>Template:Cite tweet</ref> but Nintendo asked them to use original characters.<ref>Template:Cite tweet</ref> They recycled the Kremlings from Johnny Blastoff and the Kremling Armada, a cancelled Monkey Island-style adventure game.<ref name="JXV: BTS" /> Their name is a play on the Moscow Kremlin.<ref name="GI: Wise"/> Rare's initial story was extensive and spanned 15 pages, but Nintendo had it condensed to fit into an instruction manual.Template:Sfn

Graphics

A photo of an SGI Challenge workstation: a computer monitor sits atop its tower.

Rare used SGI Challenge workstations (pictured) to produce Donkey Kong CountryTemplate:'s pre-rendered visuals.

Donkey Kong Country was one of the first games for a mainstream home video game console to use pre-rendered 3D graphics,<ref name="NLife: MakingOf" /> a technique used in the earlier 1993 Finnish game Stardust for the Amiga.Template:Sfn Rare developed a compression technique to incorporate more detail and animation for each sprite for a given memory footprint, which better preserved the pre-rendered graphics. Nintendo and Rare called the technique Advanced Computer Modelling (ACM).<ref name="RG: MakingOf"/> Rare briefly feared competition from DMA Design's Uniracers (1994), which also featured pre-rendered graphics, but the staff was relieved upon learning that the player character was UniracerTemplate:'s only element that was pre-rendered.<ref name="NLife: MakingOf" />

The artists began by modelling the characters in NURBS using PowerAnimator and adding textures. They then created the animations and rendered them frame by frame before compressing them for the game. The ACM process was handled by a designated computer that had a proprietary utility similar to Deluxe Paint.<ref name="DF Retro"/> Adapting to the cutting-edge SGI workstations was difficult;<ref name="NLife: MakingOf" /> Gregg Mayles' brother Steve said they had a steep learning curve. To help, Nintendo provided Rare with research material regarding apes, barrels, and caves.Template:Sfn The pre-rendered graphics allowed for variety and detail uncommon at the time,<ref name="RG: MakingOf" /> and Tim Stamper constantly pushed the team to go further and incorporate weather and lighting effects.<ref name="NLife: MakingOf" />

The game was Rare's first to require multiple programmers,<ref name=":0" /> and they worked with little guidance.<ref name="DF Retro"/> The ACM process pushed the SNES hardware to its limits;<ref name="RG: MakingOf"/> Betteridge said Rare wanted to do everything they could with the hardware similar to what they had done with the NES game Battletoads (1991).<ref name="Edge" /> A single SGI screen took up more memory than an entire SNES cartridge, and Gregg Mayles described transferring the backgrounds into the game by splitting them into tiles as "the bane of the project".<ref name="RG: MakingOf"/> Models took hours to render,<ref name="DF Retro" /> so the team would leave the computers running overnight.<ref name="NLife: MakingOf" /> Sometimes, artists would shut down other artists' computers in the middle of the process so they could render their own models.<ref name="DF Retro" /> The SGI machines required a massive air conditioning unit to prevent overheating, while the team worked in the summer heat without relief.<ref name="NLife: MakingOf" /> Programmer Chris Sutherland was responsible for implementing the graphics and found reducing the characters' frames of animation challenging.<ref name="DF Retro" />

Music

File:David Wise by Gage Skidmore.jpg

David Wise, Donkey Kong CountryTemplate:'s primary composer

David Wise composed most of the soundtrack.<ref name="Rare: Scribes"/> Wise initially worked as a freelancer and assumed his music would be replaced by Koji Kondo because of the importance of Donkey Kong to Nintendo.<ref name="NYT: Wise">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="SEMO: Wise" /> Rare asked Wise to record three jungle demo tunes that were merged to become the "DK Island Swing", the first level's track.<ref name="SEMO: Wise" /> Miyamoto was impressed,<ref name="NYT: Wise" /> and Wise was enlisted to produce the final score.<ref name="SEMO: Wise">Template:Cite web</ref> Before composing, Wise was shown the graphics and given an opportunity to play the level they would appear in, which gave him a sense of the music he would compose. He chose samples and optimised the music to work on the SNES's SPC700 sound chip.<ref name="Poly: Remaking" /><ref name="GI: Wise">Template:Cite AV mediaTemplate:Cbignore</ref> Wise worked separately from the team in a former cattle shed, visited occasionally by Tim Stamper.<ref name="NLife: MakingOf" /><ref name="GI: Wise"/>

Donkey Kong Country features atmospheric music that mixes natural environmental sounds with prominent melodic and percussive accompaniments.<ref name="RareWise">Template:Cite interview </ref> Its soundtrack attempts to evoke the environments and includes music from levels set in Africa-inspired jungles, caverns, oceanic reefs, frozen landscapes, and industrial factories.<ref name="NLife: MakingOf" /><ref name="RareWise" /> Wise cited Koji Kondo's music for the Super Mario and Legend of Zelda games, Tim and Geoff Follin's music for Plok! (1993), and 1980s synthesiser film soundtracks, rock, and dance music as influences,<ref name="SEMO: Wise" /> and wanted to imitate the sound of the Korg Wavestation synthesiser.<ref name="RareWise" /> He wrote lyrics for each melody, though The New York Times noted "no one is really meant to hear them".<ref name="NYT: Wise" />

Since Donkey Kong Country featured advanced pre-rendered graphics, Wise wanted to push the limits to create "equally impressive" music and make the most of the limited memory he was working with.<ref name="GI: Wise"/> Wise found Donkey Kong "a little more brutal" than Mario, so departed from Super MarioTemplate:'s Latin and calypso-inspired sound.<ref name="NYT: Wise" /> He wanted to compose in the style of 1940s jazz, seeking to imitate the Glenn Miller Orchestra in the "DK Island Swing",<ref name="NYT: Wise" /> but was restricted by the SPC700's limitations; he "used a lot of small samples and made [the soundtrack] very synthesised" to work around them.<ref name="Poly: Remaking" /> His colleague Grant Kirkhope said that Wise's familiarity with the SNES hardware meant he could "make it do things that people hadn't heard before".<ref name="NYT: Wise" />

"Aquatic Ambience", the music that plays in the underwater levels, took five weeks to compose. Wise was inspired by a recent breakup, which made him feel as if he was drowning.<ref name="NYT: Wise" /> He considers the track his favourite and the game's biggest technological accomplishment in regards to the audio.<ref name="GI: Wise"/> The boss theme was inspired by the Nine Inch Nails song "March of the Pigs" (1994), and K. Rool's theme was influenced by sea shanties, barrel organ music, and the work of Iron Maiden.<ref name="NYT: Wise" /> For the title screen theme, Wise remixed Nintendo's original Donkey Kong theme to demonstrate Donkey Kong's evolution.<ref name="GI: Wise"/> Wise said his primary focus was to make the most of the SPC700, and he input the music by hand to save memory. He noted the process was easier than composing for the NES due to the larger number of sound channels.<ref name="NLife: MakingOf" />

Eveline Novakovic contributed seven tracks, including the world map theme, as her first SNES project.<ref name="Rare: Scribes">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="FanByte: Novakovic">Template:Cite web</ref> Novakovic was inexperienced with the SNES hardware and Wise helped teach her as they worked together. She attempted to provide the levels a sense of purpose and drew inspiration from film composers like Alan Silvestri and Klaus Doldinger.<ref name="FanByte: Novakovic" /> Funky Kong's theme was originally written by Robin Beanland.<ref name="Rare: Scribes" /> According to Beanland, the track was intended for an internal progress video about another Rare game, Killer Instinct (1994), before Nintendo decided to use it in a Donkey Kong Country promotional trailer. Beanland said Tim Stamper liked it and wanted to include it in the game,<ref name="BeanlandFugue">Template:Cite tweet</ref> so Wise adopted it.<ref name="NLife: MakingOf" />

Release

Marketing

Lincoln unveiled Donkey Kong Country at the Consumer Electronics Show in Chicago, which took place from 23 to 25 June 1994.Template:Sfn The unveiling was the finale of Nintendo's conference and did not reveal that Donkey Kong Country was a SNES game until the end of the presentation, fooling the audience into believing that it was for the upcoming Nintendo 64. Gregg Mayles recalled the audience was stunned in silence before bursting into applause.<ref name="RG: MakingOf" />

As one of the flagship games of Nintendo's Play It Loud! promotion,<ref name="DF Retro"/> Donkey Kong Country was backed by an exceptionally large marketing campaign—"marketing blitzkrieg", as Hardcore Gaming 101 put it.<ref name="HG101: DKC"/> According to the Los Angeles Times, Nintendo spent Template:US$16 million on marketing Donkey Kong Country in America alone; at the time, major games typically had an average marketing budget of Template:US$5 million.<ref name="LAT: Battle" /> Marketing materials emphasised the revolutionary graphics—often noting that Rare's SGI workstations had been used to create the Jurassic Park (1993) film's dinosaurs<ref name="Kotaku: 25Yrs">Template:Cite web</ref>—and positioned Donkey Kong Country as a direct competitor to Sega's Mega-CD and 32X platforms to remind players it was not for next-generation hardware.<ref name="NWR: Exposed" />

