Donkey Kong Country (1994)

⭐ 7.5/10

(Originally written by Joseph)

I played this on the switch which is totally the way to play it. It offers unlimited, instant save states so you can retry every challenge in a split second and there are no game overs, almost like Celeste. This definitely takes away from the sense of relief and accomplishment, but if I played it the true way this score would have been much lower. This game is so incredibly hard and so punishing. I can't imagine how kids ever beat it without losing their minds.

I played this in part as a nostalgia trip because it's one of the few old games I played as a kid, and I enjoyed reliving that. There is certainly something timeless about this game between the music, the decently tight platforming, and the impressive graphics for a game that is... *checks notes* Twenty six years old?! With that said, this game is also janky as hell, with enemies respawning in mid air as you jump, being forced to jump into traps you can't see off screen, the randomness of enemy movement, etc. But again, the save states make this a pretty enjoyable 5 hour trip down memory lane. The SNES was the true golden age of gaming and I'm looking forward to quickly running through a few more titles.