Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest | |
Developer(s) | Rareware |
Publisher(s) | Nintendo |
Main Development Staff | {{{devteam}}} |
Platform(s) | Super Nintendo Entertainment System, Game Boy Advance, Virtual Console |
Release Date(s) | SNES November 20, 1995 November 21, 1995 December 14, 1995 Game Boy Advance June 25, 2004 July 1, 2004 November 15, 2004 Virtual Console May 16, 2007 May 21, 2007 October 23, 2007 November 25, 2008 |
Genre(s) | Platform |
Ratings | : Kids to Adults |
Mode(s) | Single-player, Two-Players |
Media(s) | Cartridge |
Input(s) | 128-megabit cartridge |
Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest (スーパードンキーコング2 ディクシー&ディディー, Super Donkey Kong 2: Dixie & Diddy in Japan[1]) is the sequel to the original Donkey Kong Country for the Super Nintendo, and the predecessor to Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble!. It takes place shortly after Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong's triumph over King K. Rool in the previous game.
The game features are improved from Donkey Kong Country's, with better graphics, more enemies and animal buddies, harder stages and additional depth. Its soundtrack is also widely praised. It was commercially successful selling 4.37 million units.[2]
It also had a Game Boy semi-sequel, Donkey Kong Land 2. It was released in 1995 and had Diddy Kong as the star. A port of the game was released for the Game Boy Advance in 2004 and was re-released on the Virtual Console in 2007.
Plot
This is based of the Game Boy Advance remake's intro, which can be viewed here: [1]. However, it should be noted that some elements were tweaked in the remake.
It was a relaxing, sunny day on Donkey Kong Island. Funky is seen surfing and then falling off his board. He asked for Donkey Kong to join him, but DK simply continues lounging. Cranky goes up to him and complains how he never took breaks, "whisking off maidens and throwing barrels seven days a week", but Donkey Kong ignores him, confident that he is a hero and that K. Rool is gone for good. Cranky soon leaves.
Meanwhile, above, Kaptain K. Rool, aboard his vessel, The Flying Krock, commands his minions to invade the island and take Donkey Kong captive so that his next attempt at stealing the Banana Hoard won't be a failure like last time. Donkey Kong, still lounging, did not notice the attack until Kutlasses ambushed him and took him prisoner. Kaptain K. Rool assures DK that he will never see his precious island or his friends again.
Back on the island, presumably several minutes later, Diddy and Dixie, and Cranky Kong find Donkey Kong missing, along with a note. It reads;
- Hah-arrrrgyh! We have got the big monkey! If you want him back, you scurvy dogs, you'll have to hand over the Banana Hoard!
- -Kaptain K. Rool.
At this point, Wrinkly, Funky and Swanky come to the scene. Cranky suggests to give up the hoard, but Diddy insists that Donkey Kong would be furious if he lost his bananas again. Diddy and Dixie ride to Crocodile Isle via Enguarde, and then start their quest.
Diddy's big Kong Quest would take him and Dixie all over enemy territory, Crocodile Isle. Here, they find the Gangplank Galleon docked lazily onto the shore, abandoned. They would next travel to the lava world of Crocodile Cauldron, the swamps of Krem Quay, the ruined amusement park Krazy Kremland, K. Rool's Keep, and finally, the Flying Krock.
Once the two are done with their first battle with Kaptain K. Rool, Donkey is freed and punches Kaptain out of the Flying Krock and into Krem Quay where Chomps can be seen chewing on him. Then, all of the Kongs go off the island and see it sink underwater.
Kaptain K. Rool, however, gets his revenge by relocating himself to the Lost World. All of the Kremkoins are needed to be collected to reach him. Once he is defeated a second time, Diddy and Dixie win once again.
Overview
Gameplay
The player controls Diddy Kong, near unchanged from the previous game, (but given some new animations to adapt to new gameplay elements covered below), and a new character Dixie Kong who replaces Donkey Kong. Diddy retains his cartwheels and agility making him the faster of the two, can climb and swim faster, jump higher and farther, however Dixie can whip her ponytail similar to DK's roll, hold barrels above her head like DK, and has a very useful ability; she can use her ponytail like a helicopter and lower her falling speed via her Ponytail Whirl, allowing the Kongs to reach farther areas than before (however Expresso has been removed likely because of this). Dixie and Diddy have a new team-up ability, usable only when both Kongs are in, allowing the Kongs to ride on one another. The Kong on top can be thrown as a weapon or way to get to high areas.
