Johnny vs. The Donkey Kong Land Series and GBA Ports 

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You can’t run from DK64 forever, Johnny. The power of Lanky Kong is too strong to resist.

I find it so funny that the plot of DK Land is Cranky going "You can't put this shit on a Game Boy!" and the other Kongs going "Bet". It's so meta and goofy but I think it works so well. I swear the 4th wall in Rare games is made out of plywood.

That scream when DK falls down a pit in the GBA version of Donkey Kong Country had me crying first time I heard that. I was used to the SNES original and didn't expect anything. But something about how unexpected it was to me and how goofy DK sounded had me in tears. 😂🤣😭

You can only delay the inevitable Donkey Kong 64 video for so long Johnny

You can’t hold us off of the donkey Kong 64 review forever

For those who don’t know the reason why dkc3 on gba has a different soundtrack is due to the original game having a lot of bass which wouldn’t have been done well on a gba.

Johnny has upgraded from the earbud sponsorship to the premium headphone sponsor!! They grow up so fast!! :,)

So the reason David Wise had to replace Eveline Fischer's original score for DKC3 for the Advance port was because her original score contained so many low bass notes that it would cause the GBA's speakers to literally catch on fire. If David Wise had had more time, he probably could have found a workaround for this, but he was on a tight deadline, so he composed an entire new soundtrack in less than six weeks. He said that he felt horrible about doing it because he really wanted to do right by Eveline's score, but it unfortunately couldn't be done with the tight deadline approaching.

Funny enough, DKL2 actually is a sequel to DKC2 like DKL is for DKC. Donkey Kong gets apenapped again and the island that sinks at the end of DKC2 actually rises back up from the depths of the sea, which explains why certain areas are combined and why certain levels were cut. However, this was only in the instruction booklet (similarly to how DKL1's story was only in the instruction booklet).

21:10 Legitimately cracked up laughing 😂

Johnny is desperately trying to hold off the Donkey Kong 64 video

I had DKC on game boy color as a kid, I completely forgot how awful the controls were until watching this

Donkey Kong Land's got some nostalgia for me being a GBA kid who would always scrounge for the older titles that I could get for cheaper than full-price GBA games, so I'm glad you're giving them some love here.

DKC3 GBA was the only DKC I played as a kid, now I’m able to play the trilogy and enjoyed them immensely. However, DKC3 GBA is by far my favorite out of the entire series, nostalgia at its finest. As for the bit about DKC3 GBA’s soundtrack, it was remade because of how bass heavy the original DKC3 OST was, it’d catch the GBA speakers on fire.

Honestly DK traveling to an urban city in the final level of Donkey Kong Land 1 does surprisingly help add some Mario lore and give some evidence that he is the founder of New Donk City lol

I have fond memories of playing Donkey Kong Land 1 and 3. DKL1 was one of my first every GameBoy games, so that one especially holds a special place in my heart.

DKC3 GBA has a new soundtrack because of hardware limitations, but not the kind you'd expect! The original game has a very deep and bassy quality thanks to Novakovic's (nee Fischer) fascination with low ambient drones. When Wise was converting the tracks to the GBA, he found that the speakers on the GBA could not produce the low sounds the original soundtrack had, and left the music altogether very much lacking a backbone. You can hear this a lot on the soundtracks to DKC1 and DKC2 on GBA as well: Fischer's compositions in "Life in the Mines", "Misty Menace" and "Cave Dweller Concerto" take pretty big hits in the conversion. So, instead of fussing about with the conversion with a deadline breathing down his neck, Wise decided to just compose a new soundtrack, which took three weeks supposedly.

Its a damn shame that the DK Land games are forgotten, hopefully they make it onto NSO when Nintendo realizes their GB emulator leaked months ago.

I like how you can visibly see the DK64 cartridge on Johnny's game self at the start, then he pulls it off to show everyone at the end. Really nice little attention to details there.

The music in the DKL games kicks arse. I was really surprised at how great they sound in 8-bit.

HE HAS MUCH STYLE HE HAS SOME GRACE THIS JOHN NEEDS TO PICK UP THE PACE

20:30 According to David Wise, the reason they made a new soundtrack was because the SNES soundtrack had a lot of instruments, etc. that would be poorly represented on the GBA, and it was actually easier to make an entirely new soundtrack than trying to port it over.

I believe that the reason for DKC3 GBA's new soundtrack is just that the GBA's sound hardware doesn't handle low pitches very well, so they had to redo the music for the DKC3 remake since the original soundtrack is pretty much nothing but low pitches.

I appreciate how the artwork of Johnny at the end is tan monochromatic like DK Land.

