Donkey Kong Land - 8-Bit Bliss - IMPLANTgames

[@HybridAngelZero]

I find the DKL games really fascinating, I can't help but be impressed by what Rare accomplished, especially with the following two games. I'm really glad you're covering these :D

[@MapleMilk]

I love how meta this game's story is It it was explored more in game it would be kinda like MGS 2 if you squint alot

[@duffman18]

Yeah lol, Donkey Kong: Sons of Liberty has always been my favourite

[@alfiehicks1]

Nice one - not many reviews seem to give these games more than a simple overview and then complain about controls and visuals, but this video is the first good look at the game I've seen. I'm yet to play any of the DKL games, but I enjoyed playing through the Gameboy Color port of the first SNES game, so I might give these a try.

[@rezterralico4369]

The sequel is such a good port from a Snes to gameboy title (the optional unlocked levels).

[@rezterralico4369]

If you have a 3DS I think 4 dollars US/CAD a piece.

[@ToTonyProductions]

Still remember saving up to buy this game at KB Toys when I was a kid. Have that cart to this day! Great retrospective here. Love your videos!

[@implantgames]

Thank you for the kind words!

[@rezterralico4369]

Was 10 years old in October 1995 with saved up money in my bank account used to get this sucker.

[@Rountree1985]

@@rezterralico4369no 10 year old child has a bank account.

[@theraque1]

16:15 - the word you're looking for is "dissonance" which is when things don't harmonize and sounds harsh.

[@implantgames]

Fantastic, thank you!

[@BryanX64]

Music appreciation elective knowledge bomb!

[@PixelSlayers]

I didn't have an SNES growing up but I did have a Gameboy so this was actually my first exposure to a DKC-type game.

[@rezterralico4369]

Same

[@Nurah.S.S]

I only played the dkl games and when I got a Super Nintendo and tried those versions I realised how much better it was. Thought I’ll still like the dkl series

[@gameboyjsa]

I picked up this game from gamestop when they stopped selling gameboy games and all the stock was 80% off. I enjoyed it but was definitely frustrated with its difficulty. Great game overall, glad there is a less negative review

[@ElSenorMrTaco]

I'm still surprised a gameboy could handle this

[@SpoonyBard88]

With very minimal flickering, too.

[@alexman2598]

It's not that difficult to pull off, actually. Just takes up a lot of graphics space.

[@johneygd]

Mind blowing graphics for a gameboy, on gameboycolor those snow stages looks even better, whereas on the supergameboy those temple and underwater levels do look better.

[@blakfloyd]

@@alexman2598 if you showed this game to someone who'd just played through Super Mario Land in 1989 you'd have to have a new pair of underwear to give them.

[@alexman2598]

@@blakfloyd Likely

[@kdude2704]

I remember TGC being pretty harsh on this one. Because he's such a vocal DKC fan I suspected this one just might not be worth my time. Hearing you, however, both address the shortcomings and remain fairly positive has me intrigued. May check this one out sometime.

[@implantgames]

I rather enjoy TGC, but every once and a while I feel like he is playing some other game haha :)

[@duffman18]

The reason a great critic is great isn't that you always agree with them, but that they explain their reasoning so well that even if they hate something, you know from their reviews that you'll like it, and you really get to know the reviewer and their general opinions and quirks, over time. Roger Ebert talked about this a lot, and it's true, he explains his reasons so well that the score is almost irrelevant, you can tell you'll like the film or not based on what is in the review, not the score at the end. Totalbiscuit talked about this a lot too. And so it makes sense that both this channel and The Geek Critique are great critic channels and both can disagree with each other without either being "wrong". Because you guys both explain everything so well that people should be able to tell how much they will agree once they play the game themselves. The absolute best critic for you might be one you almost always disagree with, if they're good enough at explaining their opinions well enough with evidence and logic.

[@duffman18]

