You know, maybe the word "curious" fits better than you may think. Dixie and Kiddy are both younger people, and they're put under a bad situation. The Northern Kremisphere was strange, foreign place, just like Crocodile Isle in the previous game. Just like the other DKC games, they set you up with a place close to the water, but the tone already feels different. There's so much more levity, and that certainly made me curious. What makes DKC3 so "curious" is that it's so different. Funky, Cranky, and even Wrinkly have changed, and that's cool. K.Rool has gone away from the pirate theming and curiously has become a mad scientist. The bosses aren't just bigger versions of regular enemies, they're brand new characters on their own. The point of the game wasn't entirely to rescue DK and Diddy, it was to be curious, try new things, and just have an adventure. That's the beauty of DKC3 to me, that's why it's considered the black sheep of the series, the curious installment that people constantly bash on. It certainly deserves much of it, but it's still beautiful on its own. I definitely didn't phrase this the best, but I hope you get what I mean.

Donkey Kong Country 3 is underrated. A few gimmicks aside, it "feels" more mysterious than the first game (not the second), has interesting secrets, fun puzzles, weird bosses, and the best graphics in the console. The soundtrack is great, although not as great as in the previous games. Hands down one of the best platformers of all time. DKC2 > DKC3 > DKC in my book.

Loved the take on DKC3. I saw another person's analysis a while back and it enlightened some of the haphazardness of this game - The veterans of DKC 1 and 2 were being shuffled into the N64 game development teams. So newer, less experienced members were being brought in to either finish up existing work or design new levels and content entirely. Honestly, I replay DKC3 more often than DKC1. ANd it's about equal with 2. I don't think there's any argument that 2 has the best level design and enemy placement and atmosphere and straight up harmony and identity. It knows what its about and it does it in the biggest and best way possible. But there is a side to DKC3 that a lot of people don't see. Or maybe they don't see it right away. You hinted at it throughout, and the next game in the franchise seemed to be what they were working towards - DKC3 wanted you to explore the levels and really see how much adventure/content/exploration/neat moments/etc that you can cram into 2-D platform levels. So the way I see DKC3 getting played is this - Your first time beating the game, you skip a lot of collectables and secrets and whatnot. You power through the game like DKC1/2 and get to the end. If you stop here, it's.....above average. WHich is disappointing after how fluid DKC2 built its levels and worlds. It leaves a bit of a sour taste in your mouth and you might not pick it back up. WHich is a shame, since the game seems to be built around these levels being played multiple times. You are supposed to replay most of the levels to find the secrets, find the coins and bananas hidden everywhere, find new ways to do things or maybe see something in the level you missed when you were just running though to completion. Looking at the level maps, I have never seen so much use of vertical movement and item placement. Sure, plenty of levels might slope up or down but DKC3 really went out of its way to have you jumping up platforms and launching out of barrels and climbing up ropes in levels that still have a start on the left side, and a goal on the right. And they consistently reward players who explore. Sure it's usually small, but it reminds you that yes, they did intend for you to wander off the path. This doesn't excuse the mediocre enemy placement and inconsistent themes and layouts in a given world. DKC3 still has many faults and it did not blend its elements well. Which is a shame. But hey, it is a glorious attempt at pushing how far you can go in a 2-D, level based platformer as an adventure game.

@LalitoTV

3 жыл бұрын

Newer members being tasked with dkc3 would explain why i find the art and feel of this game to be much more like later rare games such as conker or banjo than it was like the two original donkey Kong countries...

@themanwithsauce

3 жыл бұрын

@@LalitoTV yeah I agree that it has a flavor closer to the n64 rare games. Not just in being more adventurous, but you can tell that the A-team was constantly talking about the upcoming n64 games from level layouts to character designs and attitudes. Funky went from being a "Duuuuuuuude!" Surfer/daredevil pilot to being a....mechanic? I loved the vibe in his place, but did we need that? Same with the brothers bear. Or cranky as an opponent in a mini game. A supporting cast was something the other two games didn't have or need. Not that it was unwelcome in DKC3, just a bit odd....

