What on earth are you on about? The Jungle theme is so famous that it's literally become the theme of DK, used in smash bros, the Super Mario Bros. Movie, theme parks, etc. And Aquatic Ambience is so famous that it is recognized beyond video game music and sampled by mainstream bands. The Bonus Level music is also more famous@paulgilbert5278
Duude, I always LOVED Fischer's contributions, Simian Segue, Forest Frenzy, Ice Cave Chant, Treetop Rock, Voices of the Temple, NORTHERN HEMISPHERES, etc. Sure, her music isn't the same as David Wise's in term of style and feel, but are they lesser?? Absolutely NO. Her music is pretty atmospheric, dark, and even anxiety inducing at times. They evoke a feeling of wonder and adventure, yet of imminent or approaching danger, to keep you on your toes as you travel through snowy mountain peaks, abandoned ruins or any other uncharted territory past the Kongs' own home. Her music greatly contributed to the gaming experience giving this game its core identity (or personality) through her music. DKC1 is, in fact, the darkest of the three, and that's not just because the areas themselves are made to resemble realistic tropical island tropes with naturally dangerous evironments, but also because Fischer's music is so in tune with the areas themselves, their naturally changing wheather, and the overall context of things occurring within these levels. She masterfully crafted a soundtrack that can be listened without knowing its context and still you would accurately associate it to the places she wrote the music for. Absolutely majestic.
i remember this game coming out, and it was the first dk game i actually owned an snes when it came out. i always hthough it was arguably the best one with the most going on, even though 2 is my fav
This is the Dark Knight problem. The previous game was so good in every way, that it was impossible to follow up with something that woudnt be compared to the previous one.
I will never understand the hate towards Kiddy. I love him one of the main reasons I like 3 more than 2. My favorite Kong is Lanky Then Donkey Then Kiddy And i love all the Kongs even Manky
completely solid points here, bc yea this game is pure vibes like aside from the Kiddy discourse (while i thought they would circle with Dixie and Donkey as a kid) and some levels, i tend to play this more than the first one also Rockface Rumble being a Mining Melancholy remix is peak!
I have so many memories playing this game with my older sister. I think it has the most unique bosses and the most unique overworld and the most unique art style in the DKC trilogy. The final fight is also really good. I liked how you needed to avoid the electricity while simultaneously having to hit K Rool with the barrels. Dixie was amazing in this game and it really brings her character to life.
Things DKC3 does better than its predecessors: Character balance: Though still not perfect (Dixie's helicopter hair is just OP), DKC3 did a better job of balancing the strengths and weaknesses of its protagonists, giving Kiddy the superior "protective shield" barrel carrying in addition to being able to jump on stronger enemies, and giving them different effects when tossing each other. While Donkey is basically redundant for most of DKC and Diddy is overshadowed in DKC2, DKC3 gives moments for each of them to be useful. Stage gimmicks: All three games have their gimmick stages, but DKC3 does a better job of making every single stage memorable. You can really feel the creativity here. Completionism: DKC's bonus stages basically felt like an afterthought, and while DKC2 did something interesting with its bonus stages the DK Coins didn't seem to go anywhere. DKC3 weaves its overworld sidequests, bonus stages, secret world, and DKC coins together in a way that makes you WANT to 100% the game. What's more, it remains one of a very small number of games to do something like this - many games include a hidden bonus for collecting everything, but few have you do it with this kind of "multi-tiered unlocking" system. (I do think the true ending could have been done better though, collecting those last few birds felt like a chore and the ending cutscene was just goofy. I suspect they were pressed for time.)
I mean my only complaint is that water fall level playing as kiddy kong tryna hop up them barrels is a nightmare, other then that this is my favorite DKC game. The sound track is my favorite and the boss battles scared me to death lol
Very good video, I agree with you on basically everything! I love DKC3, it's my favorite of the trilogy and one of my favorite games of all time. I really do enjoy the overworld and the bear side quests and stuff, they really make the game world feel fuller and more complete. It always feels off to me to start up DKC2 and it just tosses you into the map with zero explanation. Even DKC1 has some amount of storytelling in-game, where you see the Banana Hoard is missing. There are definitely flaws with 3. The game ended up being rushed, and it shows if you go for 103%. I can't blame them for that considering it was already slated to be released after the N64, a few more months and it would have been completely irrelevant. However the other 2 games are also not without flaws; DKC1 has a lot of forgettable stuff and uninteresting 101% completion, and DKC2 just has a lot of really questionable and unfair design. One flaw I can point out about 3 that I haven't seen anyone else mention is that it has a serious problem with lag in a lot of levels. Gameplay-wise, something else I can point out that most people probably wouldn't notice is that Kiddy is actually a bit more agile than Dixie. He's able to roll slightly longer, and is really good at vertical platforming compared to her. Overall they are very similar though, they have the same movement speed. Fun fact since I've seen other comments about the lack of bonus variety: walk-in bonuses in walls are actually coded into the game but never used! They're a little janky since, well, they didn't get used, but they work.
Definitely played this more than dkc2. I was disappointed to a degree when the gba port replaced the entire snes soundtrack. It's alright. But preffered the snes soundtrack a lot more
You’ve done this gem justice. I always liked the bit where you destroy Kaos - a hook comes down and he’s removed - then a curtain opens and it’s the wizard of oz himself , K. Rool is exposed . This is the game where his character is officially buffoonish; which I didn’t necessarily mind - but, he needed more attitude & a better send off. He shoots and blunder whips the balloons out of DK IN DKC2!.. and the secret ending in DKC3 is the mama bird dropping an egg on him while he’s running away on Funkys hovercraft. Even as an 8 year old I was like 😑 , but then the kongs land on top of the egg & cranky tries catching up on a different boat . Which cracked me up lol. All so ridiculous, but it worked. Classic game.
In today's gaming era of incremental upgrades the last 20 or so years, it's absolutely insane to think about DKC being cutting edge in 94 and passé in 96, but it's true. Of course, I've said a few times that this is my favorite in the series. The atmosphere, the music, and of course I am a sucker for platformers with lite RPG elements. The game just continues to hit all the right buttons for me. Yeah, I even like Kiddy Kong
There was a certain natural vibe to DKC3 that is so unique & different from the 1st two games, while I like DKC3 the least from the trilogy it's still such a great game that I love to revisit every time I can.
I love DKC3. Love the two main characters and being able to throw them for different results every time. Love the overworld... And then the internet is full of hate for this one. So bewildering
I've made it my mission to comment on every video about this game, that DKC 3 is the best of the DKC trilogy. Every criticism I've heard about it just is not valid at all
@@poetaaprendiz3592 DKC 2 was always my least favorite. Right now I'm replaying it, trying to 100% it on retro achievements (I've got 60 out of 84 so far) and I finally realize why it's my least favorite. Among other things, the levels are too long and frustrating. I feel like DKC 3 does everything better, like the world map, level design, etc. It nails it in every aspect that matters, like gameplay (which I would argue is the only thing that matters in a game. Anything else is just icing on the cake.) All the criticisms that everyone seems to have with it are just non-issues to me
The biggest complaint from the fandom regarding DKC3 is that Kiddy sim isn’t as cool as Diddy or DK. My rebuttal: this is really superficial. The level design of DKC3 is every bit as good as DKC2, if not better.
DKC3 is arguably the most refined of the trilogy even if DKC2 edges it out in some areas. And it easily beats DKC1 (as much as I love that one). But people always try to complain about Kiddy Kong, the lighter toned atmosphere, the moodier music, and the level gimmicks.
Of the three games in the trilogy I do like the DKC2 the most. But I like this one more than DKC. But I also think I would have liked it more of my copy weren't corrupted. Since I can't load a save. So I have to play it all in one go or leave the consol running. Neither is really to kind to the tv/consol.
