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Talk:Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest/GA2

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Latest comment: 8 years ago by Jaguar in topic GA Review

GA Review

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Reviewer: SNUGGUMS (talk · contribs) 03:26, 24 January 2016 (UTC)Reply


I'll review. Expect comments within a few days. Snuggums (talk / edits) 03:26, 24 January 2016 (UTC)Reply

Sorry for the delay. Here's my review:

Infobox
  • There's no support within the article body for any of the release dates
  • Release dates in the article body isn't required, or at least I've never seen them mentioned outside the lead or infobox before JAGUAR 
  • Thanks, luckily Polygon (who are useless for pretty much everything!) had a handy overview of the game. I've sourced them in the infobox, if that's OK. Do you think I should move the citations to the lead? I'm wary of WP:LEADCITE. JAGUAR  20:53, 6 February 2016 (UTC)Reply
  • Infobox is fine when it isn't sourced anywhere else in the article, though that Polygon link only contains a December 1995 SNES release date; something separate for the GBA release is needed
Lead
  • See previous note on release dates
  • Once details on time spent working on the game are added, they will also need to be included here
Gameplay
  • "The game is a 2D side-scrolling platformer in which the player controls either Diddy Kong or Dixie Kong through 52 varying levels over eight different worlds" is missing a period
  • Let's move the first citation to the end of the first paragraph since the content it is currently attached to isn't fully supported, though it does cover lots of the text that comes after it within the paragraph
  • "spin her hair in order to slow her descent"..... Gamespot actually just says she can float following a jump
  • I don't see support for "Throwing barrels or the other character in certain areas of a level, such as breaking down walls or caves, may reveal secrets"
  • The review linked just says "animal friends", not "Animal buddies", and the given source doesn't list any of their names except Rambi
  • Please find another source for "unlimited flight"; I don't see it in Gamespot
  • "exclusive minigame" is misleading, try "
  • Unless I'm missing something, there's no support for bonus barrels that include gathering "special bananas" in bonus stages, and it doesn't specifically indicate that the coins players get for beating these are "DK coins"
  • "In addition, there are some barrels that can only be activated by a specific character" isn't backed by the given source
  • If the game instructions contain any of the above things I've listed, feel free to use that for supporting them
Plot
Characters
  • I don't think we need to state again that Dixie is Diddy's girlfriend, and there's no need to link them again when already linked in "Gameplay"
  • "family members belonging to the Kongs" → "Kong family members", and we don't need to link this either
  • Klubba isn't mentioned in either of the given citations
Story
  • It seems odd to just stick citations in the middle of one paragraph when the rest of the text doesn't have refs. Neither of them mention K. Rool's defeat or Donkey Kong being rescued (although that is the goal). Per WP:WikiProject Video games/Article guidelines#Sources (WP:VG/GL), {{cite video game}} can be used for plot sections. These two paragraphs could also probably be merged per MOS:PARAGRAPHS
  • I understand that the plot summaries don't have to be referenced at all. I think at the time I just wanted to source the Lost World, but I see what you mean about how odd it is to have two citations in the middle like that. I've removed them and merged the two paragraphs in. JAGUAR  20:43, 6 February 2016 (UTC)Reply
  • Interestingly, WP:VG/GL says to source plot summaries. I was somewhat surprised to see this myself given how film and television plots don't require them. The guideline also says that when plots aren't too complicated, they can be integrated into the "Gameplay" section, and this game's plot isn't too complicated now that I think about it and has lots of overlapping content. Snuggums (talk / edits) 23:19, 6 February 2016 (UTC)Reply
  • I've added a citation to the manual, as that seems to include far more than any review would. I'm surprised too, as most VG articles don't usually have citations in their plots either! JAGUAR  16:26, 7 February 2016 (UTC)Reply
Development
  • When did work begin and conclude for creating the game itself?
  • Unfortunately I can't find any information on that, or at least the information on this game's development is scarce in itself. I had to use extracts from sources of development from the first game for this one. I enjoyed writing Donkey Kong Country's development section because it was well covered and comprehensive, however that isn't the case for this game nor DKC3. JAGUAR  20:47, 6 February 2016 (UTC)Reply
  • That's a shame :/. However, it does explain why this section was so short compared to the "Development" section of the original DKC. Can you at least find how long it took to make (i.e. first DKC article says it took "18 months" to make)? Snuggums (talk / edits) 23:19, 6 February 2016 (UTC)Reply
  • According to both sources in development, the production began "shortly" after the release of the first DKC, but that's quite vague. I hate to disappoint but I couldn't find any information on exactly how long development took, although the sources say the game was released a year after the first, but I can't speculate. It seems that all of the attention is focused on the first DKC, which is a shame because I'm eager to start work on DKC3. Nevertheless, I've added the fact that development began a short time after the first game's release. JAGUAR  16:26, 7 February 2016 (UTC)Reply
  • allgame doesn't mention Silicon Graphics
  • I don't think "Advanced Computer Modelling" should be in quotation marks
  • Rare should be linked
  • How does one "direct" a video game?
  • Neither of the given sources include a release date for the soundtrack
  • "As with its predecessor, the music was produced for the SNES's SPC700 chip for the game to sound similar to the Korg Wavestation synthesizer" isn't backed by the ref used
Reception
  • GameRankings actually gives a score of 89.81% for SNES, not 92%
  • GameRankings Wii link is dead, though can be replaced with this, which says 81.14%
  • "Diddy's Kong Quest sold 4.37 million copies worldwide" is WP:SYNTH; you can't just combine two nations and assume that it is the global total, and there isn't even a ref used that gives a worldwide figure
  • GameSpot's ratings are actually 8/10 for SNES and 8.3/10 for GameBoy Advance
  • "Best selling" should be hyphenated, and what was the year's highest selling SNES game?
  • Hyphened. That would be Yoshi's Island, an inferior game to any Donkey Kong Country[citation needed] (though czar would hate me if he heard me say that). I don't think this source would be accepted, but I could only find other statistics through unreliable sites like IMDB. Otherwise, it would be a good mention. I did find reliable sources for best-selling games in the US of that year, but I can't see the relevance. JAGUAR  21:18, 6 February 2016 (UTC)Reply
Eh, I wouldn't say one vastly exceeds the other... but I'm not IGN:

