After revolutionizing the world of platform games with Donkey Kong Country, Nintendo and Rare united once more by giving the game a sequel, Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy Kong’s Quest. This time, Diddy and his (girl?) friend Dixie Kong are on a mission to rescue Donkey Kong, who was captured by King K Roll. Candy gave him the haircut apparently…

Graphics: 10/10

If you thought that graphics in DKC were beautiful, wait until you see those in DKC 2.

They are even better than the first game. Both Diddy and Dixie are well-drawn, as usual, and their movements are better – they actually run on the world map rather than slowly walk. I would say that Dixie is drawn even better as her features look like that of a gorilla. She has the strongest hairdo you will ever see: it can either destroy an enemy or carry anything from a barrel to a cannon ball… and over her head! It can even help her float down like a helicopter.

Their waiting animation has even been worked on further: Diddy starts juggling whereas Dixie sits down and eats a banana when they have nothing to do. Even their triumph animation (after a boss or after hitting bull’s eye at the end of a level) is very elaborate: Dixie plays the electric guitar whereas cooler Diddy plays his stereo and wears sunglasses. They can even truly collaborate by throwing the other – very useful to access certain inaccessible bonus barrels.

You will also get the help from animals this time around too. Although they are smaller they are more developed this time around and well-drawn too. Your rhino can now dash and run at amazing speed and the swordfish can swim much quicker. You also have a parrot that throws coconuts around, a hairy spider with running shoes that throws webs to both attack and make platforms to access higher elevations, and a snake with quite a bounce. There are even levels where you “have to” control these animals. You might even see a seal (that cools off hot water) and an abyss fish that lights your way that will assist you (although you won’t actually control them).

You will also get more help from the Kong family. Cranky is still there, but this time his advice comes at a prize – fortunately “banana coins” are easy to come by. There is also Wrinkly, the old teacher that will save your game, Swanky and his shiny Prize-is-Right glowing coat that can make you earn prize and Funky, you can give you a ride around.

In addition, the levels you have to complete are also much richer and diverse. There are now cart runs, in amusement parks or inside a haunted house, swamps where you need to bounce on crocodile heads, hives where you can climb thanks to dripping honey and see larvae/baby bees, ships with high stacks of barrels and underwater levels that make you swim around crates rather than algae. Even the world map is larger; you can’t see it all at once. The Hive level is even divided in two parts: the hive proper and the amusement park.

Furthermore, your foes, although smaller too like your animal allies, are also much more diverse in their form and actions. They can be peg-legged lizards, cannon-ball shooting klumps, barrel-throwing specters, inflating spikey fish or spiraling star fish, dragon flies, crawling insects and more.

Finally, even the bosses come in more diversified forms. While one (the vulture) is repeated, all other bosses are unique. And they move all around the screen too; unlike DKC 1 the range of action is much larger. For example the Laval level has a sword moving around the screen shooting lava stones at you. The movement range would require taking at least 7-8 screenshoots to get the whole image. It’s even larger with the vulture’s ghost form, where you actually climb quite high up on rope ladders.

Music: 4/10

I was very disappointed in the soundtrack.

I saw it again why when I watched the speedrun to re-familiarize myself with the game. DKC 2 doesn’t have the jungle groove the first game had. I found nearly all the tracks to be unmemorable and even unrelated to the levels. For example water levels sound much too dramatic in comparison with similar levels in other games that sound more relaxed and magical. The amusement park levels simply don’t sound like they’re about a carnival (except for the occasional fright screams from the roller coasters) – Spring Yard in Sonic the Hedgehog 1 did it better. Even the invincibility theme sounded lame, as if the producers just slept on the synth and recorded the result.

The best track of the game was the Thorn Forest level, with its enchanting beat that’s very relaxing. Funky Kong’s theme was also good and much cooler than in the previous game – you can even see him surf. Other tracks worth mentioning are the overworld theme, which sound epic with its violin track, and the boss tracks that sounds really dramatic. Special mention to the “Lost World” (a bonus world) that has a very mysterious beat and the bonus level that sounds very joyful (it even accelerates if you’re about to run out of time)

Sound effects, on their side, saw a lot of improvement since DKC 1. They are as diversified as the new enemies and allies you see. You can hear the stumping from the peg-legged lizards, the cannons shoot loudly, the mice were given more attention than the groundhogs and those hard-shelled insects sound heavy even when they walk. However, it sounds like the parrot is choking when spitting the coconuts.

Addictiveness: 9/10

Fortunately, the game has a lot to offer contrary to its soundtrack.

Like DKC 1, DKC 2 is timed so you will want to complete the game as fast as possible. But this time around there is MUCH more to explore. Oh, there are still secret passages like the previous game, but this time you actually need to earn the secret passage.

