The 25th Anniversary of Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble

The 25th Anniversary of Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble
November 7, 2021

By Ryan Porzl

During the early to mid 1990s, video game fans were treated to two masterpieces in the first two Donkey Kong Country games on the Super Nintendo. With both doing great commercially and critically, it's no surprise the train kept chugging along and we get a third game. In 1996, at the tail end of the Super Nintendo's lifespan, the world would get the third and final entry of the SNES Donkey Kong Country trilogy. After serving as the sidekick in the second game, Dixie Kong took center stage, teaming with cousin Kiddy in an attempt to save both Donkey and Diddy from K. Rool. With the 25th Anniversary coming in November 18th, let's take a look at the third game in the DKC series. There are spoilers ahead.

Characters

Dixie Kong- One of the two protagonist and the main heroine. Like her boyfriend Diddy in the first two games, Dixie goes from sidekick to main character in DKC 3. In the game, she and cousin Kiddy travel to the Northern Kremisphere in the hopes of finding Donkey and Diddy Kong who both disappeared. Dixie can attack enemies by jumping on them or spinning at them. She can also do a helicopter glide with her ponytail.

Kiddy Kong- The second of two protagonists. Kiddy is the baby cousin of Dixie who assist her in her journey in the Northern Kremisphere. At times, Kiddy is a combination of the previous three protagonist as he's as agile as Dixie, as strong as Donkey, and carry barrels like Diddy. He is also capable of doing a water bounce if the player hits the jump button as soon as Kiddy somersaults on the top of water. Kiddy can attack enemies by jumping on them or performing a somersault at them. Kiddy is able to break cracked floors if Dixie throws him on top of them.

Funky Kong- A member of the Kong Family. After previously running Funky's Flights in the first two games, he's now a mechanic and runs his own rental services called Funky's Rentals where he can create various boating vehicles that Dixie and Kiddy can borrow to travel throughout the Kremisphere.

Swanky Kong- A member of the Kong Family. Swanky previously hosted a game show in DKC 2. Now he runs a side show where Dixie and Kiddy can play games against Cranky where they can win prizes like bananas, bear coins, and extra life balloons. In the Game Boy Advance version, Swanky runs Swanky's Dash which is a virtual reality like game.

Cranky Kong- The original Donkey Kong, the husband of Wrinkly, and grandfather of Donkey. In the original DKC3, Cranky spends his time at Swanky's side show where the player plays against him in throwing balls at targets to win prizes. In the GBA version, Cranky runs a martial arts dojo where the player can earn banana birds.

Wrinkly Kong- The wife of Cranky and grandmother of Donkey. In the original, Wrinkly is retired from teaching and runs a save cave where players can save their game. She also watches over any banana birds Dixie and Kiddy save. In the GBA version, she no longer runs the save cave but resides in a retreat near Funky's Rentals.

Donkey Kong- The hero from the first game, Donkey, along with Diddy have gone missing in the Northern Kremisphere resulting in Dixie and Kiddy's journey. Eventually, it's revealed he was once again captured by K. Rool and used to power up KAOS.

Diddy Kong- The nephew of Donkey, his sidekick in the first game, and the hero in the second game, Diddy goes missing in the Northern Kremisphere resulting in the events of the game. Like Donkey, he was captured by K. Rool and used to power KAOS.

The Brothers Bear- A group of anthropomorphic bear brothers who are scattered around the Northern Kremisphere that help Dixie and Kiddy in their journey. They consist of Bazaar, Barnacle, Brash, Blunder, Bramble, Blue, Brigadier Bazooka, Blizzard, Barter, Benny, Bjorn, Baffle, and Boomer.

KAOS- A robot that's the creation of K. Rool who used his wife's finest pots and pans. Originally, KAOS is presented as the new leader of the Kremlings while K. Rool stands in the background using KAOS to monitor Dixie and Kiddy's progress. KAOS is powered by the captured Donkey and Diddy.

Baron K. Roolenstein- The antagonist. Roolenstein is the latest alias of K. Rool who uses the identity of a mad scientist. His main goal is to conquer the Northern Kremisphere. Unlike the previous encounters, Roolenstein hides as the shadow leader or boss of the Kremlings while using his robot KAOS as the new face of the Kremlings while spying on the progress of Dixie and Kiddy.

