Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest

Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest
Developer	Rare
Publisher	Nintendo
System	Super NES, Game Boy Advance, Virtual Console (Wii, Wii U, New 3DS)
Release Date	Super NES JP November 21, 1995 US December 5, 1995 EU December 14, 1995 Game Boy Advance EU June 25, 2004 JP July 1, 2004 US November 15, 2004 Wii Virtual Console AU May 18, 2007 EU May 18, 2007 US May 21, 2007 JP October 23, 2007 Wii U Virtual Console EU October 23, 2014 JP November 26, 2014 US February 26, 2015 3DS Virtual Console PAL March 24, 2016 JP April 6, 2016 US April 14, 2016
Gallery	GH Gallery
Rating	ESRB: E

Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest is a side-scrolling adventure game that acts as a sequel to Donkey Kong Country and follows the same platforming style. This game is well-known for its challenging gameplay, dark atmosphere and memorable music. It also shifts the titular character out of a playable role in favor of featuring his sidekick Diddy Kong as the protagonist.

Story

Donkey Kong disappears while relaxing on the beach. When Diddy Kong and Dixie Kong go to investigate, they find many Kremling tracks as well as a note from Kaptain K. Rool demanding their banana horde. Diddy and Dixie go to save Donkey Kong and to prove to Cranky Kong that they are real video game heroes. This brings them to explore the Kremlings' home, Crocodile Isle.

Gameplay

This game follows the basic gameplay of the original Donkey Kong Country while changing it in deveral ways. A number of the differences come from the difference in protagonists. There is no longer the heavyweight DK, so the game is designed to accommodate the two smaller apes. Dixie also comes with unique abilities, as she can spin her hair like a helicopter to float through the air. There is also a team throw, where one Kong leaps onto the other piggyback-style and can be thrown to defeat enemies or reach something that is out of reach.

New features include more bonus stages, more diversity in levels, an unlockable Lost World, and the ability to transform into animals, which sometimes replaces riding the animal buddies. There are also more collectible items: Banana Coins are used as currency for dealing with other Kongs, while Kremcoins are earned through bonus games and used to access areas of the Lost World, and a DK Coin is hidden in each level for use in Cranky Kong's hero competition.

As in the previous game, there are a number of NPC locations that serve different services. Cranky Kong has a museum where he provides hints about the game, Wrinkly Kong has a school were she can save the player's progress and reveal gameplay tidbits, Swanky Kong has a trivia show where the player can earn extra lives, Funky Kong serves the same purpose in the other game in which his Barrelplane airline allows players to travel between available worlds, and Klubba is the only Kremling NPC, who controls access into the Lost World.

Continuity Notes

• In the instruction manual, Cranky mentions how he used to capture maidens and throw barrels in his youth, in reference to Donkey Kong.
• The instruction manual mentions Diddy's previous adventure with DK in Donkey Kong Country while ignoring Donkey Kong Land, as it is specifically stated that Diddy has been on only one adventure with Donkey Kong. Within the game, a scuttled version of the Gangplank Galleon from the first Donkey Kong Country appears as the first world.

Legacy

A companion game, called Donkey Kong Land 2, was released for the Game Boy. Donkey Kong Land 2 was in some ways a low-tech remake of Donkey Kong Country 2, with the main difference being different level designs and some characters/features being cut due to the Game Boy's technical limitations.

Ports and Remakes

• In 2004, this game was remade for the Game Boy Advance. This game added new minigames for each of NPCs and new collectible items (gold feathers for Cranky's new minigame involving Expresso and photos to fill an in-game scrapbook) as well as a new boss. There was also an extra mode called Diddy's Dash, where the player can control Diddy in trying to beat levels in record time.
• It has been made available for the Wii's Virtual Console in 2007, the Wii U Virtual Console in 2014 (2015 for America) and the New 3DS through the 3DS Virtual Console in 2016.
• In September 2020, the game was added to the library of Super NES games that were available to play on the Nintendo Switch for subscribers of the Nintendo Switch Online service.

Sequels

A sequel called Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble was released for the Super NES, and it followed this game's precedent of shuffling the main character around.

See Also

• Enemies in Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest
• Worlds and Stages in Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest