Donkey Kong Country 2 (Diddy's Kong Quest) was released exactly a year after the first game in November 1995. To a lot of people this game is considered one of the best platform games of all time. The first game was a huge success, but this one was probably even bigger. I have to agree with the majority on this game. Donkey Kong Country was one of the last video games I played as a kid. I never got to play the sequel until almost 20 years later when I played it on Game Oldies. At first, I didn't like it as much as DKC1, but after quite a few playthroughs, I was now playing it on Vizzed with the RGR plugin, and I liked this DKC game even better than the first one. Here is why.  

Graphics 10/10: To start with, Donkey Kong Country on SNES looks like a masterpiece. Donkey Kong Country 2 is even better! That's saying a lot because the first game had 3-D graphics even though it was still a 2-D platformer. DKC and DKC2 look very realistic. I noticed this a while ago as Dixie's ponytail is blowing in the wind. Nintendo made two games that were almost lifelike at this time. With the second game, the backgrounds look even more animated. The beehive levels look really cool, and you can see the larva in the background. I guess the two games are about identical in quality, but this one does look somewhat better with more realistic looking sprites and backgrounds.

Music 10/10: With the soundtrack in DKC2, you get a lot of the same. Players get a game with great musical variety, and there isn't a dull song in the whole game just like with DKC1. I think this time around the music is even better with themes for: the Bramble stages, Rollercoaster levels, Castle levels, Ice stages, I could go on and on! There may have been a few tracks in the first game that weren't that great, but I can't think of any in this one (and I have to think hard about DKC1 also). Donkey Kong Country 2 has an amazing soundtrack with more tracks than I just named. There are too many to even remember, and all of them sound fantastic!  

Gameplay 10/10: For the sequel to DKC, you play as Diddy Kong or Dixie. The gameplay is the same as before. The Kong in the front is the one that is in control, and when they take damage from an enemy or obstacle, the other Kong moves forward. After that, if you take further damage, you'll lose a life. You can only take one hit in this game just like in the first DKC. The game still has the same save mechanism as before, but you now save at Kong College ran by Wrinkly Kong. You also have to pay 2 Banana Coins after you save your game for the first time. Funky is back again too, but you have to pay 2 Banana Coins to him your first time also but after that it is free.

Funky takes you back to places on the (new) Crocodile Isle you've already been just like before. I really don't mind paying Banana Coins every time I want to save my game or use Funky's Flights. They're easy to find, and it isn't much of a problem. You can still recover your partner with the DK barrel system, and the levels have the same checkpoint barrels. Although, the overworld map of Crocodile Isle is bigger than the one of DK Island from the first game, and the individual worlds also have more levels than before.

Besides Wrinkly and Funky, Cranky Kong is back this time too. However, you have to pay him Banana Coins for some of his hints. Wrinkly Kong also gives you hints on how to play the game, and you have to pay for some of them too. This is one of the things that is necessary for 102% completion of this game. The bonus rooms also make a return, but you have to play a mini-game in them in order to collect a Kremcoin needed for Klubba's Kiosk. Klubba's Kiosk is the entrance to The Lost World of the game, and it is guarded by Klubba. You have to pay him 15 Kremcoins in order to enter it.

Every individual world of Crocodile Isle contains a Klubba's Kiosk with exception to the first world (Gangplank Galleon) and the last world (The Flying Croc). However, the one in K. Rool's Keep cannot be entered until you get the final Kremcoin after defeating Kaptain K. Rool in the final boss fight. This time around the bonus rooms are worth the extra effort of playing, and they are more interesting to play as well. The game does a great job of presenting players with more of a challenge for these bonus rooms, and if you are successful, it also does a better job of rewarding you for your efforts. The Lost World levels also have bonus areas containing DK Coins. DK Coins are also found within the individual levels of the regular game also. These coins don't unlock anything, but they are more of a status symbol after the end of the game.

These types of coins have been hidden by Cranky, and after defeating K. Rool in the Flying Croc, and then again in The Lost World, Cranky comes out and sees how many you have. If you have found all of them, he gives you first place. The goal of Donkey Kong Country 2 is to find everything, beat K. Rool twice, find all the DK Coins hidden by Cranky, and pay for all the hints at Cranky's and Wrinkly's. This isn't necessary for just beating the game which in itself is a lot more difficult task than before. However, the reward for going out of your way to do 102% is definitely worth it. DKC2 is a game that is big on exploration with its level design, and this is what really kept me hooked the whole time I was playing it.  