Story

The game takes place sometime after the events of DKC 2. The story begins with Donkey and Diddy leaving for the Northern Kremisphere but disappear at some point. Eventually, Dixie, with the help of her baby cousin Kiddy, travel to the Kremisphere to search for them. During this time, they get help from the rest of the Kong family as well as a family of bears called The Brothers Bear and explore the areas fighting off Kremlings, who are seemingly now under the orders of a robot named KAOS. However, upon defeating KAOS a second time, it's revealed K. Rool (now Baron K. Roolenstein) was behind it all and fight him and defeat him. Afterwards, Donkey and Diddy crawl out of the KAOS robot as it turns out they were captured by K. Rool and used to power the robot. Eventually, Dixie and Kiddy travel to the volcanic island known as Krematoa where they journey through the island until facing Rollenstein again and defeat him but he escapes again. Eventually, they free all the banana birds and are taking to the Banana Bird Queen who had been sealed due to Roolenstein but the birds singing together breaks the barrier and frees the queen who then chases Roolenstein around the Kremisphere until eventually dropping a giant egg on him. Dixie and Kiddy then land on it and continually knock on it to annoy Roolenstein.

Gameplay
If you played the two previous DKC games, you've pretty much played this. DKC 3 plays like the first two for the most part: A platform side scroller where the player controls two kongs, in this case, Dixie and Kiddy with the idea being to navigate them from the beginning of the stage to the end where the Kongs pull up a flag to signal the end of the level. The Kongs are able to fight enemies by either stomping on them, doing spins/somersaults at them, and throwing available barrels at them. However, certain enemies are immune to certain attacks be it shields or having spikes. There's no lifebar as you lose a Kong if they're hit by an enemy or touching something dangerous. If your last Kong gets hit or falls in a pit, the player loses a life. Losing all your lives results in a game over but the game has three datas which allow the player to return to the last place they saved. The player can get up to 100 lives. The game features eight locations for the player to play including Lake Orangatanga, Kremwood Forest, Cotton Top Cove, Mekanos, K3, Razor Ridge, KAOS Kore, and Krematoa. Each have at least six stages (48 in total) including one that features the boss of each level. Along with the stages, each level also has a Wrinkly Kong cave where the player can save their game, a cabin featuring one of the Brothers Bear, and a Swanky Kong Bonus Game where the player plays against Cranky and can win bananas, bear coins, and extra lives.

A lot of the classic elements of the previous games are back here. Dixie plays like she did in DKC 2 in that she can spin and do a helicopter glide. Coins are back, only this time, they're Bear Coins which allow the player to play Swanky's games and buy stuff. Players can have the Kongs team up and either throw one to a higher area they couldn't get access to or Dixie can throw Kiddy on cracked floors to break them. The player can gain extra lives either by collecting 100 bananas or getting Kong balloons. DK Coins also return though instead of being hidden like DKC 2, they're instead on a shield of a kremling named "Koin" with the idea being that the player has to find ways to use barrels to take him out but without him blocking them with his shield. Collecting all the DK Coins allows the player to acquire Funky's gyrocopter. The animal buddies also return specifically Enguarde the Swordfish, Squawks the Parrot, Quawks the Parrot, and Squitter the Spider while they're joined by new friends in Ellie the Elephant and Parry the Parallel Bird. Like previous games, The Kongs can ride them or turn into them in certain levels. If the player rides them, they can lose them if they get hit (except Squawks, Quawks, and Parry), at which point, the animal buddy runs around until the player jumps back on them or they fall into a pit. DK Barrels also return as if the player has one Kong, they can gain the second one by breaking it. As is also the case with previous games, players can also switch between Dixie and Kiddy provided they got both. Swanky and Wrinkly have the same features as DKC 2 with Swanky running a game the players can play while Wrinkly saves your game. Bonus barrels, which are hidden barrels that lead to bonus stages, also return where, like DKC 2, the player has a certain number of time to complete the objective in order to receive a bonus coin.

There are some new features in the game. Funky now runs a mechanical shop and if given the right equipment, which the player finds throughout the game, can create vehicles which allow Dixie and Kiddy to further explore the Northern Kremisphere and reach places they previously couldn't. Another feature are the debut of Banana Birds which the player can find in caves scattered across the Kremisphere. Usually to get one, the player has to win a small memory game as they repeat a pattern with the four main buttons on the Super Nintendo controller to free the bird from a crystal. Only getting all the birds can the player free the Banana Bird Queen and get the true ending of the game. Another feature are the Brothers Bear who are a family of bears with cabins scattered throughout the Kremisphere. They offer advice and trade items to the player provided they have the right item to trade. 