Stages generally were made less explorable and more straightforward. More ropes and such have been added, and the Kongs can now climb horizontal ropes as well (Diddy has gained new animations for this). Many new types of barrels have been implemented, such as the Exclamation Point Barrel, and most of the barrels from the previous game return as well (Vine Barrels, Steel Kegs, and Stop & Go Barrels were removed). Animal Crates return, though Kongs can now directly transform into animal buddies via Animal Barrels. Swimming returns, though acts more like Mario games, with the ability to get on land and return to water between areas of the level.
Items
- "I've never seen so much worthless rubbish! I'm surprised they don't give you a special "trash barrel" to haul it all around in!"
- —Cranky Kong, DKC2 GBA manual[3]
- Bananas and Banana Bunches, as with the previous game, are very common items akin to the coins from the Mario series. Collecting one hundred yields a life, with Banana Bunches worth ten regular bananas, meaning that ten of these types give an extra life.
- The No Animal Sign has been implemented due to the new way to finish a level. Animal Buddies cannot proceed past this sign, however when they do they are turned into a prize (usually a coin or bananas).
- The Animal Crate holds Animal Buddy prisoned inside of the crate. The symbol on the crate tells what Animal Buddy the crate imprisoned. The returning Animal Buddies' crates are slightly redesigned.
- K-O-N-G Letters return, unchanged, as collecting all four grants a free life. They are slightly small than in Donkey Kong Country.
- The Hot Air Balloons are found in lava-flooded stages. They are used to safely float over lava.
- Crates act much like Vine Barrels from the previous game, where contact with anything, including the ground. It also can defeat many enemies.
- Treasure Chests also act somewhat like barrels. When thrown on the ground they bounce and lose momentum. These usually yield prizes when broken.
- Extra Life Balloons are unchanged, if anything less common due to less bonus games being based entirely on collecting one, and now have Diddy's face on them instead of DK's.
- DK Coins are huge coins with the DK emblem hidden by Cranky found in every level. Collecting these are needed to finish the game. At the end of the quest, Cranky tallies the collected number of DK Coins and ranks them with other Nintendo characters (Mario, Yoshi, and Link all make cameos) in Cranky's Video Game Heroes. There are forty in the Super Nintendo version and sixty two in the Game Boy Advance version, per the new side-quests and minigames.
- Banana Coins act as the basic currency of the game, required to pay for services done by the rest of the Kong Family in the game.
- The Kremkoins are the prize of every bonus game and are used to access Lost World. It should be noted Lost World's Kremkoins are replaced with DK Coins.
- Kannons and Kannonballs are found in some of the stages. Putting the Kannonball inside a Kannon grants access to a Bonus Area.
- The End of Stage Target gives an award if it is jumped on from far above.
- The Skull Cart has to be ridden in a few stages, replacing Mine Carts.
- Golden Feathers are found exclusively to the stages in the Game Boy Advance version. These items are used to upgrade Expresso II's stats in the Expresso Racing minigame.
- Photographs are used to fill the scrapbook Wrinkly has given Diddy and Dixie to fulfill this task. Both items are exclusive to the Game Boy Advance version. There are multiple ways of obtaining these items.
Barrels
- Wooden Barrels return as a base weapon.
- DK Barrels return, with no difference between it and the previous game.
- TNT Barrels are rare, powerful barrels full of TNT. They were unchanged from Donkey Kong Country.
- Star Barrels are the game's checkpoints.
- Barrel Cannons return, with a slightly different design.
- Invincibility Barrels act much like the "starman" from the Mario series, granting temporary invincibility.
- Animal Barrels turn a Kong into the respective animal buddy.
- Bonus Barrels act as teleporters to secret bonus stages. All must be found and entered to get 102% complete in this game.
- Krochead Barrels are unique barrels that control how Krocheads help.
- Plus and Minus Barrels raise the time limit in the level Haunted Hall and in Rickety Race they boost or decrease the kart speed.
- Steerable Barrels are key barrels exclusive to the level Fiery Furnace. As the name suggests, they are movable.
- Rotatable Barrel are amiable barrels found in few stages.
Animal Buddies
- Rambi the Rhinoceros returns from Donkey Kong Country, nearly unchanged, also appearing in the first level as he did before. He retains his very strong horn, ramming ability, and now gains a supercharge for his horn, allowing him to charge much faster and break through bonus doors.
- Enguarde the Swordfish also returns, with no notable changes aside from a supercharge, like Rambi. With his supercharge, he can access underwater bonus areas.
- Squawks the Parrot have been completely changed from his Donkey Kong Country self. He can be directly controlled and can shoot eggs from his beak. A blue sub-species (conjecturally called Flapper) is found in the level Parrot Chute Panic. Flapper can only descend and cannot spit eggs from his beak.
- Rattly the Rattlesnake acts much like Winky, meaning he can jump very high.