Nintendo sent a promotional VHS tape, Donkey Kong Country: Exposed, to subscribers of the magazine Nintendo Power.<ref name="DS: RetroCorner" /><ref name="NWR: Exposed">Template:Cite web</ref> Exposed, hosted by comedian Josh Wolf, provides a "behind-the-scenes" glimpse of the Treehouse, the Nintendo of America division where games are tested.<ref name="DS: RetroCorner" /><ref name="NWR: Exposed"/> Nintendo World Report wrote that Exposed was "probably the first time most people outside of Nintendo learned about the [Treehouse]" and the promotion allowed players to see the game for themself at home, rather than having to learn about it secondhand from a magazine.<ref name="NWR: Exposed"/> Exposed also features gameplay tips and interviews with localisers, playtesters, and Tim Stamper.<ref name="DS: RetroCorner" /><ref name="NWR: Exposed"/>

In October 1994, Nintendo of America held an online promotional campaign through the internet service CompuServe. The campaign included downloadable video samples of the game, a trivia contest in which 800 people participated, and an hour-long online chat conference attended by 80 people, in which Lincoln, Arakawa, and vice-president of marketing Peter Main answered questions. Nintendo's CompuServe promotion marked an early instance of a major video game company using the internet to promote its products.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Nintendo gave away Donkey Kong T-shirts as a pre-order bonus,<ref name="Kotaku: 25Yrs" /> and partnered with Kellogg's for a promotional campaign in which the packaging for Kellogg's breakfast cereals featured Donkey Kong Country character art and announced a prize giveaway. The campaign ran from November 1994 to April 1995.Template:Sfn Fleetway Publications published a promotional comic in the UK in 1995.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Context

A Super Nintendo Entertainment System PAL-region console (a grey video game console with two grey buttons for "Power" and "Reset" and a grey one for "Eject") and its controller (a gamepad with a D-pad on the left, "Start" and "Select" buttons in the middle, four buttons on the right, and two shoulder buttons on top).

Donkey Kong Country was released for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (pictured) when it was beginning to face competition from next-generation hardware.

By October 1994, Nintendo was still in fierce competition with Sega and its popular Sonic the Hedgehog franchise. Donkey Kong Country was released a month after Sonic & Knuckles for the Mega Drive. The Los Angeles Times characterised the coinciding releases as a battle; both featured company mascots, boasted "Hollywood-sized" marketing budgets, and advertised revolutionary technological advances (lock-on technology for Sonic & Knuckles and 3D-rendered graphics for Donkey Kong Country).<ref name="LAT: Battle">Template:Cite web</ref>

Donkey Kong Country was highly anticipated. Hardcore Gaming 101 wrote: "It was everywhere. You couldn't escape it. It was on the cover of every magazine. It was on gigantic, imposing displays and marquees at Wal-Mart and Babbages... For kids of the era, November 20th seemed like the eve of a revolution".<ref name="HG101: DKC"/> The Exposed VHS tape contributed significantly to the hype.Template:Sfn Donkey Kong Country was expected to gross at least Template:US$140 million in the US if it matched sales projections.<ref name="LAT: Battle" /> Nintendo anticipated that it would sell two million copies in a month, an expectation that Main acknowledged was unprecedented but was "based on the off-the-chart reactions we've received from game players and retailers".<ref name="LAT: Battle" />

USGamer noted that Nintendo, at the time of Donkey Kong CountryTemplate:'s release, faced difficulty to keep the SNES profitable. The fifth generation of video game consoles was on the horizon, the 32-bit prowess of Sony's PlayStation and the Sega Saturn far exceeding the SNES's capabilities. The Nintendo 64 was not due for release until 1996, so Donkey Kong Country, wrote USGamer, served as Nintendo's "bluff" to make it seem that the SNES could hold its ground against next-generation hardware.<ref name="USG: Bluff" />

Sales

Donkey Kong Country was released worldwide in November 1994, two weeks ahead of schedule and around the Black Friday shopping season.<ref name="Rare: DKC"/><ref name="Kotaku: 25Yrs" /> It was released in the UK on 18 November,<ref name="Rare: DKC"/> in North America on 21 November, in Europe on 24 November, and in Japan on 26 November.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In Japan, the game was released under the title Super Donkey Kong.<ref name="NWR: Mini">Template:Cite web</ref> Donkey Kong Country set the record for the fastest-selling video game at the time:Template:Sfn it sold over 500,000 copies within a week,Template:Sfn and sales reached one million copies in the US alone in two weeks. In its second week on sale in the US, the game grossed Template:US$15 million, outpacing the week's highest-grossing film (The Santa Clause, Template:US$11.5 million) and album (Miracles: The Holiday Album, Template:US$5.2 million).Template:Sfn In the UK, it was the top-selling SNES game in November 1994.Template:Sfn Donkey Kong Country sold six million copies worldwide in its first holiday season,<ref name="IGN: SNESvsGen">Template:Cite web</ref> grossing Template:US$ in worldwide sales revenue.Template:Sfn Cumulative sales reached 9.3 million copies. Based on available sales figures, it is the third-bestselling SNES game<ref name="DF Retro"/><ref name="Vice: Xanax" /> and the bestselling Donkey Kong game.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Reception

