No the graphics are not dated! I'd rather play it with those SNES graphics than play the last games DKC Returns and Tropical Freeze. The Kremlings are way better enemies too! I miss then in the new games... The music is awesome, the controls are precise and the stages are memorable! This game is gold!
@@Pawl0solidus graphics is incredible still today! Probably people criticizing it might have a wrong set up. Just try playing with a non HD TV: the number of pixels blends perfectly with the TV definition and has a great painted effect. If you are emulating, you should pick a specific filter. Hope the new DKC has a more "painted" graphics to homage that charming pre rendered effect
My argument about "Is DKC overrated?" has always boiled down to "If it's over rated, why did it change the platformer genre, and 16-bit games as a whole, so much? If it was all about the 'dated' visuals, why did it set a new benchmark for style and quality of effort into the art direction? If it played poorly, why did so many other games take its ideas?" It's fine not to like any particular game. I'll keep it a buck - I didn't actually like the N64 Zelda games. Doesn't mean they weren't high water marks for that style of game on that system, I just didn't like using the N64 controller and Zelda is well behind DK, Mario, and Metroid for me on my list of franchises.
I completely agree, DKC is far from overrated. The simple pleasure of bouncing of the enemies through the levels, the fun and innovative mechanic of the barrels, the many animals to ride, the different way to play according to which Kong you're playing, the special levels (the minecart of course, the ON/OFF switch monster, the ropes and the bees), there are plenty of fun and new ideas for the time that are still very enjoyable to play today! If anything, the weak part of DKC might be the bosses. They are fun to fight and sometimes impressive by size but sometimes they're not the most thought-out thing in the game, I admit. But hey litterally everything else is amazing! 😀
No. *Cue credits.* But seriously, donkey Kong country is an underrated franchise, that Nintendo themselves sleep on. Not only do they get rid of the main antagonist of the series, but they don't even give us a game consistently, unlike Mario or zelda. It's a damn shame because the play it loud generation was one of the best times donkey Kong ever had.
The animal buddies are such fun power ups that feel organically part of the world. The bonus rooms as well are a great addition to the genre that changes platformers from being games that you beat, to games you complete
DKC is a classic. I like the old graphics for how they are and still how they look today. I'm one that doesn't feel the need to have modern, crisp graphics in order to enjoy an older game.
Would it be wrong do say that I like the dated graphics? I don't think so. The art work of the game made every level feel like a painting. And the gameplay, while simple in today's age, was something I could easily get pass. Innovation for a game is quite demanding, and I see nothing wrong with making a game that wants to be like something else, so long as it dosent feel like it's ripping a page out of the book. When I played and beat DC1, I said to myself : "I can see why people love this game."
Right from the start… Hell no, it’s not! If anything, Donkey Kong Country has become underrated since they sleep on it with DKC2… it’s a great game, the platforming is AWESOME. The music is beyond amazing, the sound effects are fun… And it DID push the envelope with its multiple unique gimmicks / designs, but also sometimes just used a great idea for only one stage! DKC is incredible, it’s not trial and error, it does get hard and the toughest brick wall would be Snow Barrel Blast.. each of the worlds have 5-6 levels, there’s a lot of variety! Also, on an objective truth note… I do not believe all opinions are valid, some are just not true lol some people are driven by their mood and lose interest but it’s SUCH a great game!
Probably so, but this is one case where its overrated-ness makes sense to everyone who has ever played the game. Also, gotta love the kremlings and K rools antics. Bro literally sics fake credits on you just to get a cheap shot in.
I think some people conflate praise for a game with people thinking something is perfect. DKC may have flaws for some but that doesn’t take away from the many things it does amazingly well. Definitely not overrated at all. Unfortunately, every amazing game will always have detractors saying that it’s overrated because they don’t care for it.
DKC 1-3 are the best feeling run-and-jump platformers of all time IMO. the incredible Returns series doesn’t quite hit those highs for me. the first three games just *feel* good. the controls respond exactly how i’d want them to from start to finish. even the ice and water physics make sense!!
I would say Yes, DKC3 is a better game for me than DKC1, i like the soundtrack from the first more, but gameplay in 3 is better. DKC1 still is a good game.
I just played the original trilogy for the first time 2 months ago, having only played the 2 newer games. I have to be honest, the games floored me with how good they were. Upon finishing DKC1, it became my favorite snes game, and then I played DKC2, which passed the first and is easily one of the best 2D platformers I have ever played. DKC3 was still a great time. I would still say Tropical Freeze is my favorite but I think that just goes to show the absurdly high quality of the series. The games are beautiful, control incredibly, and have extremely tight level design. Not even to mention all of the creative themes and amazing soundtracks. If anything I think DKC is underrated when compared to Nintendo’s other series. It should be talked about as much as Mario (and more than most of his 2d entries) and Zelda, all 5 DKC games really are that good.
DKC's formula refined what Mario started. While I do think that it is carried by its graphics and music, the DKC series DOES have some neat innovations in its bonus level and hidden collectibles formula that encourage exploration in a way most platformers of the time didn't. And being carried by graphics and music is fine. It's not a technical marvel anymore, but the atmosphere still holds up.
Dkc is revolutionary. Heck so revolutionary that licensed games still use the formula That influenced the sponge from nick to do it too in 2001's supersponge
I just replayed Donkey Kong Country 2 with a shader and with restored soundtrack mod and it deserves every bit of praise it gets. Even tho I played through it before, the challenge still felt fresh. With the exception of very few instances and water levels requiring you to constantly hug walls to find their secrets, I almost had as much of a great time as playing it the first time. It's not just the graphics, the level design and such. It is everything. The gamefeel, the sound design, the vibe of the levels, the almost perfect difficulty. Rare polished their games not just to make them feel complete but to create something that is timeless and that is so much more than the sum of its parts.
DKC1 ain't overrated, but DKC2 is a masterpiece, to this date one of the best games ever. DKC3 might be a little underrated, even though it's the weakest in the trilogy.