My journey with this game is a rather unique one: I got DKC3 for Christmas back in 1996, the same year I got my Super Nintendo, which meant that not only did I not have the chance to make those unfair comparisons to Mario's debut in the 3rd dimension, I also didn't really have the first two games to compare it to. I was just happy to finally have a 16-bit console in my bedroom. I didn't get the first two games in the trilogy until later, with DKC2 being the last game I added to my SNES collection before I got the Nintendo 64 for Christmas in 1999. This isn't nostalgia talking when I say that DKC3 is not only a very solid game in its own right, but that it also stands tall among the previous games as must-have titles for any Super Nintendo collection. Oh, by the way, I've watched some previous videos, but it's this one that made me hit the subscribe button.
I never hated Dixie Kong's: Double Trouble. Heck not even Kiddy Kong (at least until being on the Internet for too long caused me to that is). Funnily enough when I was a kid, Dkc 3 was my first platformer until my Dad showed me some sort of magazine that featured the other two I was missing and we gotten them ordered then a week or so later, I had all three. I still have my carts to this day infact. Dkc 3 was revolutionary in its own way but overshadowed by the fact the N64 and Mario 64 came out. The music is good but underrated. The not David Wise comment is absurd if you ask me. Just because the usual composer is not there doesn't mean that a new one can't still do a good job. Also David Wise was involved with 3 on the Snes but had limited involvement. Gba on the other hand is a different story.
After I completed hard mode of Tropical Freeze, I played through the original SNES Trilogy. Donkey Kong Country 3 felt like a pat on the back after going through Country 2. I do love 2 but it was very hard to go through. 3, being easier, was really good to go through after all that it was a nice break from all the challenge. The game (of course) offers challenge, but it’s not as high as its predecessor. I do have bias for this game, my brother and I used to go on this website that (for some reason) just had a bunch of SNES games. This was how I was introduced to DKC, Mario World, and Yoshi’s Island. Country 3 was elusive to me because it featured Dixie and Kiddie, who weren’t in DKC Returns or Smash Brawl. I grew to really want to see Dixie again and got really hyped when she was announced for Tropical Freeze. Also, Elephants are my favorite animals, and while I think Rambi should be the default animal buddy, I’d like to see Ellie again.
seeing your gameplay in the background.. wow, you got some nice skills! i would like to have a friend like you, someone who likes these good old games and plays in turns with me.
Out of redundancy I won't repeat comments about over/under rated things. I justed started replaying the first Donkey Kong County game and I plan to revisit or experience all 5 this year. Whether or not you like DKC3 is valid, I've found my favorite discussions are around the identity of the game. What is the identity of Donkey Kong County 3 and does it relate to the identify of Donkey Kong County as a series? I am trying to find that out myself. If you don't like it, that's ok you don't need to give the game any flowers. I think that mostly because what's most interesting to me is when people discuss why this game is still a good game but not a good DKC game or the least, best DKC game. You mentioned Dixie's relationships to Kiddie and I agree that makes this game also interesting and also the "Donkey Kong County"-ness if it. I'm currently putting together my own thoughts, I also want to replay this game and see how I feel about it now. Maybe nostalgia is the reason why it's my favorite? I'll see. Nice video btw, love the positive DKC3 coverage PS Maybe part 3 will be about how Donkey Kong County 2 is rated? PSS When you said your Nintendo based content I also thought about it as your Nintendo, based, content 😂
I remember reading in a magazine and I asked a classmate if he's interested, he's like... What is that BABY? It's so HAIRY. But the game sold pretty well. As far as the reception from those that played it, I think it was just used to boost Diddy Kong's Quest above the rest, and you can't hate on the first, so this one got the short end of the stick. I think it's the... Southern hillbilly aesthetic too (I know the makers are from the UK and they try to go for Canadian feel, but this all feels very North Carolina). I think this is a great game. I love the DK Coin mechanic, I think it's very creative.
This is always my favorite of the trilogy having experienced it originally on gba and then shortly after getting the snes original it became the game i couldn't put down till i finished it and then back tracking to get the final ending and 103 percent felt amazing to accomplish as a kid Definitely the most underrated
This was my favourite one, they were all good and I missed Klump from the previous two games but I really enjoyed the aesthetics, level design creativity, over world choice and exploration especially with the vehicles, secrets, I liked that they added friendly characters to interact with the brothers bear, and I really liked playing as Dixie and Kiddy the game play was fun and they complement each other. It was great the world felt so big and alive and the enemies were always so cool. Music was good too. The bosses were also a lot better and unique, each one was distinct there weren't any repeats or palette swaps each boss was distinct and unpredictable you didn't know what you were up against until you got there. Animal buddies were also fun especially Ellie. My favourite bad guy was Nibbla really liked when he was a frenemy.
Hell yeah I think the game lacks as strong a theme as the other games in the series. One may say that it regurgitates the first game’s theme of wilderness to industrial, but with less exotic locales. And maybe it would have been cool to have Donkey, Diddy and Dixie be the playable characters. However! Game is great. The expanded map, the rpg elements, the refinement of the gameplay, the best bosses of the series, and overall it’s just bloody pleasant
I genuinely believe if they re-skinned Kiddy for DK, this game would be the most popular! Kiddy plays literally the exact same as DK, apart from he can also bounce on water! The DKC3 hate is so forced but I will die on the hill defending it as my favourite.
There's another difference which is where they hold a barrel. Kiddy holds it in front and Donkey overhead. I agree though, 3 has always been my favorite and it's one of my top 5 games of all time. DKC2 is very solid but has some really bad design choices, especially in 102% completion, that ruin it a bit for me.
This one was my favorite as a kid, though I always prefer some of first one's enemy design more. I think the cartoon made me really like Qlump and Krusha
all of this game's criticisms don't make sense to me, even today. if anything, the music is weaker, but it's still pretty good. i didn't mind kiddy being a baby (I'm not projecting my identity into apes, thanks) and i liked the setting...monkeys in PNW, it's kinda unique.
This game does have a lot of great things going for it. I played through all 3 games recently and this one def feels the most epic to me as a whole. A lot of the bosses are some of my favorites from the whole series. It is still my least favorite of the trilogy, not because it’s bad, only because I love the first 2 so much.
06:06 kind of looks like the edge of krocodile isle.. maybe DKC3 was happening around the same time as DKC2 between k. rool being defeated in flying kroc and k. rool's defeat in krocodile kore. Hence they had a B team working on DKC3
While I thought the character of kiddy Kong was kinda bad at the time, I don’t mind him now. I was real young when it came out and the idea of having a baby on your team seemed like a burden in concept, I also hated the crying death animation/sound. But besides that, I love everything else about it. I love moving around the world map. It makes the game feel bigger and the precious games even though it’s still linear. My favorite thing was the collectibles. And it was so nice that it showed you on the world map with the flags if you got both bonus barrels and dk coins. Going for the full completion just added a whole new layer of fun for me. Idk what else to say! I love it!
To me 3 is definitely the best looking of the original trilogy and probably has the best level design, 2 has the best overall atmosphere and 1 is a game I can just sit down and jam through in the course of an afternoon. Each fill a different need for me. Let's be honest here, there is no bad DKC game. I like them all equally. The original SNES games are my childhood along with the Land games. Returns came out when i was in my early 20s and I have fond memories playing it with my then roommate. I pre-ordered Tropical Freeze for the Wii U with my now wife and we played through it together. I'm replying Tropical Freeze now in preparation for the rerelease of Returns and I hope we get a new installment with the Switch suscessor.
This is what I've said about comparing this game to DKC 1 and 2. If those games are A's, I'd give DKC 3 a C+. It's not as good, but it's also not trash either.
The aesthetic of the game is unique, the soundtrack is great, the levels aren't bad at all, only the bosses don't feel right to me and the kremlings are pretty ugly here but other than that, the game is one of the big 3 country games and I can't live without it. I also don't unterstand the hate for Kiddy Kong, he still serves a purpose in the game. He's more useful than Diddy Kong in the first Donkey Kong Country in my opinion. Yeah Diddy Kong feels different as a character but that's about it...
