It seems that most people feel DKC2 is the best in the series. However, having played through all three games this year (for the first time), I believe DKC3 is the overall best. The first two games have some rough edges that were smoothed out, and the overall flow of the game and level design are more enjoyable.

 

The first thing anyone will notice is the character design. I admit that Dixie and Kiddy are not my favorite characters, but Rare has perfected the balance between the two characters and really made them feel different. The first game had strong Donkey and fast Diddy, although “strong” just meant he could kill a certain enemy that Diddy could not. The second game had fast Diddy and floating Dixie, but characters felt very similar. The third game has floating Dixie and strong Kiddy. Dixie walks slowly while carrying items and cannot throw Kiddy very far. Kiddy cannot float, but can throw Dixie far and run at normal speed while carrying items. You can really sense the difference between the two, and it creates many situations where you clearly need to use one over the other.

 

The second thing players will notice is the map. The first two games had a simple point-to-point map with no hidden levels or objectives. It felt rather clunky, since you could not easily or immediately move from section to section. Once you entered a section, you could not leave until you either completed the level, or reached “Funky’s Flights”. The third game allows you to come and go as you please. It also adds an explorable world with hidden caves and secret levels. Another change for the better is the ability to save whenever you wish. While these changes lower the challenge a bit, they remove the the  more frustrating design of the previous games.

 

Another greatly improved aspect is the level design in regard to the bonus rooms. In the first game, you often had to guess or make blind jumps to find the rooms. The second game significantly improved this by adding subtle cues of where to look or jump. This often took the form of bananas in odd or hard to reach locations, which naturally draw the eye and invite the player to explore. The challenge of finding the hidden rooms in the third game is perfect, with them being hidden enough that you must actively seek them out, but easy enough to find on your first or second play-through of each level. Often, the challenge involved figuring out how to get to the room, not just find it. In the previous games, finding the rooms was the challenge. I greatly prefer the former type of challenge, involving puzzle-solving rather than guesswork.

 

Speaking of puzzle-solving, the way DK coins are handled is much more interesting this time around. The second game simply had a DK coin hidden somewhere in each level. The third game takes this to the next level by requiring you to solve a puzzle involving a barrel and a Kremling with a shield. The coins are noticeably easier to find now, but the mini-puzzle compensates for this and makes finding the coins fun, while they were often a chore in the previous game.

 

Swap Diddy for Dixie and Donkey for Kiddy, and you would have a perfect game. Otherwise, it is still great and, in my opinion, the best in the series. I almost passed on this game due to the criticism online and how different it is from the rest of the series. I am glad that I gave it a chance, as I enjoyed every minute of my journey from 0% to 103% completion.

1.the 3rd one is sooo easy 2. they got rid of most of the good enemies. 3.everything is cartooney and more kid friendly. 4. THE MUSIC - isnt nearly as good not even close.

However i do love the game. I just dont think it is as good as the others.

1.the 3rd one is sooo easy 2. they got rid of most of the good enemies. 3.everything is cartooney and more kid friendly. 4. THE MUSIC - isnt nearly as good not even close.

However i do love the game. I just dont think it is as good as the others.

I'll still like the first one the most, but thats probably because it's the only one I owned when I was younger. I recently played through a good portion of 3 and enjoyed it, but it doesn't compare to #1 for me.

I agree that many people will hold the first or second game more dear than the third, simply due to nostalgia. I'm sure that the first two games got more attention at release. People were busy playing Mario 64 when DKC3 hit the shelves!

I should mention that I enjoy the challenge of the first game, but the virtually random locations of the hidden rooms was a turn-off. I prefer more logical thinking in my games. The bonus rooms in the first game were also extremely boring, and only rewarded you with 1ups.

I'm mostly a fan of the first and due to the stupid way coinage was handled in the second, plus the lack of a beefy kong I pretty much hated #2 so I never got 3. I just got it in a lot over the weekend and while I've probably done 5% of the game so far, it does match up fairly well with your ideas on it and I do appreciate the refinements I've seen as #2 was such an annoying dog with the toll gates and other stupidity.

When it first came out I played through DKC3 and liked it, but was underwhelmed and still held 2 as my favourite.

