13 Video Game Sequels Better Than Their 'Classic' Originals

Arriving on a console already home to the sublime Super Mario World, Donkey Kong Country faced a huge task if it was to make an impact. So developers Rare took the obvious route for the resurrected franchise: knock 'em out with looks.

The rebooted Donkey Kong was so much more than just a superficial simian sideshow, however. Yes, the pre-rendered graphics were 'state of the art', but the joy of the game derived from Rare's meticulous level design, each stage crammed with secrets and surprises to appease those who had plumbed all of Mario's many pipes. It had an ostrich wearing sneakers too, so there's that.

DKC was an instant hit, both critically and commercially. However, by the time the inevitable sequel rolled around, the sheen had worn off the shiny pre-rendered visuals, as any number of other developers had looked to - heh - ape the trick. Furthermore, the PlayStation was starting to make waves, and games were entering a new, fully 3D era. Side-scrollers were not vogue.

But there was nothing primitive about the apparently-passé primate platformer. Whereas DKC had perhaps lacked a little variation, Diddy Kong's Quest provided it in oodles, as the levels approached a whole new degree of hyper-designed perfection. Every square inch of each map was precisely plotted, with nary a misplaced enemy, item, or object.

And that soundtrack! An eclectic blend of techno, symphonic, and everything in between, DKC2's score melts into the mind like a sweetly satisfying sort of buttery brain fudge. The theme of the castle stages, Krook's March, reduces me to tears. That minor-key interpretation of the DKC theme: it's just too much to handle.