Lowkey, this IS my favourite, but not the SNES original, I dunno, it never really stuck with me like the first two, especially the first one on SNES, but like... The GBA one? That one clicked! The colours are more vibrant on GBA, there's less screen crunch despite the lower resolution, you can save anywhere, and like, while I do appreciate Eveline Fischer's work on the SNES original for what it is, Wise's new GBA soundtrack is like, *Banger After Banger!* Plus there's some extra content, though I don't think that really plays into me liking that version the most...
I've never enjoyed games that frustrate me, and this is one of those games. I'm playing through DKC3 now and can't wait for it to end. Honestly, I put it in the same category as DKC2. I love DKC2, but some levels frustrate me. My life is frustrating enough, I don't need that which I use to escape my life for a moment only add to the struggle, and DKC3 is FULL of frustrations. This is why, in my opinion, the original DKC is the most fun gave I've ever played. The music is very good, though.
Wonderful video. Donkey Kong Country 3 is my favorite of the trilogy, even better than Returns (no water levels? Come on!) in my opinion. It may only have been surpassed by Tropical Freeze. You got that right, your points about the gameplay and overworld are spot on. DKC 3 is totally underrated and so is its soundtrack. I think that the soundtrack is so atmospheric and advanced (no pun inteded) that they had to change it to the GBA due to this system's inferior soundchip. About Kiddy, I think he's a fun character, but we may not see him anytime soon because in Tropical Freeze, DK incorporated Kiddy's ability to bounce on water (if I am not mistaken, DKC is the only game in which he is featured, and he was supposed to be in the cancelled DK Racing for GameCube by Rare but did not appear in DK Barrel Blast).
I have always had a soft spot for 3 and never understood the hate. I do dislike Kiddy Kong and would have preferred Donkey be brought back, but that’s really my only quibble. I like the world, the vibe, the music (except for maybe the first level). I play almost exclusively as Dixie. Maybe I don’t relate to some of the dislike because I rarely played as Diddy in the first two games. I’m not a speedster. I liked to kill every enemy and collect everything I could
I gained new appreciation for DKC3 after playing it again 5 years ago as an adult now, last time I played it was at launch in 1996. For me it's 3/5 beating Returns & Tropical Freeze as I just prefer the feel & art style of the original trilogy. That said, my issues with it are opposite of others, I'm not as big a fan of the overworld & more exploration bits as I prefer the tighter experience of DKC over even DKC2. I know that's unpopular as most people like more from their games, but I just prefer tighter packages even with the first John Wick movie being my favorite too. I feel like I would've played it a lot more & had better initial reception if it came out in 1995 instead of 1996 or even early 1996, as I got an N64 around launch time & had mostly moved on by that point.
Its not a bad game. If DKC2 is a 10 this is at least an 8.5. The original somewhere between. I didnt have a 64 yet and was hyped about dkc 3 and it wasnt bad. 🤷♂️ the bears and open world confused me back then.
Personally I think the original DKC was the best of the 3. I think it looked better and played better than the other 2. DKC 2 & 3 looked too cartoonish for my liking. Don't get me wrong I had a ton of fun with all 3 DKC's but I prefer 3 over 2 but not by very much.
So i know people will diss me for this but i actually like DKC3 more than 2. 1 is my favorite. Imma be honest though. All 3 of those games are in my top vgames of all time and are very close together
Easiest of the three??? No way. Lightning Lookout, the buzzsaw level, the helicoper dudes in that cave level, and the rocketship that requires opposite controls all gave me a much harder time than anything in DK1, Donkey forgive me
@@TheJustintendoimo, dkc2 was way too hard (ANIMAL ANTICS), so dkc3 felt nice by comparison... Or maybe just because I had the strategy guide for 2 and 3, but not 1. I'm not sure if I've actually beaten dkc1 100%...
I'll be honest, DKC 3 isn't just the weakest of the trilogy to me, it's the weakest of all 5 DKC games for me. I even like Returns and Tropical Freeze more than Dixie Kong's Double Trouble... But it's still a great game, it innovated with its overworld and felt more like an adventure game with the Brothers Bear functioning as NPC quest givers. It's still my least favorite DKC, but it's still excellent.
It's definitely better than many give it credit for but there's no doubt the game has its flaws, which became even more apparent to me as I recently played through the trilogy again. It's got nothing to do with timing. There's quite a bit of slowdown in the game, it has some of the worst level design in the series (eg barrel drop bounce), levels are full of cheap deaths due to enemies flying out at you from offscreen or from around blind corners, and the game sometimes lacks responsiveness when you really need it, especially when it comes to swimming or flight controls with squawks. The controls are perfect in DKC2 but I couldn't quite put my finger on why they felt off in DKC3. Like, you want to just make minor corrections and you move way farther than you want to. Overall it's also objectively the hardest of the three games, so I'm confused why you'd say it's the easiest. Even speedrunners agree that it's the hardest one. Difficulty isn't a bad thing but I find it odd that you'd say this game was the easiest one. There are some really amazing levels in the game, like crack-shot kroc and riverside race, but some level gimmicks like poisonous pipeline or fish food frenzy or squeals on wheels are ridiculously annoying more than anything, and stuff like the lightning in lightning lookout seem to have incredibly weird hitboxes that hit you when they don't seem like they shouldn't. Even when riding the toboggan you'll find yourself getting hit in situations where you don't think you should. The first two games also have a very solid sense of rhythm to them which is what makes them so good to play, but the rhythm is mostly gone in DKC3, as the game constantly does its best to slow you down and make you wait. The bonus rooms are now basically always found in bonus barrels, are nowhere near as well hidden, and always have 2 per level until you unlock krematoa where there's a few levels with 3 and one level with none. Some of the bonus rooms themselves are incredibly frustrating. While the idea of needing to defeat an enemy to get the DK Coin is neat, and creates the opportunity for some cool little puzzles for the player to figure out, they are really few and far between. In many cases he's just standing there right in front of you or slightly off the main path and you just need to pick up the keg and toss it over his head. The moments where you do need to solve a puzzle to hit him are cool but there isn't enough of them. Mechanics like Kiddy's water skipping are almost useless, being used in just a couple of levels to reach some bonus rooms and that's it. Dixie can even ride on top of him like a steel keg but this is used in precisely zero locations. The themeing is also all over the place. Aside from the trading sequence and the hidden banana birds, there isn't much utility to the map, either - apart from giving you a choice whether to tackle cotton-top cove or mechanos first, the levels still need to be played in a linear order. It's also missing a certain personality that the first two games had. It's hard to explain but there's certain little touches like the characters teetering on a ledge if you stand too close in DKC1 or their eyes bugging out when they see a boss in DKC2 that's just not present in DKC3. It's not a bad game by any means, but it doesn't quite stack up to the first two.
I LOVE this game. I understand both sides of the coin. I found it to be a mixture of DKC AND DKC2 The difficulty has increased from DKC and has the atmosphere as well. And the adventure of DKC2 (though not as intense) . I also enjoyed the music. Perfect for the atmosphere and environment of the northern kremisphere. In fact, I wanted to find a location that was high in the mountains and just relax…
I liked playing the game, but there isn't much of it memorable about it. My biggest point of critique is that you don't really feel fortress, unlike in DKC2 for example, where you climb higher and higher on Crocodile Isle. Here you don't even really know what location you want to reach exactly.
Personally, I had a great time playing through it back when it released...and again about a decade or two ago. But I also admit it's the weakest of the original trilogy and, when I think back to my time with it, feels more like a complimentary desert-like a sopapilla-after finishing the main course. It's good, and I'm glad it came with the meal, but I don't eat at restaurants for the desert.
My biggest complain about it it's is ost personaly the worst in the country games by far But it still league above dkc1 as a game i don't know wich one between return and this one i prefer to be fair
Yeah, same for me, the OST is not bad, but far below from the first and especially the second game, but the game itself is way better than DKC1, they really refine the gameplay in the sequels.