From what I looked up, DKC 3's original music was supposed to be in the GBA version, however when they tried the GBA hardware caught fire ._.

Fun fact, that laugh they gave Kroc the sniper in the GBA version of DKC3 is Baron Samedi's laugh from Goldeneye 007.

Dread it. Run from it. Expansion arrives all the same. *Donkey Kong 64 is inevitable*

I just rewatched the DKC trilogy video yesterday.

I wouldn't say that DKL3 is the same as it's country counterpart. The story in Land 3 is a race to the Lost World whereas in Country 3 you are rescuing DK and Diddy from Kaos. Plus while the level styles are the same for the most part, all the levels are brand new. Also the pun names on all the DKL3 levels are very Rare-esque - they did love a good pun! The race is also why the Super Game Boy border for DKL3 is clocks as it's all about a race against time to see if you beat K Rool to the lost world.

Johnny has delayed the DK64 suffering by another few weeks. I hope not having to see Lanky Kong was worth it.

I never knew any of these ports existed but I gotta say it's honestly kinda impressive that they made the games have such a similar look to the SNES originals on GB hardware. Even if it makes the game muddled and confusing to look at

Fun story involving Donkey Kong Land.. got the game for Christmas of ‘95 along with a Super Game Boy. Like all of my Game Boy games, I wrote my name on the back in red marker. Some time around ‘98 I sold all my NES and Game Boy games.. Fast forward to a decade later, I was getting back into collecting games and happened to be shopping at a retro game shop about an hour away from where I grew up. I spotted that banana yellow cart behind the glass case and asked to purchase it. I get home and go to pop the cart into my GBA only to find “jeremy” written on the back in red marker. Sometimes weird things happen like that.

Oh, I thought DK64 was next. We got japed! One would even say… _Jungle_ Japed?

1:45 "oh these are pretty cool bananas"

Just gotta say, DK Land 1 has a rom hack that gives it a full color pallette. It also has some QOL changes

The GBA ports of the DKC trilogy were how i first played these games, which eventually led me to play the original SNES trilogy. I was surprised by how different the presentation was and all the neat little things they added to the GBA ports. These versions may not be as good as the original ones, but they still have a place in my heart and i think there's a lot to appreciate about them.

Boy, I started laughing before he fell in the pit and I missed the punchline, I had to rewind cus it caught me off guard 🤣

Also worth mentioning, didn’t the GBA games have actual opening (and maybe even ending) cutscenes that actually told the story instead of it only being done in the manuals (or an in-game text box for the sequels) of the SNES games?

Donkey Kong Country 3 on the GBA was what got me hooked on the series. I had played the first game on GBA before but 3 really captivated me as a kid. Love that you not only liked the new stages, but loved the new soundtrack as well. It’s sad that the new David Wise tracks are generally forgotten in discussions of the series’ music.

Yeah, I agree that the first DK Land is rough around the edges, but man I played it so much that all of that just kinda became invisible. You beat a game a dozen times and the annoyances kinda become funny little quirks that enhance the experience. Except those platforms you have to jump on to change direction in the cloud levels. Those must've not bugged you very much.

Actually Johnny, Donkey Kong Land 3 has a different story like the first game. The Kongs (Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong included) and King K. Rool enter a scavenger hunt contest to find the Lost World and collect the goodies (DK coins, tokens, watches) scattered throughout the land.

The game boy may have been limited hardware wise but they still put out some really good platformers on it

I'm glad Johnny reviewed the land games. I didn't have a snes growing up, so I had to play these to enjoy the Donkey Kong series. I'm glad that Nintendo made these who kinda wanted to enjoy the country games but didn't have the system for it. They may not be quite the same quality as the console counterparts, but take what you can get

i'm amazed you covered gbc dkc since that was my first dk game as a kid and few people i know ever heard of that port. i have played the original since, and yeah the gbc version isn't great, but for someone who didn't have an snes it was neat to at least experience it somewhat.

Probably played the DKC GBA ports a bit more than the originals back in the day, owned the first 2 and emulated the third. Learned to 100% them all (as they differ a bit from have SNES originals) via a special web guide of the official Spanish Nintendo website of all places, which has surprisingly stayed up for many years. There was someone who did a color restoration of the first port and it looks great, hoping to see the other 2 games converted too. Also waiting for restored covers of the new soundtrack of DKC3 too. Edit: Johnny should also look up SMB Deluxe and the Super Mario Advance series someday, the YI and SMB3 ports even have new levels to boot

With the runaway success of the Game Boy, it was no surprise that there would be Donkey Kong games for it, with Donkey Kong Land being almost like the original, but Rare threw some curveballs to subvert expectations. For the latter two Donkey Kong Land games, however, it made sense to be simple conversions of Country 2 and 3, given the amount of games Rare would go on to release on the Nintendo 64. And it wouldn't be just the GBA ports of Donkey Kong Country that Rare got to work on, they made a few other GBA games as well, as well as a game (or two) on the Nintendo DS, but I'm sure those will have their spotlight in due time.

