6. Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong’s Double Trouble! (1996)
At the twilight of the Super Nintendo’s lifecycle, and after the Nintendo 64 had already launched, Rare released one final Donkey Kong Country game for the SNES: 1996’s Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong’s Double Trouble! Just as Donkey Kong Country 2 ditched Donkey Kong himself, its sequel also discards Diddy, replacing him with the new playable character Kiddy Kong. Together, Dixie and Kiddy set out to rescue Donkey and Diddy from Baron K. Rool in a northern region with its geography inspired by Scandinavia and Canada.
Though Donkey Kong Country 3 may be the weakest entry of the original trilogy, it is by no means a bad game and brings some fresh changes to the series, specifically, an open hub map and vehicles. But the game just doesn’t quite feel as inspired as its two predecessors, even with the protagonist swap to introduce Kiddy. A solid if seemingly obligatory coda to the original Donkey Kong Country trilogy, Donkey Kong Country 3 retains the core appeal as it goes through well-worn territory.
5. Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze (2014)
Relegated to being a supporting character for years, Cranky Kong makes his playable debut with 2014’s Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze for the Wii U, joined by a returning Dixie. The game has Donkey Kong’s birthday party interrupted by the attacking Snowmads, an army of arctic animals plotting to conquer Donkey Kong Island and plunge it into endless winter. The Kongs battle their way back to the heart of their native island, defeat the Snowmads and defrost their home from its newly icy condition.
Tropical Freeze is an all-around improvement over Donkey Kong Country Returns, significantly refining the gameplay mechanics and level design. At the same time, the difficulty remains as high as ever while the overall number of levels is reduced from its predecessor. A solid addition to the series, the definitive Tropical Freeze experience is its enhanced remaster on the Nintendo Switch, adding Funky Kong as a playable character.
4. Donkey Kong Country (1994)
To anyone who was around and playing video games in 1994, the original Donkey Kong Country was a huge deal when it debuted on the Super Nintendo that year. With its crisp, pre-rendered graphics, there was nothing else that looked that good on the console market at the time, helping steer the industry towards more 3D aesthetics. The game’s story is simple: King K. Rool raids Donkey Kong Island and steals Donkey Kong’s vast stash of bananas, prompting the ape and his nephew Diddy, in his first appearance, to recover their purloined fruit.
If it was just about that initial wow factor from its pre-rendered presentation, we wouldn’t still be talking about Donkey Kong Country over 30 years after its launch. But more than just its eye-catching visuals, the game completely redefined Donkey Kong down to his character design and reestablished him as a core Nintendo property. That legacy stems from a combination of impressive technical presentation, an instant-classic score composed primarily by Grant Kirkhope, and an engaging side-scrolling platformer experience that this first game all brings to the table.
