Thanks to Hamada for helping with edits.
The Game Boy boasts a sizable, respectable library. One of my favorite games for the platform is 1995’s Donkey Kong Land, a companion piece and followup to Donkey Kong Country of the year prior. However, Land doesn’t simply ape its predecessor; it complements returning elements with new stage archetypes, enemies, and a fourth-wall breaking story about Donkey Kong, Diddy Kong, and the elderly Cranky Kong reflecting upon Country’s success. Land has its own identity, unlike its direct sequel, Donkey Kong Land 2. In a complete reversal, Rare retreaded Country 2: Diddy’s Kong Quest for its portable counterpart. It’s still enjoyable, but doesn’t really offer anything new.
Gary Richards and Huw Ward of the previous Land rise as the lead designers here, complementing Kong newcomer and lead programmer Ian Manders. (Image: Nintendo)
And honestly, Rare might even agree. For Donkey Kong Land III, the studio struck a middle ground between its forebears. Land III reuses a bevy of elements from Country 3: Dixie Kong Double Trouble!, augmenting them with a new storyline starring Dixie Kong. A contest asking adventurers to unearth a fabled Lost World has lured a number of entrants, including series stalwarts Donkey and Diddy. However, they unwisely did not invite Dixie to accompany them, infuriating her. Aiming to prove she’s no second banana, she grabs her oblivious cousin, Kiddy Kong, and heads out. Of course, the villainous Kremlings seek the Lost World, too…
At the onset of this quest, Dixie is alone, though hitting a DK Barrel frees the toddler. Switching between the two Kongs is done by pressing the select button. When either take a hit, they’ll vanish and control shifts to their companion. A life is lost if you take an attack without a Kong in reserve. Unsurprisingly, both Kongs keep their dash attacks, and Dixie also retains her signature Helicopter Spin, letting her hover over hazards. Sadly, Kiddy’s gimmick, skipping across water, doesn’t make the 8-bit conversation, though his superior strength still gives him an easier time vanquishing buffer baddies. Also, four of Double Trouble’s Animal Buddies make an encore, all of whom retain their attacks: elephant Ellie shoots water (without the need to recharge now, no less), swift swimmer Enguarde’s pointy nose skewers foes, fast flier Squeaks keeps his projectile, and Squitter’s can kill foes or be turned into floating platforms.
Tonally, Country 3 and Land III are goofier than their predecessors. Subsequent games take this further, flaunting talking stopwatches and space swine. (Image: Nintendo)
Anyone familiar with Donkey Kong Country 3 will ease into this smaller, easier approximation. Although Land III is technically set throughout six new worlds, five standard ones and the post-game Lost World, it inherits its big brother’s stage archetypes, enemies, and select gimmicks. Still, its level layouts are unique and more consistent with the snappier pacing of the first two Country titles, giving series veterans reason to explore. The aesthetics remain nice, maintaining the console game’s loose industrialization theme — you’ll traverse forests littered with saw blades, factories, and underwater sewers, among other environments. Notably, Country 3 and Land III reuse stage archetypes across worlds rather than giving each world a specific theme. While this is a perfectly fine approach, it does lessen the sense of progression, the anticipation of a final showdown against K. Rool.
Unsurprisingly, bananas are Land III’s most common collectible, giving players an extra life upon gathering one hundred. Rare often places them strategically, helping guide players cross chasms, dodge oncoming hazards, or locate hidden goodies. Series staples 1-Up Balloons and Banana Coins return, respectably rewarding players with an extra life and in-game cash. Exploration remains a core conceit in Kong Land, with each stage tucking away a few Bonus Barrels and one Hero Coin. As always, Bonus Barrels whisk your apes off to a minigame. Each has an objective — collecting stars or beating baddies, for example — and clearing them within their time limit yields a Bonus Coin. Meanwhile, most Hero Coins are guarded by a Koin, a nigh invincible grunt who uses the treasure as a shield. However, Koins relinquish the valuable upon getting hit in a vulnerable spot by a Steel Keg; usually, that means bouncing the barrel off a wall and into a Koin’s unguarded back.
This is the first Land to flaunt weather effects, specifically rain. It’s just a drizzle compared to the Country trilogy’s downpours, but it’s still a welcome touch. (Image: Nintendo)
Regrettably, the monochromatic portable cannot replicate Double Trouble’s expansive world maps, its evolution of the Country formula (several of Rare’s Kong alumni would later explore this concept further through Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair). There are no vehicles to ride, hidden caverns to uncover, or a bevy of Kongs and Bears to chat with. Instead, it has a straightforward map, one with only two types of shops. Visiting Wrinkly Kong lets you save your file, and “Bear” has three functions. He’ll give advice, teleport you between worlds (filling Funky’s role), and let you play a memory match minigame (which replaces Country 3’s minigames). A few concessions are made with the Kremling cronies, too. The burly Krumples don’t briefly become enraged after Dixie jumps atop them. Similarly, the sinister snowman Bleak, a boss who was fought by tossing snowballs in Double Trouble, loses that distinctiveness here.
In comparison to the previous Lands, III features the least lag. Like Land 2, it’s also pretty smart about avoiding visually busy backgrounds, keeping the action readable. Still, this issue does crop up — the cliff stages are especially egregious, with breakable platforms and enemies blending in with the rocky backgrounds. The handheld’s small screen still sometimes obscures oncoming hazards, usually in stages built around verticality. Where the previous Lands brought in new composers, Land III features the return of Country veteran Eveline Fischer, who reinterpreted her Double Trouble score. And, naturally, those with a Super Game Boy can enjoy this Land with a touch of color (side note: this Land got an enhanced release in Japan for the Game Boy Color, which released exactly twenty-two years ago).
Nabbing Hero Coins opens up stages in the Lost World. Collecting every Bonus Coin unlocks all of Bear’s puzzles, which rewards players with lives, stop watches, and the remaining Hero Coins. (Image: Nintendo)
However, Land III does make one significant contribution to the larger franchise. After clearing the Lost World with every Bonus Coin and stop watch, the true post-game opens up: the Time Attack mode, a concept later Kong titles would employ to greater ends. Here, it’s barebones, hosting only twelve stages, one representing each theme. They’re completely unaltered from the base experience, but feature a time for you to best on the stage select screen. Upon doing so, you fully complete Land III.
This is definitely Donkey Kong Land 2’s sequel; all of its warts, quirks, and successes are upheld here. Land III does feel a bit slapdash, like how it oddly keeps 2’s Diddy-shaped 1-Up Balloons rather than updating them to resemble Dixie. Nevertheless, while this Land isn’t another big technical advancement, it’s still the most technically polished of the three, showing Rare’s grown comfortable working within the Game Boy’s limitations. This game is ultimately more Donkey Kong Land, a welcome encore for Dixie — girl power, yo — and, if you’re a Kong aficionado, absolutely worth playing.
We’ve been waiting a while for the gorilla’s next adventure. If you’re seeking some Kong action, can excuse archaic aspects of Game Boy platformers, and have overlooked this trilogy, I suggest visiting Kong Land. (Image: Nintendo)
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