To this very day, I dislike so much the RPG thing or the bananabirds, I just wonder why was it so necessary to add that instead of more levels to reach 103%, because I think it wasn't, at all. So that part of this game I do actively dislike, and since DKC 1 and 2 don't have that, and both are pure platformers and this one isn't, that's why it goes to the bottom of the list. Moreover, when I play the game nowadays, I just get 89%, meaning all stages and DK coins, no item or bananabirds. And to be fair, mario64 was a novelty at the time, not a better game. Maybe it was bigger, sure, because of the extra dimension, and had good controls for being the first 3D platformer on the new shiny console, but DKC3 also has very good controls, and if we talk graphics, DKC3 is by far superior, it was peak 2D, while mario64 looks terrible, it uses stretched textures and also, let's be honest, every 3D n64 game character had like 3 polygons which doesn't help at all. DKC3 for the win.
Some of the reasons I dislike DKC3: 1. Most of the music is forgettable and boring. 2. The initial story is boring and borderline non-existent. It gives us no inciting incident or stakes, not pumping us up and making us care about what we're doing. The characters are basically just on a stroll. 3. The enemies, bosses, Brothers Bear, and Kiddy Kong are all stupid looking. The villain's plan is stupid. This game is too wacky for its own good; it's like going from Teen Titans to Teen Titans Go. 4. Levels have annoying, forced gimmicks that get in the way. It's like the developers' idea of challenge was inconveniencing you and making you jump through a bunch of hoops instead of asking of your ability to make jumps and dodge enemies and to do it fast. 5. 75% of the levels do not have pits, and many of the few left over are laid out basically, so they're not actual platforming challenges where there's a real danger of you dying. 6. Flat level design. There is less variance in height of terrain. If you were to draw a line for everywhere the player can stand, DKC3's levels would be much closer to being a straight line. 7. Most of the secrets are easy to find, so not much in the way of exploration. 8. There's only 1 way to get into bonus rooms, bonus barrels, whereas the 1st 2 games had that, breakable walls, carrying something to something else, and DKC1 had collecting the 3 gold animal statues. 9. The bonuses are just reused from DKC2, and the 1 new one they added sucks because getting a green banana isn't exciting, and it makes you go at the game's pace. 10. Koins are annoying because they just get in the way and insert an extra step into something that was instantaneous and convenient. I just wanna be able to touch the DK coin and move on. It also homogenizes how DK coins can be found and makes levels just a little bit more visually homogeneous because level design has to account for the Koin. 11. I dislike how the level goals force me to jump into them to leave but don't give you anything. In DKC1, you just exit stage-right; convenient. In DKC2, you had to jump onto the bonus, but it at least gave you something. DKC3 is the worst of both worlds. 12. Levels are designed in a way to where I never find myself using Dixie's glide. Probably due to the lack of pits. So it's like they just took her ability out because they made it moot. 13. There's no speed character, so the game doesn't feel nearly as fun to play because you're not blasting through levels. 14. Speaking of not blasting through levels, there's no barrel gauntlets. 15. The worlds are boring to look at. Like how the waterfall levels are just ridges with a flat wall behind it and waterfalls. The 1st 2 games' levels had more personality and more going on visually. DKC3's levels just look so sparse, generic, and flat in comparison. 16. The setting itself is boring and generic. Compare DK Island and Crocodile Isle to the Southern Kremisphere. It's just grassy hills and lakes. 17. There's no theme. DKC1's theme is nature. DKC2's theme is pirates. DKC3's theme is...I can't answer that. 18. I dislike how many of the level biomes are reused from DKC1 with most of the rest also being nature because we did that before, and it was better the 1st time.
After getting enough experience playing the game, collecting 3 gold animal statues in DKC also becomes inconvenient. If you grab the third one in a level and not a inside a bonus, the animal bonus takes you back to the level beginning or halfway and you have to replay the section from there to where the golden figure was, also if you grabbed some of the KONG letters and then enter the animal bonus, you lose it from your count and can't grab it again (that life) because you already grabbed it, same as DK barrels, but the worst is you have to way until time runs out to keep actually playing the game, so yeah, golden figures give negative points to the game instead of being a plus, and I'd actively avoid then rathen than collect them.
The gimmickiness of DKC3 is always massively overstated. Both the other games also have a lot of gimmicks as well. While 3 does have more, it's not actually significantly more. Gimmicks also help to keep stages memorable, which is part of the reason for it, but definitely can be hit or miss with the audience since some gimmicks just aren't enjoyable. Not gonna argue on most of these because you are mostly right in your observations, but it's also mostly a matter of preference. Personally I love the brighter atmosphere and the goofier characters.
The GBA soundtrack is weird. Personally I never liked it because it felt like it just completely abolished the amazing atmosphere that the SNES music provides. None of the GBA songs felt right to me being played alongside DKC3. However, listening to the songs by themselves does give me a bit more appreciation for them; they aren't bad songs at all. Can't blame David Wise too much considering how hard it is to make good music on the GBA with its terrible sound system. In fact that's more or less the reason why the GBA version even has a new soundtrack in the first place: the SNES soundtrack is really bass-heavy which wouldn't work on the GBA.
eh , i mostly disagree , you're right the game is very vibey though but no the music is simply not as good i do agree with your assessment dkc3 is comfortable being it's own thing
I can get behind most of your points, and I do enjoy the game well enough, but the soundtrack is the weakest part of this game. There are a few good tracks and a few others that work well enough, but there are too many that are either annoying or just forgettable.
agree the non-melodic ost is the worst part. Overall, DKC3 is the worst of the three imho. Very bad enemy design. Non-melodic/repetitive ost. Weird level design. Some nice experimental ideas which however aged rapidly.
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It’s honestly has kind of sad that despite being super talented in her own right, Evelyn Fischer has kind of just been relegated to “Not David Wise”
That's ironic since the most famous theme from DKC1 is hers. Yes, the map theme is the most famous.
What on earth are you on about? The Jungle theme is so famous that it's literally become the theme of DK, used in smash bros, the Super Mario Bros. Movie, theme parks, etc. And Aquatic Ambience is so famous that it is recognized beyond video game music and sampled by mainstream bands. The Bonus Level music is also more famous@paulgilbert5278
Duude, I always LOVED Fischer's contributions, Simian Segue, Forest Frenzy, Ice Cave Chant, Treetop Rock, Voices of the Temple, NORTHERN HEMISPHERES, etc. Sure, her music isn't the same as David Wise's in term of style and feel, but are they lesser?? Absolutely NO. Her music is pretty atmospheric, dark, and even anxiety inducing at times. They evoke a feeling of wonder and adventure, yet of imminent or approaching danger, to keep you on your toes as you travel through snowy mountain peaks, abandoned ruins or any other uncharted territory past the Kongs' own home.
Her music greatly contributed to the gaming experience giving this game its core identity (or personality) through her music. DKC1 is, in fact, the darkest of the three, and that's not just because the areas themselves are made to resemble realistic tropical island tropes with naturally dangerous evironments, but also because Fischer's music is so in tune with the areas themselves, their naturally changing wheather, and the overall context of things occurring within these levels. She masterfully crafted a soundtrack that can be listened without knowing its context and still you would accurately associate it to the places she wrote the music for. Absolutely majestic.
I like the tantrum Kiddy throws when he “dies”, cause I too can relate to the frustration
DKC3 the Black Sheep... just because it have a more lighter tone doesn't mean it ought to compete against the last two iterations.
Kid me loved the heck outta this game, I still do :) I'm glad others do as well
i remember this game coming out, and it was the first dk game i actually owned an snes when it came out. i always hthough it was arguably the best one with the most going on, even though 2 is my fav
I have a ton of nostalgia around DKC 1 and DKC 3, so I'm glad 3 is getting some credit!
Definitely come back to this one for the vibes more often. I’ll do 2 if I wanna do a lil faster play and 1 just for the nostalgia. Great video!
