Every stage has 1-3 bonus levels which are accessed either by breaking walls, picking up cannonballs and carrying them to their corresponding cannons, or, more often than not, finding and making your way into a marked bonus barrel. The bonus levels from DKCВ return, though DKC2 utilizes them in a much more structured way. ItвЂ™s hard, even now, to get through levels like Bramble Blast or Chain Link Chamber and not be taken aback at how ingenious the design is nearly every step of the way, that not a single moment in these stages was taken for granted and not realized to its fullest potential for the amount of fun you could have with them.ДKC2 is also more rewarding in a more tangible sense. Yes, weвЂ™re still running to the right and collecting stuff, but doing so is a much more tense and enjoyable affair thanks to a much greater focus on level design, a field in which DKC2represents almost unparalleled skill for its day. From the sparkling, gem-filled chasms in Crocodile Cauldron, to the murky, moody swamps of Barrel Bayou, and the surreal, haunting woods of Gloomy Gulch, the locales of DKC2В are as much the heroes of this tale as the plucky simians out to traverse them.ДЄnd traversing them is a lot more fun and rewarding. The gameвЂ™s environments get increasingly varied as you leave the ship, but everywhere you go you get a much stronger sense of identity with DKC2В than with the first game. The tone has changed drastically for the darker, which almost sounds ridiculous considering that this is a game about monkeys rescuing a gorilla from a crocodile dressed like a pirate. From the moment the introductory screen fires up, you know well that this game isnвЂ™t concerned with being cool or hip to the trends of the era, but is much more preoccupied with being epic, and it feels much more timeless than the dust-covered artifact that spawned it as a result. DKC2В begins with a cascade of sparkling treasure, a pirate ship leaving DK Island behind, and the first few ominous drum beats of the mapвЂ™s march. DKCВ begins with a thinly veiled message of youth in revolt against the un-hip-ness of old age, a funky tune, a dancing gorilla in shades, and an exploding boom box. So how exactly does DKC2В surmount DKCВ so unquestionably? It starts with its atmosphere. While essentially utilizing the same engine, it sufficiently makes DKCВ look like an awkward and unfinished experiment. Each character has a different victory dance at the end of each stage, with Diddy hauling out a boombox and Dixie wailing on a guitar, which are some nice touches.ДЄt its core, it is built quite clearly with the skeleton of its predecessor, but on top of that is a much thicker layer of muscles for it to flex in every single element of its design, from its mechanics to its aesthetics. Dixie can spin her ponytail like a helicopter in mid-air, easing the speed of her descent. Diddy can cartwheel, moves faster and can jump slightly higher. The basics of the game are essentially the same, except Diddy Kong, the sidekick of the previous game, now takes the starring role, and his female friend, Dixie Kong, tags along as the parner. Every now and then, though, a sequel comes along and not only demonstrates the same sense of mastery that the first game did, but improves upon it in every facet, creating something superior even without having the advantage of that sense of innovation and breakthrough the first game had.ДiddyвЂ™s Kong QuestВ represents this elusive ideal incarnate.ДKC2В doesnвЂ™t reinvent the platformer as we know it. Finding the right balance is a nuanced feat and an art of video game craft unto itself, and a great deal of games have suffered greatly for not tweaking things properly.

Change too little and youвЂ™ve squandered the gameвЂ™s potential. Change too much and youвЂ™ve alienated your audience or bastardized the game in their eyes. Being in charge of making a sequel to a hit game does not seem like an enviable task.

Donkey kong 2