Behind The Scenes

DKC3 was once again directed by Tim Stamper like it's two predecessors. David Wise returned as composer for the third time while reuniting with DKC co-composer Eveline Fischer with Fischer doing the majority of the songs. Rare's Andrew Collard returned as co-designer after having worked on Donkey Kong Country 2 while also serving as producer. The other co-designer was Paul Weaver who previously worked as an author for the Super Metroid Nintendo Player's Guide. Mark Wilson, who previously served as additional programmer for Donkey Kong Country and assistant head programmer for Donkey Kong Country 2, returned as head programmer. The co-artist were Mark Stevenson and Neil Crook. Stevenson previously served as an artist for the two previous Donkey Kong Country games while later serving as lead artist for Donkey Kong 64 and a technical art director for Yooka-Laylee. Crook provided additional graphics for Donkey Kong Country and Donkey Kong Land.

Like Diddy's Kong Quest, Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble began development also immediately following the release of it's predecessor. Like it's two predecessor's, it uses the same Advance Computer Modeling and Silicon Graphics which pre-rendered 3-D animation into 2-D Sprites.

Release
Donkey Kong Country 3 was released on November 18, 1996 in North America on the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, November 23, 1996 in Japan on the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, and December 13, 1996 in PAL Regions on the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. The game was met with positive reviews with GameRankings scoring it 83%, AllGame scoring it 4 1/2 out of 5 stars, Computer and Video Games (CVG) scored it 4 out of 5 stars, Electronics Gaming Monthly (EGM) scored it 8.125/10, Game Informer scored it 9/10, Hyper scored it 88%, IGN scored it 8.5/10, Jeuxvideo.com 85%, Next Generation scored it 3 out of 5 stars, Nintendo Life scored it 9/10, Nintendo Power scored it 4.1/5, Official Nintendo Magazine (ONM) scored it 98/100, Super Game Power scored it a perfect 5/5, and Nintendo Master scored it 85%. 1.7 million copies were sold in Japan while 1.12 million were sold in the United States. It has been thought that that sales would've been stronger had it not been for the Nintendo 64's launch that year which may have hurt things as fans were more interested in the new console instead of a new game on an outgoing one. EGM editors named it runner-up for both Super Nintendo Game of the Year and Side-Scrolling Game of the Year for 1996 losing to Tetris Attacks and Guardian Heroes respectively Like the previous games, DKC3 received critical praise mostly for it's gameplay and graphics but the soundtrack got mixed reviews. The graphics were especially praised by the likes of Gamespot, EGM, and Nintendo Master who said the graphics were "colorful" (both Gamespot and EGM), "vibrant" (Gamespot), "sharper than those of the previous installments" (EGM), and "beautiful" (Nintendo Master). Next Generation praised the gameplay, specifically the level designs and balanced challenge. EGM said the gameplay doesn't change compared to it's two predecessors but that it's "intelligent design" and replay value make it a must have for fans of the series. The music got some criticism as Gamespot found the songs "catchy" but that the original devotees of DKC may not like them. IGN considered the music an "impressive effort" but that it stands out the least out of the three DKC games.

Aftermath

DKC3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble would be the third and last of the DKC series released on Super Nintendo as the console was on it's way out by late 1996. Despite this, the series has continued with 1999's Donkey Kong 64, 2010's Donkey Kong Country Returns, and 2014's Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze along with several experimental games in the 2000s after Rare was bought out by Microsoft ending their involvement in the series. Meanwhile, like the two previous Country games, a Donkey Kong Land 3 game was released on Game Boy which plays like Donkey Kong Country 3 but has it's own story and levels making it it's own game. As for Donkey Kong Country 3, the game would be re-released many times over the next 25 years. In 2005, it would be re-released on the Game Boy Advance. Like the first two, DKC3 had new features and some differences like Swanky's bonus game being different, Cranky running a martial arts dojo mini game for banana birds, the ability to save anywhere, a Christmas theme being unlocked for the bonus stages, and remixed music composed by Wise. The original DKC3 would be re-released in 2007 on the Wii Virtual Console, then in 2014 on the Wii U Virtual Console, and in 2020 on the Switch Online.