Donkey Kong Country received critical acclaim and was lauded as a paradigm shift that set new standards for video games.Template:Efn It received perfect scores from several outlets.Template:Sfn<ref name="EW: Review" />Template:Sfn Diehard GameFan and Total! said it changed expectations for 16-bit and platform games,Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn and Entertainment Weekly wrote it "is to most 16-bit games what most 16-bit games are to their Atari forebears. Once you've played it, everything else before it seems like a peewee".<ref name="EW: Review">Template:Cite web</ref> Electronic Gaming Monthly (EGM) called Donkey Kong Country "one of the few games that is actually as good as the hype",Template:Sfn and Total! declared it the best game of 1994.Template:Sfn GameFan said that Donkey Kong Country set a new quality standard that many developers would attempt to imitate.Template:Sfn

The visuals were considered the best aspect. Reviewers considered them a major technological achievement, their detail unprecedented for a 16-bit game.Template:Efn EGM said that the graphical quality prompted questions about the purpose of 32- and 64-bit hardware.Template:Sfn Total! said the character animations surpassed those of a Disney film and applauded the parallax scrolling.Template:Sfn Several critics said the graphics were the best on available hardware,Template:Efn with Entertainment Weekly writing that they were comparable to matte paintings.<ref name="EW: Review" /> The soundtrack and audio were also lauded.Template:Efn Total! said the music built atmosphere,Template:Sfn Top Secret wrote the "captivating" soundtrack asserted itself as a masterpiece in its own right,Template:Sfn and EGM and Entertainment Weekly said the audio quality was unprecedented for the SNES and on par with a CD's.Template:Sfn<ref name="EW: Review" />

Reviewers praised the gameplay for its variety and depth;Template:SfnTemplate:SfnTemplate:Sfn Entertainment Weekly appreciated that it did not build upon the original arcade game's design.<ref name="EW: Review" /> Total! described Donkey Kong Country as addictive, accessible and exciting, with humour, imagination, puzzles and secrets, that proved there was still potential in the platform game genre.Template:Sfn EGM and GameFan wrote that the game was lengthy and offered plenty of technique,Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn and GamePro commended the replay value that searching for bonus stages provided.Template:Sfn EGM and GamePro found searching for bonus stages was challenging,Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn though GamePro said it was easy to "breeze through the game" without them and criticised the boss fights as simplistic.Template:Sfn

Critics frequently compared Donkey Kong Country to the Super Mario series,Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn particularly Super Mario World (1990).Template:SfnTemplate:SfnTemplate:Sfn Some considered Donkey Kong Country an improvement upon the Mario formula.Template:SfnTemplate:SfnTemplate:Sfn GameFan said it would be a worthy successor to Super Mario World even without the graphicsTemplate:Sfn and Total! wrote that it took MarioTemplate:'s best elements, increased the speed, and presented them better.Template:Sfn Next Generation felt the gameplay, though good, did not meet the standards of previous SNES games such as the Mario and Legend of Zelda series and prevented it from being a "typical Nintendo blockbuster".Template:Sfn CVG wrote that Donkey Kong Country was the only SNES game that matched Super Mario World, but that it would be a conventional platformer without its graphics. It warned that experienced players may find the game, designed for a broad audience, unoriginal.Template:Sfn

Accolades

Donkey Kong Country received many Game of the Year awards.<ref name="IGN: History" /> For EGMTemplate:'s Best and Worst of 1994, it won Game of the Year, Best SNES Game, and Best Animation; Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong won Best Game Duo.Template:Sfn It also received Video Games: The Ultimate Gaming MagazineTemplate:'s awards for Game of the Year, Best SNES Game, Best Action Game, and Best Graphics.Template:Sfn Donkey Kong Country was the only video game included in TimeTemplate:'s Best Products of 1994 list, coming in second behind the Chrysler Neon,Template:Sfn and it became the first game to win the Favourite Video Game Kids' Choice Award at the 1995 Kids' Choice Awards.<ref name="GWRKidsChoice">Template:Cite web</ref>