@MultiTarded nope, wrong is not wrong. There's no such thing when it comes to art. You can't be wrong about something that is 100% subjective. If you find a critic that disagrees with you 100% of the time then fantastic, because you can just do the opposite of everything they say and you'll get a good result. You seem to be referring not to actual critics, but people like all the "angry reviewers" who don't critique games, they just trash them and say childish swear words about them. The only one of them I can stand anymore is AVGN. What I'm referring to is actual game critics, who get really deep into the game mechanics, the graphics, the gameplay, the level design. Not doing it for entertainment first, but to have a genuine critique first and foremost and the entertainment comes naturally out of that because intelligent analysis of art is very interesting to a lot of people. This channel is an example of a genuine critic channel. There's no hyperbole, not really many jokes if any at all, it's all just a great analysis and discussion of games with evidence and reasoning and logic. Mr Implant doesn't do a skit at the end of each video where he fakes pooing on a game or shoots it with a gun or breaks it with a hammer. It's just mature analysis, and I love that about this channel. Someone who makes a living off just trashing classics and not really critiquing, they're not what I'm talking about. It reminds me of that one movie critic who is known for being the most contrarian critic in the world. He ALWAYS goes against what the popular consensus is on a film. He trashes the good films and praises the terrible ones. His name is Armond White, go look him up, it's hilarious. He makes a career out of being contrarian and controversial, and it works, people get mad at him for hating on There Will Be Blood while saying G.I. Joe is one of the best films ever. That gets him a hell of a lot of clicks, and a lot of money But he's not a real critic. You see what I mean? In terms of games, check out say Matthewmatosis and hbomberguy. They both made feature movie length videos on Dark Souls 2, both absolutely fantastically argued and a lot of evidence for every point, but they disagree with each other on almost all of the points. In fact hbomberguy's video was made partly in response to Mathewmatosis's video. He also did a sidebar video like an hour and a half long just on bloodborne to expand on one point he made in the dark souls 2 video, instead of adding it to the dark souls 2 video and making it 3 hours long. Anyway, they're both fantastic critics, and they disagree with each other on that game, and it's worth watching both of the videos because they are just that good as critics. They compliment each other I even think every other game critic on KZbin needs to watch Matthewmatosis's and hbomberguy's videos just to see how serious and academic game critique can get. Matthewmatosis's 3 hour video on Viewtiful Joe recently was amazing. He got down to the frame by frame animation and how it affects the gameplay, it was so so deep and great. It's 3 hours long but its some o the best 3 hours you'll ever spend if you choose to watch it. Here's the link to that: kzbin.info/www/bejne/fpyzfpSIds-ZmZo And hbomberguy recently did a 2 hour video on the game Pathologic which blew my mind several times, it's such good quality. Here's the link to that: kzbin.info/www/bejne/gKSxnmWPgdeeaZI Seriously, go watch both. We're all quarantined right now cos of the virus anyway, you've got a lot lhg time to watch them. Like I said, this is academic level, this is the stuff they actually teach at universities nowadays.

[@patsg1146]

I don't know why, but watching your reviews of DKC and this one made me curious to know what you think of the Crash Bandicoot games. I love your videos, man! Keep them coming!

[@implantgames]

Thank you for the kind words! I honestly haven't played much Crash TBH... But it is a series I'd like to get to for sure!

[@Mer0lk]

@@implantgames Yes! Would love to see you do videos on the Crash GBA games similar to your Donkey Kong Land-videos!

[@therealseanw.stewart2071]

Ah, the lighthearted old days of gaming, when playing your favorite game on the go (when its portable equivalent was available on a handheld) came with a few...compromises. Nevertheless, enter Rare with their beloved DKC franchise on the Game Boy, and the 90s kids rejoiced! My favorite part about the historic Donkey Kong Land trilogy is the inclusion of some all-new content, such as a few unique compositions and stages, such as the city setting. This is really cool, and it proves the Rare weren't just willing to rehash the exact same game on the portable hardware. Would I go out of my way to play these now? Probably not, ha ha, but I'm sure someone has a nostalgic fondness for these titles. Maybe _this_ was someone's only childhood Donkey Kong game? A sad scenario, but possibly true. But in any case, you still can't go wrong. Still, needless to say, _Diddy's Kong Quest_ this is NOT!

[@implantgames]

I love how Nintendo always treated the Game Boy as a major system, which it was. Metroid II, Kirby, DKL, Zelda Link's Awakening, Pokemon... so many quality titles. And then other companies treated it like a shovel ware receptacle. Game Boy Toy Story is still one of the most laughingly bad titles I've ever played in my life.

[@duffman18]

@MultiTarded you're kidding right? This is not better than Tropical Freeze, not even close. Honestly Tropical Freeze is the only DKC game I've ever really loved as opposed to just enjoyed (I've not played the other one retro made). I know I'm a bit unique in that opinion, but surely most people can see how good the new ones are? Tropical Freeze has some of the most perfect 2D platformer level design ever, it's been widely lauded all around for that reason. There's nothing like the hiccups DKL has. DKL is a great achievement and is still fun enough to play but Tropical Freeze has no BS or anything like that, it's just pure great platforming.

[@Venom3254]

I personally enjoyed playing this on my og 3ds. The soundtrack is pretty good, especially the boss theme.

[@17R3W]

I love this game, It's one of my go to gameboy games along side super mario 2 and metroid 2

[@mwj9080]

Maaaan does this bring back some memories!!! This was my very first game for Gameboy! Wow...truly good times 😢😊

[@mwj9080]

@@michaelwireman6282 bro I had the lime green game boy color as well! Lol I also had Pokemon Blue and Yellow. I miss the 90s man...great time to be a kid.

