Donkey Kong Country Returns was already released in December and normally I get Nintento blockbuster titles at day one, but I hesitated with this game for two reasons. On the one hand I never really was a Jump'n'Run gamer to begin with, played the Super Mario Land games on the GameBoy and then never touched a Jump'n'Run game until New Super Mario Bros. Wii – a game I got primarily for the multiplayer. Then I played the Mario Galaxy games, which were really good, but when Returns came out I just wasn't in the mood for Jump'n'Runs. And on the other hand I never really played the original Donkey Kong Country games. I tried them, but never liked them... shame on me.
Because of all this I was uncertain whether I should get this game or not. But the fact that Retro Studios made this game, the developers of the Metroid Prime Trilogy, three of my favorite games in the last years, certainly made me curious. (And then there was a "buy 3 games get one for free" deal at our local media store, so I just couldn't resist anymore.) And I don't regret it, this game is a blast.
Well, you you may have bought this, because you liked the original SNES games or because you thought you will get something similar to the very popular New Super Mario Bros. Wii. However, when you expect a faithful addition to the original games, combined with Mario-style multiplayer, then Donkey Kong Country Returns doesn't deliver so well. If you're a fan of originals, then this lacks certain aspects, like some characters or the realistic visuals. And the multiplayer certainly isn't as great as with Mario. But is it a bad game because of this? Hell no, this is one real fun and solid platformer in it's own right.
Returns doesn't have as many levels as New Super Mario Bros. Wii, but you'll play through all the levels multiple times, because there's so much stuff to do with each level, offering a lot of replayability. Well, one of the first things to do in each level are the four KONG letters. They are pretty similar to the coins in New Super Marios Bros. (Wii), but you'll have to get all four of them in one run without dying, though checkpoints count. You may remember them from the SNES games, however this time they are of more use than an extra life. Collecting all KONG letters in each level of a world opens a temple level (or K-level) and those are really hard. Finishing all K-levels opens a crazy final level, where you can unlock the Mirror Mode.
The KONG letters are always in plain sight and the challenge is often about timing or skill. This is unlike the hidden puzzle pieces, which you keep, even when you die – you just then have to complete the level to get them. And looking for them is really fun for me, it's an element from the Metroid games which Retro included here. You have to look in every little corner, can't leave a stone unturned. Collecting these puzzle pieces unlocks stuff in the gallery, another nice feature Retro took from the Metroid Prime games.
Next to collecting things, there are two other disciplines: Speedruns and Mirror Mode. Most levels were designed in a way that you can quickly breeze through them if you know the level really well and if your timing is perfect. Bouncing off enemies and the sorts. You'll notice this in some of the harder levels, where you die many times and repeat some of sections as often. You'll get better and better, faster and faster. However, you don't have to speedrun if you don't want to. You can earn four different medals for each level (bronze, silver, gold, platinum), but there's nothing else to unlock from speedruns. So, if you don't like speedruns, you won't have to do them.
Mirror Mode is the hardcore mode of this game. It's not only that the levels are mirrored, this isn't even a big deal. And I personally find the mirroring of Twilight Princess very confusing and sometimes I have trouble with the mirror courses in Mario Kart, but in Donkey Kong Country Returns it was never a problem. However, in addition to the mirroring, you also won't get to use Diddy Kong and you can't get hit, so it's one mistake and you're dead. In some levels this doesn't really make a difference, for example the mine cart or rocket barrel levels, in others this is a huge deal, especially with some of the bosses. So, beating the Mirror Mode can be quite a challenge and I haven't even done it yet myself.
Anyway, Retro tried to make each level unique in some way. And some ideas are pretty cool, for example there is a level with a Kraken in the background, who destroy parts of the environment or tries to attack you. Or in one level you're hunted by man-eating killer ants, you're going to hate this one, trust me. However, even if each level has something unique to it, some gameplay ideas are repeated too often and it feels like the game is lacking in variety at times.
First and foremost, there are too many of the mine cart and rocket barrel levels, which get annoying at one point. Meanwhile, there are only three of those really awesome sundown silhouette levels, which really look awesome. And you'll only get to use Rambi four times in the game, where some other animal buddies would have been nice and added more to the variety. The worst thing, however, are the "collect 'em all"-challenge rooms, because they get repetitive, boring and annoying. But you get a puzzle piece from each one of them, so you'll have to do them if you want to complete the game. And if you screw up, you can't repeat them. You have to either kill yourself or start the level over...
