All 5 Donkey Kong Country Games, Ranked

All of the Donkey Kong Country games have been fantastic, in their own way - so trying to work out which of them is the king of swing is a daunting task. Now that Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze has been triumphantly rereleased on the Nintendo Switch, we take a look back on these legendary platformers to rank them properly.

[alexgibson]

Glad Freeze has a chance to shine on a system more people own!

[skcej]

Still unsure whether to pick up Freeze though!

[BLAKHOODe]

Same. I love DKC back in the day, but I hardly ever play the Switch and I'm not sure I want to put anymore money into it.

[Theknightofnights]

You hardly ever play the Switch, so you don't want to invest money into games that will help you play your Switch more often?

That doesn't really make sense...

[BLAKHOODe]

I hardly ever play my Switch because better version of games are typically on PS or Xbox, so my money goes on those platforms. I've bought 2 games for the Switch - Mario Kart and Super Mario Odyssey. I played each for a couple of days. My Switch has collected dust sense. Sure, DKC might be a good reason to dust it off, but more as a rental than a full purchase. Other than that, there isn't any other game coming to Switch I'm interested in. And if I had to part with one of my consoles sometime soon, it'd easily be the Switch.

[septemberindecember]

@Blakhood

That’s kind of his point. It sounds like you aren’t investing in games that would put your Switch to use. I bet if you bought more games for the console it’d get more play time.

A console is only as good as the games you buy for it.

[Old McGroin]

@ BLAKHOODe

It's pretty easy to see you don't actually have a Switch, go away you troll.

[DarkVoyager]

I was also on the fence. I ended up buying it and I’m glad I did. It looks great in Docked mode and also Portable mode. The loading times are much better and it’s a locked 60fps.

[deafdani]

If you haven't played it on the Wii U already, and loved the original DKC games, then yes, go for it. It's fantastic.

[Tom_Hopkins]

Looking forward to finally getting the chance to play Tropical Freeze.

[coffeemaster]

Same! DKCR was excellent

[jamiethepayne]

Kiddy Kong always scared the hell out of me (especially in Japanese where his name is Dinky).

[strayanalog]

Ah, yes. Twinfinite.

Here's their list:‎‎
5. DKC: R
4. DKC 3
3. DKC: TF
2. DKC
1. DKC 2

I haven't played Tropical Freeze (which I will today), so I hold my opinion till then.‎

[gangsta_red]

Nothing beats Donkey Kong 3, such a classic masterpiece

[PhoenixUp]

Donkey Kong 64 is a DKC game

[Theknightofnights]

Donkey Kong 64 is not a Donkey Kong Country game. Just like Metroid: Fusion isn't a Metroid Prime game.

[PhoenixUp]

Metroid Prime isn’t the main franchise, just Metroid is.

DK64 is a DKC title just like Super Mario 64 is a SMB title

[Theknightofnights]

Donkey Kong Country isn't the main franchise either...it's just Donkey Kong.

Also, Super Mario 64 isn't a Super Mario Bros title...
Neither is Super Mario Sunshine, Super Mario Galaxy, or Super Mario Odyssey.

[PhoenixUp]

DK64 was the DKC series’ introduction into 3D just like SM64, Sonic Adventure, LoZ: OoT, MGS and is a natural sequel.

[Theknightofnights]

Donkey Kong 64 was Donkey Kongs first foray into 3D, but Donkey Kong Country is a separate series.

Metroid Prime is a Metroid title, but not all Metroid titles are Metroid Prime titles.
Super Mario 64 is a Super Mario title, but not all Super Mario titles are Super Mario Bros. titles.
Metal Gear Solid is a Metal Gear title, but not all Metal Gear titles are Metal Gear Solid titles.
Donkey Kong Country is a Donkey Kong title, but not all Donkey Kong titles are Donkey Kong Country titles.

I hope this helps!

[PhoenixUp]

That’s still like saying games like Grand Theft Auto 3, Mega Man X7, Fallout 3, Marvel vs Capcom 3, Mortal Kombat 4, Dawn of Mana, Rayman 2, & The Sims 2 were separate series from their immediate predecessors.