[@AdamCoate]

You should do reviews of the Wario Land series, especially Wario Land 2 and 3, those are huge hidden gems in my opinion. I don't generally like puzzla platformers that much, but the invincibility gimmick is pure genius. All the different ways that enemies set you back via status changes, and the ways you use those status changes to overcome obstacles, is super clever. The games have a lot of similarities with Metroid due to sharing some of the same key staff. Wario Land 2 is probably my favorite of the bunch but 3 isn't far behind.

[@implantgames]

Man I really need to revisit the first Wario Land game...

[@duffman18]

I'm not sure you can call them "hidden gems" when they're some of the most celebrated gameboy, gameboy color and gameboy advance games ever. But yeah they are still worth some videos on. Warioland 4 is my favourite because I don't like puzzle platformers much either, and that one is the closest to a regular platformer out of all of them. Plus it has genuinely some of the best 16-bit graphics ever, the pixel art is beautiful, with the shading and the characters that have these really expressive faces, just like the best cartoons do with their characters. Imagine if the Ren and Stimpy games had this level of character in the art, to match how expressive the characters on the TV show were.

[@Pwnicus187]

That damn cloud world tested my patience as a kid.

[@Cetega]

Great to see this video come up, this was one of my favorite GameBoy games back then! I still have my original copy of this game from when it was new. I had never played Donkey Kong Country previously, so I had nothing to compare this to and just thoroughly enjoyed it for what it was. The soundtrack in particular is easily the best I've heard out of the GameBoy, and probably 8-bit systems in general. Particularly tracks Aquatic Ambience and the boss music. Hearing the clips you used here brought back a flood of nostalgia, and memories of hooking my GameBoy up to speakers to hear the soundtrack better at the time. When I finally did acquire DKC several years later I certainly enjoyed it, but I was actually disappointed with some of the music after being so used to the GameBoy versions. Still amazing what they managed to do with the GameBoy hardware back then.

[@RetroTechSelect]

KZbin compression really doesn't care for those dithered backgrounds :) Great, even-handed review here. You acknowledge it's shortcomings but praise what is done well. Bravo!

[@AmuroRae]

Again, just such quality content. I love your videos, even when they cover games I care very little about.

[@implantgames]

Thank you very much!!

[@susanfit47]

I did not have an Super NES growing up in that era (1991-1998), but I only did have the NES and Game Boy in the 90's. Donkey Kong Land and its sequels are one of the Game Boy games I want to get one day, along with Super Mario Land, Super Mario Land 2, Tetris, Castlevania: The Adventure, Golf, Qix, Lock 'n Chase, World Bowling, Mickey's Dangerous Chase, Metroid II, Kid Icarus, Tiny Toon Adventures: Babs' Big Break, Yoshi, Kirby's Dream Land, Lazlo's Leap, DuckTales 2, etc.

[@tarquinnff3]

Sky High Caper is definitely the point at which I hit a brick wall. I've tried coming back to the game a few times after trying for days to complete that level but never played long enough to make it that far again. One day.

[@implantgames]

Once you can deal with the pigs, it isn't so bad. Either by setting up the platforms under them, or near the top where bopping them won't spring a Kong into the air. Still, a very frustrating level to learn!

[@kirberburgy]

this channel needs more subscribers

[@micro581]

A video in english mentions Console Plus, a french magazine... I did not expect that ! Great video overall !

[@swissoccer]

Man I miss your videos. Just playing this game and wanted my thoughts be perfectly spoken out... So I knew where to look for ;)

[@AnAverageGoblin]

I bought this game on a whim for my 3DS and thoroughly enjoyed it. I didn't do it all in one sitting, but whenever I had nothing better to do and didn't feel like playing a console I played some of Donkey Kong Land. it works very well in this way.

[@Diablokiller999]

Remember playing DKL when visiting the doctor with my Mom, which kept me calm :D

[@implantgames]

Memories make us rich :)

[@rezterralico4369]

Damn. I wish. My Ma said no video games in the doctors office (as I waited for 1.5 hours doing nothing....). Glad you at least had that to help you out.

[@LemonicParade]

Good players persist, bad players complain (then quit). This philosophy is present in all DK games.

[@Bludvarg]

I think the 8-bit version of Gangplank Galleon is a bit better than the original 16-bit version. Might be because it's slightly simpler, as it's missing parts of the original song.

[@cubah1]

I remember loving this game when I had it on the game boy. I felt like playing the SNES version. Even the soundtrack with faithful. I remember when running low on lives I would head back to level 1 and easily collect the Kong letters to insure I was able to save.

[@SatoshiMatrix1]

I concur with this video review essay. Donkey Kong Land is an interesting game with its own set of charms, but it's also a game that tries to pull off things not well suited to the DMG. The reviewer played this on the Super GameBoy, meaning using a TV with a lit display. I played this on my GameBoy Pocket, which made some of the cave stages nearly impossible. I would love to see a review of Donkey Kong Land 2. It seems Rare took lessons from what worked and what didn't here, and stuck much more closely to creating an 8-bit conversion of the excellent Donkey Kong Country 2. The result is a game that I think holds up much better than the first or the third Donkey Kong Land games.

[@wistful3631]

Yay I was late again! And I have no idea you make these so often.

[@implantgames]

Welcome to the party :)

[@SQGReviewShow]

Great review, Kris! I personally find this game to be kind of frustrating, whereas it starts out promising, but then they throw in levels that can get rather annoying, especially World 3 and beyond, which kind of results in an experience that has a mix of good moments and bad moments. I personally believe each Land game got better, even if 2 and 3 never go passed being decent.

[@Zek3nator]

I would say this is the best review of this game I’ve seen.

[@Nurah.S.S]

Yeah when I was really into dkl and watched lots of reviews people were really harsh on it except for him

[@jsdlgjgojaosdjgoj8555]

This game is underrated. Compare this with any Sonic of Game Gear. No slowdown here.

[@GameplayandTalk]

Always wanted to complete this one but never have. Might have to do that soon thanks to this video. Glad to see you enjoyed the game.

[@implantgames]

I could be wrong, but I assume this would be right up your ally Austin! Difficult, but short. Something I am oddly enough... starting to enjoy. Damn Castlevania...

[@GameplayandTalk]

@@implantgames Yeah, I played it when I was younger and enjoyed it. Loved the first DKC especially and this seemed like a pretty good effort for a Game Boy game, all things considered.

[@LalitoTV]

Best video on DKL I've seen so far, i know it's technically worse than DKC but man, I'm strangely fascinated by it

[@Lassikko]

I would be really interested to hear what you think of the Game Boy Color port of Donkey Kong Country. It is truly impressive.

[@implantgames]

I am curious about it for sure, but don't own it at the moment.

[@TheCheat420]

This was the first game that wasn't Pokémon that I had for Gameboy so I put a lot of hours into this game when I was a kid..

[@glynnedwards3406]

You gotta admit they had some amazing graphics for the weak gameboy.

[@implantgames]

The animation is quite impressive!

[@st1ka]

I think the third world is the reason why I hate this game. I haven't played it since I was like 8, but I have so many bad memories with it due to me always dying in world 3

[@implantgames]

Haha, I would have given up back in the day for sure :)

[@DefinitiveDubs]

Playing this game on the GBC gives you a custom palette that helps the sprites stick out from the background, which is especially nice for this game, but it also causes every level to have the exact same palette, which is boring. It's frustrating because it actually does improve the gameplay, but the more unique color schemes makes the SGB experience edge out.

[@dbstop9194]

My first game boy game, I will never forget it.

[@Nurah.S.S]

This wasn’t my first but it’s definitely one of my favorites

[@RhysCaradog]

Quality content as always. Would love for you to review the Wario Land Series in the future

[@wistful3631]

Can you please do majora’s mask I feel like that game needs to be addressed. Especially by you because you probably have the most unbiased and open compared to a lot of other youtubers who only ever talk about the good things with it

[@SpoonyBard88]

Are you just looking for someone to vindicate your negative opinions on a game? Why not make a video of your own, then?

[@wistful3631]

Bard88 no I don’t think the game is bad but it has plenty of issues that I’ve yet to see any youtubers point out. Because most of them are biased towards it. Especially Socallmejohnny

[@SpoonyBard88]

@@wistful3631 Johnny prefaces his video with an anecdote about not liking the game upon first impression. What problems are you talking about here?

[@wistful3631]

Bard88 just look at the avgns review on the game he shows all the problems the game has

[@SpoonyBard88]

@@wistful3631 James Rolfe is the definition of a biased reviewer.

[@ti83magic]

Implant, it's been ages since I last saw a video of yours, not sure why you no longer appeared in my subscription feed...

[@LucosPlays]

The story for this game is so stupid that i adore it so much. Yeah this game is good for the most part, but that screen crunch is the reason why Sky High Caper was my nightmare, i've never got a game over thanks to the bonus rooms but i got close and sometimes the game feels like Contra with a few cheap deaths when the screen doesn't wanna scroll down. The new level types except for the one i mentioned were fantastic and the last level before K. Rool is my actual favorite cause of the very clever use of the KONG letters. The ost all the melodies except Acuatic Ambience and Building Site are some of my favorite GB tracks and shotouts to Gangplank Galleon that theme is just ear candy for DK and 8-bit fans. Weird that you didn't bring the bosses although better than DKC 1 yeah they still suck as videogame bosses. The backgrounds and characters blending just cost me a few lifes and i got that input lag.....once in that level you showed at the end. This Game is good but not the "8-bit Masterpiece" that some people said it is, this game has many issues but still a game that people can play. And thanks to you i got a new appreciation for this game. Great video Kris 😉

[@implantgames]

Glad you enjoyed the video Lucas! The instruction manual story is terrific haha :)

[@captainnintendo]

I remember getting this game with my original Game Boy along with Super Mario Land 2 one Christmas. SML2 was definitely the one I ended up playing the most. This game always felt so punishing and to... finicky. And I loved DKC on the SNES. The thing I hated the most about the game's design was how when you feel too far you would die, which felt so stupid and was s frustrating on the more vertical stages. DKL2 was a big improvement on every aspect of it's tighter design and gameplay

[@implantgames]

The "falling" to death, when there is clearly a landing below, is pretty silly. I didn't bring it up specifically in the video, as I guess one could argue missing a jump should punished, but yeah. It was very surprising the first time it happened!