In the original game, players were presented with a variety of many different levels. You had: jungle levels, mine cart levels, caves, snow levels, factories, etc. In DKC2, you get: pirate ship levels, a volcano world, a swamp section, an amusement park, beehive stages, a dark forest, castle levels, etc. I feel like you are presented with an even greater variety than you were before. As an adult, the Donkey Kong Country games have to be some of the most enjoyable I have ever played because of their level themes, and how they encourage players to explore these levels in order to find bonus rooms that unlock even more surprises! The stage length is also pretty short with some levels being longer, but they never get boring or tedious. I find myself always invested in playing this game through to the finish, and there is a lot to play!  

Last but not least, the animal buddies return, and there are even some new animals for this sequel. These include: Enguarde, Rambi, Squawks (now playable), Squitter (new), and Rattly (new). In DKC2, you can also transform into these animals by entering an animal barrel in the levels. With the new bonus system, Lost World, animal buddies, collectables, etc. Diddy's Kong Quest is a very fun game to play. It is a pretty challenging game at first, and it took me a while to beat it. However, once you get through the learning curve, I feel like it is just as enjoyable to play as the first one, if not more enjoyable.

Story 10/10: I believe that the storyline for DKC2 is also an improvement over the first game. Nintendo put more into making the plot of this game a bit more interesting than before. Donkey Kong has been kidnapped by King K. Rool and taken to his castle on Crocodile Isle. It is up to Diddy to rescue him, and he gets his girlfriend, Dixie Kong, to help him! Crocodile Isle is a lot more dangerous island than Donkey Kong's Island! As Diddy and Dixie make their way to K. Rool's Castle at the top of the island, K. Rool runs off with DK to his airship "The Flying Croc"! They have to go through another bramble level to get to the final area where DK is being held prisoner. I could go on, but I don't want to spoil anything. I have to say, this story is more involved than the original.

That game introduced quite a cast of characters from the Kong family. Funky and Cranky make a return with some new characters as well. Wrinkly and Swanky (who runs his own game show where Diddy and Dixie can earn extra lives) now join in on the adventure as well. The pirate theme of this game is also pretty cool, and K. Rool has really went all out as the villain this time! He is very over the top in this game unlike in the first one! This plot really grabs my attention and is another piece of the puzzle to a great Nintendo game of the mid '90s.

Content 10/10: I would say Donkey Kong Country 2 takes twice as long to finish as what the first game did, but that is a good thing because all of it is good. The levels of the game aren't that long with exception to a few, but there is more to explore this time. Crocodile Isle is a much bigger place than DK Island, and DKC2 has a lot more content, part of which is optional. It includes: Gangplank Galleon, Crocodile Cauldron, Krem Quay, Krazy Kremland, Gloomy Gulch, K. Rool's Keep, The Flying Croc, and The Lost World (optional). This game is pretty long, but most of the levels are pretty fun and entertaining. It doesn't feel very long, and the time really flies when you play this game! I didn't know I had invested close to 6 hours in it!

Difficulty 8/10: I thought Donkey Kong Country 2 was hard as hell the first time I played it. I got to the swamp world and gave up. Later on though, I started to get better at it. The more I played this game, the easier it became. I was quite impressed with how much easier it got with each playthrough! That's saying a lot about a game. Most video games suck, and they never get easier no matter how many times you play them. DKC2 reminds me a lot of Super Mario Bros. 3. It was hard at first, but with all the continues and extra chances you got, you got more practice and were able to memorize things better. Not only that, but this game starts out pretty easy and gradually gets harder.

So as a result, the difficulty is pretty balanced, and the game is designed in a way where if you keep playing, you just get better with more experience. Before you know it, you're playing the Lost World and 102%ing the game. DKC2 knows how to keep you coming back for more to see how far you can get this time which is the whole idea behind any good platformer.  

Overall 10/10: Donkey Kong Country 2 is a fine example of how to make a good platforming game. The difficulty is something that gradually gets lower the more you play it. There are so many secrets to explore this time around. In DKC1, there wasn't that many, but for DKC2 the bonus rooms challenge you more and so does the game itself. The boss fights are more engaging, and so is the soundtrack! The graphics are also amazing and so is everything else. The plot is like nothing else in the series, and K. Rool seems to be out for blood this time! I never played this game as a kid, but nowadays I've really come to enjoy it like none of the other games I ever played back in the day.