I love the environment of DKC3, as a child it made my imagination fly, like if there was a secret behind a mountain or a cloud
I like DKC3 more than DKC1. But that's like saying I like pizza more than I like ice cream.
This is the Dark Knight problem. The previous game was so good in every way, that it was impossible to follow up with something that woudnt be compared to the previous one.
I like The Dark Knight Rises better than The Dark Knight. I also like dkc3 better than 2.
Wrinkly playing Mario 64 during the save game cave is silly easter egg too.
Nutz and Boltz theme goes SO HARD. Another quality video. This one is the most fun I have with the trilogy.
Thank you🙌🏻
I will never understand the hate towards Kiddy. I love him one of the main reasons I like 3 more than 2.
My favorite Kong is Lanky
Then Donkey
Then Kiddy
And i love all the Kongs even Manky
completely solid points here, bc yea this game is pure vibes
like aside from the Kiddy discourse (while i thought they would circle with Dixie and Donkey as a kid) and some levels, i tend to play this more than the first one
also Rockface Rumble being a Mining Melancholy remix is peak!
I finally subbed to you. Hot take, 3 is my #1 of the trilogy.
Thank you! :)
I have so many memories playing this game with my older sister. I think it has the most unique bosses and the most unique overworld and the most unique art style in the DKC trilogy. The final fight is also really good. I liked how you needed to avoid the electricity while simultaneously having to hit K Rool with the barrels. Dixie was amazing in this game and it really brings her character to life.
Things DKC3 does better than its predecessors:
Character balance: Though still not perfect (Dixie's helicopter hair is just OP), DKC3 did a better job of balancing the strengths and weaknesses of its protagonists, giving Kiddy the superior "protective shield" barrel carrying in addition to being able to jump on stronger enemies, and giving them different effects when tossing each other. While Donkey is basically redundant for most of DKC and Diddy is overshadowed in DKC2, DKC3 gives moments for each of them to be useful.
Stage gimmicks: All three games have their gimmick stages, but DKC3 does a better job of making every single stage memorable. You can really feel the creativity here.
Completionism: DKC's bonus stages basically felt like an afterthought, and while DKC2 did something interesting with its bonus stages the DK Coins didn't seem to go anywhere. DKC3 weaves its overworld sidequests, bonus stages, secret world, and DKC coins together in a way that makes you WANT to 100% the game. What's more, it remains one of a very small number of games to do something like this - many games include a hidden bonus for collecting everything, but few have you do it with this kind of "multi-tiered unlocking" system.
(I do think the true ending could have been done better though, collecting those last few birds felt like a chore and the ending cutscene was just goofy. I suspect they were pressed for time.)
Love DKC3. The whole alpine/mountain aesthetic, combined with the wonderfully atmospheric OST, really made for such a great experience.
🙏🏻🙏🏻
Very underrated and honestly the 2nd best DKC trilogy game for me. DKC 2 is the best in the series.
I mean my only complaint is that water fall level playing as kiddy kong tryna hop up them barrels is a nightmare, other then that this is my favorite DKC game. The sound track is my favorite and the boss battles scared me to death lol
My favorites actually go 2, 3, 1
Donkey Kong Country 3 is the kind of game that hits the player, kicks them when they're down, gets ready to leave, turns around, and kicks them again.
When you think Country the third sure seems just that. Mainly kind of a Lake theme.
Dkc3 is the only one of the trilogy I 100% (103%) completed and it's because they made it so easy to know what you need to do to accomplish that goal.
Very good video, I agree with you on basically everything! I love DKC3, it's my favorite of the trilogy and one of my favorite games of all time. I really do enjoy the overworld and the bear side quests and stuff, they really make the game world feel fuller and more complete. It always feels off to me to start up DKC2 and it just tosses you into the map with zero explanation. Even DKC1 has some amount of storytelling in-game, where you see the Banana Hoard is missing.
There are definitely flaws with 3. The game ended up being rushed, and it shows if you go for 103%. I can't blame them for that considering it was already slated to be released after the N64, a few more months and it would have been completely irrelevant. However the other 2 games are also not without flaws; DKC1 has a lot of forgettable stuff and uninteresting 101% completion, and DKC2 just has a lot of really questionable and unfair design. One flaw I can point out about 3 that I haven't seen anyone else mention is that it has a serious problem with lag in a lot of levels.
Gameplay-wise, something else I can point out that most people probably wouldn't notice is that Kiddy is actually a bit more agile than Dixie. He's able to roll slightly longer, and is really good at vertical platforming compared to her. Overall they are very similar though, they have the same movement speed.
Fun fact since I've seen other comments about the lack of bonus variety: walk-in bonuses in walls are actually coded into the game but never used! They're a little janky since, well, they didn't get used, but they work.
Thanks for the comment! Glad you enjoyed
It's like the Godfather 3: not a bad movie at all, but coming after the previous two brings a huge expectation.
Definitely played this more than dkc2. I was disappointed to a degree when the gba port replaced the entire snes soundtrack. It's alright. But preffered the snes soundtrack a lot more
You’ve done this gem justice. I always liked the bit where you destroy Kaos - a hook comes down and he’s removed - then a curtain opens and it’s the wizard of oz himself , K. Rool is exposed .
This is the game where his character is officially buffoonish; which I didn’t necessarily mind - but, he needed more attitude & a better send off.
He shoots and blunder whips the balloons out of DK IN DKC2!.. and the secret ending in DKC3 is the mama bird dropping an egg on him while he’s running away on Funkys hovercraft. Even as an 8 year old I was like 😑 , but then the kongs land on top of the egg & cranky tries catching up on a different boat . Which cracked me up lol. All so ridiculous, but it worked.
Classic game.
In today's gaming era of incremental upgrades the last 20 or so years, it's absolutely insane to think about DKC being cutting edge in 94 and passé in 96, but it's true.
Of course, I've said a few times that this is my favorite in the series. The atmosphere, the music, and of course I am a sucker for platformers with lite RPG elements. The game just continues to hit all the right buttons for me. Yeah, I even like Kiddy Kong
Yeah a lot of people put down the most refined versions of the formula be it this or RE3.
I'M glad this title is getting more recognition.
There was a certain natural vibe to DKC3 that is so unique & different from the 1st two games, while I like DKC3 the least from the trilogy it's still such a great game that I love to revisit every time I can.
Your thoughts on this game are near identical to mine. Great video. Great game.
Heck yeah, thank you!
My favorite of the trilogy! Great video
Thanks so much!
I love DKC3. Love the two main characters and being able to throw them for different results every time. Love the overworld... And then the internet is full of hate for this one. So bewildering
Ok fine! I'll give this game a try!
Haha!! Good!
I've made it my mission to comment on every video about this game, that DKC 3 is the best of the DKC trilogy. Every criticism I've heard about it just is not valid at all
Finally, the truth right here
It's very good, but not the best. And it's not hate. DKC 2 is just perfect
@@poetaaprendiz3592 DKC 2 was always my least favorite. Right now I'm replaying it, trying to 100% it on retro achievements (I've got 60 out of 84 so far) and I finally realize why it's my least favorite. Among other things, the levels are too long and frustrating. I feel like DKC 3 does everything better, like the world map, level design, etc. It nails it in every aspect that matters, like gameplay (which I would argue is the only thing that matters in a game. Anything else is just icing on the cake.) All the criticisms that everyone seems to have with it are just non-issues to me
The biggest complaint from the fandom regarding DKC3 is that Kiddy sim isn’t as cool as Diddy or DK.
My rebuttal: this is really superficial. The level design of DKC3 is every bit as good as DKC2, if not better.
DKC3 is arguably the most refined of the trilogy even if DKC2 edges it out in some areas.
And it easily beats DKC1 (as much as I love that one). But people always try to complain about
Kiddy Kong, the lighter toned atmosphere, the moodier music, and the level gimmicks.
Love DKC 3!
Of the three games in the trilogy I do like the DKC2 the most. But I like this one more than DKC. But I also think I would have liked it more of my copy weren't corrupted. Since I can't load a save. So I have to play it all in one go or leave the consol running. Neither is really to kind to the tv/consol.
