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Donkey Kong Land Trilogy - No Country for Old Game Boys

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Donkey Kong Land Trilogy - No Country for Old Game Boys

Post by Bean »

Donkey Kong Land is not a port of the original Donkey Kong Country at all. In fact, it is an all-new adventure that hit the Game Boy in the summer of 1995. It's a pretty fun game, and I'm stunned there wasn't a topic on this at all this morning, so I'll host the thread this time!

1 - crunchy
2 - choosy
3 - clumsy
4 - convincingly
5 - crusty
6 - chasey
7 - clammy
8 - crumbly
9 - cloudy
10 - cleverly
11 - clingy
12 - capriciously

Donkey Kong Land 2 apes a lot more from its SNES counterpart than the original did and actually tries to be a handheld DKC2-like game. Whether it succeeds or not is up to you all. I've never played it, but it came out in the fall of 1996.

1 - curse of shadow rambi
2 - tales of the hidden marlin
3 - the contraptions of the crafty spider
4 - the incredible voyage of the invincible rhino
5 - dark seas of kremlin isle
6 - the unfathomable terror of grey
7 - the legendary cursed sword
8 - the amusement park death trap
9 - hedge-maze of the bees
10 - his majesty lord of all pleasantries
11 - relaxation with brother bird
12 - krow the family man
13 - the critter everyone avoided
14 - happiest seal in the world
15 - the glass pirate
16 - the legendary lost world
17 - the tall tele of donkey kong's nephew

Donkey Kong Land 3 was released in the fall of 1997 and plays pretty much like it's trying to be its SNES predecessor while throwing in a different plot. Man, this trilogy was weird, but it's capped off here at long last!

1 - fish and chips
2 - kippers
3 - stottie cake
4 - beef wellington
5 - trifle
6 - scones
7 - jellied eels
8 - cobbler
9 - toast sandwich
10 - potted shrimps
11 - bubbles and squeak
12 - stargazy pie
13 - game pie
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Re: Donkey Kong Land - No Country for Old Game Boys

Post by Grounder »

donkey kong municipality

donkey kong city state

donkey kong republic
Why don't you eat me?

I am perfectly tasty...

AND I'LL STEAL YOUR SOUL! :twisted:

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Re: Donkey Kong Land - No Country for Old Game Boys

Post by AuraLancer »

My eyyyyyyyyeeeeees
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Re: Donkey Kong Land - No Country for Old Game Boys

Post by MonkeyShrapnel »

I'm pretty excited to see raocow play through these games. It's pretty common for people to think these games are just rehashes of the original Country games, but they do some pretty cool things at times.
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Re: Donkey Kong Land - No Country for Old Game Boys

Post by The Doctor »

AuraLancer wrote: 4 years ago My eyyyyyyyyeeeeees
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Re: Donkey Kong Land - No Country for Old Game Boys

Post by Piesonscreations »

I think this game could really use having some better contrast with the BGs.
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Re: Donkey Kong Land - No Country for Old Game Boys

Post by FPzero »

This was basically the first video game I owned, played and beat, so it holds a real special place in my heart. For the gameboy, the game looks surprisingly detailed. I know the color reduction really hurts, but it's not as terrible as you might expect when playing. They do a pretty good job of having the ground you can stand on contrast from the backgrounds. The music is also really good! I especially love some of the tracks in Worlds 2 and 4.

The plot is very silly but it's only in the manual. Basically Cranky Kong wasn't impressed by DK and Diddy in DKC1, so he makes a bet with them that they couldn't do it all again but on a less powerful system. They take the bet, and Cranky literally phone calls K Rool to come and steal the banana horde and so the game begins.

Level names are not ingame, only listed in the manual. I also think the manual reverses two names in World 4 by mistake.

Also, it was mentioned in the YT comments but saving is handled via the KONG letters. You need all of them in a level to save. Of course, if you're savestating then this won't be an issue.

