What it was
Donkey Kong and Diddy have vanished in the Northern Kremisphere, a cartoon version of northern Europe and Canada, and Dixie Kong goes after them with her baby cousin Kiddy. Across 48 levels in eight worlds, you swap between the two at will: Dixie spins her ponytail to drift through the air, and Kiddy is heavy enough to skip across water and smash through floors. Each can throw the other to reach a ledge or crack open a secret.
The overworld is now a place to explore, crossed in vehicles from Funky Kong such as a hovercraft and a speedboat. Thirteen Brothers Bear live around the map, trading hints, items and services for Bear Coins, and a long chain of swaps between them opens the way to the true ending. Animal friends return, with two new ones: Ellie the elephant, who sprays water and is scared of mice, and Parry, a bird who flies above you to grab what you can't reach.
Where it sits in history
Rare began it soon after Donkey Kong Country 2, using the same Silicon Graphics workstations to render 3D models into 2D sprites. Tim Stamper directed it again, Andrew Collard and Paul Weaver designed it, and Eveline Fischer wrote most of the music, with tracks by David Wise. It came out in North America in November 1996, then Japan, then Europe and Australia in December.
It sold more than 3.5 million copies, though its release, two months after the Nintendo 64 launched, has been blamed for holding it back. Critics praised the graphics and polish but called it more of the same. A 2005 Game Boy Advance port replaced the whole soundtrack with new music by Wise.
How it plays today
It is the most relaxed of the three. Levels are inventive, with more puzzles and more variety than before, the snowfields and waterfalls still look rich, and swapping between a light Kong and a heavy one is a nice idea used well. Completionists get a lot: a DK Coin in every level, guarded by a Koin who must be hit from behind with a bounced steel barrel.
It lacks the punch of the first two. The music is softer and less memorable than Diddy's Kong Quest, Kiddy has none of Donkey Kong's weight or charm, and the trading chain can feel like errands. Play it after the other two, as the gentle last chapter.
Compared with
Why it matters
The heroes here are a girl and a baby, out to rescue the two stars of the series. Dixie leads; Kiddy, big and clumsy, is the one she throws around. You play as both, and the game is designed so that neither can finish alone.
Yee and Bailenson found that people's behaviour shifts to match the body they are given in a game. Swapping between Dixie's floaty jumps and Kiddy's heavy bounce, you feel yourself play differently, careful one moment and crashing through floors the next. It is a light lesson in how much of who we are in play depends on the body we are handed.
Read: Who you are when you play →
- Yee, N., & Bailenson, J. (2007). The Proteus effect: The effect of transformed self-representation on behavior. Human Communication Research, 33(3), 271-290. doi:10.1111/j.1468-2958.2007.00299.x
What you're levelling up
You have been training these without noticing. Here is how to do it on purpose, and where it pays off away from the couch. All the skills games teach →
Problem solving
In the game. Thirteen Brothers Bear trade hints, items and services for Bear Coins, and a long chain of swaps between them opens the true ending.
Do it on purpose. Keep a list of what each Bear wants and what you've got. Work out the chain before you sail anywhere.
Off the couch. Trading favours with mates, swapping shifts, sorting who drives: life's full of little trading chains. Being the one who sorts them makes you handy.
Teamwork
In the game. Dixie floats, Kiddy is heavy enough to skip across water and smash floors. Each can throw the other to reach a ledge.
Do it on purpose. Play a level where you swap Kong at every obstacle based on who suits it best.
Off the couch. Two different people working together beat two copies of the same one. True at work, true in a relationship.
Curiosity
In the game. The overworld is a place to explore by hovercraft and speedboat, and there's a DK Coin in every level, guarded by a Koin you've got to hit from behind.
Do it on purpose. Sail somewhere on the map you haven't been just to see what's there.
Off the couch. Exploring a new city or a new hobby with someone is one of the best dates going. Be the one who suggests it.
Verdict · 8/10
Polished, generous and a little sleepy. A fine farewell to Rare's 16-bit Kongs, best saved for last.
