>The lack in diverse level designs became the basis of the latest entry in the franchise

Hmmm...

This is why DKC 2 > DKC 3 > DKC 1

>>716007125 (OP)
>Spiteful Japs go back to the start to rape a beloved franchise
Truly, the samurai do not know mercy.

DKC was caves, which were cool, mines, which were cool, forest/jungle, which were cool, some snowy levels, which were ok, underwater, which were ok (but still better than other games with underwater levels), and factory levels.

Pretty diverse.

>>716007623
Look at how many of each type they had

>Jungle
4

>Cave
5

>Underwater
4

>Walkway
5

>mineshaft
4

>ruins
2

>forest
2

>treetops
2

>snow
2

>ice cave
1

>factory
2

The balance is actually pretty good up until Chimp Caverns, the worst themed world by far

>>716007332
DKC2 has way worse level order/theming per world than 1, with Gloomy Gulch being the exception.

you are forgetting the temple

>>716009173
DKC 2 is actually perfectly balanced. There are 13 types of levels and (if you count Animal Antics as jungle) each of them gets 3 levels.

>>716009497
>(if you count Animal Antics as jungle)
animal antics is mostly jungle, iirc. But from what I can recall, it's also not the only level in the game to change tile sets.

>>716009173
I know. The library's roller coaster truly added to the theming.

DKC1 has more atmosphere than any of the other Donkey Kong games just because the levels incorporated a stronger feeling of nature. Most of the levels really do feel like you're in the natural environment of where DK lives. Obviously the exceptions are the factory and mines. Even that weird stop and go cave was weirdly moody and intense, they did a good job of setting the tone in that game.

>>716007125 (OP)
DKC peaked on 3. The Canada setting was pure comfy.
Also, imagine having to pay Funky Kong to visit levels from different worlds, LMAO. That will never be me.

>>716007125 (OP)
The music is kino tho

>>716009497
>There are 13 types of levels
>>716009702
Map did a better job justifying it than Kremland did justifying a random bramble section between two coasters.

>>716008986
So?

>>716007125 (OP)
>Cave world
>wtf why are there so many cave levels talk about lack of diversity

>>716010385
You expect the Kremlings to actually maintain the park? Landscaping? Yeah. No.

>>716010419
>jungle world (with cave level)
>cave world
>tree world
>snow world (with cave level)
>cave world
>cave world

>>716007125 (OP)
I like how beavers, banana birds and other things are fossils now

>>716007332
Now i'm curious
DKC1:
Jungle Temple, Forest, Tree Tops, Snow, Ice cave, factory, Water, Mines, Mine Carts, Caves, Mine caves(?)(you know the ones like that one fuel level)
>DKC2
Boats, Boat interiors, Boat sail climbing, Lava, Mines, Swamps,Bramble, Hives, Roller Coaster, Haunted Forest, Haunted Roller Coaster, Ice, Castle interior Lost World Jungles
>DKC3
Riverside, Depot, Factory, forest, tree tops, Sewers, Snow, Jungle, Ocean, Waterfall, Caves, mountaun climbing,

I think that's all the stage themes? feels like I'm missing some for dkc3 though

>>716007125 (OP)
fucking dogshit dkc was

Life in the Mines is god tier. People who hate caves are not human.

>>716009831
The maps also did a good job reflecting where you were going and why, with a few exceptions. Meanwhile DKC2's areas had a bad habit of feeling like "what the fuck ever, here's a level I guess" at points. 3 did it pretty well.

>>716010821
Dkc2 was fine. Name one time the map wasn't accurate to the level

Level diversity might be important but I would argue that cohesiveness is more important.

>>716010475
>Uhmmmm I can make up an excuse!
Cool, but it looks and feels half-assed when you play it. It's not a crime against humanity, but DKC2 has the most fuck it who cares attitude of the bunch.

>>716007125 (OP)
Why weren't there any donkeys in this game?

>>716010946
different guy. the only times I can possibly think of is the 2 random ice levels in k.rools keep and the final bramble level before K.rool kinda appearing out of nowhere. Even then I'm completely unbothered by it.

>>716011195
Those are all visible on the map though

>>716011126
Fuck off. K Rool liked keeping Zingers around and shit.

>>716010821
>>716010946
DKC 1 and 3 felt like they designed the map screens after they did the levels. DKC 2 feels like they gave the guy doing the map screens a list of level themes they were going to use per screen and then he made some cool backgrounds.

>Get to Stronghold Showdown
>It's a fakeout
>Ominous music plays, and the camera pans upwards
>A bramble level and airship are up ahead

How the fuck did they make a 2D game so epic?

>>716010946
Rare changed the map layouts entirely for the GBA version because they were fucking nonsense. They didn't change the layouts for 1 and 3 (the back half of 1 got a good bit of an aesthetic overhaul, though). Cauldron and Quay in particular are absolute bullshit despite being beautiful renders, and Kremland had the previously mentioned bullshit justification for a bramble level.

Again, it's not a big deal, but DKC2's maps were way worse than 1 and 3s at actually justifying the levels in the world and how you move between them.

>>716011608
where does the bramble even come from if it's not connected to the island itself or visible in the previous section of the map?

>>716011351
Pretty much. They're really cool CGs, especially Krem Quay, but they suck at conveying the journey.

>>716011840
Do not question the nature of brambles. They're empyrean entities that somehow spawned in our world. They can do what they want.

>>716011792
The gba stuff was probably more of a screen resolution issue

>>716012590
It's not. They kept the same layouts for 1 and 3's scrolling maps, with the same perspective for the map art. Meanwhile they just completely redid all of 2's maps from scratch and a ton of them had big changes to make it more cohesive.

Man, it's crazy how Rare knocked it out of the park for about 8 years and then immediately went to shit.

>>716011131
Why hasn't anyone made Monkey Kong?

Rare admitted they had to rush towards the end, and thats why the last world is all recycled level themes.