Donkey Kong Land
Main game
3.13 average rating based on 225 ratings
- Developers
- Nintendo, Rare
- Publishers
- Nintendo, Playtronic
- Franchises
- Donkey Kong
- Series
- Donkey Kong Country, Donkey Kong Land
- Platforms
- Game Boy, Nintendo 3DS
- Genres
- Adventure, Platform
- Themes
- Action
Release Dates
User Stats
How Long Is Donkey Kong Land?
Astonishingly Unfair
This review is for the Game Boy version
I think the designers forgot the Game Boy screen was 4-color grayscale and not the full color of the SNES. I'm positive the developers made every hit box 10 pixels larger than the art just to test my sanity. I have to agree with Game Boy Essential's review.
The art for Hogwash the Flying Pig and Gnawty Beavers earn the game an entire star. Love those two.
8 Bit Donkey Kong platforming
Donkey Kong Land is not a port of the original SNES game Donkey Kong Country. This is a good thing because you get a unique adventure instead of a downsized 8 bit version of the original. If you're a fan of Donkey Kong Country, definitely give this a try. If not, you may find yourself frustrated and not too impressed.
Donkey Kong should stay in the Country
Donkey Kong Land is basically a subpar version of Donkey Kong Country, one of my favorite games of all time. The graphics aren’t great and the levels aren’t as fun. I’m sure most of this has to do with the programming capabilities of the game boy. Also the ending was very anti climactic. Still a quick and enjoyable game with one or two challenging levels. Hoping the second and third will be better.
Even With A Nostalgia Boost, It Pales To The Great Donkey Kong Country
This review is for the Game Boy version
Preliminary: So this is the Donkey Kong game we owned growing up. I never quite truly loved it, mostly becasue I got stuck on a mid or late game level, but also because it always paled to whatever brief exposures I had to the great Donkey Kong Country. And now that I've played Donkey Kong Country through, and absolutely loved it (we didn't own that growing up, so I only got tastes/views of it elsewhere), I am worried this will pale even further. But I do have nostalgia for it, so I'm sure it'll get some boost. Plus, we didn't have a way to enjoy the perks of the SGB aspect.
Ok the music is even better than I remembered (but also familiar). And I vividly remember this save file select screen, so I think I played this more than I realized. At least the first few worlds. Then I struggled to get past a level or figure out where to go or something.
The scrolling is a bit nauseating tho. And the hit sound is annoying, as are the collision masks... and the level design... I'm not sure nostalgia and the loose connection to the excellent Donkey Kong Country …
Preliminary: So this is the Donkey Kong game we owned growing up. I never quite truly loved it, mostly becasue I got stuck on a mid or late game level, but also because it always paled to whatever brief exposures I had to the great Donkey Kong Country. And now that I've played Donkey Kong Country through, and absolutely loved it (we didn't own that growing up, so I only got tastes/views of it elsewhere), I am worried this will pale even further. But I do have nostalgia for it, so I'm sure it'll get some boost. Plus, we didn't have a way to enjoy the perks of the SGB aspect.
Ok the music is even better than I remembered (but also familiar). And I vividly remember this save file select screen, so I think I played this more than I realized. At least the first few worlds. Then I struggled to get past a level or figure out where to go or something.
The scrolling is a bit nauseating tho. And the hit sound is annoying, as are the collision masks... and the level design... I'm not sure nostalgia and the loose connection to the excellent Donkey Kong Country will earn this a 3 or more... After all, I now have access to DKC and could just uh play that instead.
Yeah I've had enoguh on the 2nd level lol.
Look: 6.5/10
Sound: 7.5/10
Play: 6.5/10
Feel: 7/10
Attachment: 7/10 Can't deny I've put hours into this game. But I also see why it was never my favorite Gameboy gaem we had, even tho it was one of the only if not the only platformer we owned (and platformer is a favorite genre of mine)
Overall: 6.9/10
Completed on emulator (no savestates)
A charmingly bad DK game, actually it barely counts as a Donkey Kong game. Wacky physics, obtuse mechanics and a few brutal levels that can ruin the overall enjoyment(?) of the game, but a lot more than are just uninteresting.
To me it was a "so bad it's good" kind of game.