Post-release

In April 1995, following Donkey Kong CountryTemplate:'s success, Nintendo purchased a 25% minority stake in Rare,<ref name="IGN: GCDevProfile">Template:Cite web</ref> which increased to 49% over time.<ref name="IGN: History" /> Rare was the first non-Japanese studio to enter such a relationship with Nintendo, making them a second-party developer; Nintendo published Rare's subsequent games and allowed them to expand their staff from 84 to over 250 and move out of the farmhouse to an advanced development site elsewhere in Twycross.<ref name="IGN: GCDevProfile" /> Rare was one of the first developers to receive Nintendo 64 software development kits and decided to start spending more time developing fewer games.<ref name="IGN: GCDevProfile" /><ref name="Bloomberg: History" /> Nintendo and Rare's partnership produced acclaimed Nintendo 64 games such as GoldenEye 007 (1997), Banjo-Kazooie (1998), Perfect Dark (2000), and Conker's Bad Fur Day (2001).<ref name="IGN: GCDevProfile" /><ref name="IGN: History" />

A proposed Game Boy port of Donkey Kong Country was repurposed as a separate game, Donkey Kong Land (1995), after the programmer Paul Machacek convinced Rare that it would be a better use of resources and expand the potential audience.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Rare began developing concepts for a Donkey Kong Country sequel during production,Template:Sfn and Nintendo green-lit the project immediately after the success.<ref name="NWR: Years">Template:Cite web</ref> Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest, released in 1995, features Diddy rescuing a kidnapped Donkey Kong from K. Rool and introduces Diddy's girlfriend Dixie Kong. Diddy's Kong Quest was designed to be less linear and more challenging,Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn with a theme reflecting Gregg Mayles' fascination with pirates.Template:Sfn Like its predecessor, Diddy's Kong Quest was a major critical and commercial success.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Other teams at Rare used Donkey Kong CountryTemplate:'s technology in the fighting game Killer Instinct and Donkey Kong Land, Donkey Kong Land 2 (1996) and Donkey Kong Land III (1997), which attempted to replicate Donkey Kong CountryTemplate:'s visuals and gameplay on the handheld Game Boy.<ref name="DF Retro" /> Following Diddy's Kong Quest, the Donkey Kong Country team split in two:<ref name="FanByte: Novakovic" /> one half began working on Project Dream, a role-playing game that used the Donkey Kong Country technology,Template:EfnTemplate:Sfn and the other on Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble! (1996).<ref name="FanByte: Novakovic" /> Rare followed Dixie Kong's Double Trouble! with Donkey Kong 64 (1999), the first Donkey Kong game to feature 3D gameplay.<ref name="DF Retro" /> In 2002, Rare was acquired by Nintendo's competitor Microsoft and the Donkey Kong rights reverted to Nintendo.<ref name="IGN: History" /><ref name="NWR: Years" />

Other media

A soundtrack CD, DK Jamz, was released in North America via news media and retailers in November 1994,Template:Sfn with a standalone release in 1995.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> It was one of the earliest video game soundtrack albums released in the United States.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The Japanese soundtrack CD, Template:Nihongo foot was released in January 1995. In addition to the game music, it features seven rearrangements by Yoshiyuki Ito, who previously composed rearrangements for Nintendo's Zelda and Metroid soundtrack releases.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The soundtrack was rereleased through the Donkey Kong Country Trilogy compilation album in November 1996 and via Nintendo Music, Nintendo's music streaming service, when it launched in October 2024.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

A competition-oriented version of Donkey Kong Country was sold through Blockbuster Video. Its changes include a time limit for the playable levels and a scoring system, which had been used in the Nintendo PowerFest '94 and Blockbuster World Video Game Championships II competitions. It was later distributed in limited quantities through Nintendo Power. The competition version of Donkey Kong Country is the rarest licensed SNES game; only 2,500 cartridges are known to exist.<ref name="HG101: DKC"/>

Rereleases

Diddy Kong rides a rhino, Rambi, and rams into a beaver enemy, Gnawty. The upper left screenshot shows the SNES version, the upper right shows the GBC version, and the bottom shows the GBA version.

Different versions of Donkey Kong Country: the SNES original (top left), the Game Boy Color version (top right), and the Game Boy Advance version (bottom).

In 2000, Rare developed a port of Donkey Kong Country for Nintendo's Game Boy Color (GBC) handheld console.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> It was released in North America on 4 November 2000, in Europe on 17 November, and in Japan on 21 January 2001. The port was developed alongside the GBC version of Perfect Dark<ref name="IGN: Interrogating">Template:Cite web</ref> and many assets, including graphics and audio, were re-used from the Donkey Kong Land games.<ref name="HG101: DKC">Template:Cite web</ref> Aside from graphical and sound-related downgrades due to the GBC's weaker 8-bit hardware, the port is mostly identical to the original release.<ref name="IGN: GBCRev"/> One level was redesigned and another was added.<ref name="HG101: DKC"/> It also adds bonus modes, including two minigames that supplement the main quest and support multiplayer via the Game Link Cable, as well as Game Boy Printer support.<ref name="IGN: GBCRev">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="GSpot: GBCRev">Template:Cite web</ref> The GBC version was a runner-up for GameSpotTemplate:'s annual Best Game Boy Color Game and Best Platform Game awards,<ref name="bestworst2000">Template:Cite web</ref> and during the 4th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards, the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences nominated it for the "Console Family" award.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> It sold 2.19 million copies worldwide.Template:Sfn

