Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy’s Kong Quest

Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest, commonly abbreviated to DKC2, is a 1995 adventure platforming video game developed by Rare and published by Nintendo for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. The game begins soon after Donkey Kong has been kidnapped by the prime antagonist Kaptain K. Rool, leaving Diddy and his girlfriend Dixie to rescue him. Together, the two travel to various and distinct parts of Crocodile Isle where the game is set on which there are varying worlds totalling in eight unique environments. Improved over its predecessor, DKC2 was praised for having excellent graphics, plot and characterisation and as a result DKC2 received much critical and commercial praise. Selling millions of copies worldwide on the SNES, it was the second best selling game of 1995 and the sixth best-selling game on the platform overall.

In comparison with the original Donkey Kong Country gameplay, the game includes many hidden bonus stages with collectible tokens (Kremkoins) which are rewarded for completing each stage. It also abandoned a few from the original game. For example, steel barrels were removed, eliminating the ability to roll on top of them. The ability to find hidden items in the ground was also removed. Some of these removed features were brought back in the third game in the series, Donkey Kong Country 3.

The hidden bonus levels can be found by finding barrels with the letter 'B' on the front, although some of these bonus levels are hidden behind weak sections of wall which can be broken down with a barrel or a supercharge attack, as per the first game. Once collected at the end of each hidden stage these can be used to unlock the 'Lost World' and eventually the final ending. There also exist rare 'DK coins' in every standard level that are hidden by Cranky Kong which are extremely difficult to locate. The placement of these coins gets progressively more cryptic, subsequently providing an extra challenge beyond reaching the end of each level. Lastly the settings are more diverse, although the staple ice, cave, and jungle settings remain from the first game. As well as collectible tokens the player can also collect other items such as bananas, Kong letters and 'life balloons'. Collecting 100 bananas can gain the player an extra life, and collecting all the Kong letters will similarly give the player another life. Finding objects in (hidden) treasure chests is another feature common to the game, and these can contain Kong letters, banana bunches, coins, life balloons, or a DK coin in some instances. However, sometimes these treasure chests can contain nothing at all. Additionally chests can also be used to defeat enemies, such as wasps, in an effort to pass certain passages, as wasps cannot be defeated by jumping on them.

The ability to 'piggyback' or use various animal companions, called 'Animal Buddies', returns from its predecessor, such as Squitter the Spider, Glimmer the Anglerfish, Rambi the Rhino, Rattly the Rattlesnake, Clapper the Seal, Enguarde the Swordfish, and Squawks the Parrot, which can boost the gameplay experience, proving advantageous at certain points in a level or the whole level overall. These animals have certain unique abilities that the player can use such as Rambi's ability to charge at enemies and Rattly's ability to jump higher than with the two main characters. There is also a greater difference between the two protagonists abilities. Diddy Kong has the ability to run faster than his counterpart and perform an extended jump by cartwheeling off ledges. Dixie Kong can use her hair to glide in the air over long distances, which also proves to be advantageous to the player in some levels. In addition, there are some barrels that can only be activated by a specific character. Donkey Kong Country 2 also focuses more on the seaside and pirate-themed apparel of the enemies whereas in the first game the apparel was themed like the jungle. Many of the Kremlings resemble pirates, have wooden legs and eye patches, and are seen with sailor-like tattoos. These Kremlings are not specific to one level but are scattered throughout the game's levels. However, the method of defeating enemies remains the same between both characters. Both can jump on an enemy to defeat them or throw one another to hit enemies, or throw objects to defeat them. As a promotion for the game after its release, Nintendo Power ran a contest for the fastest time to achieve 102% game completion.