Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble!

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Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble!
Developer(s)	Rare
Publisher(s)	Nintendo
Composer(s)	David Wise Eveline Fischer
Platform(s)	Super NES/Super Famicom Game Boy Advance Virtual Console
Release date(s)	Super Nintendo Entertainment System PAL December 19, 1996 NA November 22, 1996 Game Boy Advance EU November 4, 2005 NA November 8, 2005 AUS December 4, 2005 Virtual Console NA December 24, 2007 PAL December 25, 2007
Genre(s)	Platform
Mode(s)	Single player, multiplayer
Rating(s)	ESRB: E, K-A (SNES) OFLC: G PEGI: 3+
Media	32-megabit Cartridge

Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble! is a platform game developed by Rare and published by Nintendo as the final installment in the original Donkey Kong Country trilogy. It was released in late 1996 for the Super NES/Super Famicom. The game was ported to Game Boy Advance (with a different soundtrack; see "Re-Releases") and released in Autumn 2005. The title was released on the Wii's Virtual Console service in North America on December 24, 2007, and the following day in Europe as a special Christmas update.

Characters: Dixie Kong, Kiddy Kong, Donkey Kong (guest appearance), Diddy Kong (guest appearance), Cranky Kong, Swanky Kong, Funky Kong

Overview

In this game, Dixie Kong and her toddler cousin Kiddy Kong have to discover the location of missing vacationers (they went on a fishing trip) Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong. Meanwhile, the Kremling Krew returns under the leadership of the mysterious robot KAOS, who K. Rool (called Baron K. Roolenstein in this game and now dresses as a mad scientist) is secretly controlling.

Unlike the previous installment, which featured a pirate high-seas adventure theme, this game has more of a mix between a mechanical theme (especially the technological island of Mekanos) and a generic theme similar to the first game, but unlike Donkey Kong Country 's often tropical sceneries, this game features locations much more similar to northern Europe and similar climates, including the presence of snowy mountains, cliffs, waterfalls and a group of allies called Brothers Bear. The events of the game were located in the Northern Kremisphere, a hitherto unseen part of the DK Isles. The GBA version did not have an Intro Story, unlike the other two.

Screenshot of the level Riverside Race, present in the second world.

New Gameplay Elements

This third installment tracks your progress through the game using a percentage similar to the first two games. Following the tradition of the others, the total possible percentage is 100% plus the installment number; in this case, a total of 103%, the highest of the series. An additional 2% can be achieved when cheats are applied which turn off the Halfway barrels and DK barrels, which makes the gameplay much more difficult. Returning also are the collectible DK coins that first appeared in the second game, with one hidden in each level. Unlike in Donkey Kong Country 2, rather than simply having to track down the hidden coin, the player must solve a small puzzle involving using a rolling barrel to strike an enemy using the coin as a shield from behind.

Dixie Kong retains essentially the same move set she had in the second game. Diddy Kong is replaced by Kiddy Kong, who plays more similarly to Donkey Kong. Kiddy also has a few new moves previously unseen in the series - he is able to repeatedly bounce along the surface of water during a roll by pressing the jump button with the correct timing, and he is able to throw Dixie significantly farther when he is carrying her on his shoulders than any other Kong family member combination.

The hub world is more open-ended when it comes to exploration, for the first time allowing the player to stray from set paths between established area or level markers. As a result, hidden areas can be found by traveling to the right location on the world map, also a first for the series. Most of these hidden areas have a collection of colored crystals that are arranged to mirror the button colors and locations on the traditional Super Nintendo controller; in a game very reminiscent of Simon, the player is required to repeat a series of tones that sound when a crystal lights up, using the buttons on the controller, to acquire hidden items. On the SNES, the buttons used are those which match the colours of the crystals (A B X and Y), while on GBA, the D-pad is used, matching the crystals positions on the screen, although the SNES colours remain.

Also introduced in this game is an expanded inventory system, allowing the Kongs to hold up to four items at a time that can be exchanged for lives, coins, or other hidden items.

Soundtrack

DKC3's soundtrack was composed by Eveline Fischer and David Wise, although Fischer produced most of the music in the game.^[1]

GBA Re-Release

As with the past two Donkey Kong Country games, a Game Boy Advance port was developed by Rare. The title omits the original's subtitle "Dixie Kong's Double Trouble!". Amongst the changes is Pacifica, a bonus world exclusive to the GBA version of the game, accessible halfway through. This differs from other GBA ports like Yoshi's Island, where new stages only become accessible after the game's completion. With Pacifica put into the game, the boss known as Barbos was moved there, and in its place was a whole new boss, Kroctopus. The port also featured a new cheat menu and an all-new soundtrack composed by David Wise [1] from the ground up which replaced the original. GameSpot said in their review that the music was in some cases better than the original, such as the boardwalk levels of Lake Orangatanga.^[2] The port also had a number of minor changes, including a brighter screen, around the time when the Game Boy Advance SP had the backlight refitted. Wrinkly Kong's save caves are also omitted, having being replaced by Cranky's Dojo. Swanky's bonus games now feature a virtual reality where the player must collect stars. Some of the Brothers Bear locations and items were altered as well. This is also a side effect of Pacifica's addition, as an extra bear location was added.

Reception

Reception
Aggregate scores
Aggregator	Score
GameRankings	85%[3] (SNES) 75%[4] (GBA)
MobyGames	88 of 100[5] (SNES) 76 of 100[6] (GBA)
Review scores
Publication	Score
Electronic Gaming Monthly	8.12 of 10[3] (SNES)
Game Informer	9 of 10[3] (SNES) 8.5 of 10[7] (GBA)
GamePro	[8] (GBA)
GameSpot	7.8 of 10 [2] (GBA)
GameSpy	[9] (GBA)
IGN	8.5 of 10[10] (SNES) 7.5 of 10[11] (GBA)
Nintendo Power	8 of 10[7] (GBA)
Play Magazine	9 of 10[7] (GBA)
Yahoo! Games	[12](GBA)

The game went to sell 2.89 million copies worldwide, with 1.7 million copies sold in Japan, and has a 86% (SNES) and a 75% (Gameboy Advance) on GameRankings, the lowest of the three Donkey Kong Country games. The game was significantly hurt by the release of the newer generation Nintendo 64 console which was released at about the same time.

References

External links

• Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble! at MobyGames