Donkey Kong Country

Comments

inspired by the original arcade game "Donkey Kong", Donkey Kong Country and its many sequels were a series of stunning games that had no comparison to anything that was released in the same era (1994),
as a technique, the game uses pre-recorded / pre-rendered motion-captured 3D animations (rumors are that the Amiga was used) that are then stitched together in order to create the "illusion" of 3D and, in fact, it is flawlessly believable managing to create a feeling of perspective
- it is games like Donkey Kong Country that made old-time computer users even wonder what a "graphics card" would be meant for, because to them games were already 3D!
- in many ways, 3D games are "lazy" where the rendering takes place in real time, with the code only hinting to what has to be rendered and how, but it is possible to reduce any 3D game to a "planar" one that achieves the same depth-effect; the computer screen is very much 2D and there is no "depth" that can be displayed, only an illusion thereof is created when shadows and texturing are correctly used,
for a platform game for the Super Nintendo, Donkey Kong was unparalleled in all domains though and across all consoles:
- save games,
- graphics,
- controller smoothness,
- gameplay and universe design