Short answer: No Long answer: If it was really overrated, it wouldn't get labelled "overrated" by so many gamers and critics. Modern Nintendo fans in particular have this weird tendency to conflate good graphics with bad gameplay, probably to cope with Nintendo's consoles generally being underpowered compared to their contemporaries. That correlation has been used to retroactively claim that DKC wasn't that good, that the less visually impressive Mario always had better gameplay. But Donkey Kong Country did a lot to distinguish itself from its contemporaries, instead of tying gameplay mechanics like hints, saving, fast travel and power-ups to random objects like blocks or menus, gameplay was tied to characters. DKC felt like a natural living breathing world, not just a series of obstacle course to jump through till you beat the game.
Love this video! It's been a long time since I played, but over the years my wife and I had played dkc all the way through multiple times. So much fun because as a kid I was actually too used to playing it by myself so it was nice to play it with her. And as somebody who actually grew up in the 90s and grew up with this game as well as its sequels on the snes, it was really fascinating even after the N64 came out it was just so much fun to play these games
No, this game rocks and definitely isn't overrated. It still holds up. It is flawed in some minor ways that can easily be forgiven such as recycled bosses and some small collision detection issues with the environment but those are very minor complaints. The fact that it is such a complete package in gameplay, graphics, audio, controls, atmosphere, and anything you can want is a miracle.
The only thing that sucks about DKC games is that DK feels limited be cause he can't grab or punch..his hand slap doesn't feel powerful against enemies.
The problem with looking at older games is that people compare it to current offerings. Sure, people want games that hold up to the test of time, but it's hard to do that many times with graphical quality, memory constraints, etc; however, many older games are not only still beloved, but being remastered, having the games modded and new fan-created games are coming out all the time. Starfox 64 just got a PC Port in full 60 FPS and HD. It looks fantastic. Super Mario Eclipse came out a number of months ago, and games lke Super Mario 64 has a giant playerbase and mods/updates for it. Donkey Kong Country is a Top Tier classic. There is no other way to describe it. There are a number of games that are classics, but only a small Portion are "Top Tier." The Donkey Kong Franchise was just so incredible when it first came out. People also complain about DK64, and there are videos coming out about that too and it "Being bad," but it's the same thing... Back in the day, it was new and incredible. It was something we didn't experience before, especially with all the hardware limitations. Once those limitations are moved, we have the ability to get much better games. That's what we see with the Newer DKC Games.
Being kind of a snob when I was a boy in 1994, I had no interest in buying DKC when it was new. I appreciated that the graphics were utterly gorgeous and the best I'd ever seen, but I felt that it was just a pretty game with no other value. My appreciation for it has grown exponentially as time has gone by (obviously, otherwise I wouldn't be here), and I can see that it's charm and staying power comes from far more than just pretty graphics. I too agree that DKC is actually underrated by today's standards and I hope some day I can show my son the joy of this and other great old games. DKC2 is still the better game though. 😛
Nah. People are trippin. This game truly was and still is a masterpiece considering it’s time. It still holds up and the quality still beats some games coming out today.
DKC had basically all the content of a good game at the time + the amazing visuals. The gameplay holds up, the difficulty is perfect, and the graphics still look good and don't get in the way of the gameplay.
In general? No. Out of the entire DKC series? Probably. See, the only reasons why most prefer the first game (& to an extent, Retuns & Tropical Freeze) is because they hate the idea of DK being captured. So, it’s not exactly nostalgic reasons. Also, those type of gamers don’t like the second & third game because of their presentations, soundtracks, collectibles, worlds & stages, new ideas, and Dixie Kong. Like really?
This is how I see the original Trilogy. 1st game's a tad overrated, 2nd game deserves all the praise it gets, and the 3rd game is a bit underrated. The 1st one is still a good game but the 2nd game found it's true shape and 3rd game ran with it.
I played those games first time when I was already grown up (so no big nostalgia factor) and replayed them recently: I confirm that DKC1&2 are VERY solid and DKC2 is the best. DKC3 aged far worse
I haven't clicked on a video so fast! I am defensive of DKC because it was the 1st game 5 year old me became "addicted" to. I beat it and got the sequel for my 7th birthday and the rest is history. I have been a gamer ever since. I still play the DKC series weekly on a CRT.
Nope! Not a chance. In fact, our discussion on the Discord has me thinking that despite being inferior to the other two, it’s still my favorite. The nostalgia is just too deep, because I was in the 4th grade when this came out. I had been on the very end of the NES lifespan, so THAT was positively mindblowing. The two sequels could never be the first time we saw that, y’know? Illogical, but the heart wants what it wants. Love 2 & 3.
Absolutely NOT overrated!! I am so glad I picked up the trilogy as a kid. I LOVED the hell out of these games. I remember watching a tape that I got in the mail (from Nintendo power?) sbout how the game was made. And I was floored at how they were to utilize 3d works into the game with its limited hardware
Alright bro, I'm loving all the focus you're putting on Donkey Kong on your channel. The Donkey Kong games are my absolute favorite platformers. From Country to Land to Jungle Beats and even Jungle Climber. Hell, Donkey Konga 2 is still among my favorite rhythm games. So, I'm subscribing because I'm loving your videos!
I don't feel that innovation needs to be a big factor in judging a game's quality. If the game's good, then it's good. The only knock I have on Donkey Kong Country is its "toss yourself off every cliff in the game if you want to find all the secrets" level design.
I feel like this stems from the misattributed quote, "Donkey Kong Country proves that players will put up with mediocre gameplay as long as the art is good." by Shigeru Miyamoto (it's unproven and most likely a false statement) For me the "Is blank overrated?" fell into the abyss a few years ago when people where arguing that the Beatles weren't over-rated but actually under-rated in like 2021 or so. I think as video games are an artform, we should find the value in them ourselves and express them with whatever lens to critique as we chose. I like the points you bring up and how you honor differences in opinions. I like your videos a lot because they are thoughtful, introspective, or just gushing about what's great - they aren't book reports. Really I appreciate this as the world's #1 Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest hater (I kid)
Thank you man! I value your insight a ton, as well as a lot of people here and I'm glad you're enjoying the content. And I agree, it's definitely a tired discussion, but I wanted to give my two cents!