Metroid Prime is a subseries. DKC became the main DK installment going forward just like Super Mario Bros became the main franchise after Mario Bros and Wrecking Crew. DK64 is just like all those games I listed earlier, a sequel that just happened to transition to 3D.

[Theknightofnights]

@Phoenix

You are still confusing franchises for series.

Donkey Kong Country is also a series. It isn't the main franchise. There are many games in the Donkey Kong franchise that aren't Donkey Kong Country. Donkey Konga, Donkey Kong Jungle Beat, King of Swing, etc.

Also, again, Super Mario Bros isn't the main franchise. Super Mario is a series in the Mario franchise, Super Mario Bros. is a sub-series in the Super Mario series. That's why we have "New Super Mario Bros." not "Super Mario Bros. Odyssey".

It's all in the name. Nothing to do with it's transition to 3D. Some of the games that you listed to try and counter my point clearly show that you didn't understand that.

[PhoenixUp]

Donkey Kong Country has become the main series in much the same way Super Mario Bros, or even Super Mario if you want to be technical, became the main series after Mario Bros & Wrecking Crew. When both series came to consoles after the arcades, those first original console entries defined the future of each respective series and are the cornerstone of their IPs.

It’s not called Super Mario Bros Odyssey because Luigi isn’t playable in that game.

Some things shouldn’t be taken only face value. Saying because DK64 doesn’t have the actual word “Country” in its title excludes it from being part of the DKC series is like saying

- Super Mario World isn’t part of the SMB series cuz Bros isn’t in the title,
- Jak II & Ratchet: Deadlocked are a different series from their predecessors because they dropped Daxter and Clank respectively from their titles,
- Yoshi’s Story or Yoshi’s Woolly World aren’t considered to be part of the Yoshi’s Island series cuz Island isn’t in the titles
- Super Mario Land 3 is part of the Super Mario Land series despite playing nothing like its predecessors,
- The 3rd Birthday isn’t part of the Parasite Eve series and can’t be consider the third entry because Parasite Eve isn’t in the title.

[Theknightofnights]

Just because a particular part of a franchise becomes the defining series doesn't mean every game from that franchise is part of that particular series.

-Super Mario World isn't a Super Mario Bros title. It is a Super Mario title though. Hence why I make that distinction. Also, Luigi is playable in this one, so why isn't it called "Super Mario Bros World" eh?
-Yoshi's Story and Woolly World aren't Yoshi's Island titles either. They are Yoshi titles. Yoshi's Island spawned it's own subseries with Yoshi's Island, Island DS, and New Island.
- Jak 2 and Jak 3 are both direct sequels to Jak and Daxter as denoted by the numbers at the end of the game title. Ratchet: Deadlocked was known as Ratchet & Clank 4 in Japan.
- The 3rd Birthday is a spin-off.

[PhoenixUp]

- Except Nintendo does classify Super Mario World as a Super Mario Bros title since its title in Japan was Super Mario World: Super Mario Bros. 4. The title was shortened in western markets.
- Most sites, including Nintendo’s own Super Smash Bros series, consider those titles under the Yoshi’s Island series.
- DK64 is a direct sequel to DKC3. Wrinkly Kong even mentions DKC3 and how she died since then when you first run into her. That’s completely different to how a title like DK: Jungle Beat tries to distance itself from the DKC series aside from being a side scroller.

[Theknightofnights]

If in Japan it's titled Super Mario Bros 4 then it is indeed a Super Mario Bros title. I'll concede there.

You can have games that are in the same timeline as other games without being in the same series or subseries. Metroid is a fine example of this. Samus Returns mentions the Prime series in several different ways, even though it is not part of the Prime subseries.

You know, I'm not really willing to argue this anymore. It's been drawn out too long. If you want to believe that they are part of the same series then feel free :)

[DivineAssault]

I liked TF more than the others.. Graphics and gameplay... I remember when DKC2 released though.. It was a hot item

[GortJester]

Wish Returns hit Switch as a pack-in with Tropical Freeze... oh well, here’s hoping for a new game sooner rather than later

[TallonIV]

DKC 2 had the best music, levels and enemies imo. It's also the most challenging.