- Squitter the Spider is a very large spider that can shoot webs that defeat enemies or become floating platforms. However, he cannot jump on enemies.
- Clapper the Seal appears in the stages Lava Lagoon and Clapper's Cavern. When jumping on him, Clapper will breath on the water found in the stages, either cooling it down or freezing it.
- Glimmer the Anglerfish can illuminate dark areas much like Squawks did in the original Donkey Kong Country.
- Expresso II is an animal buddy only found in the Game Boy Advance. Expresso II is playable as a part of the Expresso Racing minigame.
Modes
- One player mode, exactly the same as DKC's; one player controls Diddy and Dixie.
- Two player team, where player one plays as Diddy and player two is Dixie. When player one is defeated, player two takes over.
- Two player contest, where it's a contest for either player 1 (Diddy) or player two (Dixie) to finish the most stages.
- Sound Test, a secret mode in the SNES version, where the player must repeatedly press down when choosing "one player" or "two player" when starting a new game. Once found, players can scroll through the game's background music themes.
- Cheat Mode, obtained a similar way to the sound test mode, only by pressing down even more. It allows players to enter a cheat codes to start off the new game.
The Game Boy Advance version added several mini-games:
- Bag a Bug, where Diddy must catch fireflies and avoid Klubba.
- Diddy's Dash, a time trial mode of regular stages.
- Funky's Flights, a mini-game that allows Kongs to use the gyrocopter to navigate mazes and do tasks for DK Coins.
- Expresso Racing, a mini-game Cranky runs where Kongs can cash in their Feathers for stats to level up Expresso to race against other Expressos.
Kong Allies
- Funky Kong returns from the original Donkey Kong Country, with his flight service in each world of the game (excluding Lost World). Though the first use requires payment, each use after is free. In the GBA remake players can summon Funky's gyrocopter anywhere on the world map, so he instead ran a mini-game in the remake.
- Cranky Kong also returns, with a new look, more tips and commentary. He gives hints once more, but this time there's the option to choose which hint for the stages in a world, though come at a small fee. Cranky's other major role is the counting of DK Coins and running Expresso Racing.
- Wrinkly Kong replaces Candy Kong from the previous game as the one responsible for saving the game. She also gives hints somewhat like Cranky, but are more general and about abilities or animal buddies. She also handles a Scrapbook in the GBA remake.
- Swanky Kong is another new addition to the family, hosting a game show named after him, Swanky's Bonus Bonanza. Swanky has no other major roles.
- Candy Kong cameos as Swanky's assistant in the GBA remake. Much like Swanky, she has no other major role.
Special Areas
Various spots of Crocodile Isle are hosted by more or less benevolent characters, each of which help the duo in different way. They are:
- Funky's Flights II is the "sequel" to the original Funky's Flights, hosted again by Funky Kong. There are not major changes aside from a new mini-game in the GBA remake.
- Swanky's Bonus Bonanza is a gameshow-like minigame where, upon paying enough Banana Coins to Swanky Kong, the duo can answer a series of questions revolving around the game itself and the previous game, for extra lives. Candy Kong cameos as a host in the GBA version. Once a quiz is done it cannot be played again.
- The Kong Kollege replaces Candy's Save Point, where the Kongs can save their game (in the SNES version), for two banana coins. Wrinkly Kong can also give hints (for a price), and apparently teaches Kremlings when the Kongs aren't around.
- The Monkey Museum is where Cranky Kong shares cryptic advices regarding the various stages of the game. It is replaced by Cranky's Hut in the GBA port. Cranky also hosts the Expresso Racing mini game in his hut.
- Klubba guards the entrance of the Lost World via Klubba's Kiosk. However, Klubba will let the Kong access the Lost World if he is paid with at least fifteen Kremkoins. Klubba also hosts a minigame called Bag a Bug in the GBA port.
Enemies
- "How many? I reckon they're just put fancy pictures in here to make it look good. There's only three in the game at most!"
- —Cranky Kong, DKC2 GBA manual[4]
Diddy and Dixie encounter a diverse cast of enemies all over the island all the Kremling Krew, ranging from regular ship-rat like Neeks to the chasing pirate spirit Kackle. Some of them are return from the previous game, though slightly altered in appearance to fit the pirate theme, as well as tweaked names (except for Zinger).
