Handheld entries that felt as great as home console ones

[ArchienineZXAdventArchienineZXAdvent's icon]

Agreed. I see complaints about the DKC games and I disagree. Sure, the sound is more compressed and the screen is smaller, but firstly: It's Donkey Kong Country, come on. And secondly: These games added MORE stuff. DKC1 didn't add that much, but DKC2 and 3 especially added lots of extra levels and things, which I think was a really awesome addition.

Just a question, What do you think about the GBC Donkey Kong Country? Is better than the first Land?

 

[lestagio]

Just a question, What do you think about the GBC Donkey Kong Country? Is better than the first Land?

I'd definitely say it's better than DKL1. Admittedly I've only played DKL1 out of the trilogy, so I can't speak on the others. The DKC port is impressive but I also have always felt that it runs better and controls a bit tighter. Meanwhile in DKL, sometimes the physics and hitboxes feel... off? It's been a while, but I've always thought that DKC on GBC felt better than DKL.

That said, the ideal way to play portable is obviously the GBA version.

 

[ArchienineZXAdventArchienineZXAdvent's icon]

I'd definitely say it's better than DKL1. Admittedly I've only played DKL1 out of the trilogy, so I can't speak on the others. The DKC port is impressive but I also have always felt that it runs better and controls a bit tighter. Meanwhile in DKL, sometimes the physics and hitboxes feel... off? It's been a while, but I've always thought that DKC on GBC felt better than DKL.

That said, the ideal way to play portable is obviously the GBA version.

The other DKL games are ports of DKC 2 & 3

 

[lestagio]

The other DKL games are ports of DKC 2 & 3

I think that's just a myth. I thought that was the case for a while, but it's not. According to the DKL2 wiki page: "This game is often mistaken as a handheld port of Donkey Kong Country 2 - this is not true. Although the two games run on the same engine, share resources and have the same named areas, the layouts on the majority of the stages are new, and the storyline is slightly different." So they're similar games but aren't outright ports, and the same goes for DKL3.

 

[mrrgrrgrr]

But I can't play that one on my phone and the mobile port is embarrassingly bad and probably can't be modded.

Ah, fair enough. I can see how the SNES version with MSU-1 support would be a preferred option in this case... Do SNES emulators for mobile phones even support MSU-1? I have to admit, I'm very out of touch with that area of emulation.

 

[Rez09]

I've noticed that SNES DKC fans heavily criticised those ports and while I can understand that many GBA ports of SNES games aren't perfect (even ALTTP and Super Mario World) I still think that was great to play one decade old 16-bits game in your pocket.

I was actually talking about classic Donkey Kong, not Donkey Kong Land. When they brought arcade DK to the GB they decided to go well beyond a simple port and had the game continue past the fourth stage, turning it into an acrobatic platformer where you collect keys. Mario has a ton of fun moves in the game, like the backflip and handstands, and the later Mario vs Donkey Kong games were offshoots of Gameboy Donkey Kong. I am still of the mind it is a contender for the best original Gameboy title.

 

[Graw]

Ah, fair enough. I can see how the SNES version with MSU-1 support would be a preferred option in this case... Do SNES emulators for mobile phones even support MSU-1? I have to admit, I'm very out of touch with that area of emulation.

Well retroarch runs on android and the snes9x core supports MSU-1 for sure. Emulation on android is pretty solid. Most of the big ones are available. There's even pretty solid Retroachievement support for most systems. I don't really use my PC for emulation much. It's just too convenient. The only systems I can't emulate on my phone are the OG Xbox, PS3/Xbox360/WiIU and later but Switch and PS Vita and 3DS emulation are pretty good. Everything up to and including the ps2 and GameCube works extremely well except for maybe old PC systems that are keyboard heavy.

 

[Generic Edgelord]

I thoroughly enjoyed Duke Nukem Advance even though it wasn't quite as naughty as 3D because it was on a Nintendo console. I like that they made something new instead of just a watered-down port.