I loved Donkey Kong since I first played DKC way back in 1994. Since then, I treasured the franchise. So, when I first played this back in the day, I wasn't disappointed in the least. I enjoyed playing it as much as other legendary N64 platformers, like Banjo Kazooie and Super Mario 64.
King K. Rool returns once again in his mechanical Crocodile Isle, seeking to destroy DK Island with his new weapon, the Blast-o-Matic. To hinder Donkey Kong's progress, K. Rool's minions capture and imprison his four companions and steal his horde of golden bananas. Now, DK must set out to rescue and rally his friends to retrieve his banana horde and stop K. Rool once and for all.
Accompanying Donkey Kong are his best friend Diddy Kong, the small but spunky Tiny Kong, the clownish orangutan Lanky Kong, and the cowardly but superstrong Chunky Kong. Each Kong has their own unique attributes, weapons, moves, and musical instruments to wield against the Kremlings. Occasionally you'll be able to play as classic animal friends like Rambi the Rhino and Enguarde the Swordfish. Plus, Squawks the parrot frequently shows up to give you advice.
Being a Rare game from the late 90s, DK64's gameplay borrows many elements from Banjo Kazooie. New moves can be learned by buying Cranky Kongs potions, while you'll need to collect Golden Bananas and ordinary bananas to respectively unlock new levels and access the games bosses, which progressively get tougher. Funky Kong sells you weapons and ammo upgrades, while Candy provides musical instruments and additional health. There's so much to learn and do in this game.
The graphics and level designs are beautiful with a wide variety of colors and textures that bring the world and characters of Donkey Kong to life like never before. All the characters, both Kongs and Kremlings, had quirky and cartoonish voice effects fitting for a Rare game. There was even some limited voice acting in the opening cutscene.
Rare legend Grant Kirkhope once again outdid himself as a composer. All of the game's music is excellent and matches each level's atmosphere. DK Island has a soft tranquil theme, Jungle Japes has jaunty and modernized version of from DKC1, Aztec Temple is mysterious and Egyptian sounding, and Creepy Castles sounds dark and ominous. But rounding them out is the DK Rap that's so cheesy and jarring, it's hilarious to listen to.
There were downsides, though. The game was infamous for the sheer number of collectibles, which made it time-consuming and frustrating. You don't only collect bananas, but coins, blueprints, crowns, and even banana fairies you'll capture by taking photographs of them. Plus, the levels were enormous and required a lot of exploration, backtracking, and swapping Kongs via the tag barrel to get everything. While it isn't necessary to beat the game, any completionist could spend days' worth of gameplay to achieve 100% with this game. Plus, I feel the characters weren't as rich or developed as they were in Banjo Kazooie since so much emphasis was placed on collecting items than dialogue or interacting with other NPCs.
Flaws aside, Donkey Kong 64 is as great as other Rare titles like and it's still enjoyable today for true fans of the DK franchise.
