Donkey Kong Land 2 was released almost one year after Donkey Kong Country 2 in September 1996 for the original black and white Gameboy. This game is very similar to the game on the Super Nintendo, but it isn't the same game. However, like the previous Donkey Kong Land a lot of the graphics, music, etc. have been ported over from Donkey Kong Country 2. I feel like this game is better than the first DKL. The problem with this one is that it is more of a port of DKC2. The first game was more original, but this one seems more like a carbon copy. There are some improvements this time around which I'm going to take a look at in this review.  

Graphics 7/10: The sprites and backgrounds for Donkey Kong Land 2 are the same as those in DKC2. It's the exact same ones! I have to give the game credit, though. These objects don't look too bad, and Nintendo/Rare did a better job porting this stuff over to the Gameboy than what they did with the previous DKL. That game did have more originality, but the backgrounds that they ported over from DKC looked terrible. Even though, everything is the same, DKL2 is still a decent looking game. Sure, it's nowhere near as good as the SNES game, but this game does the job pretty well.

Hornet Hole is very well done, and the Zingers look almost like the ones from the SNES game. The same can also be said about many of the characters from the original game. Some levels do look bad and others look pretty nice. I'd say I can give Donkey Kong Land 2 a pass because it isn't a bad looking game.  

Music 6/10: With the first Donkey Kong game on the Gameboy, you had a soundtrack with some originality. For this one, everything has been ported over. There is not one original track in the whole game, but this isn't that big of a deal. These songs don't sound that bad. This is another case where I feel like the quality of the music is still good despite the fact that it's the exact same thing. The one problem I have with it is that it is way too repetitive. Many of the same songs are played for every level! Players just get a soundtrack that doesn't have much variety.

If it weren't for that, I could give it a thumbs up, but I don't like how I have to hear Lockjaw's saga on many of the early stages and Hot Head bop for all of the lava levels. This game's soundtrack is not very impressive. The songs still sound good, but they are a lot more repetitive than they need to be.  

Gameplay 5/10: This game takes place on Crocodile Isle just like on the Super NES counterpart. The only area that looks different is world 2 where they combine Crocodile Cauldron with Krem Quay. You play the game as either Diddy Kong or Dixie Kong. Only one Kong can appear on the screen at once, but this time there is an icon at the bottom that displays when you have your partner with you unlike in the first DKL. The animal buddies are back (Squitter, Squawks, Enguarde, Rattly, etc.), but you transform into the animal when you touch the animal barrels all the time now instead of being able to ride them from time to time like before.

There is no time limit in DKL2, as with all the Donkey Kong games, and you can still only take one hit if you have your Kong buddy. The save system is still the same as in the SNES version. You save your game at Wrinkly's Kong College. Funky is also in this game to transport you back to areas you have already been. You have to pay 2 Banana Coins for Funky's, but after that, it is free. Wrinkly saves your game for free at first, but after that she charges you 2 coins also. The bonus rooms are the same as before. You have to play a mini-game in order to get the Kremcoin needed to unlock The Lost World. This time you have to pay Klubba 47 Kremcoins in order to enter. This means you have to find every bonus room and beat the regular game  Klubba's Kiosk is now located to the left of Gloomy Gulch on the overworld map of Crocodile Isle.

There are some differences in this handheld version and SNES version, but there aren't that many. I don't like how it feels like you're really just playing a cheap carbon copy of one of the greatest platformers of all time. But, the gameplay does handle better than what it did in the first game. The controls still feel stiff at times and slippery at other times, but they aren't as bad for DKL2. However, there is even less originality to this game's design unlike before. Although, there wasn't all that much to that one either, but there was some. DKL2 has less originality, but the controls are somewhat better.

I don't feel like this game is much of an improvement over the first one in terms of its design. It really lacks originality, but it does handle better. I don't know. Everything in this game feels so dumbed down compared to DKC2 on SNES. It's just the same game, and you know what to expect before you even go into these levels. The controls are still an issue, so I can come to the conclusion Donkey Kong Land 2 is no better than the first game as far as its gameplay or level design.

Story 10/10: I rate this section the same as Donkey Kong Country 2 because it's basically the same storyline. I rated that one a 10, and that's what I rate this one too.  

Content 10/10: Donkey Kong Land 2  includes: Gangplank Galleon, Crocodile Cauldron/Krem Quay, Krazy Kremland, Gloomy Gulch, K. Rool's Keep, The Flying Croc, and The Lost World. You get the exact same worlds from the SNES game but with shorter levels that are fewer in number when compared to the original. However, this game still does take a while to finish.  

Difficulty 9/10: Donkey Kong Country 2 was a pretty tough game but fair. Donkey Kong Land 2 on the other hand is a tough game that is unfair. Many of the deaths I encounter in this game are due to poor visibility, slippery controls, very little momentum in my jumps, etc. The controls and camera aren't as bad as DKL1, but the stage layout is the same as DKC2 which was pretty hard. You can only imagine how hard this game is. It isn't hardcore difficult, but it feels pretty unbalanced for a majority of the game. I also hated how you had to make it to Kong College in order to save your game.

You get the same level design and Kong College locations as the original game on SNES. Although, this time the controls aren't as good. In my opinion, DKL2 does feel more difficult than its predecessor. That game did at least let you save more often, and the stage layout wasn't all that difficult. It was just the poor controls. I believe Donkey Kong Land 2 is a pretty frustrating game to try to finish and doesn't get much easier the more you play it. This game just feels harder than it needs to be and even more so than the first one.  

Overall 7.6/10: Donkey Kong Land 2 is quite an improvement over the first game. That one felt so cheap and poorly done. It just felt like an abomination of the original SNES Donkey Kong Country. This game is just a port of Donkey Kong Country 2 on SNES, but it isn't that bad of a port. You don't really expect as much out of this game. You know the plot is going to be the same and so is the amount of content. You don't get any more or any less than the original. There aren't any surprises, but I don't expect any. In some ways, for a port, it isn't that horrible of a game. I kind of enjoy it in some ways, but I still hate the controls and camera. Play at your own risk.