About a month ago I played through all three games (2 and 3 I had not played since they were first released) and while 2 is still my favourite, I definitely gained a greater appreciation for 3. It is on the easier side (i had forgotten just how hard the second game can be) but I really liked the level design, the set-up of the map screen (love the music there too) and just the sheer abundance of things there are to do. It's now a game I can see myself playing through every year or so just for the fun of it.

3 is also my favorite, pretty much for the same reasons you pointed out.

You dang kids! No one remembers, back in my day you had to throw barrels at that stupid plumber.

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I'd have to put #2 as my current favourite, just because I've played it the most both now and as a kid. I could easily see #3 beating it though once I put more time into it. I remember playing 3 as a kid and being blown away by the addition of the collectible items, vehicles and the over-world map with all it's secrets.

The gameplay is the best in the third, but the music is the worst (not to say any of it is bad, but it's fairly forgettable compared to Aquatic Ambiance, Rattle Battle, or Forest Interlude, to name just a few). Still a great game, though, and I love the whole series. Here's to hoping DKCR gets more sequels in the same vein and they improve upon it.

3 is also my favorite me and my sister are finally going to beat it after owning it forever. Dixie is pretty much all you need too beat this game, from time to time you need kiddy to throw dixie but then you switch back to dixie right away afterwords.

If I can give some advice to you who are playing it, it is this "you always have to keep a full snout"

Three has turned into my fsvorite. I owned 2 as a kid and a friend had 1. While I love them all 3 just clicks ahead. Interestingly enough though I had no idea there was a three until last year when I got into collecting.

I personally like all 3. I can definately agree on the all points you made for DKC 3, and I would add to that the use of the Bear stores to buy items to trade with the bears like the shell for the banana bird. It encouraged you to spend coins unlike DKC 2 where you pretty much just spend to save your game. My only gripe with DKC 3 was the way the Kremlings looked in the game, even when I first played the game as kid I was wondering if I like the game and for awhile I didn't. Now I appreciate it as it's own unique game while still holding to the fun DKC game play.

By the way am I the only one that likes Dixie? Of course this might have more to do with the fact that I always found it funny that she could glide down by spinning her ponytail like a helicopter.

My only beef with Dixie is that, since I constantly hold down the Y button, I often accidentally do the spin move while in air. It has caused a lot of deaths.

2 all day

I agree completely with the first post, DKC3 is the best of the three.

I'm probably one of the only people on the internet who even likes Kiddy Kong. I like him because he's a "strong" type character, but isn't as slow and clunky as DK is. To me, Kiddy Kong is the perfect character for platforming in DKC. He is very responsive and quick and makes doing tricky jumps and rope climbing feel easy. He is my preferred character in DKC3 and the lack of such a refined character in either DKC1 and 2 is one reason why I don't like them as much.

Also, I am probably the only person online that likes the music in DKC3 over the other two games. The music is both nostalgic to me, as well as genuinely well composed. Perhaps my favorite bit of music in any of the DKC games is the Bonus round music in DKC3, it feels like the perfect finisher to a great trilogy. It almost invokes a feeling reminiscence of the good times spent in the prior two games. I also absolutely love the intro for DKC3, it's absolutely kick ass.

All three are great games. For me, DK2 gets the gold because of the music. DK1 is a close second and DK3 is third best. Kiddy just pisses me off, the game is short, and music is probably the worse. But still a great game.

Pretty much agree with this. The original DKC is great fun. I'm not a huge fan of the other two, not really sure why.

Thats the reason why she is my favorite character. I always hold the Y button down in most SNES games I play. I think it became a habit of mine while playing super mario world. Which is the game I spent more time playing than any other. Its just easier to hold it all the time to run and to coast down from jumps when you have the feather. So I guess I carried that over to DKC games and since she has the same mechanic as mario Y is run and also float I feel more comfortable using her.

Yeah, DKC3 is easily one of my favorite SNES games. I can't get into DKC2, and DKC just kind of falls flat unless you get some beers in you while you're playing.

I would like DKC3 the best, but I just cannot get into kiddy kong. But it has my favorite level design of the 3 for sure

Whatever, the first one is perfect.

Just get a friend to play Kiddy! I've played this plenty on co-op mode with my younger brother and I always snag Dixie...it's a great arrangement.

Have you tried the GB game versions?