[@LordZero666]

Great channel, great video.

[@duffman18]

Did you _REALLY_ have to collect all but one banana at 8:30 ? That one solitary banana left there forever. Damn you, I'm gonna have to go and beat the entire game now just so I can collect all the bananas including that remaining one just so I can get rid of this "OCD" feeling.

[@robertgaines-tulsa]

I only got to play Donkey Kong Land 2 as a kid.

[@PastoKage]

My first DK game, still love it!

[@Kimarnic]

god i love your voice, it sounds so nice

[@js200gb]

Ah, my first GB games that wasn't Tetris. I didn't like it that much playing on the original GB because of the blurring made it really hard to see. Playing it on other GBs like the SP made it a lot easier to play. So your review may have been drastically different if not for the Super GB. But, yeah, a good game. Pretty good animation too. Great review!

[@implantgames]

Thanks J! It looks nice on an SP but I just cannot get used to that D-Pad...

[@rezterralico4369]

I remember taking out 40 CAD from my bank account when I was 10 years old. 5 dollars CAD allowance every 2 weeks. October 1995 I remember getting this. Wish I read the instruction booklet better on how to get the 100 percent. Man I think I finally beat it in May 1996 (folks limited my video game time to weekends at that age). Never had a snes in that era and only had an NES in the early 90s as a gift from my Grandma at Christmas.

[@dspersforfearsofficial7451]

"Purrrfick." - David Brent

[@retroreviews1278]

This is such a good game that NO ONE talks about!! But yeah, it's so difficult!!

[@nensondubois]

Tiertex developed several Game Boy games that are pre-rendered spites Toy Story and Small soldiers are the best examples of this and both games offer a hidden surprise. Rare only gave their games very basic SGB palettes and a border when they could have done so much more including sounds and music, so they did have more to work with other than the original Game Boy's hardware. Still, the GB DKL games are really good despite some of their flaws. My main issues are the blind leaps of faith and not seeing enemies that pop on tthe screen and you cannot see them coming.

[@implantgames]

I have actually beaten Toy Story on the Game Boy. It has a custom border but no custom pallette, so I'm not clear on how this is a good example. It is also one of the worst games I have ever played. Absolutely dreadful version of Toy Story. Are you trolling me?

[@nensondubois]

@@implantgames I beat it too back when my aunt bought me it for a gift in a game Boy carrying case bundle new, so I guess the nostalgia is the reason why I'm biased and because of one other reason. Regardless it is still a crap game. The main issue is the game's clunky engine and even worse controls. Lots of slowdown and not very well optimised at all. Interestingly, I asked the game developers about the game about 7 years ago, but I lost it all when their forums went down, though Mark Ortiz did give me his music workfiles and source code for all of his games. I'm not going to ruin the third SGB surprise this game offers.

[@Easmodx]

I find the critique about the level design, the physics, and the sudden momentun gained when bouncing off enemies, very interesting. I am now curious about your thoughts on Donkey Kong Country Returns because the physics in that game always felt off to me. DK feels like an anvil with the underside covered in butter. He slides a lot but once he lifts his feet off the ground he's basically a forward moving cannonball. When you add that to a level design based on gotcha traps and forced motion control inputs, the result for me, was a game that was very hard to stomach for me. But I realize I could withstand the quirks of DK Land 1, so I don't know. I'd like to hear your thoughts on that game.

[@implantgames]

I honestly don't remember that much about DKCR. But I did review it! kzbin.info/www/bejne/fJLLmJinjcatn7c

[@Easmodx]

@@implantgames Thank you! I'm going to check it out.

[@GoodVibeCollecting]

This is probably my favorite Graeme Norgate soundtrack. He did all of the original tunes in the game while David Wise did the DKC conversions. BTW the boss music in this game appears in Blast Corps which was also done by Graeme. There is an unused track in this game that was meant for the skyscrapper stages and I'm curious if you think it sounds better than the one in the game? On a side note, if you play this game on a GBC or GBA the sprites tend to get real glitchy for some reason.

[@EricSPizarro]

DKL was the only one in the trilogy that was mostly unique. You don’t see the ship, mountain, clouds or any city levels in Donkey Kong Country, whereas DKL2 is mostly a remake of DKC2 and DKL3 still copies the level design from DLC3.

