I cant believe youre neglecting to mention the most important feature of these games. The carts were yellow.

Negatives: It's more of the same of Donkey Kong Country 2 with very little difference. Positives: It's more of the same of Donkey Kong Country 2 with very little difference.

Once again Rare had proven that, while the Donkey Kong Country trilogy utilized a method of 3D model-to-sprite digitization to then-groundbreaking effect as its initial selling point, some must realize that in addition, it was the games' superb soundtracks, charm and brilliant and innovative level design that pushed them over the top, helping each installment consistently stand among the very best that the era had to offer. Donkey Kong Land 2 continued the trend, as a good port that made do with the limited hardware, yet being a _slightly_ unique experience from its console counterpart, and even making a few improvements over the first DKL, reinforcing Rare's reputation for their care and attention to detail. Even David Wise's epic soundtrack, the legendary Stickerbush Symphony included, is handled quite well, and is full of nice bangers in its own right. Now, personally, as an owner of the original SNES trilogy, I probably wouldn't go out of my way to play these, but they are enjoyable in their own right, taking the era and handheld hardware into consideration. Nevertheless, I look forward to the Donkey Kong Land 3 review, and ponder, what aspects, other than perhaps the saving, were further improved?

Most underrated channel on youtube ... I cant understand y this guy isnt at 300k subs by now

I played the donkey kong land games and I thought it was a really good port. I'm surprised that rare out so much effort into the game. Also can I say that the music is amazing? I love it so much and I listen to it often.

As one of my favourite games on GB/GBC that I played to death 20 years ago, this in-depth look at the game is appreciated. Nice work

This was one of my first Gameboy games when i was like 5 or something. I would fly over to America every year to visit my grandparents and have fond memories of playing this on the plane under the limited overhead light. I didn't discover the Country series until I was about 20 years old and it felt like i was playing an HD remake!

I dug through my old collection of Gameboy games, and found DKL2. I never beat it, and only got up to Bramble Scramble which I'm astound that it's still saved after all this time since like the late 90's. I'm definitely going to play this game to make the time go by during this pandemic, and beat it. Love your video, keep up the good work.

Having it as close to the original as possible is exactly what we wanted on a handheld in 1996, especially considering how trash most GB ports were.

I love all your smart, consistent, high quality videos regardless of whether I've played the game in question. I really hope your channel blows up, you deserve it.

Donkey Kong land 2 came off to me as “this game is alright but I’d rather just play Donkey Kong Country 2.” I did like the 8 bit tunes though.

Just recently stumbled across your channel and I have to say I really enjoy watching your reviews! Keep up the amazing work! :)

Fantastic video Kris! The funny thing is, I have no desire whatsoever to play this, but I still love hearing you analyzing the heck out of it :-)

Another great one. Keep up the amazing videos! Always enjoy and look forward to each new video!

My goodness I love your channel. You have a great voice and a lot of incite on retro games. Thanks for being awesome! Great game too

Nice review! Thanks for uploading!

Hey, I just found your channel yesterday and subscribed today. I really like the way you do reviews, the pace makes them very addictive to watch. I'll be waiting for your DKL3 review :)

That subtitle confused me at first. But the conclusion explained it perfect. You had us in the first half, not gonna lie. And I agree with a lot of what you have to say. Especially with the Lost Levels.

Idk how your channel isn't more popular. Your analysis is thorough and your voice is velvet. What more could a subscriber want??

I've been playing Donkey Kong Land 2 (Game Boy) lately for the first time since the 90s. I remember I wasn't a huge fan of it even back then and I'm remembering why that's the case. The original DKL had its flaws but it was its own game and was still pretty enjoyable to play. DKL2 tries to be an 8-bit portable version of DKC2 and a lot of it doesn't work. It uses most of the level names from DKC2 but the levels themselves have been completely redesigned, but they still don't seem to suit the smaller screen very well in many cases, making you take leaps of faith where you can't see where you are going. You usually need to take things pretty slowly in general to make sure you don't run into an enemy or fall off a ledge you couldn't see. Some stages are completely butchered, like Glimmer's Galleon that doesn't even have Glimmer in it (instead the lights go out and you need to touch barrel switches to turn them back on). Haunted Hall isn't there at all and replaced by a generic rollercoaster stage called Krazy Koaster. Castle Crush is gone and replaced by a stage called Dungeon Danger which is more like Chain Link Chamber. It's missing an entire boss fight (Kudgel). The controls when using Squitter are abysmal. Rambi and Enguarde both have their charge moves but as I said above you usually don't want to be travelling too fast due to being unable to see what's coming, and there are also no bonus rooms or other secrets located inside walls, so these moves are almost useless. The bonus rooms, both the locations of them and also the rooms themselves deviate between mind numbingly easy to ridiculously hard with no middle ground. The music is good insofar as the actual arrangements are good, great even, but there isn't as many tracks as DKC2 has so a lot of the music is repeated and you'll be hearing the same tracks over and over, some of which don't thematically make sense for the level. Rattle Battle uses Lockjaw's Locker theme (actually, most ship levels use it) but they literally have the correct track in the game already which is only used in the first level of the game and then nowhere else, which is nonsensical. The music track is literally already in the game and it's not being used where it should be. I think they definitely made a mistake in trying to make a version of DKC2 for the Game Boy instead of just making it its own game like they did with the first game. The entire time I've been playing I've just been wishing I was playing DKC2 instead.