DKC 3, in retrospect, feels like the predecessor to the collect-a-thon genre that Rare would ultimately become the kings of in the N64 days. The hub world, the way the collectables were handled, the more puzzle and exploration based level design - it all kind of fits into that mold while also trying to carry on the game's core of being a twitchy platformer at the same time. I used to see DKC 3 as a bad game, but I've grown to see it more as just not _exactly_ the follow up to DKC 2 that I was really wanting.

It would have been neat if the more intensely gimmicky levels were all in Banana Bird Caves instead of the Simon Says minigame, so the main game could still feel focused in the same way as the last two

I honestly think DKC3 is better than the first DKC and I mean by a long margin. It's obviously not as good as DKC2, but it's just DKC2 was a masterpiece and probably one of the 3 best Super Nintendo games I agree that DKC3 is kinda silly though, even as a kid I thought it was out of place to have a snow level in the first world. Maybe it's a nitpick, but DKC2 had such a consistent atmosphere which helped reinforce the brutal nature of the game, you were always on the edge of your seat because the level of tension kept escalating with each level in each world DKC3 simply doesnn't have this, but I think it's a great game and I think people criticize it way too harshly. It's a great game and one of the better platformers on the snes

@toooydoeur

3 жыл бұрын

No

It's worth mentioning that DKC3 was developed by Rare's B-team, and it shows. Their main designers had moved to the N64. I still think I like it a BIT more than DKC1 since its' reward system is way better. Obviously 2 is by far the best.

Ef y'all DKC3 is my favorite

Donkey Kong Country 3 has the groundings of the type of plaftformer Rare would eventually go on to fully implement in Banjo-Kazooie.

Whoa, congrats for not getting caught up in the cliche of talking too much about baby kong.

@MrJohnlennon007

2 жыл бұрын

Kiddy is awesome

Keep on killing it with DKC vids man. They are seriously some of your best vids!

Great analysis my dude! I love DKC3 more than most people, but I definitely agree about its scatterbrained design. When it comes down to it, I tend to place DKC1 and 3 on the same level, with DKC2 above them lol

@toooydoeur

3 жыл бұрын

Sad

10:20 Actually, you don't have to wonder about that, cause there actually exists a game exactly like that. Donkey Kong Land 3. Basically keeps the same aesthetics (but with an obvious graphical downgrade), but doesn't overdo the game with stage gimmicks and stuff like that, as it feels like a more down to earth platformer. I really wish somebody made a romhack of DKC3 but using DKL3 styled levels instead. This was a really good analysis btw

This, and Donkey Kong Country Returns, are the only DKC games I played

Lol, DKC3 went into so many tangents it almost got a monster collecting gimmick with an exp level up system and even a bullet time mechanic added based on interchangeable outfits Dixie Kong could wear.

DKC3 kinda feels more like a Shantae game at some point.

I think other people have mentioned this already, but the reason why Dixie Kong's Double Trouble! feels so different compared to the first two games is because it was made by an entirely different team. Rare's A-Team (the people who made the first two games) had been moved to N64 projects like Diddy Kong Racing and Banjo-Kazooie. The B-Team was brought in to finish the work the A-Team had started on DKC3.

You have nice points, and an eloquence in bringing them to consideration, but ultimately I disagree with a majority of them. Donkey Kong 3 did the only sensible thing to do at the time and context of its release: NOT try to surpass its predecessor in the exact same ways that made it so great. It’s important to judge a game on the merits of what it was going for, not what you wished it was going for, and DKC3 doesn’t look at all like it was going for the same kind of atmospheric cohesion and pure platforming perfection that DKC2 mastered. Instead, it went for wild experimentation and creativity. Where you look at the fact that there’s a dock level, a sawmill level, and a snow level on the very same world as incoherent, I’m reminded of Super Mario Galaxy’s Freeze-Flame Galaxy, where and ice and lava cohexist in unbounded creative possibilities, unrestrained by “logic” of “cohesion”. (See also in Mario Galaxy: blocks of water that are allowed to just float neatly whenever the level designers thought they could make traversal more interesting or challenging.) In short, I think DKC3 is a highly experimental game, and also decidedly successful in its experimentation. Some people dislike Radiohead’s Kid A for the same reason, and in my opinion these people are as misguided as the ones who consider DKC 3’s playfulness as a negative. I’d be surprised if many of DKC3’s level designs and “gimmicks” weren’t picked straight from DKC2’s cutting floor, where they were left due to not being “cohesive” enough for the highly atmospheric design that game was going for. (And this is no diss.)