[@stepheng8061]

If you are doing gameboy reviews you should consider the warrio land series that's mg favorite gameboy/gbc series and totally holds up impossibly well

[@DuoStuff]

This one is odd. I don't particularly hate DKL, but playing it gives me headache frequently. The jerky movement and zoomed in camera is just too much for me. It also doesn't help that to begin with, I tend to prefer the new DKC games over the older ones in regards to physics, and DKL feels a little less good than even the original DKC. The video was a fun watch though, and I always find it neat when someone actually talks about this game.

[@DuoStuff]

@MultiTarded The new ones feel more realistic to me though. Firstly, I wouldn't call it slippery, or jerky like DKL. The character has a lot of weight to them instead, which I think fits a giant gorilla rather well. The original DKC games as much as I enjoy them, are strangely floaty to me. It looks... Off in a way that's difficult to describe. There are a number of reasons why I prefer the newer games, to the point where I could probably make an entire video out of it, but at least on the subject of controls, this is why I prefer the newer game's physics.

[@implantgames]

I love them all :) I still think nothing is smoother than Rayman Origins though...

[@mikecairns1319]

I have this game and play it. The stress of not getting the save from collecting the letters is nuts.

[@rezterralico4369]

A trick I used is by getting the 4 letters on a later level (maybe a previous level) it will still save the game. Like if you passed a difficult level but didn't get all the levels.

[@ATthemusician]

I grew up with DKL and DKC(on the GBC), while DKC is better, DKL is really fun! They hold up surprisingly well for GB games. I'm glad I'll have them while waiting at RTC during my quarantine.

[@rabiroden]

I somehow managed to beat most of this game as a kid on the original gray brick Game Boy. Think I got stuck on one of those cloud levels before the last world. But I still have a soft spot for the game, despite its flaws, and the soundtrack is one of my favorites. The GBC colorizing the sprites/bg separately helps a lot. The sequels improve on the controls and readability, but have less originality than the first game, so they're a bit less interesting.

[@TopSpot123]

I'm really looking forward to your take on DKL2. It's surprisingly better in a number of ways. It's less original, and a few of the backgrounds, especially the brambles, are indistinguishable, I feel, if you haven't played DKC2, but I still feel it beats DKL in every significant way.

[@implantgames]

I haven't played the DKC games since I reviewed them a year and a half ago... and I'm already feeling some Deja Vu as I start through DKL2. Not saying this is good or bad... but it gives me additional appreciation for DKL, which felt fresh to me.

[@TopSpot123]

@@implantgames Yes, DKL2 and 3 attempt to stay closer to the original games than DKL did. Not ports, exactly, but closer. But this is what we wanted back then! A portable 'version' of the SNES games.

[@Sly88Frye]

In my personal opinion I actually think donkey Kong Land is the best of the trilogy. Whike with donkey Kong Country I thought each entry was better than the last culminating in me feeling like dkc3 is the best one when it comes to donkey Kong Land I enjoyed dkl 3 quite a bit and didn't enjoy DKL2 very much although now that I seen that review earlier I might change my mind if I try the game again, but dkl one I think is the best one for a few reasons. Honestly I thought dkl one was more original then the other two entries because the other two entries take the same locales and music as their 16-bit counterparts just downgraded on the Gameboy. Aside from the jungle, snow mountain, underwater, ruins, and caves the remaining locales are unique to dkl one. And yes I'm counting the ship levels because there was no such thing of a ship level in dkc one aside from the final boss. although ship levels did actually come back in dkc2 and dkl 2 but they might have been dkl one first.

[@KTJohnsonkidThunder]

Love it. What are your thoughts on DKC on GBC?

[@MrFathead]

I had this game as a kid and I honestly couldn't tell what was going on half the time. It is very hard to see on a real gameboy.

[@FranzoOnLine]

You mentioned playing this on the Game Boy Player because the SNES controller has a much nicer dpad than the GCN one (which I agree is terrible). So I was curious, what do you think of playing GB/GBA games with the GCN's control stick as opposed to the d-pad? I find that for sidescrollers it's more comfortable, and the notches make hitting diagonal inputs easier to hit. Alternatively you can use a GBA to control games on the Game Boy Player, the SP's d-pad is pretty nice imo, though I imagine you don't have a cable to connect one to the gamecube or you might've used one. Other than that, great video! I've been curious about DKL for a while and this video made me think of getting a copy.

[@saltysumo7991]

I wish 2 and 3 had as much original content as this. DKL2 being the worst offender - it had the same map as DKC2 (even the level names are the same) so it really feels like a portable version of DKC2; at least DKL3 mixed it up a little bit.

[@anss321]

Loved this game but I never noticed that the Kong Coins can be traded for extra lives. LOL. I'm not sure what I liked most of DKC and DKL. DKL has bad collision detection and stiffer physics, while DKC has way too many of those annoying bonus stages. They really rip me out of the game and ruin my rhythm. Not having to play them in DKL was really nice.

