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There is not a lot to choose from in the way of new Donkey Kong hacks. So I was very happy to find this. And full stop, this is good, if you want more Donkey Kong Country, then play this because that's exactly what it is, more Donkey Kong Country.

It does look rough in a few areas, I imagine the pre rendered background tilesets are kind of hard to work with. Luckily this only pops up a few times.

Now don't expect too much new, this game is very familiar, the title screen is the same, the world map is the same, the enemies are the same albeit differently colored, the world themes are the same, the music is the same, they did switch up some of the music and attempt to make a new level theme in the last world and I wish there was a little more of that but what can you do? The bosses are also the same except for the two Beavers. They take more hits and get a lot faster.

That being said, what matters most is level layout, and while a lot of it feels familiar, they are not the same. Yes if you choose a level that was a cave on the original game, it's gonna be a cave on the hack, or a water level, or a mine cart level, the only thing that isn't represented is the fuel tank level, which, good riddance imo. They did try to get more creative in the very last world by creating the illusion of a new frozen cave with ice physics, music, and colors, I wish there was a bit more of that kind of thing.

There is one thing I'm very mixed on. This game gives you infinite lives, and when you die, you respawn instantly at the beginning or the last checkpoint, rather than being booted out of the level. That's all well and good but if it's a very tough level and you're running out of time to play, you can't exit the level to save your progress and quit the game... also, the fact that this game has infinite lives makes Bananas, the KONG letters, animal tokens, 1-up Balloons, and bonus levels all pointless. They're very satisfying to grab and all that, I would rather the game have them than not, but you're better off avoiding most of them since they can be risky to grab at times. They literally serve no purpose in this game unless you're a completionist or something, and even then, the game does not tally your bananas. There are some later levels that are pretty tough but I don't think this game warrants the infinite lives treatment. Maybe a good level with easy to farm life balloons but not infinite lives.

All this said, this is fantastic, it's more Donkey Kong, and it's well made enough that I could see myself playing through this again one day, but I do hope we get more full on level packs like this for DKC and the other two DKC games as well. It's not fair that Mario gets all the fun.

I can't believe I didn't review this earlier! I left feedback in the forum thread but failed to properly review this fantastic romhack. This game manages to capture a lot of the charm, design, and thoughtfulness of the original game but with some new twists. The difficulty scaling is right on par with the original as well, which is really impressive. Most levels have been revamped, and the few that haven't (water levels - technical limitations I believe) have at least gotten re-colors and a few different enemies to make up for it. The bosses are much more interesting than the original bosses, most of them being just slightly altered to increase their difficulty. The platforming is varied and refreshing in each world, and the use of enemies more broadly across worlds makes for some great new experiences. I really can't say enough good things about this hack. Most of it's bigger flaws are limitations in either available hacking tools or the game itself. But that is probably less than 10% of the hack easily. The last world and last few levels were an absolute treat!

Only negative things would be water levels not receiving more changes (tech limitations I think) and a few bosses not being changed (same issue probably). I suppose you could harp on some of the platforming sprites and graphics not being perfectly clean, but that's not really the authors fault in my opinion, and they aren't that glaring anyways.

Thank you for this wonderful addition to the DKC series!

Very well-designed with a nice feeling of difficulty progression as the game went on. Best Donkey Kong Country hack I've played so far. The changes in the bosses were minimal but some changes are better than none. The levels were short but sweet. Most hacks shoot for too high of a difficulty but this one was mostly fair and offered an adequate challenge. No game is without issue, there is room for improvement but good job overall. Solid hack, 8/10.

In spite of its immense popularity in the 1990s, the Donkey Kong Country series has inexplicably been left to languish for the last couple of decades, and, at the time of writing, there hasn't been anything else quite like it on the market since. The Retro Studios titles that carry the branding don't play anything like Donkey Kong Country, so long-time fans of the format of Rare's SNES games have been left without a new DKC to play for many years - until now.

DKC Mania offers an experience that's inspired by what went before it, but so much about it is fresh and new that the hack could just as easily have been passed off as a "Donkey Kong Country 4" and nobody would bat an eyelid. It certainly feels worthy of the name!

The hack's authors clearly have an acute grasp on what makes Donkey Kong Country tick, and the stage designs are creative and a joy to play throughout, leading up to a brilliantly-paced final stage that has a fun concept and a delightful flow to it, before things wind down with the final two bosses. The difficulty-level and pacing are broadly similar to the original game throughout, even down to having difficulty-spikes in the places where the original taught you to expect them (such as the first minecart level, the first blizzard level, and so on), and it never becomes unreasonable - there is no "kaizo" stuff here, and everything is doable by a regular person without using save-states, just like the official titles.

Most of the bosses are much the same as they were in the original game, but given the intent of the hack, that's understandable and isn't a problem. Beyond that, new palettes for many stage and enemy types give the hack a fresh coat of paint that helps the visuals to feel just as fresh as the levels do (the looks of the cool-hued night-time ruins levels are a particular standout, I feel). Another plus was that it seemed like there was more reason to switch between the Kongs in DKC Mania than there was in the original game, which adds another layer of variety to the proceedings, and the quality-of-life features such as infinite lives and instant respawning without being kicked back to the map keep the game flowing nicely by not breaking your focus on it. There's obviously been a lot of love and care poured into this hack, and it shows in every way.

The only downside is that the title screen and Cranky Kong's text both remain unchanged from the original (it would have been nice if they both reflected the content of the hack), but when that's the "worst" that can be said about a hack, that's high praise for everything else in it!

Those looking for a new adventure with Donkey Kong and Diddy need look no further than DKC Mania. If you're an old fan from back in the SNES days, or even a newer one who was introduced to the series by its GBA conversions, who felt that the Retro Studios DKC-branded titles weren't for you, then this is your game - it feels official, and is a must for any fan's library. Those who know the original Donkey Kong Country well will find plenty to smile about throughout, and I can only hope that we'll see similarly fantastic hacks of Donkey Kong Country 2 and 3 in the future.

Top marks - highly recommended.

Unlike other DKC hacks I've played, this one truly stands out as a polished and fantastically crafted experience. Without going too far outside the bounds of the types of level design and mechanics used in the original, this game delivers well-themed and unique levels throughout the entirety of the experience. Especially in the final area (Chimp Caverns), there are some really interesting levels that were a blast to play. The bosses are also "remixed" to a certain degree, but honestly the changes are relatively minor and all of them are still very easy. That's alright though, the crux of DKC is in the levels, and this hack kills it with those.

In speaking to the polish, one of the highest compliments I could give, is that I was actually driven to get 101% completion, and had confidence that the creator designed all the secrets into the game. It's also much less of a chore to search for the secrets thanks to 2 wonderful quality of life changes in this hack that really help the player experience. These are having infinite lives and "quick resetting" in a level on death (i.e. back to the start of the level or the checkpoint barrel). This makes it so much quicker to just get back into the action, and keeps the focus on the levels.

This is truly a spectacular hack and one that all DKC fans owe themselves to play.

I had a great time playing this hack. This isn't meant to be a total level overhaul or anything like that, but instead it pulls from the original DKC and newer games to give a solid experience. The challenge is a slight step up from the original but never feels unfair or unplanned.

I've beaten the original DKC many times, but it has been awhile. While playing this, there are many instances where I couldn't tell you I wasn't playing the original game, and a few where the game steps just beyond the original's scope. It FEELS like a true DKC game, which seems to be exactly what the goal was here.

Highly recommend.