Donkey Kong Country, a new area at Universal Studios Japan’s Super Nintendo World park that’s based on one of Nintendo’s oldest mascots, finally opens on December 11. At a special press day ahead of the opening, I checked out the cool new rail-jumping rollercoaster, tried new themed food, and scoped out the exclusive new merch at the park.
Visitors enter through a special gate within Super Nintendo World, which starts as a brick tunnel but devolves into crooked rocks as you emerge into the jungle. Tropical trees and cabanas dot the foreground, as the mysterious Golden Temple fills the horizon, with the new zone’s rollercoaster built into it and around it. The effect is great, as the scenery blocks out the outside world almost completely and throws you into the kingdom of Nintendo’s famous ape.
The new zone is thematically mostly based on the Donkey Kong Country series, especially 2010’s Donkey Kong Country Returns, which is odd considering that there hasn’t been a new DKC for a very long time. It feels like the Super Mario Bros Movie rendition of DK would be more relevant to younger visitors, at least until Nintendo follows up with a brand new game. (Also, why did Nintendo and Universal Studios choose DK for their expansion instead of Animal Crossing, The Legend of Zelda, Pokémon or other ongoing hit series? That’s a question I’d struggle to answer.)
Mine Cart Madness is the all-new rollercoaster attraction. It’s a fast thrill ride with a couple of steep drops, twisting sections, and – just like the games – multiple instances where the rails ahead of you disappear completely and the cart feels like it’s jumping through mid air. The effect is very cool – from the moment you are blasted from a barrel near the start of the ride, you really get the sense of jumping from track to track or riding along toppled stone pillars in your four-rider cart.
The attraction is similar to the Indiana Jones Adventure ride at Tokyo DisneySea and Anaheim Disneyland, both in terms of its high speed and its Aztec-themed jungle architecture as you race to find the Golden Banana before Tiki Tong.
Nintendo legend Shigeru Miyamoto promised in a recent Nintendo Direct that the ride would be accessible even for people who don’t like rollercoasters. And believe me, I don’t like rollercoasters. But even with my total dread of heights, I managed to keep my eyes open through most of the ride, screaming with joy (I think?) as we hurtled through the course.
Donkey Kong, Diddy Kong and their various friends come out to say hi at various points, while music from the games blasts from the speakers in your cart, for a quite immersive experience. It was pouring with rain when we visited, so the water traps on the ride didn’t have much effect, and as the G-force blew my raincoat hood back, all I could do was go with it. It was great fun.
At the end, a stand sells photos of each rider, seemingly taken during one of the drops. I love the look of terror on my face, especially in contrast with the joyfully beaming face of my buddy next to me.
Since I was attending a press preview, there was no line, but care has been taken to adorn the queue with fun stuff to look at. It’s nowhere near as densely packed as the line for the Mario Kart: Bowser’s Challenge ride, which is bursting with detail, but there’s a cool life-size animatronic of Cranky Kong and Squawk which briefs riders ahead of their mine cart adventure. Primate murals on the walls include one pulled straight from the original Donkey Kong arcade game, where the enraged ape threw barrels at a plucky young Jump Man, AKA Mario.
Elsewhere in Donkey Kong Country, there are smaller attractions such as a set of congas: Hit them in time with the music and lights, and score high enough to make Rambi the rhino pop out of his crate. You can also do a meet and greet with DK himself and take a photo together in front of his treehouse. Sadly all of this was closed during our visit because of the weather.
At the cute aeroplane-shaped Funky’s Fly ‘n’ Buy, you can pick up exclusive souvenirs themed on DK and chums – highlights include Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong plushies, barrel-shaped mugs, mine cart tissue box covers, keyrings, face towels and DK plush hats. It’s only a small store, but some items were already on sale at the 1UP Factory store in Super Nintendo World, so presumably the rest of the items will be available there at some point too.
Meanwhile, just like at Super Nintendo World, interactive screens and blocks are dotted around the new area, encouraging visitors to buy an optional Power Up Band to connect to their phone and collect digital goodies. There are also letter blocks dotted around the park, beginning with a “K”, and, well, you can figure out the others.
At the Jungle Beat Shakes dessert stand, I got a Tropical Banana Flavor DK Crush Sundae, which is a banana-flavoured shake in a barrel-shaped souvenir mug. Balanced above the shake is a crunchy waffle cone filled with tart fruit sorbet, popcorn and sprinkles, designed to look like a barrel had just been thrown by Donkey Kong and exploded. I enjoyed the shake a lot more than the toppings – a subtle banana flavoured drink that was not too sweet.
I also tried the DK Wild Hot Dog, a fat and quite tasty frankfurter in a mine cart shaped bun with avocado sauce on top and tortilla chips inside. This… was not a highlight. The bun was dry and spongy, the avocado sauce was creamy and weird, and the tortilla chips managed to be too sharp to eat while in the bun but soggy when removed to eat separately.
All in all, Donkey Kong Country is a small but fun addition to Super Nintendo World – a well-polished nugget of physical DLC, if you will. Thrill-seekers can find wilder rollercoasters at Universal Studios Japan to satisfy their adrenaline needs, but Mine Cart Madness has enough Easter eggs to appeal to Nintendo fans, and enough speed to get your heart rate up. The rest of the park is a cheerful and well rendered paeon to Donkey Kong. The great ape’s appeal may not be as broad as Mario and friends in the main Super Nintendo World area, but as an older gamer, I couldn’t help but be charmed by the chimp.
