Cranky, then, offered a challenge: could Donkey and Diddy replicate Country ’s success on a weaker platform, namely the monochromatic, 8-bit Game Boy? So the two, realizing Cranky set them up, begrudgingly accept. The duo eventually had enough they defended Country ’s quality and their heroics therein.

Naturally, Cranky expressed this tirade to Donkey Kong, his kid and Country ’s namesake, and the hero’s protege, Diddy Kong. Above all, Cranky champions gameplay he claimed Country suffered in that department and solely owes its success to its visuals and audio. It did, however, have one critic in the grizzled Cranky Kong. In and out-of-universe, the Super Nintendo’s Donkey Kong Country was a momentous success.

So how does Land hold up in a time when Country is readily available on numerous platforms, portable or otherwise?Īfter grinding through Donkey Kong simulacrum JUJU, replaying a bonafide gorilla game was a pleasure. Spearheaded by lead programmer Paul Machacek, a few of the big names behind Country – including Steve Mayles, Kevin Bayliss, and David Wise – worked on its humble followup alongside Kong newcomers. Rare developed Land concurrently with Donkey Kong Country 2, and it beat the console sequel to market by four months. Simply offering software that eclipsed LCD games in complexity and scope was an incredible novelty (compare Tiger’s LCD Sonic to the Game Gear’s interpretation, for example).ġ995’s Donkey Kong Land released during this era, complimenting Donkey Kong Country of the year prior.

Because portable titles were helmed by smaller teams, given smaller budgets, and faced harsher hardware limitations, that was probably inevitable.

Growing up during the Nineties, there was a clear divide between the two: console titles were usually regarded as the “real” entries, while their handheld counterparts were perceived as approximations or weird spin-offs. Quality is found in both sectors, but how fans receive an installment in a series can be colored by whether it’s released on the former or latter. Several franchises appear on consoles and portable platforms. Thanks to Hamada and AShadowLink for helping with edits.

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