Manual link: https://www.gamesdatabase.org/Media/SYS ... ntendo.pdf
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Re: Donkey Kong Land - No Country for Old Game Boys

Post by Leet »

I played Donkey Kong Land 3 once but found the levels to be incredibly boring, just monster along the way. But because I've that I've been highly looking forward to raocow playing them all so I don't have to
Well it is a decent hack but sometime its just too repetitif there no level that actually pop in your face and your like oh yeah that level they all ressemble themselves and just monster along the way.
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Re: Donkey Kong Land - No Country for Old Game Boys

Post by Arctangent »

this sure is a collection of pixels
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Re: Donkey Kong Land - No Country for Old Game Boys

Post by Blivsey »

the sequel to donkey kong jump
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Re: Donkey Kong Land - No Country for Old Game Boys

Post by KobaBeach »

I actually played DKL and I thought it was pretty weak. I should replay it to see if that opinion still sticks
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Re: Donkey Kong Land - No Country for Old Game Boys

Post by Mata Hari »

FPzero wrote: 4 years agoAlso, it was mentioned in the YT comments but saving is handled via the KONG letters. You need all of them in a level to save.
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Re: Donkey Kong Land - No Country for Old Game Boys

Post by Paragraph »

This game is pretty damn good, and I feel it doesn't even need a "for what it is" qualifier.

When I was...phew, 24 years old? I played this for the first time, despite having owned a Game Boy and being a big fan of DKC (2 especially), I just didn't even know it existed. Or maybe I saw it in a store and thought "wtf I have DKC in big already". So no nostalgia! But I really really liked it!

I had downloaded a few GB games, this included, as preparation for a longer hospital stay, and liked it so much that I immediately decided to LP it, and did the entire LP during the hospital stay. It was a lot of fun and is probably my favorite project to date.

What instantly sold me on the game is how well it flows. It is very much like DKC2 in that regard, quite unlike the first game - even raocow with his usual slow and steady approach (trained by SMW ofc) got caught up in that and in many parts just WENT - and you can! A lot of the enemies are set up so you can have big bounce chains just holding jump and right, and the fact that they got the spawning distances correct for that to always consistently work on the GB is nothing short of a miracle.


Because it wasn't yet explained I think: the only thing the coins do is allow you to play the barrel shooting minigame. Basically, you load a coin into a barrel (counter to the top right) and shoot them, ideally at you, and if you can catch them in mid-air, that's a one-up. Yeah, it's a bit anticlimactic. Lives do count beyond filling the heart row at the bottom, so if you're good at the minigame, you can really rack them up if you come into one loaded with coins, but it's not great.
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Re: Donkey Kong Land - No Country for Old Game Boys

Post by Sugar »

The plot of this game is that Cranky Kong made a game.

No, that's not a joke. I included the actual plot from the manual in spoilers (not really a spoiler, it's just a wall of text).
Cranky Kong, ageing video game pioneer and primate patriarch, swayed back and forth in his rocking chair as he harassed his grandape, Donkey Kong and his little buddy, Diddy Kong.

“Well, I’ve got to admit, your last adventure was a bit more successful than I ever thought it would be…” he jibed. “Course, put a few fancy graphics and some modern music in a game, and kids’ll buy anything nowadays…”

Donkey and Diddy tried to discreetly cover their as they stared out into the jungle surrounding Cranky’s cabin. The old ape continued his taunting.

“Back in our days, understand, we had an extremely limited color palette to work with, and we still made great games… No way you could duplicate that feat today, Donkey my boy! No siree!”

Cranky had been going on and on like this for what seemed like hours, and Donkey Kong finally had had enough.

“People like Donkey Kong Country for more than just the ‘fancy graphics,’ you old coot!” he snapped. “The number of colors, the resolution, it doesn’t make a difference. It was just plain fun!”

“Yeah, and we worked hard fighting K. Rool and his goons!” Diddy chimed in. Both he and Donkey still had the bumps and bruises to prove it.

