Retro #003 – Donkey Kong Country
A Milestone in Gaming History
Donkey Kong Country for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES or Super NES) is per definition of this Benny Kong retro section, not one of my latest retro additions to my favorite Nintendo platforms - but one of the most important titles in my physical collection.
Donkey Kong Country sold over nine million copies and became a milestone in gaming history. Ground-breaking graphics in 1994, and a never aging, fantastic and remarkable soundtrack in 2020. Donkey Kong Country is one of my favorite games of all time and without Donkey Kong Country, this blog would not be called Benny Kong.
The Real DK Please Stand up
I added this title to my library approximately in summer 2014 - back in a time where retro collecting was not as popular as it is today, and prices were not that high. Unfortunately I cannot remember what I paid for this complete in box version in a very good used condition, and neither have I found any emails or ebay history on this purchase.
I actually don’t know what happened to my childhood game - but it can be that Donkey Kong Country was one of these games, due to it’s unbelievable popularity in the mid 90s, that all of your friends had and you could easily borrow it. And to compete against each other ‘virtually’ by starting a new save file and comparing your progress with your friend’s save file. This may explain why I found two loose Donkey Kong Country cartridges when cleaning up my child's room in my parents house back in 2016. One copy actually belongs to my friend Marco that was looking for the game for years as we lately discussed, whereas the other owner of the copy is unknown. I expect it might belong to my friend Tim, who I will ask by sending him this blogpost.
Cooler Than Mario
When I saw the first footage of Donkey Kong Country in 1994, I literally could not believe it! The graphics were mind-blowing, the music that Donkey Kong was pumping through his boombox during the intro made us kids from back in the day feel super cool, and we started to dance as little kids are dancing at the age of 9. These memories will stay forever. Donkey Kong Country was definitely the cooler jump’n’run game compared to Super Mario World!
Big Daddy D! The jungle vibes were pushing you through the levels, and you felt bad ass by the sound The Kremlings made when you jumped on them. Wonderful. And the difficulty drove you crazy! I can remember that even sometimes Marco, who used to live in the apartment below my parents’, had to quickly come up to master a hard level such as Mine Cart Carnage or Forest Frenzy, in which I was stuck. Unforgettable times with Donkey Kong Country!
Since I replayed the game recently via Nintendo Switch Online and talked about my experiences with the game in a dedicated blogpost, I rather keep it crisp and would like to recommend you to directly read about my stories with Donkey Kong Country here.
BK’s Fact Sheet on
Donkey Kong Country:
Platform: Super Nintendo
Developer: Rare
Publisher:
Nintendo
Category: Platformer
Release Dates:
UK: November 18, 1994
NA: November 21, 1994
EU: November 24, 1994
JP: November 26, 1994
In BK's Collection: 08/2014
Trailer and Footage of My Collector’s Item
Let’s have a look at a Donkey Kong Country trailer from 1994 and some footage of the condition of one of my most meaningful additions to the retro collection:
