Title: Donkey Kong Land Publisher: Rare/Nintendo Features: Super Gameboy. Battery Save. Format: Platform Reviewer: Ben It's no 'Donkey Kong Country'... Diddy on Rambi the Rhino Eeek! Where's Diddy gone? The Map Screen Introduction When Donkey Kong Country came out back in 1994, I was amazed with the detailed graphics, fantastic soundtrack and brilliant gameplay that Rare had managed to pack into the game. As a result, I purchased Donkey Kong Land because I didn't have a SNES at the time and I was hoping for the same fun and detail (and also because it was a Banana yellow Game Pak). And I hate to say it, but Donkey Kong Land was really not what I expected. The story involves Cranky Kong issuing a challenge to Donkey and Diddy; that is getting all their banana hoard back, but this time on the Gameboy. Donkey (mainly though his boasting) willingly accepts until he realizes what he's done! Game Play I really hate to be harsh with Donkey Kong Land, because Rare usually makes such great games! I don't know what happened here. Perhaps I was expecting too much, I don't know. Although there is the incredible amount of graphic detail that was packed into Donkey Kong Country, the Gameboy doesn't seem to be able to handle it, because the characters and objects are quite often indistinguishable from the background. More than once you'll find yourself dying unnecessarily because you couldn't see an enemy, the floor or something similar. Play it on the Super Gameboy or the Gameboy Color and you'll be rewarded with clearer graphics, but you'll still have trouble. Another annoying problem with the game is that if you fall too far down and the screen doesn't scroll with you fast enough, it counts as a death. So even if you land on a platform, you might die! It's really unfair, especially in the later levels where things get really tough. Speaking of levels, there are about fifty different levels through out the game, all with nice different locations, like inside plimps, balancing atop girders and through ancient temples and aquatic worlds. The sound in Donkey Kong Land is nothing spectacular. There's the standard beeps, bongs and kabooms that you'd expect, but nothing that would make you sit up and take notice. The songs are okay, with Gameboy-ized versions of the SNES tunes, and if I remember correctly, 2 new songs. However, some of the the best songs have been cut either because it would have been impossible to do them, or because the appropriate level isn't there. Final Comments I don't know if it was just me, but I was really expecting more from Donkey Kong Land, but instead I got a watered down version of Donkey Kong Country, and not a good one. The only Kongs I met were Donkey and Diddy, (where was Cranky?!) the level names were only printed in the Instruction booklet, (along with a map of the entire game which spoiled any surprises), and the fact that you could die when jumping on platforms was just depressing. If you're even remotely interested in getting this game after reading this, then I suggest you borrow a friend's copy or something. [ Back To Game Reviews ]