Kiddy, gameplay wise, is what DK should be in first game.
My journey with this game is a rather unique one: I got DKC3 for Christmas back in 1996, the same year I got my Super Nintendo, which meant that not only did I not have the chance to make those unfair comparisons to Mario's debut in the 3rd dimension, I also didn't really have the first two games to compare it to. I was just happy to finally have a 16-bit console in my bedroom. I didn't get the first two games in the trilogy until later, with DKC2 being the last game I added to my SNES collection before I got the Nintendo 64 for Christmas in 1999. This isn't nostalgia talking when I say that DKC3 is not only a very solid game in its own right, but that it also stands tall among the previous games as must-have titles for any Super Nintendo collection. Oh, by the way, I've watched some previous videos, but it's this one that made me hit the subscribe button.
I never hated Dixie Kong's: Double Trouble. Heck not even Kiddy Kong (at least until being on the Internet for too long caused me to that is). Funnily enough when I was a kid, Dkc 3 was my first platformer until my Dad showed me some sort of magazine that featured the other two I was missing and we gotten them ordered then a week or so later, I had all three.
I still have my carts to this day infact.
Dkc 3 was revolutionary in its own way but overshadowed by the fact the N64 and Mario 64 came out.
The music is good but underrated. The not David Wise comment is absurd if you ask me. Just because the usual composer is not there doesn't mean that a new one can't still do a good job.
Also David Wise was involved with 3 on the Snes but had limited involvement. Gba on the other hand is a different story.
After I completed hard mode of Tropical Freeze, I played through the original SNES Trilogy. Donkey Kong Country 3 felt like a pat on the back after going through Country 2. I do love 2 but it was very hard to go through. 3, being easier, was really good to go through after all that it was a nice break from all the challenge. The game (of course) offers challenge, but it’s not as high as its predecessor.
I do have bias for this game, my brother and I used to go on this website that (for some reason) just had a bunch of SNES games. This was how I was introduced to DKC, Mario World, and Yoshi’s Island. Country 3 was elusive to me because it featured Dixie and Kiddie, who weren’t in DKC Returns or Smash Brawl. I grew to really want to see Dixie again and got really hyped when she was announced for Tropical Freeze. Also, Elephants are my favorite animals, and while I think Rambi should be the default animal buddy, I’d like to see Ellie again.
seeing your gameplay in the background.. wow, you got some nice skills! i would like to have a friend like you, someone who likes these good old games and plays in turns with me.
This Game had the best Water level in all of the entire trilogy
Out of redundancy I won't repeat comments about over/under rated things.
I justed started replaying the first Donkey Kong County game and I plan to revisit or experience all 5 this year. Whether or not you like DKC3 is valid, I've found my favorite discussions are around the identity of the game. What is the identity of Donkey Kong County 3 and does it relate to the identify of Donkey Kong County as a series? I am trying to find that out myself. If you don't like it, that's ok you don't need to give the game any flowers.
I think that mostly because what's most interesting to me is when people discuss why this game is still a good game but not a good DKC game or the least, best DKC game.
You mentioned Dixie's relationships to Kiddie and I agree that makes this game also interesting and also the "Donkey Kong County"-ness if it.
I'm currently putting together my own thoughts, I also want to replay this game and see how I feel about it now. Maybe nostalgia is the reason why it's my favorite? I'll see.
Nice video btw, love the positive DKC3 coverage
PS Maybe part 3 will be about how Donkey Kong County 2 is rated?
PSS When you said your Nintendo based content I also thought about it as your Nintendo, based, content 😂
I remember reading in a magazine and I asked a classmate if he's interested, he's like... What is that BABY? It's so HAIRY. But the game sold pretty well. As far as the reception from those that played it, I think it was just used to boost Diddy Kong's Quest above the rest, and you can't hate on the first, so this one got the short end of the stick. I think it's the... Southern hillbilly aesthetic too (I know the makers are from the UK and they try to go for Canadian feel, but this all feels very North Carolina). I think this is a great game. I love the DK Coin mechanic, I think it's very creative.
This is always my favorite of the trilogy having experienced it originally on gba and then shortly after getting the snes original it became the game i couldn't put down till i finished it and then back tracking to get the final ending and 103 percent felt amazing to accomplish as a kid Definitely the most underrated
Back at it again with another banger 🔥🔥
Thank you man!
This was my favourite one, they were all good and I missed Klump from the previous two games but I really enjoyed the aesthetics, level design creativity, over world choice and exploration especially with the vehicles, secrets, I liked that they added friendly characters to interact with the brothers bear, and I really liked playing as Dixie and Kiddy the game play was fun and they complement each other. It was great the world felt so big and alive and the enemies were always so cool. Music was good too. The bosses were also a lot better and unique, each one was distinct there weren't any repeats or palette swaps each boss was distinct and unpredictable you didn't know what you were up against until you got there. Animal buddies were also fun especially Ellie. My favourite bad guy was Nibbla really liked when he was a frenemy.
Hell yeah
I think the game lacks as strong a theme as the other games in the series. One may say that it regurgitates the first game’s theme of wilderness to industrial, but with less exotic locales.
And maybe it would have been cool to have Donkey, Diddy and Dixie be the playable characters.
However!
Game is great. The expanded map, the rpg elements, the refinement of the gameplay, the best bosses of the series, and overall it’s just bloody pleasant
I genuinely believe if they re-skinned Kiddy for DK, this game would be the most popular! Kiddy plays literally the exact same as DK, apart from he can also bounce on water! The DKC3 hate is so forced but I will die on the hill defending it as my favourite.
I AGREE!!
There's another difference which is where they hold a barrel. Kiddy holds it in front and Donkey overhead.
I agree though, 3 has always been my favorite and it's one of my top 5 games of all time. DKC2 is very solid but has some really bad design choices, especially in 102% completion, that ruin it a bit for me.
@ you’re right! Totally missed that, I suppose with Dixie having it over her head it makes sense for Kiddy to have in front of
This one was my favorite as a kid, though I always prefer some of first one's enemy design more.
I think the cartoon made me really like Qlump and Krusha
all of this game's criticisms don't make sense to me, even today. if anything, the music is weaker, but it's still pretty good.
i didn't mind kiddy being a baby (I'm not projecting my identity into apes, thanks) and i liked the setting...monkeys in PNW, it's kinda unique.
2>3>1
This game does have a lot of great things going for it. I played through all 3 games recently and this one def feels the most epic to me as a whole. A lot of the bosses are some of my favorites from the whole series. It is still my least favorite of the trilogy, not because it’s bad, only because I love the first 2 so much.
06:06 kind of looks like the edge of krocodile isle.. maybe DKC3 was happening around the same time as DKC2 between k. rool being defeated in flying kroc and k. rool's defeat in krocodile kore. Hence they had a B team working on DKC3
This game is one of the best.. Greetings from Sweden!
While I thought the character of kiddy Kong was kinda bad at the time, I don’t mind him now. I was real young when it came out and the idea of having a baby on your team seemed like a burden in concept, I also hated the crying death animation/sound. But besides that, I love everything else about it. I love moving around the world map. It makes the game feel bigger and the precious games even though it’s still linear. My favorite thing was the collectibles. And it was so nice that it showed you on the world map with the flags if you got both bonus barrels and dk coins. Going for the full completion just added a whole new layer of fun for me. Idk what else to say! I love it!
Beautiful!
Thank you!!
To me 3 is definitely the best looking of the original trilogy and probably has the best level design, 2 has the best overall atmosphere and 1 is a game I can just sit down and jam through in the course of an afternoon. Each fill a different need for me.
Let's be honest here, there is no bad DKC game. I like them all equally. The original SNES games are my childhood along with the Land games. Returns came out when i was in my early 20s and I have fond memories playing it with my then roommate. I pre-ordered Tropical Freeze for the Wii U with my now wife and we played through it together. I'm replying Tropical Freeze now in preparation for the rerelease of Returns and I hope we get a new installment with the Switch suscessor.