Nope. It's not overrated. Having lived back in the day, this game was a total bomb. It was impossible to think that there it was, -up and running on your TV at Xmas -94. I don't think that any 3D -game had such an impact. Zelda:OOT's content, Unteal's technical superiority and Metroid Prime's flawless execution on every department, were close though.
I agree opinions are always valid but man, it's hard not to feel like sometimes people unfairly use the idea of nostalgia as an easy way to be dismissive about older games. I fully admit to playing DKC as a kid but I didn't play very many games as a kid, didn't even play DKC2 or 3 or 64 until I was an adult. I played hundreds of really old games I didn't play as a kid when I was an adult and games were more advanced, and I enjoyed most of them. It just feels really shallow and closed minded to me that most people are going to write off older games based on the idea that other people enjoyed it as a kid, so obviously it's only merit was nostalgai.
The word OVERRATED is what's been OVERRATED and OVERUSED. Let's get OVER with it. Let's game OVER and start using other wonderful words all OVER from the beginning.
I think the problem is it's very much a thing of the time. If you didn't live through the era, it's very difficult to explain why it was so important. Especially considering how obsessed people are with gaming now and how far gaming has come. I think with a lot of retro things, you just have to "get it." Not to mention, to really appreciate how good it is, you have to be familiar with platformers, which isn't the popular video game genre it once was...
It's funny how people can feel a game is overrated, I for one don't see how Donkey Kong Country could be considered overrated. However I'm sure others think I'm crazy for thinking Final Fantasy 7 is overrated, but I can always give my arguments. Mainly that Chrono Trigger & Mario RPG had a better gameplay loop, with having enemies visible vs random encounters. The graphics don't hold up nearly as well as 16-bit era JRPGs & many of its story beats were previously done in Final Fantasy 6, which also did many of those story beat better as far as I'm concerned but that's also subjective. As for DKC with nostalgia aside, it's a timeless looking & sounding game that has the gameplay to back it up. I suppose if you're used to game bombarding you with information & spectical then it can seem quaint, but for me that's it's charm. It let's the pixels do the talking.
My first system was PS1 and as much as I loved the games I had with it and good memories throughout the years I always went back to snes to dk 1.2.3 and super mario world my best gaming memories when I was a kid was playing dk with my mom and older sister (it was her snes) we had the guide books and everything from back then now I still play dk with my younger brother and have gotten him into dk as well the graphics have aged well in my opinion and the music will always be great also I very much enjoy your videos when I saw how much you love dk I knew we would be internet brothers.
dont think so, of course the graphics were phenomenal (and still are), but to say great graphics bad gameplay is not true imo, it plays differently than Mario for example, but the gameplay flow is fantastic
I mostly remember people saying it's really good to great, with a lot of hype on the visuals, but I don't remember back then or now people acting like it's the "GOAT", so I'd say its properly rated. Not sure why people would complain about the story in a platformer, but then again I kind of low key agree with John Carmack when it comes to game stories. But I'll tell you what, that soundtrack is unquestionably GOAT-ed.
@TheJustintendo DKC1 has to much nostalgia blinding it. DKC2 plays better, better more meaningful secrets, better music, better graphics and atmosphere. It is the pinnacle. DKCTF comes close as the#2 best DK game. But DKC2 still reigns supreme. This coming from someone who replays the DKC games every 3 months out of boredom.
As a lifelong DK Land/Country fan, I freely admit that some of Rare's and Nintendo's stuff is totally overrated when you compare it to countless under-the-radar titles from other companies. You CAN enjoy/love something and admit it has flaws. Just keep a foot in both camps and you won't make a childish idiot of yourself like so many game fans tend to.
One of the few times I saw DKC being considered overrated was some possibly old gaming publication doing a list of 'overrated games' and DKC was on there. Now, personally, I kind of dislike the word 'overrated', words like 'underrated' are better or possibly more positive and constructive. Is DKC flawed? Obviously. But is it a good game? Well, to the point of appearing in a top 25 favourite games collab I did with my community[s], yes!
Although it's immediate sequel is infinitely better, it baffles me how anyone could consider DKC "overrated" when games like FF7, The Last of Us, Bioshock, Kingdom Hearts, God of War, Call of Duty, Fortnite, Baldur's Gate 3, the Witcher, Braid and Limbo exist.
Don't forget other overrated games like Super Mario 64, the N64 Zelda games, GTA 5, every Gran Turismo and every Forza game. I do definitely agree that The Last of Us is overrated, it's a glorified movie with walking-simulator gameplay, it's so boring.
I have to disagree about Mario 64. Although in retrospect it's easy to say it's not as good as some Mario games before (SMB3, SMW, Yoshi's Island) or some that came afterward (Galaxy, Galaxy 2, Odyssey), in regard to its innovation as an early 3D title, it definitely deserves its praise from a historical perspective. I do kinda agree about the N64 Zeldas though (especially OoT which, while good, is basically just A Link to the Past in 3D... And not as good as A Link to the Past).
@@scottmccurdy6493 Super Mario 64 was good back in 1996 when it was new and it was basically the only 3D platformer of it's kind, but nowadays, it just hasn't aged all that well, especially compared to future 3D Mario games as well as other N64/PS1 3D platformers such as Banjo Kazooie and Rayman 2 etc.
