Christmas 1995. I was a schoolboy. Pretty much like children nowadays, I was a video gamer. The only difference between then and now, is while kids these days are killing prostitutes on Grand Theft Auto 5, I was collecting bananas on Donkey Kong Country.

I’ve blogged about Donkey Kong in the past. When the original DKC was released, it blew my mind. So when I heard that a sequel would be released in time for Crimbo ’95, I was straight on the email to Santa Clause, except in our house we didn’t have Internet until a year later, so was forced to use pen and paper… sod that, I just asked my parents for it for Christmas.

Donkey Kong Country 2 was purchased from Electronics Boutique – which has now become ‘Game’. If the original DKC blew my mind, the second destroyed my head, intestines and pelvis. It was stunning. The character, Donkey Kong, had been kidnapped and it was up to Diddy Kong (from the original game) and his girlfriend, Dixie, to rescue him.

The game was huge. After spending almost my entire school holiday in front of the SNES, I managed to complete it and kill King K Rool, by overpowering him in his chambers and chucking him off a cliff into a pool of sharks, where he was eaten alive – yes, games really were that violent back then. I don’t see why it took Grand Theft Auto to make people realise that!

Most games nowadays have lots of extras you need to find and accomplish before you can truly ‘complete’ the title. DKC2 was no different. Each level had 2 or 3 mini-stages, which must be found and finished. There was also a huge ‘DK’ coin to locate (in every level) and also a secret island to overcome.

Back in 1995, I was in school, didn’t have a job and therefore had no money. If I wanted a new video game, I would either have to save up pocket money (which would take years) or exchange my old games at a shop. Anyone who has traded in games will know you’re getting ripped off. It is one step away from getting mugged in the street and having all your games taken off you by some dirty chav. Instead, you’re visiting a shop and allowing some dirty chav to legally take your games, give up a fiver in exchange, before selling them on for fifty quid.

What does this have to do with Donkey Kong Country 2? It has everything to do with it. Shortly after defeating King K Rool, another game was released that I liked the look of. I can’t remember what it was, but it could have been ‘Super Mario World 2: Yoshi’s Island’. I performed thee cardinal sin of trading in the unfinished DKC2 (along with probably half a dozen other games), in exchange for the new Mario title. From memory, it wasn’t as good.

So there you have it. The potential lifetime achievement of finding and completing every single part of Donkey Kong Country 2 was never met. Until now. Avid readers of my blog will know that I received a SNES for Christmas. No, not Christmas 1995 (keep up), Christmas 2014. Following receiving the now retro console, I immediately logged onto eBay and purchased DKC2. Now, 2 months on, I have finished it. Done everything. Finito.

I may have had help from various YouTube videos, which weren’t around in 1995, but back then, there was the Nintendo Hotline. Anyone who ever had the pleasure of calling that number will remember how great it was. While some of my school chums were calling premium rate sex lines, I was racking up my parents’ phone bill ringing for video game advice. You could speak to a real person, who was actually able to give you some excellent guidance! Sadly the hotline is now dead. Never mind, I’m sure the people working there went onto bigger and better things. I hope so, they certainly helped me out…