Despite its acquisition by Microsoft, Rare continued to produce games for Nintendo's Game Boy Advance (GBA) since Microsoft did not have a competing handheld.<ref name="IGN: History" /> It ported Donkey Kong Country as part of Nintendo's line of SNES rereleases for the GBA.<ref name="GSpot: GBARev">Template:Cite web</ref> The GBA version was released in Australia on 4 June 2003, Europe on 6 June, in North America on 9 June, and in Japan on 12 December.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="NWR: GBARev" /><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> It adds a new animated introductory cutscene,<ref name="IGN: GBARev" /> redesigned user interfaces and world maps,<ref name="HG101: DKC"/> the ability to save progress anywhere, minigames, and a time trial mode.<ref name="IGN: GBARev"/> It features downgraded graphics and sound,<ref name="HG101: DKC"/><ref name="IGN: GBARev"/> the former due to the GBA's lack of a backlit screen.<ref name="DF Retro"/> The GBA version sold 1.82 million copies,Template:Sfn including 960,000 in the US by August 2006. Between January 2000 and August 2006, it was the 19th highest-selling game for a Nintendo handheld console in the US.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

The SNES version of Donkey Kong Country has been digitally rereleased for later Nintendo consoles via Nintendo's Virtual Console service. It was released for the Wii Virtual Console in Japan and Europe in December 2006, and in North America in February 2007.<ref name="NLife">Template:Cite web</ref> In September 2012, the game was delisted from the Virtual Console for unknown reasons, though KotakuTemplate:'s Jason Schreier suggested it may have been related to licensing problems with Rare.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Donkey Kong Country returned to the Wii U's Virtual Console in February 2015<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and was added to the New Nintendo 3DS' Virtual Console in March 2016.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> It was included in the Super NES Classic Edition, a dedicated console released by Nintendo in September 2017,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and was released on the Nintendo Switch via the Nintendo Classics service in July 2020.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Legacy

Donkey Kong CountryTemplate:'s visual appeal helped the SNES remain popular in a period of uncertainty for cartridge-based games.<ref name="USG: RetroReview" /> Consumers were unfamiliar with 3D graphics at the time.<ref name="USG: Bluff" /> According to Official Nintendo Magazine, by bringing next-generation graphics to the SNES just 12 days before the PlayStation's Japanese launch, Donkey Kong Country persuaded consumers that an immediate upgrade was unnecessary.Template:Sfn IGN wrote that the game "saved the SNES" and revitalised sales by bringing back lapsed fans.<ref name="IGN: Review" /> Donkey Kong Country also helped Nintendo pull ahead of Sega and win the console wars of the 1990s.<ref name="BBC: CWs">Template:Cite web</ref> Whereas Nintendo continued to release AAA games such as Donkey Kong Country, Sega had alienated audiences with add-ons such as the Mega-CD and 32X,<ref name="IGN: SNESvsGen" /> and its subsequent console, the Saturn, failed.<ref name="BBC: CWs" />

The Donkey Kong Country series re-established Donkey Kong as one of Nintendo's most popular and profitable franchises.<ref name="NWR: Years" /> Donkey Kong Country heralded Donkey Kong's transition from villain to hero;<ref name="NWR: Years" /><ref name="GSpot: DK64" /> Rare's redesign became his standard appearance,<ref name="GSpy: Overrated" /> and its gameplay format was followed by sequels.<ref name="NWR: Years" /> The game inspired an animated series that ran for 40 episodes from 1997 to 2000,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and Diddy Kong starred in a Nintendo 64 racing game spin-off, Diddy Kong Racing (1997).<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Following Dixie Kong's Double Trouble!, the Country series went on a hiatus until Donkey Kong Country Returns, developed by Retro Studios, was released for the Wii on Donkey Kong CountryTemplate:'s 16th anniversary in 2010. A sequel, Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze, was released for the Wii U in 2014.<ref name="NWR: Years" /> Wise, who left Rare in 2009, returned to compose Tropical FreezeTemplate:'s score.<ref name="Poly: Remaking">Template:Cite web</ref>

Retrospective assessments

Shigeru Miyamoto, a middle-aged Japanese man wearing a herringbone blazer and white shirt.