Story regarding my copy of Donkey Kong Land that spans 20 years: I loved Donkey Kong Country but did not have an SNES in 1994, I was merely a Game Boy... boy. Imagine my joy when DK Land came out. I loved this game, because it was the closest thing I had to the real thing at home. But trouble was brewing: the save system is so bizarre on DKL that I never made it very far, and eventually it stopped saving at all. Initially I thought maybe I was doing something wrong, but after pouring over the manual I couldn't get the game to save my progress. I concluded my game was likely broken, but when I was young didn't know how to get it fixed or returned. I could hear a spring/rattling sound in the cartridge, but I think I just gave up and moved onto DKL 2 when that was released. In 2017 with an engineering degree in hand, confidence with a soldering iron, and a strong case of nostalgia coming over me, I unearthed my old collection from my folks house. I opened up my copy of DKL, and sure enough, the battery terminal had come loose (probably back in 1995) and the game wouldn't save progress because of it. It was an easy fix that I was able able to perform some 20 odd years later. Still haven't worked up the tenacity to finish the game, for all the reasons Johnny points out in the video, but I would say the inspiration is there.

Fact concerning the fuzzy/glitchy graphics in Donkey Kong Land, I played the original on a grey original GameBoy back in the day and it did the same thing. It just happens sometimes.

Lots of nostalgia for this one. These and WarioLand were the best games on the OG Game Boy.

For some odd reason, I really love 3, but I guess it just has to do with how much...stuff there is to do:3 Also, 21:09 is a great reaction!

"These are some pretty cool bananas"- Famous Last Words

For future note, there's actually rom hacks out there that convert the first two Land games to Game Boy Color as well, which go a long way in differentiating what's what thankfully. There's also a SNES palette restoration for DKC1 GBA, bless the fans.

The gameboy color port of DKC game was how I first played it as a kid

I had the first DKC game on GBA, and Tree Top had the BEST music. I'd just stay on that level for half an hour listening to it. It plays with the melody so much more than the original.

13:19 There's an English patch for DK Land 3 on the GBC, thankfully.

19:47 Most of us who have played GoldenEye to completion will recognize that laugh sample as the exact same one used for Baron Samedi, just at a normal pitch.

I remember completing the original DKL on my Clear "Play it Loud" OG Gameboy... In a probably completely unrelated note I started to need to wear glasses to school around that time... 🤦

11:49 Well at least Johnny featured a short clip of the second season of the DKC TV series.

First instance of New Donk City? Outside Kong '94

I hope we get a Returns and Tropical Freeze video too, so Johnny can rage at the temple stages

I loved the DK land series, I didn't have a snes as a kid, so this was my introduction to the country series!

Grant's story of almost quitting on the spot having to convert Stickerbrush Symphony to GB is a story that still tickles me to this day. GBA DKC3's OST is so cool and funny to essentially have another Sonic CD OST situation since there's alot to pick and choose of which is preferable. I definitely feel like alot of Wise's songs were made with the Pacifica's stages in mind. Stilt's village is the peak example but also I think its just a needs to be experienced moment so I'll leave that there. Also think its cool they moved Barbaros to Pacifica he fits more there.

My first video game I ever played was the GB Color port of DKC1. I was on a camping trip and my dad snuck the GBC with us much to my moms dismay. It was a boring day around the campsite and he let me try it and I fell absolutely in love. Following that, when we got home he finally showed me and let me try Mario 64 and Mario Sunshine on his N64, GC, and that christmas we got a Wii and I found my favorite game of all time; Mario Galaxy. And while Mario will always be my favorite, like Mario, I owe the start of my gaming career to DK ;)

To paraphrase Scott the Woz, "Back then it was like: 'wow! it's Donkey Kong on the go.' Now it's like: 'wow! they sold this!'"

It's interesting that Mega Mean Classic and X have GB/GBC entries that got more unique compared to the console games as they went on while DKC went the opposite. Although sometimes that works out better, so who's to say which one ages better in the long run.

That sniper voice in DKC3 GBA sounded a lot like Baron Samedi in Goldeneye 64.

Jeez, K. Roll jumps around in DKL1 like an Olympic athlete. He's been certainly eating his Captain Crunch cereal.

I haven't played DK64, but I heard at least with the colored bananas they're not as bad as people make them out to be since you don't need to collect them all to get 100%.

