DKC Atlas Forum

[Blaziken257]

I don't know why. I just do. Maybe it's just because they were the first DK games that I've had and because of that, I happen to be better at them than the DKC games. Or maybe it's just because it's 8-bit and that the graphics push the Game Boy to its limits. Or some of the uniqueness (particularly in DKL). Whenever I play these games, I get some charm that the DKC games don't (don't get me wrong, I love the DKC games too). Anyone agree?

[CM August]

I can't speak for DKL 2 and 3 (because I don't own them) but I adore the first DKL; I still pull out the manual from time to time. Such an appropriate story in light of Cranky's endless grumbling in DKC. The game added a little more depth and a little more surrealism to Donkey Kong Island and its stages, and the music was fantastic. You're right, it does have a different feel to it. It's hard to describe, but it's more of a bouncy go-getter atmosphere, which I mostly credit the music for.

Overall it was a very clever game, and one of my best purchases for the Game Boy. Come to think of it, DKL was also my first GB game, picked up wth the limited edition Game Boy Pocket Gold. Ah, memories...

[Kowbrainz]

I really need to buy the original DK Land someday. I own the second and third games... but only ever played a bit of the first. Might be fair to say I've been missing out.

As for the other two, they may not have been as original as the concepts within Donkey Kong Land, but the gameplay was still very solid and brings back a lot of good memories.

[Graf Saecula]

I certainly have a lot of fond memories of playing the DKLs. Sure, when compared to their console cousins they can't hold up that well, but back in the day, when my sole game system was a monochrome Game Boy, they delivered enough to satisfy my hunger for good platformers.

Out of the three, I definitely like the first the most. Thanks to its many unique features and the catchy music I still dig it out every now and then. DKLIII is nice, too. It didn't introduce a lot of new material like the original DKL did, but it mixed the known DKC3 elements a bit up and presented them in a new way with a different story, a new game world and less gimmicky levels than its big idol.

Unfortunately, my former favorite DKL2 has fallen deep ever since I got my hands on its SNES predecessor. It's so unoriginal that even today I'm unsure whether I should believe all the talk about Crocodile Isle's re-emerging or if I should just view it as a remake of DKC2 without an actual place in the timeline. Excuse me, but since we have a portable version of the real DKC2 I don't see a reason to play this game anymore, although it gives me a bit of nostalgia to listen to its bleepy soundtrack.

[kchrules]

I really need to buy the original DK Land someday. I own the second and third games... but only ever played a bit of the first. Might be fair to say I've been missing out.

As for the other two, they may not have been as original as the concepts within Donkey Kong Land, but the gameplay was still very solid and brings back a lot of good memories.

Same here except I have a rom of DKL and I'm currently at the 3rd world.

[Blaziken257]

Let me guess, you're at Sky High Caper, the second cloud level, with the lifts that you can control by jumping on them?

[PotoGamer]

I remember that level...It's the second hardest level in the whole DKC+DKL series! (The first one being Animal Antics) I remember being at the exact end, when I did a wrong jump and fell off the platform.

[Rodent]

I should ROM DKL someday...

[kchrules]

Let me guess, you're at Sky High Caper, the second cloud level, with the lifts that you can control by jumping on them?

I think so, I don't usually play it that much. I should make time though, it's a fun game.

[Katastrophe Kong]

I don't play the DKL series much, but I feel as if I should more often. Does that count ?

[gamer_boy997]

I picked up the first game of this trilogy today for under $10, and it's pretty fun, it's like DKC, only with several twists:

Spoiler!

1. In order to save the game, you have to collect the KONG letters.
2. Enemies from DKC return, along with brand new enemies!
3. Backrounds and terrains from DKC return, along with some new ones!
4. There are coins in each level to collect.
5. Cranky's Cabin is not on the map, good luck!
6. If you win a boss fight, you get 30 bananas.
7. Get ready for an aquatic boss fight.

However, it does have it's cons:

Spoiler!

1. There's only two animal buddies, NO ENGUARD .
2. Aquatic levels are very repetitive.
3. Lots of glitchy sprites.
4. Cheap pit deaths.

Fun fact: As your Game Boy boots up, press an arrow on the control pad to change the basic color of the game!

I'm already on the 3rd world, and I even passed that cloud level everyone finds difficult . Will there be any replay value when I beat the game?

[Cyclone]

I didn't think DkL1 had any replay value, however it did take me a long time to find all of the bonus areas.

Dkl3 had the time attack mode. Never played DkL2 since it was more or less just a port.

[Tompa]

I just finished DKL, 100%, today. I think the game is quite rubbish.
The camera is one main reason. It isn't scrolling fast enough, sometimes not at all. It sucks that when you jump on a tree, and jump down from it again, you may die because the camera hasn't scrolled down enough to see the ground. Or when you are bouncing on an enemy and shall land on the ground afterwards, it's so frustrating.

Other times the camera isn't moving at all. Such as when you are using Expresso and are trying to land on the ground. You know that the ground is just below you, but the camera isn't reacting.

The physics aren't too great either. If there's an enemy close to a hole you think that you can just roll into it and then jump over the hole. But too bad. As the rolling is much slower than running, you won't clear the gap and will fall down and die.

To find all bonuses you'll sometimes have to just randomly drop down in a hole. There's no way you can see the barrel and there are no bananas or similar that shows that a bonus is near. DKC had this, so why not DKL?

There are good things about this game as well, of course. And comparing it to the SNES version might not be the best as the system is much better overall. But they could have improved it a lot at least.

[FefeRawft]

I liked them too, they had great potential, but there just seem to be a lot of things that needed to be fixed. I can only hope that they ever re-release these on the DS with better graphics and physics.

[The Kirby]

I have to agree that DKL1's controls were pretty bad. Sure, it had new levels, worlds, and enemies, but all of that new-fangled stuff gets bogged down when you have a hard time experiencing it without dying due to cheap controls.

There was an unusual, overly-weighted feel to the physics in DKL, in that you'd fall quickly and it was hard to control horizontal momentum. Riding Rambi or Expresso was like platforming on Jupiter.

Also, when you jumped on an enemy, you'd bounce into the air at a frantic speed and fall down equally fast. In the early levels, this wasn't a big problem, but as the game got harder, you'd often find yourself bouncing above screen, unable to see, or you'd be on a small platform and not able to control your momentum well enough so you could land on the platform again safely (the cloud levels that had the tiny platforms, particularly the second one, come to mind.)

I prefer the sequels to the first game due to the poor controls. Otherwise, I'd like the first game more.

[FefeRawft]

Ya, your right, the only one that needs to be re-released is DKL1, but it would seem weird to take only one out of a trilogy without doing the same with the others. That's like re-realeasing one of the Star Wars movies from the original trilogy, without doing the same with the others. It just seems.... wierd.