By using this site, you agree to our Privacy Policy and our Terms of Use. Close

2. Donkey Kong Country 2

It was almost a flip of a coin to place this higher than DKC, but I think I can just about be comfortable placing it here. After DKC became my favourite game ever, I was thrilled to see a sequel appear so quickly. Casting the sidekick in the starring role and making him save the hero never seemed odd to me, but as I look back on it, I wonder how they managed to pull it off (and again in DKC 3), it's difficult to imagine people accepting a new main Sonic, Mario or Crash Bandicoot game where the star is removed.

Of course the graphics are as wonderful as ever, even slightly improved, and the music is perhaps even better than DKC. But the real change is in gameplay. So many new ideas were added to almost every area of gameplay and level design. I think there is much more variety here than DKC. Whether that's better or just less focused, I don't know, which is why I have a hard time ranking these two. Sometimes I think the extra variety is better, sometimes I think the simplicity of DKC works better. Regardless, I think this (and perhaps DKC) is the pinnacle of 2D platforming.

Just like DKC, the SNES rom has been released on newer consoles and is the best way to play. DKC 2 also got a GBA remake, which is pretty good, once again adding a few extras but falling short of the SNES greatness in every major area.