[@leonardodepinto7912]

That game was my First game boy game

[@nealnoir]

I always wanted John Waters to tell me whether or not DKL is a good game or not.

[@JoseDanielCosenza2009]

Donkey kong land was my favorite game of game boy

[@duffman18]

Hey Mr. Implant, are you going to do Castlevania Rondo of Blood at some point? Because you did all the other classic castlevanias, then stopped right before probably the best classic one of all. Or is it perhaps you're going to include it in a metroid style castlevania video series, seeing as Symphony of the Knight was a direct sequel to Rondo? I don't blame you for taking a break. Playing so many games just from one series and spending hundreds of hours talking about the same game mechanics and style of level design and enemies etc must get a bit tiring

[@ABlackFalcon]

Good review, I mostly agree with it. I do have to wonder though, how much have you played the game on an original Game Boy? The blurring is so horrible, the sprites blend in with the backgrounds constantly! I know that the Super Game Boy, GBC, or any following systems solve that issue at least to an extent, but it's still a huge problem. I got this game for my GB back in '95, and thought it was okay to good, but kind of hard to play because of how much everything blended together. It's a good example of how while you CAN do a GB game that uses that kind of prerendered graphics, it probably wasn't the best idea. I liked DKL enough to finish it back then, but not enough to interest me in the sequels so I would not own either of them for a long time afterwards. It was probably the right choice, they are improved over this one in some respects but still have plenty of blur/blending graphics issues. As fr as the level design and gameplay goes it is mostly a good game, yeah. I do remember being annoyed by how easily you die by falling though -- like, you can go through a level, be directly over a spot you were in earlier after going upwards or such, fall... and you're dead, you hit the bottom of the screen. It makes the game feel very NES-like. It works and gives the game a simpler feel, which you also see from the absence of the other Kongs and such, and that's fine and works here, but it does increase the number of cheap deaths you'll have. Also, having to either die a lot to memorize stages or go back and replay some level you played earlier that you know you can beat with the KONG letters, just in order to save... it's an okay system but I wish you could just save! Despite my complaints I do remember liking Donkey Kong Land, it's just a good game with some issues. I'd probably agree with what you said about score -- it's good, but not a 9.

[@kinorai]

It is an incredibly impressive gave! Wonder if you'll check the GBC version of Donkey Kong Country, to compare?

[@y2commenter246]

Wait, this was a new game? I thought it was merely DKC demade with some extra levels. Were all 3 Lsnd games new games? Nice review.

[@cgnfake6721]

When is this channel gonna fuckin blow up? Its coming, ill tell ya that much

[@Nurah.S.S]

He stopped making videos 😢

[@johneygd]

I give this game a 6,5 out of 10 because of those issues you mentioned wich were mostly solved in the later dkl series,. However you forget to mention that you also cannot see whether you have 2 or just only 1 kong on screen and even if you have a second kong,you can still die at certain points in a level ,wich is completely random, i believe it’s a bug in the game,, Now what’s really grands me is, 1, theres no world map so if you want to go from 1 finished world to another finished world,you have to walk trough those entire worlds to get there, 2, instead of going to candy kong for savong,you have to collect kong letters, in 1 level you even have to collect kong letter to create platforms, why? And why are there no crankey,funkey and candy kong in the entire game? 3,every bonus level you get send to are mostly not related to that level, wich is very disappointing. 4, the ending was very cheap done,no cut scenes,only scrolling letters. 5,king k rool doesn’t look big and i hardly can recognize him. 6, many bonus stages were just recycled boss fight stages. I can only dream for a gbc version with all these issues fixed. As this game deserves more, it proved the potential,

[@Demonskunk]

I lost my patience with this game. The sprites blended with the background too much and caused a lot of unpleasant confusion on the original Gameboy pocket screen.

[@rezterralico4369]

Easier layout on DKL2 and DKL3 were they adressed this background issue using lighter coloured backgrounds.

[@malvessidrums]

I had this game back in 95, and my young self did not like this game at all. I enjoyed staring at the yellow cart more than playing the game.

[@thecianinator]

What's up with the color change at 5:47

[@implantgames]

It is a different bonus room. They created different multiple Super Game Boy color palettes for each set-piece, which is pretty cool!

[@bryan8602]

I disagree on the KONG letter saving system. Sure, it encourages exploration, but when you are on low lives, exploration is the last thing you want to be doing as it results in you dying by accident a lot. Also, nothing is worse than picking up a letter, but you realizing you haven't picked up the previous letter. What this results in is the player having to spend time going back to a level where the risk of dying is lower and where the KONG letters are easily found (i.e. Level 1-1) just to save so you don't lose progress. I think it is also interesting that you didn't take into account playing as the game was originally intended--on the GameBoy--when doing your review. Sure, the enemies might stand out better on the SNES's gameboy player, but what about the original GameBoy? It's is has a small screen that requires really good lighting to see everything clearly, and even then an enemy is often blended in too well, resulting on you taking a hit or dying.