False rumours spread that Donkey KongTemplate:'s creator, Shigeru Miyamoto (pictured in 2013), disliked Donkey Kong Country.<ref name="USG: Bluff" />

Reviewing the Virtual Console rerelease, Nintendo Life felt the visuals were still among the SNES's best,<ref name="NLife: Review">Template:Cite web</ref> and Jeuxvideo.com said they had offered a new depth of realism.<ref name="Jeux: SNESTest">Template:Cite news</ref> IGN and AllGame said the visuals remained impressive for the SNES (though IGN thought they were no longer as significant a draw),<ref name="IGN: Review">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="AllGameRev">Template:Cite web</ref> while GameSpot thought the graphics rivalled 32-bit consoles.<ref name="GSpotRev">Template:Cite web</ref> Conversely, USGamer said that, though technically impressive, they did not age well, with "cringe-inducing", "paper-thin backgrounds".<ref name="USG: RetroReview">Template:Cite web</ref> Hardcore Gaming 101 agreed, writing that the visuals looked plastic-like, did not hold up well once the novelty of pre-rendering had worn off, and were clearly experimental, even if their detail was admirable.<ref name="HG101: DKC" /> Critics praised the GBC version for attempting to preserve the visuals in spite of hardware limitations,<ref name="GSpotGBC">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> but criticised the GBA version's downgrades,<ref name="NWR: GBARev">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> which IGN considered detrimental to the experience.<ref name="IGN: GBARev" />

Donkey Kong Country became divisive in the years following its release.<ref name="USG: Bluff" /> Eurogamer wrote that it became popular to dislike it in the early 2000s,<ref name="Euro: GBARev">Template:Cite web</ref> and it was often described as one of the most overrated video games.<ref name="GSpy: Overrated">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> For example, Vice wrote that it did not deserve to be considered a classic and, alongside GameSpy, called its gameplay unremarkable and lacking depth.<ref name="GSpy: Overrated" /><ref name="Vice: Terrible">Template:Cite web</ref> According to IGN, critics accused Donkey Kong Country of "sacrificing gameplay for the sake of a short-run attention grab and quick impulse sales",<ref name="IGN: Review" /> which USGamer attributed to the "flimflammery of its visuals and the relative mundanity of its actual game design".<ref name="USG: Bluff" /> USGamer wrote the game was often criticised as an example of style over substance, with gameplay that was arguably inferior to SNES launch games such as Super Mario World and Super Castlevania IV (1991).<ref name="USG: Bluff" /> GameSpy complained that Donkey Kong Country overshadowed games such as Yoshi's Island, which it considered superior.<ref name="GSpy: Overrated" />

Donkey Kong Country has been described as one of the greatest video games of all time.Template:Efn USGamer wrote that the criticism was unfair because it "exudes craftsmanship ... Rare went to great pains to create a consistent, seamless world that managed to convey trompe-l'oeil immersion", something few developers could replicate.<ref name="USG: Bluff" /> Though retrospective reviewers criticised the boss fights,<ref name="HG101: DKC" /><ref name="NLife: Review" /><ref name="USG: RetroReview" /> they praised the rhythm, variety, and replay value.Template:Efn Polygon said that although some aspects had not aged well, Donkey Kong Country remained among the best Donkey Kong games and deserved praise for resurrecting the franchise.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Its soundtrack is considered one of the best in games,<ref name="Vice: Xanax">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="IGN: GBARev">Template:Cite web</ref> praised for its atmosphere and diversity.<ref name="HG101: DKC" /><ref name="Jeux: SNESTest" /><ref name="USG: RetroReview" /> Hardcore Gaming 101 said it was the one element that had unquestionably aged well and contained some of the 16-bit era's most memorable music.<ref name="HG101: DKC" />

In the years following its release, rumours spread that Miyamoto disliked Donkey Kong Country and found it amateurish,<ref name="USG: Bluff" /> and had created the hand-drawn art style of Yoshi's Island in retaliation for its pre-rendered visuals.<ref name="USG: Bluff" /><ref name="Shack: 21Facts" /> Miyamoto spoke highly of Donkey Kong Country in a 2000 interview; he said that Rare "breathed new life into" Donkey Kong, had demonstrated excellent research into what made a Nintendo game work, and proved they could be trusted with the Donkey Kong franchise.<ref name="MiyamotoNOM">Template:Cite web (Translation)</ref> However, the author Steven L. Kent claimed Miyamoto said that "Donkey Kong Country proves gamers will put up with mediocre gameplay if the art is good" in a 1995 Electronic Games interview.<ref name="Shack: 21Facts" /> Kent said that Nintendo's marketing department had rejected Yoshi's Island as it lacked Donkey Kong CountryTemplate:'s pre-rendered graphics, and that this had possibly motivated Miyamoto's remark.<ref name="Shack: 21Facts">Template:Cite web</ref> Miyamoto denied this in 2010, noting he "was very involved" in Donkey Kong Country and had corresponded with Stamper throughout development.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 2014, USGamer described Kent's claims as "seemingly apocryphal",<ref name="USG: Bluff" /> and in 2019, the video game historian Frank Cifaldi found that the Electronic Games interview did not contain the alleged quote from Miyamoto.<ref>Template:Cite tweet</ref>