The difficulty level of this game is another good topic. It's really challenging, you'll die many, many time, but it never gets frustrating and you won't loose motivation so easily. In some levels I died about 30 to 50 times, especially the temple levels were really hard. But it rarely got frustrating, even when it gets unfair, because there are some obstacles you won't see coming... But you'll always get a little further, you'll get a little bit better. You really have to study some of the levels, die many times doing so, but you get better and beat them at one point. It's this progress that keeps your motivation up: "on the next try I'll do it!". And before you know, you became so good at a level that you could beat it blindfolded without getting hit (very good for Mirror Mode). What also adds to the motivation are the collectibles. If you have all the puzzle pieces and all you need to do is finish the level, it makes you keep going. Especially in the temple levels this was a factor for me, where otherwise I probably would have lost my motivation and quit some of these levels early.
And in case you struggle with this game, there's always Cranky Kong's shop, which really helps you out. You can buy lives here for the coins, which you collect in the levels, there are enough of them to easily stock up 99 lives. In a Mario game you may play the first level over and over again until you have lives, but there's no need for such grinding here. And then there are three other items, which you can equip for a level: Squawk the parrot, the extra heart and banana juice. Squawk helps you finding puzzle pieces by squawking at an area where a secret is hidden. I normally wouldn't use something like that, but in longer and harder levels, where you only miss one puzzle piece, this can be a help. And the Squawk doesn't spoil how to get the puzzle piece, he just tells you an estimated area. The extra heart might feel useless at first, but becomes very handy in later levels. The banana juice works like 10 extra hearts, it's only good for boss battles though, because once you die you'll lose it. Also, the shop offers a key for each world, which unlocks a new area in this world.
The Controls are okay. Shaking the Wiimote for certain actions was already used in the Mario Wii games, so you might be used to that. Only blowing feels out of place, but everything else is tight and responsive.
There is multiplayer, where you can play with someone else, but it's quite terrible in comparison to New Super Mario Bros. Wii. The main player won't have Diddy Kong any longer, who is essentially a power up, which gives you two more hearts and floating ability. This is gone in multiplayer and you have to get used to that if you haven't played without Diddy Kong yet. And there are just too many collectibles for multiplayer. I want all those puzzle pieces and KONG letters, but the second player may not care and investigating everything for the hidden puzzle pieces can kill the pacing. But most importantly, there are many levels where the second player is of no use at all, mainly the mine cart and rocket barrel levels. The only difference is that you will lose two lives instead of one each time you crash. And that's no fun. So, if you're looking for another game like New Super Mario Bros. Wii, you'll probably be disappointed with Donkey Kong Country Returns. This game is better played alone.
Fans of the original Donkey Kong Country games may also be disappointed with the newest installment for other reasons, like...
"It doesn't have the dark, realistic looks!"
"Where are the Kremlings?"
Well, if you haven't played the originals, this game is really good as it as. Also, the Tiki as a villain are quite clever, and their music is catchy (the final boss was awesome). Talking about music, the soundtrack was made by Mr. Kenji Yamamoto, known for his work on the Metroid Prime Trilogy. The "Tidal Terror" song, which is quite reminiscent of the Sanctuary theme from Metroid Prime 2: Echoes, already gives this away, without looking at the game's credits. Also, in world 8 you can hear vibes from the Magmoor Cavern song. He's really good at mixing classic tunes with fresh ones, which makes for a great soundtrack.
There you go. Save for the multiplayer and some repetitive level ideas, I would say that Donkey Kong Country Returns is a great platformer, probably the best Wii exclusive game of the last year. I had tons of fun with this game, in fact I'm still having fun, because I'm not done yet with Mirror Mode and speedruns. There's a lot to do, a lot to discover and collect, a lot to unlock, the difficulty is great, very hard, but never frustrating and you'll keep up motivation. Retro Studios has proven with this game, that they are indeed Nintendo's new ace in the hole after Rare. I can't wait to see what they will do next...
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