Donkey Kong Country

Donkey Kong Country is a popular game for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, and was released in 1994. The game is known for being the first game to use pre-rendered sprites, creating a 3D effect throughout the game.

The game stars Donkey Kong - a character who had been out of the spotlight since his last starring role in Donkey Kong 3. In this game, Donkey Kong is a hero, as opposed to the antagonist as he was viewed in Donkey Kong. This time, his enemy isn't Mario, but King K. Rool and his Kremling Krew, who have stolen his precious Banana Hoard from his home, Donkey Kong Island. With the help of his nephew, Diddy Kong, Donkey must chase K. Rool to his ship, the Gangplank Galleon, and get back his bananas!

With Donkey Kong Country, Rare introduced a whole new Donkey Kong Universe to Nintendo (who now own the rights to it) - DK was no longer Mario's rival, but he was a hero in his own world!

The game also pays tribute to the arcade games in some areas: the concept of DK using barrels as weapons, Oil Drums which burn and produce enemies, elevator platforms (seen in the level 'Elevator Antics'), and the new character, Cranky Kong, DK's father, is said to be the original DK from the arcade games, while the DK in this game is his son, most likely Donkey Kong Jr..

The game has two direct sequels; Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest, and Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble, as well as a pseudo-sequel for Nintendo's Game Boy, Donkey Kong Land.

Two remakes of the game have been released. The first one came out for Game Boy Color in 2000, and sported new features such as mini-games, Game Boy Printer compatibility, and an additional level, Necky's Nutmare. However, this version has been watered down graphically to run on the Game Boy Color. In 2003, a Game Boy Advance remake was released, this one truer to the original version, but with extra features, such as a Diddy-only mode and new mini-games.