Most levels in Donkey Kong Country revolve around one key dynamic, be it swinging ropes, timed barrel jumps, mine carts, stop and go barrels, or being underwater. When the game throws the Kongs into unstoppable mine carts, jumping through a rickety shaft, it feels like a logical progression of what you’ve already played. The game works best at a breakneck speed, jumps feeding off each other. Donkey Kong Country is a favorite of speedrunners, and it’s easy to see why. But playing it today, what stands out most is the pace. Rareĭonkey Kong Country’s bright and colorful backgrounds stand out even today, as does the fact that it features two characters on the screen at the same time. Choosing Kong, Rare created a game that could more than stand its own with Aladdin or any or side-scrolling game of the era.ĭonkey Kong Country's levels varied in their mechanics, and allowed for help from animal friends. Impressed by what they saw, Nintendo upped its investment to 49 percent of the company with hopes that the Stampers could spin CGI gold out of their catalog of characters. Nintendo discovered that this was because the company had invested its Battletoads money into Silicon Graphics workstations that vaulted the studio into the technical elite of its day. Run by brothers Chris and Tim Stamper, the company had made a splash with the previous NES system with their popular Battletoads game, but had been mostly quiet during the 16-bit era. Looking beyond its horizons, the company decided to purchase a 25 percent share in a British company known as Rare. Nintendo could stand to lose bloodthirsty teenagers, but not kids.

More than the bloodiness and gore of Mortal Kombat, Nintendo worried about a game that had come out the previous year on the Genesis: the adaptation of Disney’s Aladdin, which looked and felt like an interactive cartoon.

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