Game:

Donkey Kong Land III (1997)

Duration: 0:00

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0

Originally recorded: September 22, 2024
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Talk about a turn-around! I didn't exactly doubt KI when they told me that DKL3 was going to be the best of the three games. I just didn't expect it to be such a significant leap forward compared to the last game. I mean, DKL2 was so much of an improvement over the first game, Rare could've easily just rested on their lilies and kept everything about the same. Instead, they refined it to the point where I'd say it's actually on par with its SNES counterpart. Maybe they decided to put in so much effort because Pokemon had essentially revitalized the Game Boy, while DKC3 was one of the last first-party releases on the SNES.

What really shocked me was just how much easier it was. I ended up beating the first four worlds in this first session. That might not sound too impressive, but keep in mind that there are only six main worlds -- which includes the Lost World -- plus a set of time trials in the post-game. But the lack of difficulty isn't really so much a bad thing from my perspective. It essentially stems from the fact that the level design has improved by leaps and bounds... and it even accounts for the Game Boy's screen crunch most of the time. No more leaps of faith, enemy pop-ins are a lot rarer and the vast majority of the game's more esoteric secrets are hinted at in some way, shape or form.

I guess one could argue that the downside of this version compared to Dixie Kong's Double Trouble is the fact that it's a lot less experimental compared to its inspiration. The thing is... that isn't really a dealbreaker for me. DKC3 wasn't a bad game by any stretch of the imagination, but its tendency to toss in level gimmicks for a single stage before discarding them entirely is definitely an acquired taste. DKL3, on the other hand, feels more like it's going back to basics in order to deliver the best possible Donkey Kong platforming experience that the original Game Boy is capable of. Frankly, I'd be surprised if this game doesn't end up scoring the same as its predecessor. As far as I'm concerned, it deserves at least that much as of right now.