Cranky nodded his head knowingly. The two youngsters had predictably risen to the bait and swallowed it hook, line and sinker.

“So you’re saying that an adventure like your last one would be a success even on an 8-bit system, like… Game Boy, for example…” Cranky said slyly.

“That’s right!” DK exclaimed without hesitation. Diddy joined him in accepting the challenge.

“We’ll even let the Kremlings steal the banana horde again, and this time we’ll get it back on Game Boy!” Diddy boasted. Hey, a golden opportunity to get out of DK’s ridiculous guard duty training, he thought to himself.

“I’ll believe it when I see it!” Cranky scowled. “I’ll call old K. Rool and arrange everything. You’ll wake up tomorrow without your bananas.”

Donkey and Diddy looked at each other, realizing they had been set up.

“This time, the Kremlings will hide your bananas in all new places around the island.” Cranky continued gleefully. “I’ll tell the King to spare no expense and bring out some new tricks and foes for you, too. No more cushy adventuring for you two, no siree.”

Donkey could barely contain his anger. He was hoping he could just loaf around the tree house tomorrow, after all, the Banana Bowl was on, and… But he wasn’t about to let the old ape get the best of him.

“Bring it on, old ape, bring it on…” was all he said as he stalked off to the tree house. He was going to get some sleep for the adventure ahead.
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Re: Donkey Kong Land - No Country for Old Game Boys

Post by Leet »

I think that plot is honestly amazing because it's so transparent about the game's purpose. And since Cranky is challenging the Kongs on their "success", whether they win or lose is actually not determined by you but by the game's sales
Well it is a decent hack but sometime its just too repetitif there no level that actually pop in your face and your like oh yeah that level they all ressemble themselves and just monster along the way.
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Re: Donkey Kong Land - No Country for Old Game Boys

Post by PSI Ninja »

Another memorable game from my childhood. I remember the yellow cartridge, which stuck out amongst my little collection of Game Boy games. There was also a custom border when I played it on the Super Game Boy, I think it was palm trees.

I don't remember the deaths in this game being so abrupt. Made me chuckle a bit.
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Re: Donkey Kong Land - No Country for Old Game Boys

Post by ano0maly »

Haven't actually played these games and despite being fond of the DKC games since childhood, I wasn't aware of the DKL games until later.

From what I understand, the three DKL games

have completely different approaches to the story:

DKL1 story: a semi-sequel to DKC1 story, where Cranky dares K. Rool to repeat his feat.

DKL2 story: DKC2 story.

DKL3 story: parallel to DKC3 story with an alternate take on Northern Kremisphere.
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Re: Donkey Kong Land - No Country for Old Game Boys

Post by J. J. W. Mezun »

I agree that these games’ graphics look muddy a lot, but these games had some fine Super Game Boy palettes. They seemed to be 1 o’ the few developers to realize the brightest color didn’t have to be pure white & the darkest color didn’t have to be pure black.

Rare’s weird with counters for lives — in this game & in Battletoads. ¿Why use hearts, which have traditionally stood for health, for lives? ¿& why make every life take an extra icon, so that if you rack up many lives the whole bottom row is covered in hearts & you can’t tell precisely how many lives you have? They clearly knew how to do life counters in a sane way for the 1st DKC, & I can’t see how they would need to do this for efficiency reasons, since drawing many heart icons should be mo’ intensive than just 1 icon & 2 digits.

