3.5/5 ★ – Manic_Zucc's review of Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble!.

I feel like I never hear middle of the road opinions when it comes to Donkey Kong Country 3. For years I hear it described as “the bad one” then I would hear the apologists say that it’s a misunderstood masterpiece. I don’t think either of these are true. Let’s get the obvious out of the way, this is step down from Donkey Kong Country 2, but that is a dang high standard to meet. The visuals and controls are still very high quality and a match for what came before. The music is good but not even close to the majesty of its predecessors. There are some fun level gimmicks, but they never go quite as far with it as DKC2 does. Despite the endless comparisons that can be made with the other DKC games this one does a lot of things right. The more interactive world map is fun, the more puzzle based level design of some stages help craft more of a unique identity, and the boss fights here are better than any of the other games in the series. Also I know I’m going against the grain saying this but I like Kiddy Kong. Yes he’s just a reskinned Donkey Kong but come on, he’s a big baby in feety pajamas that’s super strong. That’s just inherently funny. So no DKC3 is not a bad game, but it also isn’t some forgotten masterpiece. It’s a good game that’s worth playing. If you like 2D platformers from the 90s then you could do much worse.