All I can say as a guy in his 30s is that the SNES had plenty of godawful games as alternatives to DKC when I was a kid. At least for its console generation, the DKC trilogy was some of the best quality platforming you could get at the time. Maybe under the lens of 30 years of progress in the video game medium the games have lost their luster. More modern platformers like Celeste have stood on the shoulders of giants to deliver new experiences that go further beyond what was thought of in the 90s. And retro games have poor quality of life choices. Like the clunky Candy's save point system or the virtually useless Cranky's Cabin. Also the boss battles are shit in the first DKC, haha
Nintendo NEEDS TO DO A REMAKE!!! Release the game for $70 on Super Nintendo Switch as a remake in 2026 and then Diddy’s Kong Quest is a DLC for $50 and it is the entirety of the second game and releases in 2028.
Why would you want that? The game looks amazing still and all three of the donkey Kong country games are available on the SNES catalog for Nintendo switch online. I'm disappointed that they even made that Super Mario RPG remake that they're charging full price for when the original game came out like 20 years ago and should have been available on the SNES catalog but isn't
Whoever thinks this has issues. The gameplay, level design, character design and freaking music is peak. If the originals ever get released again I'm buying them.
As a game overall no As a game inside is own serie yes it's the least excellent platformer in is serie I only include the original trilogy return and tropical freeze obviously
Anyone saying "by today's standards" criticism is a very silly person. The graphics in the DKC SNES games are better than DKC Returns and Tropical Freeze to me. Today.
Anyone who uses the term overrated has earned the right to not be listened to at all. It’s a bad faith catch all blanket term made to shit over people’s parade without offering anything as relevant as an opinion, valid criticism or start of genuine discourse. Nothing is beyond criticism of course, not even DKC, but I’ve grown so tired of the term that if someone says “overrated” they may as well be saying nothing
@lytron_tv I understand where your opinion may come from but I played those games first time when I was already grown up (so no big nostalgia factor) and replayed them recently: I confirm that DKC1&2 are VERY solid and DKC2 is the best (DKC3 aged far worse). Graphics still look incredible if you use a non-HD TV (but there are ways to filter it even in HD TVs through emulators).
In these days I'm replaying gba version of Donkey Kong Country 2 (bought the cartridge in 2018 and never finished) on my ds, i played and finished the original game on switch online in 2021 (i don't remember if i completed lost world), maybe i could change my mind
@@lytron_tv don't you appreciate the music and creativity compared to the previous one? I think the only thing that aged of the whole trilogy is some frustrating collectibles but we should remember it was a whole different context. Beating the level was the main challenge and the real "game" at that time. Hard collectibles were justified in a world with far less games
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Not really that overrated, but it gets pointed out that it needs to be remade, but that won't be happening anytime soon. All in all, DKC is still a great game, and most modern games today don't have that appealing charm on what makes a game worth playing, especially when it comes to its replay value.
DKC actually seems to have a pretty mixed reception from what I've seen. A lot of people really dislike it. I think it's pretty good but it's no masterpiece.
How come my comment was removed? I thought all opinions were valid? I'm telling RUclips to not recommend this channel to me anymore to hell with this bs
I found your comment. Maybe because you're being negative I don't know. But RUclips has this way of making comments harder to find I think it's certain words are said. If you don't want to be recommended a channel though, why are you even commenting on it? All you're doing is increasing engagement on the channel and if anything since the algorithm cannot really understand what you're saying it might even think that you want to watch it more because you're commenting on it. Just leave and ignore the channel if that's what you want to do.
Just to let you know, YT's algo will auto-remove posts that it doesn't like. This happens to me constantly. I will type a large comment only to have certain words cause an issue. I get around this by having to remove letters, etc. You can see this by editing your posts and see if it allows it. If not you'll usually get a "Returned Error," comment and the edit wont go through. your comment was most likely not removed by the channel creator, but by YT itself. This is a widespread, ongoing problem, and I've had issues with comments being removed/shadowed(meaning if I go on another account I cannot see the post, but I can see it on the acc I made the post on), for many years now..
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No the graphics are not dated! I'd rather play it with those SNES graphics than play the last games DKC Returns and Tropical Freeze. The Kremlings are way better enemies too! I miss then in the new games... The music is awesome, the controls are precise and the stages are memorable! This game is gold!
Completely agree!!!
@@Pawl0solidus graphics is incredible still today! Probably people criticizing it might have a wrong set up. Just try playing with a non HD TV: the number of pixels blends perfectly with the TV definition and has a great painted effect. If you are emulating, you should pick a specific filter. Hope the new DKC has a more "painted" graphics to homage that charming pre rendered effect
My argument about "Is DKC overrated?" has always boiled down to "If it's over rated, why did it change the platformer genre, and 16-bit games as a whole, so much? If it was all about the 'dated' visuals, why did it set a new benchmark for style and quality of effort into the art direction? If it played poorly, why did so many other games take its ideas?" It's fine not to like any particular game. I'll keep it a buck - I didn't actually like the N64 Zelda games. Doesn't mean they weren't high water marks for that style of game on that system, I just didn't like using the N64 controller and Zelda is well behind DK, Mario, and Metroid for me on my list of franchises.
Exactly!! Well said!
I'd like to add, is dkc3 overhated?
@@pzaypraxis95the answer to "is anything overhated on the internet?" Is always"yes. Yes obviously."
@@CoNteMpTonewhat about Action 52? 🤨
I completely agree, DKC is far from overrated. The simple pleasure of bouncing of the enemies through the levels, the fun and innovative mechanic of the barrels, the many animals to ride, the different way to play according to which Kong you're playing, the special levels (the minecart of course, the ON/OFF switch monster, the ropes and the bees), there are plenty of fun and new ideas for the time that are still very enjoyable to play today!
If anything, the weak part of DKC might be the bosses.
They are fun to fight and sometimes impressive by size but sometimes they're not the most thought-out thing in the game, I admit.
But hey litterally everything else is amazing! 😀
Agreed!!
No.
*Cue credits.*
But seriously, donkey Kong country is an underrated franchise, that Nintendo themselves sleep on. Not only do they get rid of the main antagonist of the series, but they don't even give us a game consistently, unlike Mario or zelda. It's a damn shame because the play it loud generation was one of the best times donkey Kong ever had.
Agreed!!!
The animal buddies are such fun power ups that feel organically part of the world.
The bonus rooms as well are a great addition to the genre that changes platformers from being games that you beat, to games you complete
Bro you just got a sub I love donkey Kong country games always
Thank you!! Happy to have you!
People calling it overrated just want others to talk about how underrated it truly is
DKC is a classic. I like the old graphics for how they are and still how they look today. I'm one that doesn't feel the need to have modern, crisp graphics in order to enjoy an older game.
Preach!
Would it be wrong do say that I like the dated graphics? I don't think so. The art work of the game made every level feel like a painting.
And the gameplay, while simple in today's age, was something I could easily get pass. Innovation for a game is quite demanding, and I see nothing wrong with making a game that wants to be like something else, so long as it dosent feel like it's ripping a page out of the book.
When I played and beat DC1, I said to myself : "I can see why people love this game."
no , it's still the best game ever
no , all their opinions are not valid
no , those arguements are not worth adressing
Short answer no. Long answer definitely non
🫡🫡
Short answer: NO
Right from the start… Hell no, it’s not! If anything, Donkey Kong Country has become underrated since they sleep on it with DKC2… it’s a great game, the platforming is AWESOME. The music is beyond amazing, the sound effects are fun…
And it DID push the envelope with its multiple unique gimmicks / designs, but also sometimes just used a great idea for only one stage! DKC is incredible, it’s not trial and error, it does get hard and the toughest brick wall would be Snow Barrel Blast.. each of the worlds have 5-6 levels, there’s a lot of variety!
Also, on an objective truth note… I do not believe all opinions are valid, some are just not true lol some people are driven by their mood and lose interest but it’s SUCH a great game!
YESSS
Probably so, but this is one case where its overrated-ness makes sense to everyone who has ever played the game. Also, gotta love the kremlings and K rools antics. Bro literally sics fake credits on you just to get a cheap shot in.
Fair!
I think some people conflate praise for a game with people thinking something is perfect. DKC may have flaws for some but that doesn’t take away from the many things it does amazingly well. Definitely not overrated at all. Unfortunately, every amazing game will always have detractors saying that it’s overrated because they don’t care for it.
Exactly
DKC 1-3 are the best feeling run-and-jump platformers of all time IMO. the incredible Returns series doesn’t quite hit those highs for me. the first three games just *feel* good. the controls respond exactly how i’d want them to from start to finish. even the ice and water physics make sense!!
I absolutely agree. The OG trilogy is just something else
If DKC is overrated, then DKC 3 is underrated.
DKC3 is super underrated
I would say Yes, DKC3 is a better game for me than DKC1, i like the soundtrack from the first more, but gameplay in 3 is better. DKC1 still is a good game.
I just played the original trilogy for the first time 2 months ago, having only played the 2 newer games. I have to be honest, the games floored me with how good they were. Upon finishing DKC1, it became my favorite snes game, and then I played DKC2, which passed the first and is easily one of the best 2D platformers I have ever played. DKC3 was still a great time. I would still say Tropical Freeze is my favorite but I think that just goes to show the absurdly high quality of the series. The games are beautiful, control incredibly, and have extremely tight level design. Not even to mention all of the creative themes and amazing soundtracks. If anything I think DKC is underrated when compared to Nintendo’s other series. It should be talked about as much as Mario (and more than most of his 2d entries) and Zelda, all 5 DKC games really are that good.
HELL YEAH!!
DKC's formula refined what Mario started. While I do think that it is carried by its graphics and music, the DKC series DOES have some neat innovations in its bonus level and hidden collectibles formula that encourage exploration in a way most platformers of the time didn't. And being carried by graphics and music is fine. It's not a technical marvel anymore, but the atmosphere still holds up.
Precisely
Dkc is revolutionary. Heck so revolutionary that licensed games still use the formula
That influenced the sponge from nick to do it too in 2001's supersponge
Absolutely!!
I just replayed Donkey Kong Country 2 with a shader and with restored soundtrack mod and it deserves every bit of praise it gets.
Even tho I played through it before, the challenge still felt fresh. With the exception of very few instances and water levels requiring you to constantly hug walls to find their secrets, I almost had as much of a great time as playing it the first time. It's not just the graphics, the level design and such. It is everything. The gamefeel, the sound design, the vibe of the levels, the almost perfect difficulty. Rare polished their games not just to make them feel complete but to create something that is timeless and that is so much more than the sum of its parts.
DKC1 ain't overrated, but DKC2 is a masterpiece, to this date one of the best games ever.
DKC3 might be a little underrated, even though it's the weakest in the trilogy.
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Short answer: No
Long answer: If it was really overrated, it wouldn't get labelled "overrated" by so many gamers and critics.
Modern Nintendo fans in particular have this weird tendency to conflate good graphics with bad gameplay, probably to cope with Nintendo's consoles generally being underpowered compared to their contemporaries.
That correlation has been used to retroactively claim that DKC wasn't that good, that the less visually impressive Mario always had better gameplay.
But Donkey Kong Country did a lot to distinguish itself from its contemporaries, instead of tying gameplay mechanics like hints, saving, fast travel and power-ups to random objects like blocks or menus, gameplay was tied to characters. DKC felt like a natural living breathing world, not just a series of obstacle course to jump through till you beat the game.
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Love this video! It's been a long time since I played, but over the years my wife and I had played dkc all the way through multiple times. So much fun because as a kid I was actually too used to playing it by myself so it was nice to play it with her. And as somebody who actually grew up in the 90s and grew up with this game as well as its sequels on the snes, it was really fascinating even after the N64 came out it was just so much fun to play these games
Thank you! :) and that's awesome
No, this game rocks and definitely isn't overrated. It still holds up. It is flawed in some minor ways that can easily be forgiven such as recycled bosses and some small collision detection issues with the environment but those are very minor complaints. The fact that it is such a complete package in gameplay, graphics, audio, controls, atmosphere, and anything you can want is a miracle.