IGN's Thomas added that the hand-drawn style of Yoshi's Island made the computer-generated Donkey Kong Country appear outdated, though both games sold well.[1]

Still, still, there's no way Yoshi's Island is inferior to DKC3 czar 21:40, 6 February 2016 (UTC) Reply
  1. ^ Thomas, Lucas M. (May 24, 2010). "Yoshi: Evolution of a Dinosaur". IGN. Ziff Davis. p. 4. Archived from the original on April 2, 2015. Retrieved April 2, 2015. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
What! How can children's drawing be better than cutting edge Silicon Graphics technology? I don't take IGN seriously as critics any more, not after they gave Alpha Sapphire a 7.8 for having "too much water"! JAGUAR  21:52, 6 February 2016 (UTC)Reply
  • Ratings should be included within the prose
  • I've been told numerous times in the past not to include them in the prose, and I've done so all the time now. I hardly see ratings in VG content as I think it clutters the prose. I can mention them if you really want me to? JAGUAR 
  • "However, Whitehead opinionated that the gameplay was"..... criticised the gameplay as
  • I feel "much smoother and more cartoon like" can be one quote
  • "as opposed" → "in contrast"
  • The "Cubed3" reviewer actually says the game doesn't re-use art at all, so no need to include the skepticism bit
  • "JeuxVideo" doesn't appear to give an overall rating, just individual ratings for certain aspects of the game
Sequels
  • The given ref doesn't say Kiddy is Dixie's nephew or mention the overall ratings it got from critics
  • Game Boy Advance and Wii U releases aren't exactly "sequels"; they're really more re-releases
References
  • GameSpot, Yahoo! Games, and "Square Enix Music Online" shouldn't be italicized
  • Are "Nintendojo", "Now Gamer", "OverClocked Remix", or "Cubed3" reliable? I found no definitive answers in WP:WikiProject Video games/Sources (WP:VG/RS). A forum is definitely not usable either way for OverClocked.
  • I've used OverClocked and Nintendojo sources in other GAs too, I know Overclocked is alright because it's a run by a group of professional video game composers; Grant Kirkhope was on there once, if I recall correctly. Though Nintendojo isn't deemed unreliable at WP:VG/S, I'll do some checking. I'll get back to this one. JAGUAR  17:41, 6 February 2016 (UTC)Reply
Overall
  • Well-written?
  • Prose quality:   Could be better
  • Manual of Style compliance:   Not quite
  • Verifiable?
  • Reference layout:   Needs a bit of work
  • Reliable sources:   One unreliable link and four questionable sources
  • No original research:   Some content isn't supported by the given references, and content is harder to verify with dead links
  • Broad in coverage?
  • Major aspects:   A bit incomplete
  • Focused:   No excess detail
  • Neutral?:   Looks good
  • Stable?:   Nothing of concern
  • Illustrated, if possible, by images?
  • Appropriate licensing:   The source link used in File:DK Country 2.jpg is dead and needs to be replaced
  • Relevance and captioning:   Both images are beneficial and adequately explain their use
  • @SNUGGUMS: thanks for the review! I think I've addressed everything, except for including the review scores in the prose, as I don't think that's something that has to be done. I used to do that when I first started writing VG articles but I have been discouraged from doing so from numerous people. I'm not completely objected to doing it though, but I think it would clutter the prose. If there's anything else you want me to do, if there's anything I might have missed, please do let me know. Thanks again! JAGUAR  21:45, 6 February 2016 (UTC)Reply
  • Thanks for the additional comments, SNUGGUMS. I managed to clarify everything else. Most of all, I found the source which states that the game was the second-best selling game of 1995. If there's anything else, please let me know. JAGUAR  16:34, 7 February 2016 (UTC)Reply
  • We're getting there, Jaguar. What's left to do is ensure all release dates are cited (I currently see two with citations and two without) or removed if they cannot be reliably sourced, merge the "characters" and "story" sections from "Plot" into "Gameplay" since there's lots of overlapping content and the plot isn't very complex per WP:VG/GL, and stick a citation at the end of "story"'s content (a cutscene with dialogue can be used via {{cite video game}}). Snuggums (talk / edits) 22:48, 7 February 2016 (UTC)Reply
  • Done the release dates, luckily a Gamesradar source contains all of the dates - I wish I would've found that earlier. I've merged the characters and story section into one, then merged that into gameplay, liked you asked. I would have preferred if they had their own section, but you're right, I have to adhere to the guidelines. I've also sourced the game's ending using the {{cite video game}}. JAGUAR  16:56, 8 February 2016 (UTC)Reply
  • Thank you for the review! I would love nothing more than to bring DKC3 to GA status, but given the complete lack of development info, I don't know what else to do other than to re-use most of the development section from the first DKC. I'll think about that when I get to it. Anyway, thanks again! JAGUAR  20:46, 8 February 2016 (UTC)Reply
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