I’m also baffled by how this game has level names, put didn’t but them in-game. But they did put in a strikingly detailed “!” for signalling when you beat a level.
FPzero wrote: 4 years ago Level names are not ingame, only listed in the manual. I also think the manual reverses two names in World 4 by mistake.
If the manual is our only source o’ knowledge for level names, ¿how do we know 2 level names were switched round? ¿Are the level name’s obviously connected to the levels — like, 1's a desert level with a snow name & the other’s a snow level with a desert name?
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Re: Donkey Kong Land - No Country for Old Game Boys

Post by Paragraph »

I think many of the weird decisions that confuse you are due to the necessity of having to compromise UI design for the small screen. It's a wonderful thing that the counters aren't always on-screen in the SNES games, only appearing when they're relevant or want to see them, but you can't really have a UI layer slide on like that on the GB. Similarly, a readable number always in the corner somewhere would be extremely distracting. So they're sacrificing a row on the bottom - giving the game a wide-screen feel in the process - and put the lives there.

It's the same design principle as in the Mega Man Game Boy games, where the life bar (and counter, and boss health) is also tucked away at the bottom so the screen is free of UI clutter, allowing the sprites to be bigger.

In a similar vein, they probably tried fitting level names on the map screen but the text necessary for the typical long rhymey names would have been too big, too much, and also tough to make appear properly and consistently as you change from level to level. Instead, they opted for letting you see as much of the map as possible, with clear level spot indicators to tell you about secrets. In fact, that's pretty necessary as we'll soon see, as the maps are a little more complex than it might seem at first glance.
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Re: Donkey Kong Land - No Country for Old Game Boys

Post by Nimono »

so i looked up what the tokens do because I don't remember

the FAQs say they're used in bonus rooms to increase the number of lives you can get???? i don't really get it
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Re: Donkey Kong Land - No Country for Old Game Boys

Post by Bean »

Nimono wrote: 4 years ago so i looked up what the tokens do because I don't remember

the FAQs say they're used in bonus rooms to increase the number of lives you can get???? i don't really get it
You collect the tokens throughout the levels. When you get to a bonus room that has a cannon, every token the Kongs collect when it's shot out of the thing is an extra life. It's as simple as that!
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Re: Donkey Kong Land - No Country for Old Game Boys

Post by FourteenthOrder »

J. J. W. Mezun wrote: 4 years ago I agree that these games’ graphics look muddy a lot, but these games had some fine Super Game Boy palettes. They seemed to be 1 o’ the few developers to realize the brightest color didn’t have to be pure white & the darkest color didn’t have to be pure black.
I dunno, I feel like the typical pure-white vs pure-black helps a lot with contrast, which is more important than aesthetics in my book, at least.
J. J. W. Mezun wrote: 4 years ago ¿how do we know 2 level names were switched round? ¿Are the level name’s obviously connected to the levels

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Re: Donkey Kong Land - No Country for Old Game Boys

Post by Nast »

This is pretty cool-looking for Game Boy. Like others have said, it seems to flow really well. Only thing that seems iffy to me are the jumping physics, like, you seem to plummet down real fast after reaching the apex of your jump. I haven't played it myself though, so I can't make an accurate judgement.

I like how the camera is programmed dynamically to let you see pretty far ahead of you. It's kind of a given in console or PC games, but here it's especially useful due to the screen crunch.


So those coins you collect are used as ammo for the cannon in that bonus game? It's pretty original but it kinda feels like it's just adding extra steps to getting 1-ups.
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Re: Donkey Kong Land - No Country for Old Game Boys

Post by Arctangent »

NastCF wrote: 4 years ago So those coins you collect are used as ammo for the cannon in that bonus game? It's pretty original but it kinda feels like it's just adding extra steps to getting 1-ups.
i think the main thing that makes it feel so off is that you enter the coin game by finding arbitrary hidden rooms, which not only means the coins do absolutely nothing for a hot second if you don't reach one of those rooms, but also means those rooms are extremely underwhelming if you don't have outside coins to use

it'd feel a lot more natural if you got the coin game any time you completed a level with coins to "spend," like the slot machine from smb2
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Re: Donkey Kong Land - No Country for Old Game Boys

Post by Nast »

Arctangent wrote: 4 years ago it'd feel a lot more natural if you got the coin game any time you completed a level with coins to "spend," like the slot machine from smb2
Oh man, that would be really fun actually
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