this is the most spot on review of this game i've ever seen. You put into words everything i ever thought about this game. DKC1 and 2 had these tight fluid kinetic based gameplay that allowed good players to fly through levels with precise dodging and jumping and DKC3 has those same elements but it's packaged into this slow paced gimmicky puzzle platformer that doesn't really know what it's doing. Combine that with the lack of immersive environmental tone through losing David Wise as a composer and the character design and color palettes feeling very Saturday morning cartoon esque... this game really lost me. With all that said, it's still an above average platformer on the SNES, but it is not legendary like the first two. Good review. Spot on.

Awesome video, I think the argument about the explorative elements and the momentum of the game feeling disjointed is really thought-provoking. Personally I love the stronger emphasis on exploration, but you make a strong case for why it could be considered a detriment to the game. Looking back on Rare's games, I think DKC3 is fascinating because, while it's a 2D game, it shows elements of collect-a-thon gameplay that Rare would later use for their 3D titles.

That's my kind of platforming game.

I've vaguely touched the DKC trilogy. These videos have been fun to see a perspective from someone who really hasn't played them either till now. Enjoyable and I think I learn a lot.

I only played DKC3 after the N64 had come out and it helped me appreciate the game. The exploration parts in the game and various mechanics helped make it feel up to date with the 3d platformers that had come out. Remember it came out almost at the same time as Mario 64. You cann see a lot of mechanics that would be used in Banjo after that.

>schizophrenic aesthetic It's Canada. The name even references this, "northern kremisphere" being northern North America in the northern hemisphere.

@TheLastStand001

3 жыл бұрын

Not what he meant

@Issachar-northern-kingdom

28 күн бұрын

I think the overworld map looks like the caspian sea region

Great video man! So many people say that DKC 3 is their least favorite in the series but never give a good reason as to why. I really enjoyed your calm approach to explaining how the different approach to level design that Rare took with this entry lessened your enjoyment. It helped me understand this entry in a new light as I don't necessarily dislike DKC 3 but I have always felt that something was different about it when compared to the first two and I could never quite put my finger on what that was. Keep up the great work!

I was kind of expecting this opinion from you given what you said about DKC2, but as always it was the nuance that really made me critically think. DKC3 is my favorite of the bunch, and watching this video really made me critically think about why that is. Great work as always!

Aside from Metal Gear Solid 2 I don’t think I remember a game I anticipated more as a kid than DKC3. When it came out I remember liking it but there was something about it that just wasn’t as good. I’ve always wondered if it would’ve been better received had Donkey and Diddy been brought back? That said the first world as you point out shows the weakness of the game, lack of identity. Why is there a snow stage? There’s a snow world later in the game. It’s like they cut a level late in production and filled it with a level that didn’t make K3.

Perfect video - I really appreciate your perspective . . . well said :-)

Though I never got around to DKC 2 and 3, I've really enjoyed your analyses of the games.

really good video! :3

I never played DK3 personally so its cool to see the perspective of another guy who's new to the game

I like dkc 3 the best, I am in the minority but I liked the overworld more

You have changed the way I look at DKC3

Love this game.

I would rank them DKC1 DKC2 DKC3 😂😂😂 Atmosphere of the first game and music was unreal Second one was pure platforming and challenge Three is goofy and fun What a trilogy all games are awesome and a great set

DKC3 is certainly an oddity of a game. It launched only two months after the N64 and SM64 and was developed by Rareware's B-team, as the A-team (the one behind DKC1 & 2, not the one with Mr. T) was developing Dream: Land of Giants, which was to be their 16-bit swan song (which of course became Banjo-Kazooie after the project was moved to the N64 and after the game's original concept was ditched). This is why so many strange, different choices were made in terms of gameplay and art direction, as well as the game's theme and setting, which unlike the previous two entries is based on Canada and Western Europe. Personally, I believe the game was a victim of poor timing, as the N64 was out for two months at this point. Plus, DKC3 launched in late November. It certainly made the Christmas 1996 deadline, but then again, so too did the N64 (which leaped off store shelves during Black Friday!) DKC3 was a peculiar way to conclude the original DKC trilogy along with Rareware's spectacular 16-bit era (Dream would've been worthy of a standing ovation just like DKC2 and Banjo-Kazooie), but nonetheless I think it's a good game. It's certainly passable in spite of its flaws, and in spite of being overshadowed by the N64, it eagerly awaited the future of gaming (why do you think the N64 appears in Wrinkly's Save Cave as well as on the alternate title screen?) and pulled through as the last hurrah for Rareware's DKC trilogy and the SNES.

