Giving Games A Second Chance: Donkey Kong Country 2

The vocal internet seems to always make a point that Donkey Kong Country 2 is better than 1 or 3. I have always like 1 better. I could never get into 2, with its ugly color-palette, pirate-theme, and overcomplicated world-map and coin-system. However, with the advent of the SNES Classic Edition Mini, I used Hakchi to put it on there, gave it a second chance, and I'm liking it.

I can see why people like the game. It seems like there was more work put into the levels. They are more complicated than 1's. They have a lot of verticality, as well as secrets sprinkled everywhere. I like how the animal-friends are more prominent in the game, and there are more of them. I do miss Donkey Kong, but I like Dixie Kong. I choose to play as her when I can.

I still don't like the pirate-theme. I have never liked pirates or that whole genre in media. When Splatoon had a Splatfest with pirates versus ninjas, I couldn't pick ninjas fast enough. I like the more natural look and environments of Donkey Kong Country 1. 2 has a lot of red and brown, while 1 had a lot of beautiful green and blue.

The world-map in 2 is overcomplicated. There are no visible routes and instead, you must memorize what direction on the d-pad corresponds to which destination. It's super-unintuitive.

There is also an overcomplicated coin-system that I still don't understand. Saving also requires coins after the first save. Thankfully, you can farm coins from the same level over and over again, but you shouldn't have to do that. Grinding is not good game-design.

While I do appreciate the gameplay of Donkey Kong Country 2, I do not like everything that surrounds it. I am certainly in no rush to complete the game, whereas I have completed the first game multiple times. I am still glad that I gave it a second chance.

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