This was one of my first video games I can remember playing. It has a special place in my heart for sure, but that game over screen used scare me! Lol Great video 🥰

I love these reviews of relatively obscure old but gold games. When I was a little kid playing this I didn’t read reviews about it or talk to other kids about how good it was so videos like this validate my feelings about how awesome this game was.

I grew up with this game, thank you so much for talking about it!

It's nice to hear I'm not the only one that hates the cloud levels in DKL. Great video my dude!

The music is quite good for being an 8-bit conversion even though you'll mostly be hearing Lockjaw's Locker over and over again. Even more impressive is that it was Grant Kirkhope's first game he worked on at Rare. Strangely enough the Boss Bossanova track is in this game but was never used.

this is the best review i've seen for one of the games that i hold extremely dearly on my heart, the first game i ever played

How Grank Kirkhope managed to recreate the music basically 1-1 is mind boggling. Just don't do anything in game that makes a sound or you'll cut off a layer of music lol

I wish I'd experienced these games back in the gameboy heyday. This was a great cohesive review/retrospective of what was definitely a game that pulled more out of its hardware than really should have been possible.

As a kid, I never had a SNES so my memories of Donkey Kong Country 2 was playing Donkey Kong Land 2 on the GameBoy I loved it but I do remember when I did eventually play the SNES version via the original Wii's Virtual Console that the final boss fight with Captain K Rool was harder on the SNES version than the GameBoy version because of that gass that inverted your controls in the final part of the battle. Oh and Toxic Tower had it's level slightly changed with the Spider being one of the first ones you get in the level while evading the poisonous slime.

It’s crazy how you can play every DKC made by Rare on the GBA

This set of DKL game reviews will be good counterpoint to the Sonic GG titles . :o they’re fundamentally different in design, but there’s something about this that feels like it will lead into another handheld saga well. Especially since the Sonic GG titles are kinda all over the place in quality.

Speaking of Completion, the GameBoy version of Donkey Kong Country/Land 2 was the first game I 100% completed on my own. This was back before I had the internet and finding all of those Krem coins and DK Coins were the best part of my childhood during a time when all I had for a Nintendo system was my GameBoy before I was old enough to save up and afford a N64. Being raised in a middle to low income family taught me allot about how to appreciate your games and how to put allot of thought into each game you buy as money never grows on trees. This game right here, was one of the first games I owned to really appreciate completing a game 100%. Before that, I only ever had the chance to go to my neighbor's place, my school friend's place and even to an older cousin's place so I could play on a NES, SNES or Mega Drive as well as having a old Atari 2600 console only because my parents only brought me things that were cheep, not what I really wanted at the time. But at the end of the day, despite not being able to own an SNES as a kid, having this game on the GameBoy was one of the best things for me that I was really thankful for.

I really liked Donkey Kong Land 2! It did feel like a different experience even though it was familiar. Even with the stellar sound track, it's still a bit offsetting with the dominant tracks being Lockjaw's Locker and Hot Head Bop. Otherwise, it was fantastic! A very fun experience. I didn't care for the save system in either game myself. I think about younger kids whose parents set time limits for their screen time and sometimes were relentless on telling them it's time to get off. If you can't save yet...you'd lose that progress and that would just suck.

Amazing video review as always. I'm really looking forward to your DKL3 review. By the way, I hope you have plans on doing DKC for the GBC, as well as DKC 1-2-3 for GBA in the future! It'll be great to hear your thoughts on those games.

The first dkl made me pull my hair out. This one and especially dkl 3 are huge improvements.

Dude, It's basically a technical marvel that not only did they effectively port a game which was a hardware pusher in it's own right on the SNES, onto an already then 7 year old handheld with, about half the resolution and sound channels and still do the graphics and sound justice respectively, but I'd even argue it's a better port overall than DKC2 Advance with respective limitations considered.