I'm mostly familar with these because of Proton Jon's mindfuck of a playthrough of DKC where he basically swapped versions each part.

I'm so glad you covered the DK Land series. I would play this in highschool in the back of the library. This was while other students playes with Nintendo DSs

Great job on this review, by the way. It's in depth and funny with nice production quality.

19:38-19:40 Always got a chuckle when Donkey Kong died due to that voice

nice to hear someone talk about these games

I only ever had the Donkey Kong Country port for the Game Boy Color. Whenever someone told me that DKC looked amazing and was one of the best games ever, I thought they were insane. Took me years to realize that they were talking about a different version of the game :/

i had donkey land on the OG gameboy, the big grayboy! I remember being like 5, with the big ass gameboy in my tiny hands. I vaguely remember the cartridge being banana yellow...

Protip: When saying something about the sound "Sound extra crunchy" "All the kremlins... have something unique now". They play a clip of the sound.

Donkey Kong Land has a color fan hack that really improves the clarity

Of all the portable titles I had to have the GBC DKC one lol (a Japanese one even, I think it was called DK 2001) and at least to the preteen me, it was pretty cool lol Can't wait to see your vid on DK64 though. Also good luck if you're going to 100% it !

22:24 because anything resembling the halfpipes is a cardinal sin according to johnny xD

glad this video came out when it did, I can now work on some stuff while listening/watching this on the side

you make the warmest videos on RU-vid. thank you

I was not expecting you to talk about GBA ports after your but you did it anyway thanks and theses are my go to way of experiencing the trilogy

"I read her highscore initials as Cock" well to be fair we are talking about Candy Kong here

Donkey Kong Land 2 was the game that defined my experience with the Game Boy! I spend so much time trying to 100% that game and get every DK Koin and Kremkoin! Good times. I remember Klubba guarding the entrance to the Lost World and would only let you in if you pay him. It made me think of Klubba wasn't really a bad Kremling but basically sides with whoever if you pay him.

On the Land games: while DKL 3 came out on the GBC in Japan exclusively, luckily there is a hack out there that translates that GBC game back into English. Additionally, both DKL 1 and 2 have EXTREMELY good colorization hacks, which make the games infinitely more playable and prettier to look at, while also adding extra stuff like Time Attack modes and other additions. I highly recommend you guys check them out!!!

When you showed the difference between Fisher’s and Wise’s music tracks, I couldn’t believe it. That was jarring.

Ahhhh, Donkey Kong Land, my first (and until recently) only foray into the DKC franchise. Gonna be interesting to see you tackle these!

Never a bad day when I get Johnny in my notification feed I remember having vague memories of my childhood playing all 3 DKC games on my SNES, though the one that stuck out in my mind was always the 2nd one. Must've been the slappin' music.

Great video as always John. Was hyped to see you look at the GBC port of DKC 1 it was my first DK game as a kid...yeah...never could beat it lol.

DKL3's plot is _slightly_ different. Centering around the Lost World. DKC GBC has an exclusive level, believe it or not.

Funky: ¡¿Donde esta mi review de Donkey Kong 64?! Johnny: Se fue Funky: *¡¡¡SE FUEEEEEEE!!!!!* 🤯

That fishing game unlocked a core memory. I played it so much on the gba

Johnny tricked me with his foreshadowing in the last episode that he would review DK64 next. But obviously there was still more Donkey Kong titles to cover before it would lead to that. Though I wish him all the luck trying to beat Donkey Kong 64, cause getting the collectibles in that is especially tedious as a lot of people already know.

watching this video made me realise that the GBC version of DKC is the one I played most growing up (because my SNES broke).. but weirdly I sometimes forget the GBC version of the game even exists.

I think you might wanna look into a backlit mod for the GB/GBC, there's some for the original GBA also.

The reason dkc3 has a new soundtrack is because of all the low notes in the SNES soundtrack. Consistent low pitched can cause a gba to overheat and even set fire

possibly the only dude on youtube to actually dig into the donkey kong series. somecallmejohnny and antdude, are the best guys on youtube, since avgn slowed down

Oh right, this is where Ape City shows up. Very interesting to see new gen DK and co in a big city setting for sure. Would be cool to see New Donk in a new DK and have the Kong fam traverse it, I'm sure that location is juuuuust under used enough to not be annoying atm lol

The nostalgia I have for that DKC port on the GBA is unmatched: It came bundled with the SP I got for Christmas when I was 4 and it's been one of my favorites ever since. I have the SNES version now but I might go back to the port just to collect some snapshots and play the minigames. I've gotten 101% on the SNES but I have yet to do it with the added content on GBA!