Top Ten Levels in Donkey Kong Country

Good factory level with the blackout mechanic making for hilarious moments.

We close off the underwater levels now, with the best underwater level in the game, Croctopus Chase. Sure it is the only one where you can't hold on to Enguarde until the very end, but the gimmick is one of the best and most exhilerating in the entire game. For most of the time, you are being chased by these Croctopuses, not Kroctopus, Croctopuses. They will follow you on a strict path until they reach a destination, and it can be really hectic. You need to be fast, and you're always on your toes. This underwater level also has my favourite look, as the walls are a shining blue. There really isn't anything to complain about in this level, well except for the lack of Enguarde mostly, but to be fair that would've made the level a little too easy. As it is, it's one of the most hectic yet soothing levels in the game. The only reason it's not higher is because..., well, it's a bit basic in concept? Like the entire level is pretty straight-forward, nothing new really happens throughout the course of the level, which makes it a bit boring at times, and thus it isn't any higher than it is now.

Looks great, awesome music, lots of fun blasting out of barrel cannons.

From now on we reach the Top Ten of this ranking and I love all levels here. They could be inter-changed, so the fact that this is only the tenth best level in the game does not mean it's not good, because it is. Anyways...
The forest theme of Donkey Kong Country is another really appealing and atmospheric theme in the game. What especially draws me in about these kinds of levels is just how this forest looks like. As it's not quite a jungle, more so, it's a bit taiga-related. Taiga is basically the northern spruce belt where spruces are common, and these levels really does seem to push for that setting, as there are several spruces in the background for these levels. And Vulture Culture is a great level for this theme. It's lively, yet quiet and a bit mysterious, like you're in a walk in the forest. It has some of the most fun barrelling segments in the game, where you aim to get rid of as many Neckies as possible. The biggest flaw I guess is the over-abundance of Mini-Neckies, one of my least favourite enemies in the game. They constantly spit these seeds when you least expect them too and it has caused me to become frustrated at times. But it doesn't hinder my overall enjoyment for this great level.

Unless you count Boss levels, the worst level in not just Donkey Kong Country, but also one of in the entire series, will always be the frustrating Mine Cart Carnage. This level is everything that can go wrong on making a level. In this level, you ride in a mine cart for the majority of the time, avoiding pits and enemies rushing towards you in their own minecarts. What could possibly go wrong? Well everything, basically. There's barely any interesting platforming to be found here. The entire level is just riding in this minecart, jumping over huge gaps and making sure you don't get hit by anything. And doing all of this is hard, because the minecart is way, WAY too fast. Sure you can slow it down by jumping a lot but then you risk not being able to jump over certain gaps. So you need super high reflexes to not lose. It would be fine if it was just certain bits that used this gimmick, but a whole level? It gets even worse in the second half when Krashes come in your direction, faster than the speed of light and you only have a few seconds to jump at the right moment. Mine Cart Carnage is atrocious.

Chimp Caverns has had a pretty rough selection of levels thus far as you can see. Six of its seven levels have been in the bottom ten of this ranking, so it's nice to see that Platform Perils somewhat redeems the world and finishes it off on a decent note. Platform Perils, as opposed to the rest of the levels in Chimp Caverns, is an actually great level. It's fun and unique enough for me to not brush it off as just another cave level. You traverse this level by walking on arrowed platforms in different directions, and sometimes these platforms are owned by un-stompable enemies, so you need to take them out to get on to that platform before the platform you're currently standing on sinks into the abyss. It's a REALLY exhilerating level that keeps you on your toes and it's a bit sad that none of the other Chimp Cavern levels were this unique and fun. But at least there is one great level, better one than none.

Slipside Ride is a pretty unique level in Donkey Kong Country, as it is the only level in the entire game whose level theme doesn't re-occur in any other level. In this case, it's the Ice Cave-theme, appearing only in Slipside Ride, which makes it a pretty unique course among its peers. And they couldn't have picked a better level to use the theme on, as Slipside Ride is one of my favourite levels. From now on we reach the Top Ten of this ranking and I love all levels here. They could be inter-changed, so the fact that this is only the tenth best level in the game does not mean it's not good, because it is. It's downright gorgeous and has an amazing Christmassy little tune to accompany it! The gimmick is also one of the uniquest yet fun in the game, as you traverse this chanty ice cave by using these coloured ropes. The blue ones force you to go upwards, and the purple ones do the opposite. So it can be a really hectic ride. It really forces you to pay attention to a level that's gimmicky yet rewarding. Overall, an amazing level.

Super unique and fun, and also a tad horrifying.