This is such a great channel. I still watch your back catalogue, and I still hope that you'll come back. Especially cos I was wondering... Is Colin McRae Rally... still good??

Great stuff, Kris!

I’m gonna have to buy all these games. I love all the DKL games because of you

When people complain about these ports, I don't think they're thinking of what these ports meant for players at the time. I was too poor to own a SNES but I had a gameboy color. Most gameboy games were absolute trash. When I picked up Donkey Kong Country 2, My 7 year old mind was blown at what was possible. I played the crap out of that game. And now that I'm older, I prefer the SNES experience but I am eternally grateful of that portable experience before the time of the switch :)

Donkey Kong Land 2 was the first Donkey Kong Country/Land series I actually played when I found my brother's copy of the game along with other GB copies. It encouraged me to download the DKC Trilogy on my Wii back in 2011. I also played these games behind his back, but I sucked as I didn't know what the hell I was doing.

I am literally playing this right now on my 3DS. I am honestly surprised of how great this game looks and play.

DKL2 might be great for GB but I'm still disappointed at how it does nothing different from DKC2 other than new layouts. Playing this game even now I still see mostly things that were taken out: team moves, riding the animal buddies, many animations and background details, the Lost-World stages are watered down, end-goal bonus, the cinema of Krockodile Isle sinking into the sea loses its creepiness (at least it's in there), no Cranky, etc. But it does prove DKC2 is a rock-solid platformer even without the bells and whistles like you said.

One aspect a lot of people may not know is that back in the day, not everyone including myself had the luxury to afford an SNES at the time when DKC2 was readily available. The Gameboy was highly affordable and getting the gameboy port was the next best thing to try out the appeal of what was great about the DKC games. I ended up getting this game and also Tetris Attack since I enjoyed their versions of what was offered even though the SNES games are vastly superior.

As someone who saw and played the DKC 2 at a friend's house, and not be able to afford it, I was glad to have asked for the GB version, and that they kept it close to its superior. Such a great and passionate game

honestly I wish that Donkey Kong Land 2 and 3 were more like the original Donkey Kong Land

bro, if you aren't greedy, you can beat the king zing and then just return to that same world or the first one even and save there. It's what I did when I was a kid to overcome the difficulty spike. Then you just have to get 2 coins to travel with and your first save in the new world is free. Totally reasonable. This was a hard game on snes. I don't think it deserves to be called one of the hardest of all time like some people do (maybe the 100% category), but I'm glad they kept it that way mostly on the GBC. The difficulty was part of the appreciation and the gameplay was good enough to make level replays frustrating, but fun and rewarding. That 1 point aside, you are correct, this is a beast of a portable game. Really stretched the limitations of the hardware.

While this is a better game than Donkey Kong Land 1, if anyone has ever played Donkey Kong Country before, I feel he/she would be hard-pressed to play this game afterward. It does feel like an inferior version of a console game containing flaws typical of any handheld game, let alone a Game Boy game.

It is a triumph of technical skill from Rare. Everything they did was superb in that era.

I own but never actually played this, but can't you save any time by going back to college like on console? You need a few coins but those are plenty, or is that not an option? I don't think DKL 1 was good to have to find KONG to save, saving after every level though is a good idea but having to earn it is a bit iffy for a handheld game that you can pick up and put down in short increments.

Funny you post this as I'm doing my first run through the game. Love it so far except for the shrunk playfield.

I hope he'll check out the Japanese version of DKL3, which was a GBC title and graphically superior to its international OG GB counterpart.

Can’t wait for DKL3!!!

Long before I beat DKC2 on the GBA (not 100% though), and long before I played the original on the SNES? An old friend's copy of Donkey Kong Land 2 was how I fell in love with the original DK Country 2.

I'll never forget the day I finally beat Slime Climb.

I had this game before I had the SNES game. Love it to this day.

A heads up - the subtitles say "test the player's mettel" where it should say "test the player's mettle" :) That's one of those words I see misspelled or misused all the time that drive me nuts, sorry lol

Good stuff.

This was the first game I ever bought.

Great fucking video bro. You're great at what you do

I LOVED these games,I had all 3.

I recently finished dkc1 for snes and just started playing tropical freeze, so far I'm more a fan of the original it plays much more responsive. I'll have to pick this up looks similar to the snes original with responsive controls and not too much going on in the background like tropical freeze.

