Donkey Kong Country Returns

King K. Rool has stolen Donkey Kong’s banana treasure and needs your aid to recover it. The Kremling horde obstructs your search for K. Rool. Kritters (they succumb to a single leap on the head), Krushas (practically invincible), and other Kremlings are crocodile-like monsters. Other obstacles to your progress include beavers, snakes, and vultures. They are led by villainous overlords such as Very Gnawty, Necky, Queen B., and Dumb Drum, each with its unique combination of villainy.

Diddy Kong joins Donkey Kong: these two primates are different. Donkey Kong, for example, is usually stronger; he can crush most foes with a single jump and even throw barrels straight over his head. On the other hand, Diddy is faster and weaker than Donkey; he can run fast and do cartwheels, and Diddy carries barrels to protect himself from frontal attacks.

The game is divided into worlds, which are further divided into levels. There are bonus places on each level to gather bananas, medallions, and lives. Each world has a boss, usually a larger version of a little monster.

The original Super Nintendo game was later ported to Nintendo’s handheld platforms. The Game Boy Color edition includes an exclusive level (Necky Nutmare), five Crosshair Cranky minigames, and Funky’s Fishing. Collectible DK sticker packs were spread throughout the stages, and the Game Boy Printer could be used to print out these sticker packs. After beating the game, two additional difficulty levels become available. Winning the game once allows the player to turn off DK barrels, while winning it twice lets the player turn off checkpoint barrels.

There were also more bonus games in the Game Boy Advance edition. It also features a Funky’s Fishing version, but instead of crosshair-themed activities, there is now Candy’s Dance Studio, which has six dance games. There is also a time attack mode called DK Attack, a more challenging difficulty mode called Hero Mode (can only play as Diddy Kong, and the game no longer offers Donkey Kong barrels and checkpoints throughout the levels), and the sticker book concept from the Gameboy Color version has been replaced with collecting scrapbook pictures.