Be it by destroying all enemies, finding a hidden token or collecting stars, you will need to achieve your objective within the allotted time (20 seconds or so) in order to make your discovery count. In addition there is a giant DK coin in every level, and those usually require a lot of exploration. Hell, you even have to complete the game first in order to access all secrets in the game! That’s why the complete game is now 102 percent instead of 101 percent.

Also, because both Diddy and Dixie and actually interact – rather than being just an extra layer of protection – this makes keeping both alive essential. While speedrunners usually use the cooperation trick to gain time, it’s actually essential in some instances to gain access to secret passages. Plus some levels have character-specific barrels – Diddy can’t jump in a barrel with Dixie’s head on it. So be quick with your controller!

Story: 4/10

Although not very developed, there is a bigger thread linking DKC 2 together.

First, your ultimate mission is to free Donkey Kong from King K. Roll’s prison. The game even starts in K. Roll’s galleon, making a nice link with the previous game.

But that’s it. You don’t know why or how K. Roll was able to abduct Donkey, and the levels just go by without much uniting them together.

Depth: 10/10

If DKC 1 was huge, DKC 2 is GIGANTIC.

First, there are 35 regular levels plus 8 bosses (and the final boss) you must get through to simply complete the game. They are longer than DKC 1 and have a lot more to explore – many of them even have shortcuts leading directly to the end. It might be useful in order to come back and then quit once you find all the secrets. But since you’re quite a gamer you don’t just settle for that do you?

There are five “Lost World” levels that are similar to the Special World in Super Mario World. It DOES look like Jurassic Park with its tropical location and volcano. But of course the Lost World is much more elaborate but also much more difficult. To access those levels you must pay Krusha 15 tokens or else he will swing his giant club at you and expel you – there’s no way around it. You get these tokens by successfully completing tasks in one of the 73 secret passages (there are even secret passages in the Lost World).

Speaking of which, this concept has received so much more attention in DKC 2. You just don’t find the secret passage and voluntarily jump in a hole just to save time – even if it meant not getting a life. Here you have to kill enemies and collect stars in order to earn a token or find the token itself before time runs out. It’s not as easy as it looks; unless you’re doing a speedrun you may be in for a long time to get 100 stars in 20 seconds, swim around a dark room with many ways to find the token or kill lizards that quickly climb up and down vines while your supply of barrels is limited.

All these levels have a so-called Hero Coin (with DK written on it) that you must find in order to get into Cranky’s good graces and complete the 102 percent. A few are at the end-of-level target, but most of them are out of sight so you will have to look carefully.

And don’t worry if you don’t get 102 percent after defeating King K. Roll; you will need to explore a little more in order to get what’s missing!

Difficulty: 7/10

The difficulty is proportional to the improved depth of the game.

First, Diddy and Dixie are small and weak. Even Dixie’s killer hair is sometimes not enough to kill enemies – they merely become infuriated and move angrily around.

Speaking of enemies they have become much more vicious in this game. There are far more bees and they are sometimes positioned right where you must jump from barrel to barrel. Many of them are red (invincible), so your parrot’s coconuts will be useless and can hurt your rushing rhino. Underwater enemies are hard too unless you ride your swordfish. The piranhas are more insistent, the blowfish expand in volume and block you and the starfish spin around swiftly while you swim very slowly.

The levels too have become very difficult. When you ride the roller coaster you usually have to face obstacles that require split-second decisions. In one of them you have to decide whether to hit a barrel or not, opening or shutting a barrier. In another you have to hit the right barrel or else your chronometer will decrease and the ghost pursuing you will catch up.

In Thorn Forest levels you also have to be careful when going into barrels or you will end up in the thorns and die. It get even more difficult when you get in the barrels rotating 360 degrees or those that expulse you after a certain time. You can get rid of some bees with the parrot, but since it carries you by your shirt you have to mind your speed or you will end up in thorns.

In addition you will often be required to have perfectly-timed jumps in order to get over large spaces at time. And of course, those gaps are sometimes filled with bees… It gets worse in the Lost World, where you actually need to bounce on giant rubber tires to get over larges spaces covered with spikes.

Finally, even if your follow the “banana trail”, finding all the secret passages will be quite a challenge. I don’t know if having a giant screen TV could help, but back in 1996 there was no way you could see all those bonus barrels unless you were lucky. Even some secret passages will require you waiting for a cannon ball to drop by…

On a more positive note though, the animals have been improved in such a way that it does compensate for the increased difficulty level. If you’re skilled enough your spider can spit webs in all direction, killing the enemies ahead.

In short, platform game lovers will rejoice when discovering (or re-discovering) Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy Kong’s Quest. The graphics are even more impressive than the first game and has so much more to offer – you will actually need to get through those secret passages in order to find others.

But for RPG lovers like me the game will prove to be a frustrating challenge. I preferred DKC 1 as it was easier to master.