[@SpoonyBard88]

If they eased up on the bottomless pits, gave DK a health bar, and scaled the graphics down for better visibility, this game would have been regarded as a masterpiece the likes of Super Mario Land 2.

[@Spaghettaboutit]

That's not a health bar tho

[@silveracid1344]

@@Spaghettaboutit Whoosh 🛫

[@Spaghettaboutit]

Silver Acid ah, I miss read the comment - okay, let me give a better reply - a health bar would really go against the core of makes DKC, DKC. Super Mario Land 2 also is a 2 hits and you are dead kind of game. Everything else, especially the bottomless pits thing, would be welcome though.

[@SpoonyBard88]

@@Spaghettaboutit The two most recent DKC games both utilize a life bar. DK has two hit points by default in Returns and Tropical Freeze. It doesn't go against some design philosophy.

[@Spaghettaboutit]

Bard88 having both Kongs in DKL means you have a 2 hit life.

[@The_Wandering_Nerd]

The graphics in Donkey Kong Land are bad enough when you play the game on a Super Game Boy, Game Boy Player or PC emulator. When you're trying to decipher all this stuff on a blurry original Game Boy screen, you might as well be playing the game blindfolded.

[@RustyCog]

The lives system sounds good but it doesn’t save If you have to turn off ur gameboy then back to 5 lives for you! And I found the saving to be really annoying because the king letters can be in really annoying spots

[@Nurah.S.S]

You can go back to other levels and find the long letters there

[@slamjackson2137]

A very flawed and at times borderline broken game, but there’s just nothing like it. I have such a dysfunctional relationship with DKL but it really is an incredible game.

[@spoonflaps12]

Not sure if you're going to review the sequels, but I look forward to that if you do. DKL2 deserves to ripped apart compared to its SNES counterpart, but DKL3 is decent. Donkey Kong Land is easily the best of the set.

[@nostalgiaontheairmichaelch9932]

I find DKL 3 to be the best one.

[@jonahabenhaim1223]

9:22 I disagree Zool never had any water stages

[@andermetalbrasil]

I had this game and I really like it. But Donkey Kong Land 2 is better. Unfortunately I didn't play DKL 3, so I can't say something about it, but I bet it's good.

[@Nurah.S.S]

It is good, though the animal buddies are kinda underused

[@duhdeedee]

I wouldn't say DKL aged because even in '95 it was miserable on the DMG GB. You had to play it on SGB or GB Pocket. And "Sky HIgh Caper" was always a bad idea. Otherwise it's a good expansion pack to DKC. Now the GBC port of DKC really sucks.

[@Soulintent95]

I had this, I just remember I loved it but I also sucked at it. And, to be fair, unless you are playing on an original gameboy, it is really difficult to see your character a lot of the time. Especially when you are a dumbass toddler.

[@Specter227]

Donkey Kong Land is interesting, but I've always thought it felt somewhat off. The bosses are very barebones, the physics are awful, some of the later levels look really weird and the game just kind of ends, without a real ending or a proper build-up. Sometimes it feels more like a fan creation than a real Rare game.

[@callumdonnelly1718]

Apparently the second game is much better

[@nostalgiaontheairmichaelch9932]

@@callumdonnelly1718 not really. DKL 1 is better than DKL 2

[@jonmahashintina]

all ill say is: unplayable on the og game boy. unplayable with the gamecube controller. never finished it. last i tested it with my finally aqcuired gameboy player i found it still had my saves, and it was stuck on that damn sky track level.

[@jonmahashintina]

@Joshua J then ill say more. the original gb, no backlight, contrast wheel. gamecube controller, tiny dpad, smaller than og gameboy, and button layout awkward for run n jump platformers that already have momentum issues.

[@implantgames]

Even a stock Game Boy Player is questionable with the input lag... I couldn't imagine attempting Track Attack or Sky High Caper without a GBA SP, Super Game Boy, or the Game Boy Interface software for the GB Player.

[@nostalgiaontheairmichaelch9932]

I prefer this game over DKL 2. DKL 1 has better graphics, better music, and creativity. DKL 2 is ok too but DKL 1 to me is better.

[@Nurah.S.S]

Yeah the next two games after this didn’t add anything original but at least the movement (and graphics in my opinion) were improved

[@mrmysterious8124]

Can you look at Yoshi's Safari🦖

[@niplob]

technically Donkey Kong Land is 16 bit🫡

[@Nurah.S.S]

How?

[@niplob]

@@Nurah.S.S the gameboy is a 16 bit console

[@niplob]

@@Nurah.S.S Bits refer to the cpu, not the graphics or sound

[@Nurah.S.S]

@@niplob oh ok

[@markm.9188]

The save system is crap. You have to get all the kong letters and it gets annoying. Why cant you just have a place where you can save for free.