Alright, since I love the control in this port so much, I think it seems like the most appropriate thing to write about. Fo sheeze. When you press B, Donkey Kong rolls. When you press A, Donkey Kong jumps. Press "Select" to switch around the characters. The roll and jump controls with the second character (Diddy) are exactly the same as Donkey, so you don't have to worry about mastering them any different. Anyways, back to jumping and rolling. Their jump is pretty high, and they roll pretty long. Donkey Kong actually rolls, while Diddy does a kind of cartwheel. Either way, they go about the same distance. Since the B button is slightly diagonally down-left from the A button, a lot of times you'll find yourself rubbing your thumb from the B button to A button. This causes DK/Diddy to roll in the middle of a roll. This is handy because you can do this slightly in the air, so it some situations you can roll above a hole and jump right at the tip to jump onto the next platform. Now, each character is slightly different, but not much. Press Down + Roll with Donkey Kong (only Donkey Kong) causes him to slap the ground. In no time flat (haha, get it, flat? POOOO!), DK can take out ground enemies from doing this, and also slap "soft spots" of ground to pull out different things, like tires to bounce on, or the collectible letters in each level. DK is also stronger than Diddy, and can take out some bigger baddies just by jumping on them, while Diddy may have to roll into them, or may just not be able to hurt them at all. While DK has his slapping thang, and is a little stronger, Diddy is also faster and smaller, and a lot of people like to control him more. Just whatever floats your noggin. You can also get 5 different animals in certain levels to ride on that each have their own special controls. The rhino charges when you press B, and jumps with A. The frog jumps extremely high with A, but doesn't do anything else. The ostrich flutters when you tap A repeatedly. The swordfish swerves quickly through the water and slices through baddies when you hit A. The parrot has no controls though, oh well. All it does is light your path.

The game is huge, just like the original. Being a Rare game, it's user friendly, and isn't too hard, but gives you a good challenge. Also, the game isn't frusturating at all, so it's a fun, fairly challenging platform that's just that, nothing you'll lose sleep over. There are 6 different worlds, and each has a different setting. One is based on jungle, one on snow, one on factory/machinery, and even one based on caves and mines. Each fits the setting right, and every level is unique with backgrounds and layout. You'll never find that you're playing the same level again. Some levels are based on a certain type of playing as well. Some are just running across the ground, some across treetops, some across vines, ropes and tires, some you'll have to swim your way through, and even some where you'll find yourself speeding along throguh a mine cart! No matter what, every level is fun and challenging, without frusturating you. So don't worry, now you won't end up wanting to slam the game through some ones head with gum stuck on the end so that they will then stick to the wall... What? Just me? Anyways, at the end of each world, there is always a boss. Each is a different boss, usually a bigger version of a normal baddy, and each have their own weaknesses. The beaver, Gnawty hops around and gets more angry and faster each time you jump on him. The huge bird pops up different sides of the screen and spews nuts at you while you attempt to jump on it's head/beak to hurt it. The bee flies around aimlessly until you throw a barrel at it, and then it gets pissed and shoots around the screen. You'll have to fight those three bosses again in the same order, but they'll each be tougher the second time. The last world boss is the barrel, which shakes out different baddies for you to kill. The quantity, and quality (toughness) of the baddies gets harder throughout the fight. All in all though, the bosses end up being fairly easy, but enjoyable. The last boss battle is the ship battle with big King K. Rool. I ain't giving you any spoilers, but I'll be telling you and yo steez now, this is tough shit. Word.

The graphics and sound of this game are incredible. Rare spared no time rendering the sprites specially to make them look just like the original SNES version's, and for an 8-bit GBC game, the graphics stay true to the original. Sure, they don't have that pseudo-3D look to them, but the game is still just as original, but you still have that DK Country feeling. Maybe it's just me, but I love this game's graphics. The backgrounds are neatly made, and the animation is incredible. There isn't one frame missing in any of the animations, Donkey and Diddy Kong still do everything the same, when it comes to rolling, pounding the ground or flipping their hats, you'll still feel some old nostalgia when you pop this in. Plus, the graphics look surprisingly amazing on the GBA's fullscreen mode (just tap L), so definately make sure to try it out with that on. It's great.
The sound is just as well made as the graphics. Seriously, I don't know how Rare pulled this off, but I'd like to thank them. The beats and melodies in this pack's tunes are EXACTLY the same as the original. Sure, it's still Dot Matrix (Reboot!) sound, but for a bunch of blips, bleeps and some tuna on the side, it sounds really good! Try playing this game with headphones and you'll see exactly what I mean. It's just like the SNES version, you'll find yourself having deja vu and humming to the songs in no time at all. The sound effects obviously aren't as good as the music, but what can you expect with the GBC? The sound of your pal chittering in the DK box sounds as close to the SNES version as I think they could possibly make it, yet it's still on the beepy side. The rest of the sound effects are just your basic jumping, landing on the ground kind of sounds, nothing new. But the music is still amazing. If Rare could manage this amazing sound on the GBC, just imagine what they could whip up if they made Donkey Kong Country 4 for the GBA?

The game has lots of extras too! There are lots special options/cheats you can earn for finding all the secret spots in the levels, and there is even a few bonus games. The bonus games don't have to be earned, they come with the pack, but they're alot of fun! In the Funky Fishing game, you control a hook from Donkey Kong's fishing line in the water. You use the control pad to move the hook around and hook onto fish, and then you press A to have it be pulled up in to the air. Then, you can just easily drop the fish into the boat to get your points. In later levels, there are cans and bad fish that make you lose points instead of gaining them, so you'll want to avoid those. There's lots of different types of fish, and although I can't stand this game, I still find myself playing it for it's addictiveness. Ooh yeah. Also, Funky Fishing can be played with 2 players, but the linked version is even worse than the original, so it's not exactly something to buy the game for. Don't expect it to be fun if you plan on purchasing this, I don't want you to be disappointed. Actually, I could really care less! You're just a puppet visiting my site. Hooh hah. Crosshair Cranky is more my kind of game. You control an aimer from a coconut gun and move around barrels, etc. while enemies pop up. A shoots coconuts and B reloads your gun. It's just as addictive as Funky Fishing but it's actually a really fun game. Some just have you killing Kremlins as quickly as you can, while others have you filling holes with coconuts while your animal pals walk across, and another shows a certain color of Kremlin, then a bunch of multi-colored ones pop up, and you can only shoot the chosen color(s). Some of them actually get pretty challenging, and it's a really fun, extra minigame. Sure, these games aren't huge, but it was good of Rare to throw them in. They didn't HAVE to, you know.

All in all, this is probably one of the best GBC games on the market. It's only for GBC, so none of you GB/GB Pocket kids can join in, but if you are a GB/GBP kid, I'm extremely surprised you haven't upgraded ATLEAST to a GBC yet. What, are you crazy? What a loser! Either you're a poser, or a sucker. Haha, if you went to a comedian he'd probably tell you jokes about being a sucker. Anyways, this is a good game. Buy it. 'Nuff said.

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