Postby The Thwomp King » Sun Apr 05, 2020 5:26 pm
I haven't really posted much stuff in the community for years, so I figured I'd start throwing some of these lists on here. With my episode back in a healthier production phase, I was curious what levels may be among your favorites in the first DKC game. As it stands right now, here are my top 10 levels in the first game with some reasoning behind each one on the list.
10. Jungle Hijinx
- Despite it being the very first level in the game, it does a fantastic job of setting the tone of the entire game and possibly the entire series as a whole as there are a bunch of secrets to uncover right from the start.
9. Slipside Ride
- I always found it odd that this was the only ice cave level in the entire game, but music and visuals alone make this a standout stage. It's fairly challenging level with a fun gimmick with the sliding ropes that help keep it a dynamic and enjoyable follow up to one of the hardest levels in the game. I'm glad they made more of these levels in the sequel
8. Forest Frenzy
- I was bummed when both pine forest levels were basically knocked out right away in the third world as both are short, sweet, and fun. I give the edge to this one for making fairly challenging and fun way to utilize the ropes. Finding the secrets were also very enjoyable too.
7. Minecart Carnage
- I have an addiction to minecart stages in the later games, and it all started thanks to this stage. Definitely the first level to give me trouble, it introduce a mechanic that had yet to be done yet, and found a way to be both intense and thrilling altogether with following games striving to top the standard set here. This happened to be the first level where I accidentally found my first level skip barrel too oddly enough.
6. Loopy Lights
- Switch levels like this one always appeal to me paired with the ambient mine music that warns you that you're in for a challenge. The jumping Klaptraps got to me a lot, but I enjoyed the suspense of rushing to the next barrel to keep the lights alive. It's a great test to see how far we've come along in the game to trek through it with both speed and precision.
5. Millstone Mayhem
- Another great standout early on, I loved the music and atmosphere set in this level right from the get go. Going through it I always wanted to see a whole world in a future installment to have a more temple like theme, so it was a pleasant surprise when DKCR came out and had a temple world in it.
4. Blackout Basement
- The final level in Kremkroc Industries was always a standout for me as you're pressured to deal with the constant light flickering throughout. The music is extremely intense, and you're forced to heighten your senses to watch for any oncoming enemies or obstacles in between the brief moments of light.
3. Stop and Go Station
- The same reason I love Loopy Lights can be said for this stage, though I found this more intense strictly because what you're hitting the switch for is towards calming down some invincible enemies. It was always really intimidating how quickly they ran around, so the thrill of sprinting through the mineshaft was there from the get go.
2. Treetop Town
- This was the level that made me love barrel cannons so much, and it was always the level I wanted to show off to friends how quickly I could get through it. There's always been this adrenaline rush I get from shooting from cannon to cannon that always made me look forward to getting to this level each time I replayed this game. It's a blessing barrel cannons are finally in Smbx2, so definitely be on the lookout for a level like this to appear in my episode.
1. Snow Barrel Blast
- I might be crazy picking this as my top stage, but everything about this level just gives me everything I want in a fun level. Ice worlds are always my favorites in most games and the ones I always highly anticipate when doing a playthrough, and this set the bar so high for me growing up. Your progress through the level gets suspenseful as a clear sky slowly turns into a raging blizzard by the time you reach the halfway point on top of the action you go through when launching between barrel cannons. It's an extremely tough level (possibly the hardest in the game), but with some great secrets, insane challenges, and some great environmental visuals and suspenseful music, this will always be my favorite level in the game.