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If its cutting edge and everyone loved it, then its not overrated.
No.
I agree, and thank you for the super thanks! I genuinely appreciate that so much, that's my first one!
Does a bear poop in a tiolet?
No!!
Haha HELL NO IT DOESN’T 🤘🤘
Short answer: no
Long answer: the only games to surpass DKC are Mario World and DKC2, the best platforms ever made.
The only thing that sucks about DKC games is that DK feels limited be cause he can't grab or punch..his hand slap doesn't feel powerful against enemies.
The problem with looking at older games is that people compare it to current offerings. Sure, people want games that hold up to the test of time, but it's hard to do that many times with graphical quality, memory constraints, etc; however, many older games are not only still beloved, but being remastered, having the games modded and new fan-created games are coming out all the time.
Starfox 64 just got a PC Port in full 60 FPS and HD. It looks fantastic. Super Mario Eclipse came out a number of months ago, and games lke Super Mario 64 has a giant playerbase and mods/updates for it.
Donkey Kong Country is a Top Tier classic. There is no other way to describe it. There are a number of games that are classics, but only a small Portion are "Top Tier." The Donkey Kong Franchise was just so incredible when it first came out. People also complain about DK64, and there are videos coming out about that too and it "Being bad," but it's the same thing... Back in the day, it was new and incredible. It was something we didn't experience before, especially with all the hardware limitations.
Once those limitations are moved, we have the ability to get much better games. That's what we see with the Newer DKC Games.
Being kind of a snob when I was a boy in 1994, I had no interest in buying DKC when it was new. I appreciated that the graphics were utterly gorgeous and the best I'd ever seen, but I felt that it was just a pretty game with no other value. My appreciation for it has grown exponentially as time has gone by (obviously, otherwise I wouldn't be here), and I can see that it's charm and staying power comes from far more than just pretty graphics. I too agree that DKC is actually underrated by today's standards and I hope some day I can show my son the joy of this and other great old games.
DKC2 is still the better game though. 😛
Nah. People are trippin. This game truly was and still is a masterpiece considering it’s time. It still holds up and the quality still beats some games coming out today.
Absolutely 🙏🏻
DKC had basically all the content of a good game at the time + the amazing visuals. The gameplay holds up, the difficulty is perfect, and the graphics still look good and don't get in the way of the gameplay.
In general? No.
Out of the entire DKC series? Probably. See, the only reasons why most prefer the first game (& to an extent, Retuns & Tropical Freeze) is because they hate the idea of DK being captured. So, it’s not exactly nostalgic reasons.
Also, those type of gamers don’t like the second & third game because of their presentations, soundtracks, collectibles, worlds & stages, new ideas, and Dixie Kong. Like really?
This is how I see the original Trilogy. 1st game's a tad overrated, 2nd game deserves all the praise it gets, and the 3rd game is a bit underrated. The 1st one is still a good game but the 2nd game found it's true shape and 3rd game ran with it.
I played those games first time when I was already grown up (so no big nostalgia factor) and replayed them recently: I confirm that DKC1&2 are VERY solid and DKC2 is the best. DKC3 aged far worse
I haven't clicked on a video so fast! I am defensive of DKC because it was the 1st game 5 year old me became "addicted" to. I beat it and got the sequel for my 7th birthday and the rest is history. I have been a gamer ever since. I still play the DKC series weekly on a CRT.
Awesome man, thanks for the comment! :)
Nope! Not a chance. In fact, our discussion on the Discord has me thinking that despite being inferior to the other two, it’s still my favorite. The nostalgia is just too deep, because I was in the 4th grade when this came out. I had been on the very end of the NES lifespan, so THAT was positively mindblowing. The two sequels could never be the first time we saw that, y’know? Illogical, but the heart wants what it wants. Love 2 & 3.
Absolutely NOT overrated!!
I am so glad I picked up the trilogy as a kid. I LOVED the hell out of these games.
I remember watching a tape that I got in the mail (from Nintendo power?) sbout how the game was made. And I was floored at how they were to utilize 3d works into the game with its limited hardware
Alright bro, I'm loving all the focus you're putting on Donkey Kong on your channel. The Donkey Kong games are my absolute favorite platformers. From Country to Land to Jungle Beats and even Jungle Climber. Hell, Donkey Konga 2 is still among my favorite rhythm games. So, I'm subscribing because I'm loving your videos!
Thank you so much!! Plenty more on the way! :)
No the graphics oozes charm, music is amazing, level design fast paced, comedic forth wall breaking writing.
No Donkey Kong country is not overrated. Donkey Kong country is underrated.
I don't feel that innovation needs to be a big factor in judging a game's quality. If the game's good, then it's good.
The only knock I have on Donkey Kong Country is its "toss yourself off every cliff in the game if you want to find all the secrets" level design.
I feel like this stems from the misattributed quote, "Donkey Kong Country proves that players will put up with mediocre gameplay as long as the art is good." by Shigeru Miyamoto (it's unproven and most likely a false statement)
For me the "Is blank overrated?" fell into the abyss a few years ago when people where arguing that the Beatles weren't over-rated but actually under-rated in like 2021 or so.
I think as video games are an artform, we should find the value in them ourselves and express them with whatever lens to critique as we chose. I like the points you bring up and how you honor differences in opinions. I like your videos a lot because they are thoughtful, introspective, or just gushing about what's great - they aren't book reports.
Really I appreciate this as the world's #1 Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest hater (I kid)
Thank you man! I value your insight a ton, as well as a lot of people here and I'm glad you're enjoying the content. And I agree, it's definitely a tired discussion, but I wanted to give my two cents!
@@TheJustintendo Thank you 🦍🐒🍌
Nope.
It's not overrated.
Having lived back in the day, this game was a total bomb.