This is what I've said about comparing this game to DKC 1 and 2. If those games are A's, I'd give DKC 3 a C+. It's not as good, but it's also not trash either.
The aesthetic of the game is unique, the soundtrack is great, the levels aren't bad at all, only the bosses don't feel right to me and the kremlings are pretty ugly here but other than that, the game is one of the big 3 country games and I can't live without it.
I also don't unterstand the hate for Kiddy Kong, he still serves a purpose in the game. He's more useful than Diddy Kong in the first Donkey Kong Country in my opinion. Yeah Diddy Kong feels different as a character but that's about it...
I liked the bears in this game.
Lowkey, this IS my favourite, but not the SNES original, I dunno, it never really stuck with me like the first two, especially the first one on SNES, but like... The GBA one? That one clicked! The colours are more vibrant on GBA, there's less screen crunch despite the lower resolution, you can save anywhere, and like, while I do appreciate Eveline Fischer's work on the SNES original for what it is, Wise's new GBA soundtrack is like, *Banger After Banger!*
Plus there's some extra content, though I don't think that really plays into me liking that version the most...
I've never enjoyed games that frustrate me, and this is one of those games. I'm playing through DKC3 now and can't wait for it to end. Honestly, I put it in the same category as DKC2. I love DKC2, but some levels frustrate me. My life is frustrating enough, I don't need that which I use to escape my life for a moment only add to the struggle, and DKC3 is FULL of frustrations. This is why, in my opinion, the original DKC is the most fun gave I've ever played. The music is very good, though.
Wonderful video. Donkey Kong Country 3 is my favorite of the trilogy, even better than Returns (no water levels? Come on!) in my opinion. It may only have been surpassed by Tropical Freeze. You got that right, your points about the gameplay and overworld are spot on. DKC 3 is totally underrated and so is its soundtrack. I think that the soundtrack is so atmospheric and advanced (no pun inteded) that they had to change it to the GBA due to this system's inferior soundchip. About Kiddy, I think he's a fun character, but we may not see him anytime soon because in Tropical Freeze, DK incorporated Kiddy's ability to bounce on water (if I am not mistaken, DKC is the only game in which he is featured, and he was supposed to be in the cancelled DK Racing for GameCube by Rare but did not appear in DK Barrel Blast).
Canada mentioned!!!!
I have always had a soft spot for 3 and never understood the hate. I do dislike Kiddy Kong and would have preferred Donkey be brought back, but that’s really my only quibble. I like the world, the vibe, the music (except for maybe the first level). I play almost exclusively as Dixie. Maybe I don’t relate to some of the dislike because I rarely played as Diddy in the first two games. I’m not a speedster. I liked to kill every enemy and collect everything I could
I gained new appreciation for DKC3 after playing it again 5 years ago as an adult now, last time I played it was at launch in 1996. For me it's 3/5 beating Returns & Tropical Freeze as I just prefer the feel & art style of the original trilogy.
That said, my issues with it are opposite of others, I'm not as big a fan of the overworld & more exploration bits as I prefer the tighter experience of DKC over even DKC2. I know that's unpopular as most people like more from their games, but I just prefer tighter packages even with the first John Wick movie being my favorite too.
I feel like I would've played it a lot more & had better initial reception if it came out in 1995 instead of 1996 or even early 1996, as I got an N64 around launch time & had mostly moved on by that point.
Agreed! The baby character looks weird but the gameplay is on point!
This game is by far the best in the trilogy.
Nintendo channels unite!! Love donkey kong country, really hope they cook up a new one with switch 2. Tropical freeze happened way too long ago!
Thank you!! :)
Yeah, like a decade ago! I'd love a new DKC game.
Its not a bad game. If DKC2 is a 10 this is at least an 8.5. The original somewhere between. I didnt have a 64 yet and was hyped about dkc 3 and it wasnt bad. 🤷♂️ the bears and open world confused me back then.
Personally I think the original DKC was the best of the 3. I think it looked better and played better than the other 2.
DKC 2 & 3 looked too cartoonish for my liking. Don't get me wrong I had a ton of fun with all 3 DKC's but I prefer 3 over 2 but not by very much.
So i know people will diss me for this but i actually like DKC3 more than 2. 1 is my favorite. Imma be honest though. All 3 of those games are in my top vgames of all time and are very close together
Easiest of the three??? No way. Lightning Lookout, the buzzsaw level, the helicoper dudes in that cave level, and the rocketship that requires opposite controls all gave me a much harder time than anything in DK1, Donkey forgive me
To each their own!
@@TheJustintendoimo, dkc2 was way too hard (ANIMAL ANTICS), so dkc3 felt nice by comparison... Or maybe just because I had the strategy guide for 2 and 3, but not 1. I'm not sure if I've actually beaten dkc1 100%...
No, it was rated E for Everybody
HA
I'll be honest, DKC 3 isn't just the weakest of the trilogy to me, it's the weakest of all 5 DKC games for me. I even like Returns and Tropical Freeze more than Dixie Kong's Double Trouble...
But it's still a great game, it innovated with its overworld and felt more like an adventure game with the Brothers Bear functioning as NPC quest givers.
It's still my least favorite DKC, but it's still excellent.
DKC3 is great.
It's definitely better than many give it credit for but there's no doubt the game has its flaws, which became even more apparent to me as I recently played through the trilogy again. It's got nothing to do with timing. There's quite a bit of slowdown in the game, it has some of the worst level design in the series (eg barrel drop bounce), levels are full of cheap deaths due to enemies flying out at you from offscreen or from around blind corners, and the game sometimes lacks responsiveness when you really need it, especially when it comes to swimming or flight controls with squawks. The controls are perfect in DKC2 but I couldn't quite put my finger on why they felt off in DKC3. Like, you want to just make minor corrections and you move way farther than you want to. Overall it's also objectively the hardest of the three games, so I'm confused why you'd say it's the easiest. Even speedrunners agree that it's the hardest one. Difficulty isn't a bad thing but I find it odd that you'd say this game was the easiest one.
There are some really amazing levels in the game, like crack-shot kroc and riverside race, but some level gimmicks like poisonous pipeline or fish food frenzy or squeals on wheels are ridiculously annoying more than anything, and stuff like the lightning in lightning lookout seem to have incredibly weird hitboxes that hit you when they don't seem like they shouldn't. Even when riding the toboggan you'll find yourself getting hit in situations where you don't think you should. The first two games also have a very solid sense of rhythm to them which is what makes them so good to play, but the rhythm is mostly gone in DKC3, as the game constantly does its best to slow you down and make you wait. The bonus rooms are now basically always found in bonus barrels, are nowhere near as well hidden, and always have 2 per level until you unlock krematoa where there's a few levels with 3 and one level with none. Some of the bonus rooms themselves are incredibly frustrating. While the idea of needing to defeat an enemy to get the DK Coin is neat, and creates the opportunity for some cool little puzzles for the player to figure out, they are really few and far between. In many cases he's just standing there right in front of you or slightly off the main path and you just need to pick up the keg and toss it over his head. The moments where you do need to solve a puzzle to hit him are cool but there isn't enough of them.
Mechanics like Kiddy's water skipping are almost useless, being used in just a couple of levels to reach some bonus rooms and that's it. Dixie can even ride on top of him like a steel keg but this is used in precisely zero locations. The themeing is also all over the place. Aside from the trading sequence and the hidden banana birds, there isn't much utility to the map, either - apart from giving you a choice whether to tackle cotton-top cove or mechanos first, the levels still need to be played in a linear order.
It's also missing a certain personality that the first two games had. It's hard to explain but there's certain little touches like the characters teetering on a ledge if you stand too close in DKC1 or their eyes bugging out when they see a boss in DKC2 that's just not present in DKC3. It's not a bad game by any means, but it doesn't quite stack up to the first two.