As many others have said, I couldn't agree more with your analysis. It expressed feelings I wasn't able to put into words. I love the look and innovation of the game, but it is fairly jarring and disjointed at times.

It's kinda a kaizo dkc in a way isn't it.

An interesting note (that I might need a fact check on to be sure) but the team behind DKC3 was different than the team behind DKC1-2, who had moved onto developing Banjo by that point. This might explain part of why it feels so different in a lot of ways (even the composer for the soundtrack was different this time around). Definitely a strange, creative game but I def got more frustrated with its gimmicks by the last world haha

so what we have here is a 2d colectothon

Couldn't agree more about DKC3. Something about that game really was off putting for some reason, and you hit the nail on the head on this one.

I disagree with the collectable comment, 2 and 3 were both difficult in finding them and not one did it better, I like how 3 slowed down platforming for more “gimmicks” it makes it unique from the others. All in all dkc 3 will always be compared to the second one and that’s a shame because 3 is just as good just a different game, the only thing it comes short to the second one for me is the music and that’s very thin for a complaint.

Not only do I agree with your analysis, it also encapsulates why I feel DKC3 is my least favourite game in the SNES trilogy.

tat

My memory of this game is that there were too many gimmick levels and I found them annoying and made me not want to play the game. The "explorative" aspects that you reference were not for me, personally. I also didn't enjoy the music as much and I did not like Kiddy.

why you whisperin bro

In short, DKC3 became tedious and less fun or cool

I've always found the hardest strike against Donkey Kong Country 3 is that it's the third game in the series. As a follow-up to Donkey Kong Country 2, it's surprisingly weak - it's like if you put something like Knuckles Chaotix out and put it in the place of Sonic & Knuckles, just due to its major design philosophies. However, I do think DKC3 is an absolutely brilliant beginner's platformer, for players unfamiliar with either DKC or platforming as a whole, willing to experiment, with occasional levels like Ripsaw Rage requiring that deeper level of skill. If this came before Donkey Kong Country 2, I think its reverence would be far less in question, or at least it would be considered the Mario 2 of the trilogy rather than "wholly unnecessary". But the idea of purpose through gameplay juxtaposed with the game's late release in a post-Nintendo 64 world meaning it lacked a strong audience is really interesting. Thank you for the ideas shared, the DKC trilogy are games that I founded my passion toward gaming on and use as a reference point for 2D games in general, so seeing an outside, critical perspective is always really engrossing.

i recently finished DK3 thanks to the switches SNES online thing. I've never really liked it just because it felt like the "B" team made it. Playing and finishing it now, i think it's a very OKAY game. it had some levels i liked, but overall just nothing really special to it. I think the bosses were the worst though especially the snowman..I'm also not a huge fan of how some of the regular enemies are designed. Why do some of their colors make them stand out from the rest of the game so hard? Not to mention that kiddy is severely outclassed by dixie. I much preferred playing with her. The one thing i liked though was the getting the DK coins, i thought it was neat that you had to figure out a way to kill "Koin" to get it

1 and 2 are amazing. Till this day, 3 is eehhhhhh. For me.

@ultrairrelevantnobody1862

5 жыл бұрын

I preferred 3 over 1.

You summed up why I didn't care for this game, but another big reason you didn't mention is the absence of David Wise as the music composer

The DKC series pretty much follows the original Star Wars trilogy in terms of quality. First one is fresh, self-contained diamond. The second one is more darker, ups the ante in every level and is the best of the bunch. The third is a bit mixed one, lesser of the three but enjoyable nonetheless.

DKC3 could have had the characters replaced and been an entirely new IP. If it were, however, it would be called a shitty game. It hides behind the popular (and for good reason) name, and that's a shame.