(Do forgive the excess gushing about to ensue)
Everyone has games that you can intellectually sense are great and/or personally have the most fun with. But every once in a while, there's a title that's just magical. Somehow that combination of the context of its release, the presentation, the gameplay and your own personal tastes; they all come together for something that you don't just realize its well-made, that you just don't have fun with, its one that you just have a warm almost describable sense that of experiencing something almost a beyond a game for how it makes you feel and so brilliantly opens up your imagination in application to it. That for me, is Diddy's Kong Quest.
I almost feel silly talking up the gameplay given how good its reputation already is, but it's a remarkably crafted gem. I've mentioned elsewhere that DKC releases are in some ways, Sonic style titles with the language of Mario platformer. It has an organic, kinetic flow like the former series but with the tight and incredibly efficient platforming of the latter. Adding to that, if DKC1 is the Sonic 2 with kinetic speed at the cost of depth, and DKC3 is the Sonic CD with creative design at the cost of flow, DKC2 is the Sonic 3 & Knuckles of the Country series, getting that balance of depth with its exploration for secrets while rarely sacrificing the pace.
Character wise, it's a home run. Diddy and Dixie complement each other almost perfectly, with clear advantages of both in certain circumstances and neither feeling like they drag the other down. This and DKR are Diddy's triumphs, with him as the main character feeling arguably more natural than his role as a sidekick and in a lot of ways seeming like an embodiment of Rare itself stepping up to the challenge of a big sequel. Dixie's success in her debut is so striking that hit makes her lack of regard in broader culture all the more baffling. Her hair twirl is the function that makes the tricky platforming fair and even her simple visual design just works; feminine without feeling stereotypically girly and complete turnaround from the... unsuccessful attempt with Candy in the previous game.
And while all that would be enough to make DKC2 a great game, there's one major thing that turns it from simply well executed to a master class of world building and presentation: atmosphere. I don't need to tell you that the soundtrack is one of the greatest in gaming history, but it must be noted that the OST works even better because it's paired with some of best designed and most illustrative stage aesthetics in any game. I've played a lot of platformers and action games, both of the 2D and 3D variety. Mario's worlds are grand, Sonic's worlds are wildly creative, Zelda's are detailed. But Diddy's Kong Quest levels? They're real and they're alive.
You play something like Ghostly Grove with paths between the trees in the background and with that David Wise score in effect? An entire world on Krocodile Isle gets formed in your head. The vast sky in Bramble Scramble gets hints at a vast open area beyond the bramble, the deep honey combs no doubt in Honey Hole, the dangerous thickets likely there in Jungle Jinx. Great 2D games are able to use background and foreground elements that allows players to sense the world they're in while keeping things hidden away just enough that they then fill in the gaps with their own imagination. Rare with DKC2 took this the concept and made it their thesis, giving the setting a realness to it while still knowing that whatever ideas individual players have for what's beyond what they see is better than anything they could come up with.
All these combinations of factors; the blend of tight levels with kinetic movement. great implementation of characters, one of the most incredible video game scores ever made, and the accomplishment of making the aesthetics of a silly release with jumping monkeys into a watercolor painting that gives life to entire world while managing different emotional tones with lighting, shadow and color? It's a game that feels like something so much more than what it is and almost 30 years later I've found few titles that ever quite live up to the magic it has.
Diddy Kong
