Donkey Kong 64 is a 3D collect-a-thon platforming game made by the company Rareware. A collect-a-thon game is the type of game in which there are many different objects you have to collect in the course of your adventure. Is it a game that can deliver on what was intended? Well more on that in the review.

Anyway, Donkey Kong was a game that I played in my childhood. I found the Rareware logo on it appealing since I was a Banjo-Kazooie fan and I wanted to play more games of that nature. Did I like it as a child, well yes since it was everything I wanted, another game similar to Banjo. Revisiting it years later does it hold up? And can others enjoy it as well? Well that will be answered in the review as it explores one of Rare’s last masterpieces on a Nintendo console.

Graphics-10/10

The graphics are amazing for an N64 game. Sure the graphics of games on the system don’t look bad, however by today’s standards you can tell that they have aged. Donkey Kong 64 however doesn’t have the same feeling. The graphics are more cartoonish, which to me can hold up better as time goes on than games with more realistic looking graphics. So what makes these graphics so great? Well for a variety of reasons. The models of each characters are smooth, the environments are bright and colorful, and fitting of what the game is trying to convey. They put a lot of detail into each object.

Another aspect of the graphics that I like to touch on are the animations. They are well done and fun to look at. The idle animations especially, if you don’t do anything the character you are playing as do random things. Lanky for instance juggles a bunch of oranges.

So overall the graphics are pleasant to look at, are smooth and highly detailed. Quite possible the best looking N64 game I have seen.

Sound-10/10

From listening to the intro music, you know that the game is going to have a neat soundtrack. I cannot do a review of this specific game and not mention the DK rap. To me it’s a memorable song that’s wacky and extremely fun to listen to. It’s a song I find myself singing even to this day.

In terms of how the music sounds, each piece of music sounds great. I love how the songs fit with the moment of what is going on. If you’re in Cranky’s Lab, a creepy/ominous tune plays, however when you’re in Angry Aztec expect a desert sounding track. Also one thing I’d like to add is that a number of tracks in the OST offer a lot of monkey sounds, which is a nice touch considering the game features a group of monkeys/gorillas, so the sounds fit with the game completely and helps to convey better on just what the game is.

Depth- 10/10

Quite possibly one of the largest games I have played. To 100% it is very time-consuming. There are 201 golden bananas, 10 battle crowns, 20 banana fairies, 40 Banana Medals(which you need to collect 75 little bananas to get even one), 8 Boss Keys, a Nintendo Coin, and Rareware Coin.

Yep. You read that list right. This game is pretty intense with the amount of collectables that you can get. These collectables are what makes this game so massive. It’s a game that you can spend weeks or months, heck even longer if you are having trouble with certain challenges (more on that in the difficulty section). The appeal of this game is in its depth and it is able to satisfy those who love to collect as much as possible in a game.

Story-5/10

King K. Rool wants to blow up DK Isles. The weapon he planned to use against it malfunctions, so of course he has to get it repaired. He ends up kidnapping all of Donkey Kong’s friends as well as taking his banana hoard. So it’s up to Donkey Kong to save his friends and all of his Bananas, all the while trying to help K.Lumsy, who was trapped by K.Rool, since K.Lumsy could help him get to the Blast-O-Matic weapon.

So yeah. That’s the story in a nutshell. Is it good? Not really, it’s about what you’d expect from a game with Nintendo characters. However, this specific game (like all Nintendo related games) doesn’t need a good story. Its appeal is the massive amount that you can do in the game as well as the fun gameplay.

Difficulty- 8/10

Here’s the deal. If you don’t plan on beating this game to 100% completion, you will have a relatively easy time with the game. I say relatively because there is one section in the game that can be extremely difficult. And that section involves playing the retro arcade game Donkey Kong twice to get the Nintendo Coin. This is an extremely difficult task because the game itself is very cheap and difficult, it is pretty much the bane of my existence whenever I feel the need to play this game. The coin is needed as well to even finish the game.

Things get more difficult for those who want to complete this game to completion. As stated this game is intense in terms of how many items that you have to collect. It has so many different collectables that it will take forever to get them. Plus some of the tasks for each one can be in itself difficult. Lastly the final boss can be quite a challenge as well.

Addictiveness-7/10

This is a game that you can just go back to so that you can enjoy the platforming fun. There aren’t branching paths, however the fun you get from playing the game is enough to want to replay it. The platforming is great, the game is charming, the worlds immersive.

What prevents this from being a perfect ten however is the fact that it can be quite difficult. Because you need to do certain tasks to even beat the game, I feel as if that would turn off most people from actually wanting to replay it. Still even though there is a challenge it’s still an addicting game that I found myself spending hours on attempting to collect all there was to collect.

Overall 8.3/10

This game is heaven for those who love collect-a-thon games. There is so much to explore and to collect. Even if fully completing a game is not your forte, you can still enjoy the game. Everything about it is lovely. It’s a game that can hold up today, and one that can be enjoyed by anyone.

It's everything a game should be. It's charming, it's fun, has great environments, everything about it is amazing. It's a game that needs to be experienced to be appreciated so if you get the chance then you should check it out.

Excellent job with this review! You went in depth about everything you needed to and more. Unfortunately I've never played this game but this review made it sound like a lot of fun. I got interested in this review when I started reading the questions at the beginning. I think asking questions at the start of a review is a great strategy to get the reader curious about the review and the game itself.

Keep up the good work!