- Cat-O-9-Tails
- Click-Clack
- Flitter
- Flotsam
- Kaboing
- Kackle
- Kannon
- Klampon
- Klank
- Klinger
- Kloak
- Klobber
- Klomp
- Krook
- Krochead
- Kruncha
- Kutlass
- Lockjaw
- Mini-Necky
- Neek
- Puftup
- Screech
- Shuri
- Snapjaw
- Spiny
- Zinger
Bosses
As with Donkey Kong Country, all bosses are fought at the end of each world. However, all bosses have a unique stage and not all are simply bigger versions of regular enemies. Mr. X was to be a boss in the game, but has been scrapped out of the game (later confirmed to be the enemy Kackle).
- Krow
- Kleever
- Kudgel
- King Zing
- Kreepy Krow
- Kerozene (Game Boy Advance remake only)
- Kaptain K. Rool
Worlds
Gangplank Galleon
Crocodile Cauldron
Krem Quay
Krazy Kremland
Gloomy Gulch
K. Rool's Keep
- Arctic Abyss
- Windy Well (Fourth on the Game Boy Advance version)
- Castle Crush (Second on the Game Boy Advance version)
- Clapper's Cavern (Third on the Game Boy Advance version)
- Chain Link Chamber
- Toxic Tower
The Flying Krock
Lost World
Changes between the SNES and Game Boy Advance versions
- The game has an intro, based on the manual's description of it.
- Target Terror and Rickety Race now take place in the evening, as opposed to nighttime.
- The Super Nintendo controller in the background of The Flying Krock was removed.
- When fighting a Boss after it has been defeated, Swanky Kong will charge ten Banana Coins and calculate how much time it took to defeat the Boss.
- Some of the characters have gained (or lost) sprites.
- The following Kong now follows the Kong in the lead more accurately, much like in the previous game's remake. They also no longer "walk" to a higher elevation to follow their jump occasionally. Both Kongs also ride on the animal buddy together.
- The Kongs have new voices clips, most of which were taken from Donkey Kong 64, and bosses, enemies, and the like have updated sound effects as well.
- The player can now save anywhere on the map.
- The World's maps have been redesigned.
- The player can travel to a different world for free at any time, as long as Funky Kong was seen at least once.
- The death and end-of-level music no longer changes depending on the level, rather as which Kong died.
- The music “Run! Rambi, Run!” that played when King Zing chases the Kongs in the level Rambi Rumble was removed, and replaced by the music heard when racing against Screech. The music can still be heard in the sound test, though.
- A cheat that allowed to obtain all Kremkoins in the first level was removed, but using the code "FREEDOM" on the password input replaces it.
- The player's lives and Banana Coins are now saved.
- There is an entirely new main menu, which gives access to the main file selection, Diddy's Dash, and Bonus Games (the new mini-games added).
- Cranky gives commentary when a boss is defeated, much like the original Game Boy Advance version of Donkey Kong Country.
- Swanky's Bonus Bonanza was redesigned.
- The Gangplank Galleon has crashed into the right side of Crocodile Isle, rather than being to the left of it. This also happened in Donkey Kong Land 2.
- There is a boss at the end of K. Rool's Keep; Kerozene.
- Overall slightly reduced music quality due to limitations.
- A Golden Feather item as been added to each level.
- The ending was slightly tweaked; in the original Donkey Kong used an uppercut on K. Rool but instead punches him through the window.
- New mini-games- Bag a Bug, Diddy's Dash, Expresso Racing, Funky's Flights II (now mini-game instead of flight service).
- The Star Barrel in Animal Antics was moved to the start of the bramble area. The level itself has been made easier (but still difficult).
- To encourage players to play the new minigames, DK Coins are rewarded for beating certain mini-games, raising the number from 40 to 62.
Beta Elements
Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest was to have a lot of elements that were later scrapped out of the final version of the game. The first of these was Mr. X being a beta enemy (later confirmed to be Kackle), likely for K. Rool's Keep as it has no boss, and the second being mourning sprites for Diddy and Dixie.
There was also going to be a German option as a language in the American version, but has been likely scrapped, due to time restraints.
There were going to be green Zingers that were also scrapped from the final release along with Flotsams. Also, there was to be Flitters with a purple coloration with blue wings or green wings. Also, there was to be a red and turquoise coloration for the Flitters.
Also, stages had some changes such as Lava Lagoon was to notably lack lava, Parrot Chute Panic was to have Squawks in it and Web Woods lacked fog.
A hacked version of Web Woods was also discovered via hacking.
Gallery
Boxarts And Logos
Screenshots
Kongs
Animal Buddies
Bosses
Areas
Early Concept
References
- ↑ "Alternate titles" at Mobygames
- ↑ List of best selling SNES games
- ↑ Donkey Kong Country 2 manual, "Primate Pick-ups", page 15
- ↑ Donkey Kong Country 2 manual, page 25
- ↑ https://twitter.com/Ghoulyboy/status/1031066675511263232