Donkey Kong 64

Genre: Platformer
Developer: Rare Ltd., Nintendo
Platform: Nintendo 64
Release: 1999
Rating: E

- Graphics -

Like Majora's Mask (reviewed earlier this month), the N64's expansion pak really got a chance to shine here. The character models were smooth and wonderfully animated in a comical way. My only complaint was the general lack of texture in many places, or textures without much contrast.

Graphics: 9/10


- Story -

Oh god... K. Rool wants to blow up Donkey's island, but his ship crashes. Donkey & co. must collect golden bananas before he repairs the ship. Why do bananas help him? I forget. All I know is the story was extremely ridiculous and made absolutely no sense. It's never even explained WHY K. Rool wants to blow up the island, from what I remember! Perhaps it was played in an earlier DKC game? Not a good idea to skip important things like that, even so.

Story: 2/10


- Gameplay -

While the gameplay was well-varied and challenging in a good way, there was just so MUCH to collect that it made the game nearly impossible to finish within decent amount of time. 5 characters, each with separate items in eight or nine different stages, made the backtracking involved tedious and confusing many times, especially in the more confusing levels such as Frantic Factory. For the record: there are a total of 3,821 items recorded on the various menu screens.

Gameplay: 5/10


- Music -

I do enjoy the way the same themes were played in different ways in various parts of each stage. For the most part, the tunes were catchy and enjoyable, though not something I'd listen to outside of the game.

Music: 7/10

Total Score: 6/10

Not available for other systems.