It was impossible to think that there it was, -up and running on your TV at Xmas -94.
I don't think that any 3D -game had such an impact.
Zelda:OOT's content, Unteal's technical superiority and Metroid Prime's flawless execution on every department, were close though.
nothing compared to playing the demo at the Wal-Mart kiosk for the first time, pure magic
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I agree opinions are always valid but man, it's hard not to feel like sometimes people unfairly use the idea of nostalgia as an easy way to be dismissive about older games. I fully admit to playing DKC as a kid but I didn't play very many games as a kid, didn't even play DKC2 or 3 or 64 until I was an adult. I played hundreds of really old games I didn't play as a kid when I was an adult and games were more advanced, and I enjoyed most of them. It just feels really shallow and closed minded to me that most people are going to write off older games based on the idea that other people enjoyed it as a kid, so obviously it's only merit was nostalgai.
The word OVERRATED is what's been OVERRATED and OVERUSED. Let's get OVER with it. Let's game OVER and start using other wonderful words all OVER from the beginning.
Real!
I think the problem is it's very much a thing of the time. If you didn't live through the era, it's very difficult to explain why it was so important. Especially considering how obsessed people are with gaming now and how far gaming has come. I think with a lot of retro things, you just have to "get it."
Not to mention, to really appreciate how good it is, you have to be familiar with platformers, which isn't the popular video game genre it once was...
It's funny how people can feel a game is overrated, I for one don't see how Donkey Kong Country could be considered overrated. However I'm sure others think I'm crazy for thinking Final Fantasy 7 is overrated, but I can always give my arguments.
Mainly that Chrono Trigger & Mario RPG had a better gameplay loop, with having enemies visible vs random encounters. The graphics don't hold up nearly as well as 16-bit era JRPGs & many of its story beats were previously done in Final Fantasy 6, which also did many of those story beat better as far as I'm concerned but that's also subjective.
As for DKC with nostalgia aside, it's a timeless looking & sounding game that has the gameplay to back it up. I suppose if you're used to game bombarding you with information & spectical then it can seem quaint, but for me that's it's charm. It let's the pixels do the talking.
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My first system was PS1 and as much as I loved the games I had with it and good memories throughout the years I always went back to snes to dk 1.2.3 and super mario world my best gaming memories when I was a kid was playing dk with my mom and older sister (it was her snes) we had the guide books and everything from back then now I still play dk with my younger brother and have gotten him into dk as well the graphics have aged well in my opinion and the music will always be great also I very much enjoy your videos when I saw how much you love dk I knew we would be internet brothers.
Awesome story man, and thanks for the kind words
dont think so, of course the graphics were phenomenal (and still are), but to say great graphics bad gameplay is not true imo, it plays differently than Mario for example, but the gameplay flow is fantastic
I mostly remember people saying it's really good to great, with a lot of hype on the visuals, but I don't remember back then or now people acting like it's the "GOAT", so I'd say its properly rated. Not sure why people would complain about the story in a platformer, but then again I kind of low key agree with John Carmack when it comes to game stories. But I'll tell you what, that soundtrack is unquestionably GOAT-ed.
DKC1 is overrated.
DKC2 is properly rated(GOAT.)
DKC3 is underrated.
Disagree but Fair
@TheJustintendo DKC1 has to much nostalgia blinding it. DKC2 plays better, better more meaningful secrets, better music, better graphics and atmosphere. It is the pinnacle. DKCTF comes close as the#2 best DK game. But DKC2 still reigns supreme.
This coming from someone who replays the DKC games every 3 months out of boredom.
As a lifelong DK Land/Country fan, I freely admit that some of Rare's and Nintendo's stuff is totally overrated when you compare it to countless under-the-radar titles from other companies.
You CAN enjoy/love something and admit it has flaws. Just keep a foot in both camps and you won't make a childish idiot of yourself like so many game fans tend to.
no it isn't, it is still a fun game and a great game.
Absolutely
One of the few times I saw DKC being considered overrated was some possibly old gaming publication doing a list of 'overrated games' and DKC was on there. Now, personally, I kind of dislike the word 'overrated', words like 'underrated' are better or possibly more positive and constructive. Is DKC flawed? Obviously. But is it a good game? Well, to the point of appearing in a top 25 favourite games collab I did with my community[s], yes!
Although it's immediate sequel is infinitely better, it baffles me how anyone could consider DKC "overrated" when games like FF7, The Last of Us, Bioshock, Kingdom Hearts, God of War, Call of Duty, Fortnite, Baldur's Gate 3, the Witcher, Braid and Limbo exist.
Well said!
Don't forget other overrated games like Super Mario 64, the N64 Zelda games, GTA 5, every Gran Turismo and every Forza game. I do definitely agree that The Last of Us is overrated, it's a glorified movie with walking-simulator gameplay, it's so boring.
I have to disagree about Mario 64. Although in retrospect it's easy to say it's not as good as some Mario games before (SMB3, SMW, Yoshi's Island) or some that came afterward (Galaxy, Galaxy 2, Odyssey), in regard to its innovation as an early 3D title, it definitely deserves its praise from a historical perspective. I do kinda agree about the N64 Zeldas though (especially OoT which, while good, is basically just A Link to the Past in 3D... And not as good as A Link to the Past).
@@scottmccurdy6493 Super Mario 64 was good back in 1996 when it was new and it was basically the only 3D platformer of it's kind, but nowadays, it just hasn't aged all that well, especially compared to future 3D Mario games as well as other N64/PS1 3D platformers such as Banjo Kazooie and Rayman 2 etc.
It is not Overrated.Btw I actually think that DKCTF is better than this game. But many would disagree simple because it didnt write history.
Agree. DKCTF is impressive, taken down by weird and bad marketing choices
nostalgia game i love it so mutch - my best childhood ever
All I can say as a guy in his 30s is that the SNES had plenty of godawful games as alternatives to DKC when I was a kid. At least for its console generation, the DKC trilogy was some of the best quality platforming you could get at the time.
