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Donkey Kong Country


samurai_of_plague
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Another average collect-a-thon platformer released during the most turbulent period for the genre, with sub-par collision detection, and clearly a rushed release when you look at the amount of bugs and glitches present. Pretty much still the most overrated game in history, given the scores magazines gave it at the time (One even gave it above 100%, goes to show how mature and sensible gaming journalism was back then). Shigeru Miyamoto didn't like it either, I think that says something at least.

There were several platformers out in the same period that were much more creative and refined, like Ristar or Yoshi's Island.

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dkc is one of those games that everyone says is overrated because one guy said it and of course disagreeing with the what they originally thought is the popular opinion is all people know how to do

dkc is one of the best platformers for the snes and anyone who disagrees needs to get their head out of their ass and realize that every other SNES platformer that wasn't a Mario game was shitty

also as long as we're talking about overrated games FF7 is still actually pretty good and Halo is still better than Halo 2/3

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I agree with this message, especially when you compare them to stuff released at the same time.

I think the main thing is just to figure out if a particular game is fun or not. So what if some people would rate it more highly than it might deserve? It shouldn't affect how good the game itself actually is.

As far as "overrated" games go, there are some I like (Halo), some I don't like (FF7), and some I didn't like at first but now really do (FF6). I remember DKC as being pretty fun. I don't care about collecting everything, but I enjoyed playing it. It wasn't the best game for the SNES or particularly groundbreaking, but I still liked it. KF

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As far as "overrated" games go, there are some I like (Halo), some I don't like (FF7), and some I didn't like at first but now really do (FF6).

see that's exactly the thing

we can give video games arbitrary ratings all we want but in the end all that matters is whether or not we have fun playing it

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dkc is one of those games that everyone says is overrated because one guy said it and of course disagreeing with the what they originally thought is the popular opinion is all people know how to do

dkc is one of the best platformers for the snes and anyone who disagrees needs to get their head out of their ass and realize that every other SNES platformer that wasn't a Mario game was shitty

also as long as we're talking about overrated games FF7 is still actually pretty good and Halo is still better than Halo 2/3

It was my impression from playing it a few years after release, after reading into the unprecedented amount of hype and praise from the press. It's not a bandwagon thing. Take away the graphics and DK brand and I wouldn't be able to tell it apart from the myriad of uninspired Disney games coming out during that period.

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It was my impression from playing it a few years after release, after reading into the unprecedented amount of hype and praise from the press. It's not a bandwagon thing. Take away the graphics and DK brand and I wouldn't be able to tell it apart from the myriad of uninspired Disney games coming out during that period.

Oh yeah, definitely. Take away the breakthrough graphics, awesome soundtrack, great game mechanics that thematically fit well with each of the animal characters, and multi-faceted levels, and there's nothing left. The game is clearly shitty, I agree with you all the way. :lol: And because the game involved animals of some sort (it doesn't matter what), it's Disney-like, I agree with you 102%.

:tomatoface:

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Funny aside: when DKC1 first came out, GamePro ran a contest to see who could get the highest percentage by some specific time. You had to take a picture of yourself next to the TV displaying the score; I did so with a 96% or 98%. I was about ten at the time, and I won a Super Nintendo GameGenie from doing that.

I might've even been in the magazine, I don't know. I never actually got the issue with the results.

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I am still very much into the DKC series today. DKC1 was the first game I ever played on a SNES, and didn't own one myself untill late 1996, when DKC3 came out.

I was a kid, so the hype thing never even got to me. Heck, I didn't even know what hype was.

I like how after 12 years I can still play through every level, knowing exactly what to find where, in all 3 games.

Now if only I had room in my brain for new, usefull information...

I probably would have never found OCremix if I hadn't played DKC2 and heard it's awesome soundtrack :)

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I think the origianl DKC is the worst of the series. But, that's like saying 1 chick is the ugliest out of 3 uber-sexy chicks.

Yeah, the "DKC series is overrated" bandwagon is pathetic. I am 100% serious when I say that DKC2 is one of the best games ever made. Soooo many good memories...*Daydreams*

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The level design is so much better and more creative in DKC2. I actually have a hard time playing DKC1 ever since I beat the second one; the design is so simple by comparison.