9:55 Fun fact: The DKL mole boss Hard Hat is best known in the Kirby fandom of all things. This is because his artwork was mistaken for an unused enemy in the cancelled SNES game Kid Kirby. kirby.fandom.com/wiki/Kid_Kirby#Controversy

I guess my question is, if I have the choice between this or DKC 2, why wouldn't I play the latter instead? I tried playing this awhile back but I fizzled out pretty quickly. I'd like to finish this game at least once, and I'm hoping to find the mindset to get me there. So that's why I'm asking. It's hard not to notice how similar this game is with the SNES game, and I guess I'm hoping if I find the right way of looking at it, I'll find the motivation to play through it.

man ,thats my childhood

Beautiful

I agree. The DKL2 soundtrack is incredible for GameBoy standards. Not sure what you're going to think of DKL3. The level design will be a little less polished and empty-feeling but features a better variety than this game, and the sprite work will be very good for 8-bit standards.

You might even say it's... RiDONKulous

This game is easily deserving in the top 10 DMG games. Already based on one of the best platformers ever, Rare made a remarkable handheld conversion taking into account what did and didn't work from the original. As a result, this is one of the best aged games on the GameBoy. Towards the end of the GBC's lifespan, Donkey Kong Land 1 got a pseudo remake in the form of Donkey Kong Country for GameBoy Color - a version that partially used content from DKL and partly used content from DKC for SNES. Considering just how much better Donkey Kong Land 2 is than the first effort, I was disappointed Rare didn't follow the GBC Donkey Kong Country with Donkey Kong Country 2 for GBC.

Can't wait for the DKL3 review. It is the best of the _Land_ series by a good margin.

... I had no idea you could take out the rope Kremlings by swinging into them. Was that in the SNES game too?

That’s Handsome Pete. He dances for nickels.

This is random but can you do a UP to date 1080p native ps3/xbox360 retail games list some time? would be awesome!!

I enjoyed this game, but if anyone thinks Squitter is annoying to use on a Game Boy, he is hell to play on a 2DS. That's because the select button is below the A,B,Y, and X buttons. It's a shame Nintendo won't let you remap controls on Virtual Console games. With all that said, this game is awesome.

I 100%d this as a kid, what an amazing 8-bit platformer i only wish there was a DX version made

I honestly was disappointing donkey Kong Land 2 because it really was to me a repeat of donkey Kong Country 2 but now seeing this review I've learned that there is more to it than that.

...Kleever isnt in DKL2 I thought... why did they roll Krem Quay into crocodile Cauldron

Awesome review. DKL 2 is by far my favourite game of all time! The fact you made a lengthy video on it was so cool!I know that you said that you wished the developers would have given the player something new. I think the reason they tried to recreate the DK Country 2 experience as much as they could on Gameboy was because the second Country game in SNES was quite expensive at the tine. Perhaps not everyone could afford it as in the UK it was 50 pounds which was a significant price. So , maybe they wanted to give Gameboy owners a taste of what the second game had to offer as it was significantly cheaper then DK country 2. As a kid DKC2 simply was not in my price range and so DKL2 was the next best thing!

I adore DKL2! I never cared for the first DKL. I've completed all three Game Boy and Super NES ports, but I'll always love DKC2 and DKC3 over the first DKC, and like wise with the DKL series!

I personally find this game the worst of the DKL trilogy. The music is very repetitive and the graphical design is pitiful compared to the first DKL game. And yes, this game is basically a watered down version of DKC 2. DKL 3 is my favorite from the GB trilogy. Summarized... 1. DKL 3 2. DKL 1 3. DKL 2

I still own both 1 and 2 on my Game Boy

Pro #1: It's a better game than the first DKL Pro #2: The music is better than that of the first DKL Con: The final boss is hard to beat

I don't know how I beat this game as a kid.

12:24 the original finale was very difficult

It’s likely a lot didn’t make it in because of the time frame

Childhood nostalgia justified

I wonder how this game would have been if they had made it for the Game Boy Color.

Amazing games

Question: Will Plant be reviewing DKL3?

I'll say it is! I can never beat the final boss to save my life

Squitter is my favorite animal buddy! Don’t know what it is.

I love this game!

This game brought back trauma

I've completed all three DKL back in the day. DKL 2 is better of the three, especially because of the music. Same with DKC on the SNES

Think this is ridiculous? Did you know they were considering a Virtual Boy port?

Well..DKL2 is basically a port of DKC2. The first DKL was pretty different from DKC.

Did he say Stickerbush Symphony? Isn't it StickerbRush Symphony? 😅

Can you look at Rain World🌧🌎

imagine if these were the launch titles for the platform it would sell even more like hotcakes and my childhood would have been better. by the time they came out i feel gameboy was irrelevant.

LAND 3 PLEASE