Very well said🙏🏻
totally agree, especially level design-wise
I LOVE this game. I understand both sides of the coin.
I found it to be a mixture of DKC AND DKC2
The difficulty has increased from DKC and has the atmosphere as well. And the adventure of DKC2 (though not as intense) .
I also enjoyed the music. Perfect for the atmosphere and environment of the northern kremisphere.
In fact, I wanted to find a location that was high in the mountains and just relax…
I liked playing the game, but there isn't much of it memorable about it. My biggest point of critique is that you don't really feel fortress, unlike in DKC2 for example, where you climb higher and higher on Crocodile Isle. Here you don't even really know what location you want to reach exactly.
This game is great
Personally, I had a great time playing through it back when it released...and again about a decade or two ago. But I also admit it's the weakest of the original trilogy and, when I think back to my time with it, feels more like a complimentary desert-like a sopapilla-after finishing the main course. It's good, and I'm glad it came with the meal, but I don't eat at restaurants for the desert.
You mean "dessert" and "sopaipilla" 😅 Also, not sure "sopaipillas" are "desserts", they're more like snacks if you ask me.
DKC 3 is very much superior to DKC2 when it comes to performance and content alone. It is also better than DCK1.
Eehh that's subjective.
I just didn’t like kiddy Kong. Going to try and beat it on NSO at some point, but didn’t like it growing up
My biggest complain about it it's is ost personaly the worst in the country games by far
But it still league above dkc1 as a game i don't know wich one between return and this one i prefer to be fair
Yeah, same for me, the OST is not bad, but far below from the first and especially the second game, but the game itself is way better than DKC1, they really refine the gameplay in the sequels.
I think 3 would have been a lot more fondly remembered if they had just had DK instead of Kiddy. Dixie is generally a fan favorite character.
To this very day, I dislike so much the RPG thing or the bananabirds, I just wonder why was it so necessary to add that instead of more levels to reach 103%, because I think it wasn't, at all. So that part of this game I do actively dislike, and since DKC 1 and 2 don't have that, and both are pure platformers and this one isn't, that's why it goes to the bottom of the list. Moreover, when I play the game nowadays, I just get 89%, meaning all stages and DK coins, no item or bananabirds.
And to be fair, mario64 was a novelty at the time, not a better game. Maybe it was bigger, sure, because of the extra dimension, and had good controls for being the first 3D platformer on the new shiny console, but DKC3 also has very good controls, and if we talk graphics, DKC3 is by far superior, it was peak 2D, while mario64 looks terrible, it uses stretched textures and also, let's be honest, every 3D n64 game character had like 3 polygons which doesn't help at all. DKC3 for the win.
Better game than DKC2. And DKC3 water music > Aquatic Ambience.
Some of the reasons I dislike DKC3:
1. Most of the music is forgettable and boring.
2. The initial story is boring and borderline non-existent. It gives us no inciting incident or stakes, not pumping us up and making us care about what we're doing. The characters are basically just on a stroll.
3. The enemies, bosses, Brothers Bear, and Kiddy Kong are all stupid looking. The villain's plan is stupid. This game is too wacky for its own good; it's like going from Teen Titans to Teen Titans Go.
4. Levels have annoying, forced gimmicks that get in the way. It's like the developers' idea of challenge was inconveniencing you and making you jump through a bunch of hoops instead of asking of your ability to make jumps and dodge enemies and to do it fast.
5. 75% of the levels do not have pits, and many of the few left over are laid out basically, so they're not actual platforming challenges where there's a real danger of you dying.
6. Flat level design. There is less variance in height of terrain. If you were to draw a line for everywhere the player can stand, DKC3's levels would be much closer to being a straight line.
7. Most of the secrets are easy to find, so not much in the way of exploration.
8. There's only 1 way to get into bonus rooms, bonus barrels, whereas the 1st 2 games had that, breakable walls, carrying something to something else, and DKC1 had collecting the 3 gold animal statues.
9. The bonuses are just reused from DKC2, and the 1 new one they added sucks because getting a green banana isn't exciting, and it makes you go at the game's pace.
10. Koins are annoying because they just get in the way and insert an extra step into something that was instantaneous and convenient. I just wanna be able to touch the DK coin and move on. It also homogenizes how DK coins can be found and makes levels just a little bit more visually homogeneous because level design has to account for the Koin.
11. I dislike how the level goals force me to jump into them to leave but don't give you anything. In DKC1, you just exit stage-right; convenient. In DKC2, you had to jump onto the bonus, but it at least gave you something. DKC3 is the worst of both worlds.
12. Levels are designed in a way to where I never find myself using Dixie's glide. Probably due to the lack of pits. So it's like they just took her ability out because they made it moot.
13. There's no speed character, so the game doesn't feel nearly as fun to play because you're not blasting through levels.
14. Speaking of not blasting through levels, there's no barrel gauntlets.
15. The worlds are boring to look at. Like how the waterfall levels are just ridges with a flat wall behind it and waterfalls. The 1st 2 games' levels had more personality and more going on visually. DKC3's levels just look so sparse, generic, and flat in comparison.
16. The setting itself is boring and generic. Compare DK Island and Crocodile Isle to the Southern Kremisphere. It's just grassy hills and lakes.
17. There's no theme. DKC1's theme is nature. DKC2's theme is pirates. DKC3's theme is...I can't answer that.
18. I dislike how many of the level biomes are reused from DKC1 with most of the rest also being nature because we did that before, and it was better the 1st time.
Fair enough my man!
After getting enough experience playing the game, collecting 3 gold animal statues in DKC also becomes inconvenient. If you grab the third one in a level and not a inside a bonus, the animal bonus takes you back to the level beginning or halfway and you have to replay the section from there to where the golden figure was, also if you grabbed some of the KONG letters and then enter the animal bonus, you lose it from your count and can't grab it again (that life) because you already grabbed it, same as DK barrels, but the worst is you have to way until time runs out to keep actually playing the game, so yeah, golden figures give negative points to the game instead of being a plus, and I'd actively avoid then rathen than collect them.
The gimmickiness of DKC3 is always massively overstated. Both the other games also have a lot of gimmicks as well. While 3 does have more, it's not actually significantly more. Gimmicks also help to keep stages memorable, which is part of the reason for it, but definitely can be hit or miss with the audience since some gimmicks just aren't enjoyable.
Not gonna argue on most of these because you are mostly right in your observations, but it's also mostly a matter of preference. Personally I love the brighter atmosphere and the goofier characters.
I was kinda hoping for a mention of David Wise's DK3 GBA soundtrack
@@bass0bassinum sorry!!
The GBA soundtrack is weird. Personally I never liked it because it felt like it just completely abolished the amazing atmosphere that the SNES music provides. None of the GBA songs felt right to me being played alongside DKC3. However, listening to the songs by themselves does give me a bit more appreciation for them; they aren't bad songs at all.
Can't blame David Wise too much considering how hard it is to make good music on the GBA with its terrible sound system. In fact that's more or less the reason why the GBA version even has a new soundtrack in the first place: the SNES soundtrack is really bass-heavy which wouldn't work on the GBA.
eh , i mostly disagree , you're right the game is very vibey though
but no the music is simply not as good
i do agree with your assessment dkc3 is comfortable being it's own thing
Definitley the worst imho. Very bad enemy design. Non-melodic ost. Weird level design. Some nice experimental ideas which however aged rapidly.
I can get behind most of your points, and I do enjoy the game well enough, but the soundtrack is the weakest part of this game. There are a few good tracks and a few others that work well enough, but there are too many that are either annoying or just forgettable.
Bad taste
agree the non-melodic ost is the worst part. Overall, DKC3 is the worst of the three imho. Very bad enemy design. Non-melodic/repetitive ost. Weird level design. Some nice experimental ideas which however aged rapidly.
DKC 3 is my least favorite out of the trilogy. It isn't bad or horrible it's just okay.
I rather play super mario 64
To each their own!
Easily the worst game in the series.
To each their own!