Donkey Kong Country was one of Rareware’s last outings for the SNES, and it was also the first time Shigeru didn’t play any part at all in a DK game. I think he was a little jealous of how beautiful Rare made DK look because he lashed out after the game was released, calling the game "mediocre" and said people will buy anything that "looks pretty". Thankfully he later apologised for this, and revealed that he was pressured to make Yoshi’s island look as good as DKC, a request that ran against his well known ethos of fun first. If Shigsy had gone for graphics, we wouldn’t have the wii today! If you’ve never played it, this game is a side-scrolling platformer where you take the role of Donkey Kong and his friend Diddy Kong in a quest to find his stolen banana hoard. Along the way the duo meet many allies, using animals such as a Rhino, an Ostrich, a Swordfish and a Toad to help them kill enemies or traverse tricky sections of the terrain. Outside of the levels you can find various members of the Kong family who are also willing to lend their services. Grandpa Kong offers tips and advice while reminiscing about the good old days, Candy kong offers up save points (although the new state save feature of the wii means you can stop and save anywhere you want now. nice!), and Funky Kong offers up his barrel jet to help you travel around the island in style. Enemies can be jumped on, rolled into, or Donkey Kong can slap the ground with his hands to kill them. Many of the animal allies you find along the way can also attack for you. As you travel the levels you will find bananas to be collected, 100 will give you an extra life. There are also red baloons scattered through the levels which will give you an extra life, if you can grab them before they float away. The biggest part of this game, however, is the barrels. You will find them everywhere. Some on the ground like DK barrels containing your partner, or star barrels which act as a half way point to which you will return if you die. TNT barrels explode when you throw them, and steel barrels can be rolled to take out multiple enemies at once. Then of course there is the blast barrels which propel your simian stars across the landscape. Blast barrels are a large part of this game, and you will often find yourselves traversing large sections of a level without your feet ever touching the ground. This was one of the first games to use pre-rendered 3D objects in a 2D lansdcape, and it was done so well that the game still looks beautiful, even now. The soundtrack to the game is so catchy that they released an album based on it, and the strengths and weaknesses of the two characters will have you tactically switching between the two on each level, to reach a higher ledge with Diddy Kong or pound larger enemies with Donkey Kong, for example. The game is pleasantly long, with enough variety between the worlds to keep you coming back again and again, and the plethora of hidden caves and goodies will keep you searching even after you’ve completed the game. In closing, I’m sure I don’t need to say anything about this game to those who have played it, and for those who haven’t, it will be one of the best 800 points you will spend, no matter what they release over the next few years. Another Rareware classic.