Maybe under the lens of 30 years of progress in the video game medium the games have lost their luster. More modern platformers like Celeste have stood on the shoulders of giants to deliver new experiences that go further beyond what was thought of in the 90s. And retro games have poor quality of life choices. Like the clunky Candy's save point system or the virtually useless Cranky's Cabin.
Also the boss battles are shit in the first DKC, haha
Nintendo NEEDS TO DO A REMAKE!!! Release the game for $70 on Super Nintendo Switch as a remake in 2026 and then Diddy’s Kong Quest is a DLC for $50 and it is the entirety of the second game and releases in 2028.
Why would you want that? The game looks amazing still and all three of the donkey Kong country games are available on the SNES catalog for Nintendo switch online. I'm disappointed that they even made that Super Mario RPG remake that they're charging full price for when the original game came out like 20 years ago and should have been available on the SNES catalog but isn't
Nintendo has never made Donkey Kong Country since that was made by Rare, and now Retro Studios.
Overrated? No... next
None of the DKC games on SNES are overrated. If you want overrated Nintendo games, there's Super Mario 64 and every Pokemon game in existence.
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OG 64 or 64 DS?
@@paulgilbert5278 OG 64
Whoever thinks this has issues. The gameplay, level design, character design and freaking music is peak.
If the originals ever get released again I'm buying them.
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Short answer no.
DKC is still great to this day
It absolutely is
100% agree. Nostalgia goggles or not
An amazing game that has been thoroughly enjoyable for 3 decades!
Heck yeah!!
As a game overall no
As a game inside is own serie yes it's the least excellent platformer in is serie
I only include the original trilogy return and tropical freeze obviously
Anyone saying "by today's standards" criticism is a very silly person. The graphics in the DKC SNES games are better than DKC Returns and Tropical Freeze to me. Today.
Anyone who uses the term overrated has earned the right to not be listened to at all. It’s a bad faith catch all blanket term made to shit over people’s parade without offering anything as relevant as an opinion, valid criticism or start of genuine discourse.
Nothing is beyond criticism of course, not even DKC, but I’ve grown so tired of the term that if someone says “overrated” they may as well be saying nothing
Agreed completely
NO
It's time to die!😂 Just giving you a hard time, but I am curious as to what you would say to suggest that it's overrated.
It's not overrated lol! That's what I talk about in this video
@@TheJustintendooh great! That means you get to live.😂 I haven't watched the video yet but I am still curious and will watch
It makes playing 2D Mario look like a chore
Yes it does!!
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🐊 👑 🏴☠️
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no, not really
Dkc1, maybe but 2 and 3 are absolutely amazing
No it is not.
Absolutely not.
DKC1 is "rated", DKC2 is overrated, DKC3 is underrated
Absolutely wrong. DK2 is probably in the top 3 SNES games of all time
I actually disagree as well, DKC2 is a masterpiece in every sense of that word, in my opinion of course
@lytron_tv I understand where your opinion may come from but I played those games first time when I was already grown up (so no big nostalgia factor) and replayed them recently: I confirm that DKC1&2 are VERY solid and DKC2 is the best (DKC3 aged far worse). Graphics still look incredible if you use a non-HD TV (but there are ways to filter it even in HD TVs through emulators).
In these days I'm replaying gba version of Donkey Kong Country 2 (bought the cartridge in 2018 and never finished) on my ds, i played and finished the original game on switch online in 2021 (i don't remember if i completed lost world), maybe i could change my mind
@@lytron_tv don't you appreciate the music and creativity compared to the previous one? I think the only thing that aged of the whole trilogy is some frustrating collectibles but we should remember it was a whole different context. Beating the level was the main challenge and the real "game" at that time. Hard collectibles were justified in a world with far less games
Hello TheJustintendo my name is Isaiah and I have something important to say to you. God loves you and like any father he wants to help you and keep you safe especially from the devil. But I am not just speaking to you about this I am also talking to your fans about this. God loves us all and he wants us all to be saved not just from ourselves but from the devils clutches. Do not be afraid to come to the Lord for his love is for evreyone Shalom Shalom.
Amen!
Not really that overrated, but it gets pointed out that it needs to be remade, but that won't be happening anytime soon.
All in all, DKC is still a great game, and most modern games today don't have that appealing charm on what makes a game worth playing, especially when it comes to its replay value.
No
DKC actually seems to have a pretty mixed reception from what I've seen. A lot of people really dislike it. I think it's pretty good but it's no masterpiece.
How come my comment was removed?
I thought all opinions were valid?
I'm telling RUclips to not recommend this channel to me anymore
to hell with this bs
I found your comment. Maybe because you're being negative I don't know. But RUclips has this way of making comments harder to find I think it's certain words are said. If you don't want to be recommended a channel though, why are you even commenting on it? All you're doing is increasing engagement on the channel and if anything since the algorithm cannot really understand what you're saying it might even think that you want to watch it more because you're commenting on it. Just leave and ignore the channel if that's what you want to do.
@@Sly88Frye I like talking about Donkey Kong Country but I'll leave though.
I didn't have a problem with the channel until now. negative? Haha, ok
Just to let you know, YT's algo will auto-remove posts that it doesn't like. This happens to me constantly. I will type a large comment only to have certain words cause an issue. I get around this by having to remove letters, etc. You can see this by editing your posts and see if it allows it. If not you'll usually get a "Returned Error," comment and the edit wont go through.
your comment was most likely not removed by the channel creator, but by YT itself.
This is a widespread, ongoing problem, and I've had issues with comments being removed/shadowed(meaning if I go on another account I cannot see the post, but I can see it on the acc I made the post on), for many years now..
I definitely do not remove any comments, so RUclips might have done something?
@@AlvinKazu Thanks for the info, and yeah but I didn't even use any bad language or anything. I just gave my opinion regarding the topic