It's still an alright game. A little overrated (basically, everything was decent except the graphics which were REVOLUTIONARYOMG, and even those haven't held up that well over time.) Still, it's okay.

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I always thought DKC and its two sequels (though the third less so) were fantastic games. I grew up with these games and simply had a ton of fun with them before I'd ever even considered reading any kind of reviews of them or heard any feedback about them to know how highly rated they were. They train you to look for excellently designed secrets hidden in the environment (Why is that one banana a couple pixels to the left of the others? Jump to the left and boom, there's a bonus room in the wall) and had the fantastic addition of all the animals, each with individual physics (very distinct senses of speed and weight), and awesome special abilities (especially the spiderweb platforms Squitter shoots) with each that could be used to reach more out of the way bonus rooms later if you're careful enough to hang on to the animals.

Plus, I love the barrel mechanic - that you have to carry and protect one through a level without jumping on a single enemy until reaching something that looks suspicious enough to use it. Like the bombing idea in metroid except you have only one and you have to be extremely careful what you do with it.

And oh by the way, the best-looking graphics on SNES in part due to diverse, atmospheric and beautiful looking environments, and a series-wide soundtrack in my top 3 of all time. Not too bad!

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Yeah, the "DKC series is overrated" bandwagon is pathetic.

If I might ask, how is it pathetic? Not everyone looks for (or likes) the same things as magazine reviewers. I personally enjoyed the hell out of Wild Metal on the Dreamcast, yet it received less than favorable reviews. I haven't even come across someone else who liked it. Yet Half Life 2, a game that was praised up and down for virtually every little aspect, was average at best to me.

Some games just don't strike a chord with you, while others seem to strike one with only you. That's what leads people to feeling something is under or over rated. Sure, there are some who go mindlessly along with things like bandwagons or system hate "just because", but is it really that hard to believe someone couldn't like an entry in the DKC series?

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Oh yeah, definitely. Take away the breakthrough graphics, awesome soundtrack, great game mechanics that thematically fit well with each of the animal characters, and multi-faceted levels, and there's nothing left. The game is clearly shitty, I agree with you all the way. And because the game involved animals of some sort (it doesn't matter what), it's Disney-like, I agree with you 102%.

Either my points didn't come across clear enough or you grossly misunderstood what I was saying.

Take away the graphics = Remove the pre-rendered 3D aspect which left everyone in awe at the time.

Take away the brand = The game was based on an already established Nintendo franchise, essentially a license game.

Disney = When I think of the most average, run-of-the-mill platformers at the time I think of Jungle Book, Aladdin, those kinds of games. Has nothing to do with furries.

If I might ask, how is it pathetic? Not everyone looks for (or likes) the same things as magazine reviewers. I personally enjoyed the hell out of Wild Metal on the Dreamcast, yet it received less than favorable reviews. I haven't even come across someone else who liked it. Yet Half Life 2, a game that was praised up and down for virtually every little aspect, was average at best to me.

I haven't really seen any counter-arguments to my points on what brings the game down, other "Well I think it's fun!". Well, more power to you then. I enjoyed plenty of games in my childhood that are considered less-than-stellar. However I am trying to judge the game objectively here, on how it stands out from the competition at the time. That's pretty much what you do when you review most games. It's like some people take outright offense if they feel their jolly nostalgic memories are discredited.

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The point of being objective is?

WELL I SUPPOSE the only benefit of such is to counter those who mix nostalgia with objectivity. Oh right, nostalgia doesn't factor in with objectivity; I forgot!

As for me, I never owned the games, or felt like owning them after playing them at friends'/relatives' houses. But they were always really unique to me, and have the utmost respect to those who have an attachment to the games. Plus, I must have liked Disney games :}

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If I might ask, how is it pathetic? Not everyone looks for (or likes) the same things as magazine reviewers.

This isn't pathetic. If you're one of these people who genuinely didn't enjoy DKC, I'm not going to judge you. I might find your taste in games questionable, but it's not like you're a bad person because of it.

Sure, there are some who go mindlessly along with things like bandwagons or system hate "just because"

Now this is pathetic. If you're one of these people (and most DKC haters are), then I have no respect for you.

Gecko, DKC was anything but average for its time. And yes, I'm speaking objectively. If you can't see that, you're rather short-sighted.

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