Influence

Donkey Kong Country exerted "revolutionary influence", according to GameSpot.<ref name="GSpot: DK64">Template:Cite web</ref> Kotaku said its unprecedented graphics represented the future of games and Nintendo World Report wrote that it set standards for how platform games could look and play.<ref name="Kotaku: 25Yrs" /><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Sega commissioned BlueSky Software to develop the Mega Drive game Vectorman (1995) in response to Donkey Kong CountryTemplate:'s popularity.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Many developers imitated the visuals;<ref name="USG: Bluff" /> IGN identified the Saturn games Clockwork Knight (1994) and Bug! (1995) as examples.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> USGamer wrote that few games achieved the same quality and that 2.5D games, such as Crystal Dynamics' Pandemonium! (1996), exposed the "illusion upon which [Donkey Kong Country] was built".<ref name="USG: Bluff" /> Kotaku said Donkey Kong Country was an event that could not be replicated in modern times due to the game industry's growth.<ref name="Kotaku: 25Yrs" />

Naughty Dog's founders Andy Gavin and Jason Rubin cited Donkey Kong Country as the primary influence on their break-out game Crash Bandicoot (1996).<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> CrashTemplate:'s first functional levels drew upon techniques employed by Donkey Kong Country, such as steam vents, drop platforms, bouncy pads, heated pipes, and enemies that move back and forth.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The pre-rendered visuals inspired other games, including Kirby Super Star (1996) and Sonic 3D: Flickies' Island (1996),<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>Template:Sfn and critics have identified Donkey Kong Country references or influence in games such as the Mega-CD version of Earthworm Jim (1995),<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Sonic Blast (1996),<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Rayman Origins (2011),<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Mekazoo (2016),<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and Kaze and the Wild Masks (2021).<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The Australian Broadcasting Corporation credited Donkey Kong Country for maintaining the popularity of 2D games and ensuring the development of new entries in the Mario, Kirby, and Yoshi series.<ref name="ABC: Reboot">Template:Cite web</ref>

Wise's soundtrack was considered highly influential, developing a cult following for his work.<ref name="Kotaku: Tunes">Template:Cite web</ref> IGN said Donkey Kong Country contributed to an increased appreciation for video game music as an art form,<ref name="IGN: AquaticAmbience">Template:Cite AV media</ref> and The New York Times called it the video game equivalent to the Beatles' Revolver (1966).<ref name="NYT: Wise" /> Rearrangements of the music appear in Donkey Kong 64, Donkey Kong Country Returns, and Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and in crossover games such as Nintendo's Super Smash Bros. fighting series.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Its tracks are often remixed, Wise contributing to an OverClocked ReMix album in 2004.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> "Aquatic Ambience" has been particularly influential. It has been described as "the 'Eleanor Rigby' of video game music", praised by artists such as Trent Reznor and Donald Glover,<ref name="IGN: AquaticAmbience" /> and The A.V. Club wrote that it spawned a "minor cult" dedicated to remixes.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Glover sampled it in his 2012 song "Eat Your Vegetables", to which Wise expressed approval.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Donkey Kong Country established Rare as one of the leading video game developers<ref name="IGN: History" /> and set the standard for its work.<ref name="Vice: Terrible" /> It originated conventions characteristic of Rare's later output, including an emphasis on collecting items,<ref name="HG101: DKC" /> irreverent humour,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> visual appeal, and tech demo-like design.<ref name="Vice: Terrible" /> Nintendo and Rare's partnership continued until Star Fox Adventures (2002) for the GameCube, after which Rare was acquired by Microsoft.<ref name="IGN: History" /> The 2019 game Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair—developed by Playtonic Games, whose staff includes Rare alumni that worked on Donkey Kong Country—was noted for its gameplay similarities to Donkey Kong Country,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> though Playtonic's head Gavin Price declined to label it a spiritual successor.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Nintendo Life also identified similarities between Donkey Kong Country and Kroko Bongo: Tap to the Beat! (2017), a platform game developed by the Stampers' mobile game studio FortuneFish.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

References

Works cited

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External links

• Template:Official website at the Internet Archive
• Donkey Kong Country at the Super Mario Wiki