Donkey Kong Bananza

Donkey Kong Bananza has been my game for the rest of the Summer, where it's arguably one of the two must-have titles for the Nintendo Switch 2, the other being Mario Kart World. Still, I was hesitating for a long time whether I really want this game or not, for reasons explained later, but ultimately I do not regret the purchase and my time with it.

Not only is this game the actual successor to the beloved Super Mario Odyssey, but it's also taking some inspirations from Zelda. The game's core mechanic, however, may even be something to be copied by Zelda in the future, so let's take some notes... Read more for a deep dive into the adventure of Donkey Kong and Pauline.

Nintendo Switch 2: Potential Game Upgrades with Content

Nintendo has released a free update for Donkey Kong Country Returns HD, which not only upgrades the game for the Nintendo Switch 2, but also adds some new features, like a playable Dixie Kong and the new Turbo Attack mode. The nice thing is that these additions are found on the original Nintendo Switch as well. During the first wave of free Switch game updates back in June there hasn't been anything like this, where the closest thing was the new Echo favorite functionality in The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom.

If there were any new contents or big new features, it was usually tied to a "Nintendo Switch 2 Edition", which costs some extra money. In case of Animal Crossing: New Horizons, however, the Switch 2 Edition takes a backseat to the big 3.0 update, which brings a lot of new things on the table, even to players who are still on the Nintendo Switch.

This is a welcome shift and makes you think about what other games could see a similar treatment: upgrade them for the new hardware while offering something new to enjoy on both generations. So, here are some ideas where I would like to see this happen...

 

Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze

It's a no-brainer. They could add the Turbo Attack mode to bring it on the same page as Donkey Kong Country Returns HD, but they should try to make it more fun... Forever Entertainment may even be working on this as we speak, because they clearly took Dixie out of Tropical Freeze, which means that they have been touching the sequel.

 

Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity

If Koei Tecmo were to update one of the older Hyrule Warriors games, then Age of Calamity should have priority, because it really needs this for the performance alone. A Nintendo Switch 2 Edition of the game got already discussed on this blog last year, so let's keep this brief. But there is certainly some potential for some smaller content additions to both versions of the game, like Zelda's Royal Attire outfit or re-obtaining any special weapons. Or they could make things a bit more interesting by adding Astor as a playable character.

 

Hyrule Warriors: Definitive Edition

As already mentioned, this should get in line after Age of Calamity. Nevertheless, it would be nice to see this updated to 4K as well. The game already supports full HD resolution on the Nintendo Switch 2 in handheld mode by accident, which is interesting.

Compared to its successors the game feels quite outdated, however, where it's questionable that Koei Tecmo would bother with adding new contents. But if they did, this would be the perfect opportunity to finally fill that 30th character slot after 10 years. Of course, adding a new character isn't as "trivial" as in the newer games, because they should get missions in Adventure Mode for all their upgrades.

One idea could be Zelda & Tri from Echoes of Wisdom, where you also get a small, new Adventure Map based on the game with rifts and different Echoes as Item Cards. This could be lovely and maybe also a nice gesture for the 40th Anniversary. But this is a very unlikely scenario, especially when people are still asking for a playable Ganondorf in Age of Imprisonment... And they should rather focus on that.

 

Metroid Prime Remastered

This should bring it to the same level as Metroid Prime 4: Beyond, supporting the same visual modes and Joy-Con mouse controls. But this is also the perfect opportunity to finally bring back the Fusion Suit, which hasn't been available in the remaster for some reason...

 

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

They should just do the exact same thing as Donkey Kong Country Returns HD and finally add Dixie Kong as a playable character. Well, Sora was a good final character and new characters would also require them to make more amiibo, but apparently Nintendo will be going wild with amiibo this year anyway.

And the recent developments have pushed the doors wide open for some new Super Smash Bros. Ultimate contents. Masahiro Sakurai and his team at Bandai Namco have only just released Kirby Air Riders. So, even if the man was willing to make another Smash Bros. in his lifetime, it would take years for this new game to be finished. And like with Animal Crossing, it makes sense to offer something in the meantime, where a Nintendo Switch 2 Edition of the previous title is in order.

For such a Nintendo Switch 2 Edition they could introduce a new game mode, which is more hardware-hungry and therefore wouldn't have been possible on the Switch. Maybe something akin to Smash Run from Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS, but bigger. After all, it was based on City Trial, which was a big deal in Air Riders. But that's just an example...

In any case, additions like fighters and stages should be done for both the Nintendo Switch and Switch 2 versions, so they stay compatible in online play. I wouldn't expect anything major from this, like a whole third Fighters Pass, simply because the big additions will be saved for the next Smash Bros. game. But they could give us some free additions of characters in established franchises, which may even include new Echo Fighters (Hilda from A Link Between Worlds would be lovely).

Actually, Echo Fighters might be the way to go here, because they would allow for some easy additions, while technically keeping Sora as the last numbered fighter. They could even make Dixie Kong happen as an echo of Diddy. And maybe they will bring back some of the missing stages, like Woolly World (in celebration of Yoshi in the Super Mario Galaxy Movie):

They would be filling some gaps, while creating player retention during the launch of a Nintendo Switch 2 Edition. It's the exact same strategy as with Animal Crossing: New Horizons and makes perfect sense for this year.

Donkey Kong Country Returns HD – Free Update Released

This came out of nowhere. Today, one year after its release, Donkey Kong Country Returns HD has received a significant update, which enhances its resolution on the Nintendo Switch 2 and even adds Game Share for the cooperative multiplayer mode. But that's not all, it comes with new features and improvements that can also be enjoyed on the Nintendo Switch still.

First of all, it fixes a number of issues that came with either the Nintendo 3DS version, which then carried over into the HD remaster, or with the remaster itself. These are missing details, like the sunset in the background of certain levels, or that the bounce boxes of enemies were immediately disappearing, which made the coop mode borderline unplayable in some areas. The final boss still hasn't gotten its blob shadow back, however, which used to be an important mark... So, it's technically still not the ultimate edition of the game, but it's getting very close.

Anyway, the most important addition is that of Dixie Kong. Well, she was basically ripped out of Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze and works pretty much the same way, including the rotating barrels, but this is a very cool addition nevertheless.

You can even use her in Classic Mode, even though it was meant to strictly recreate the harder Wii experience. And Dixie Kong can make the game easier with her helicopter hair, which increases the height of your jumps. In Tropical Freeze she even made Diddy Kong pretty much obsolete... However, this game was not made with her in mind, so in some levels it might be still better to go with Diddy, because otherwise you will be jumping into some spikes on the ceiling.

Nevertheless, this makes me a bit sad that I already had 200% completed the remaster last year when it came out, because Dixie Kong would have added some much needed novelty to the game. Now, there is also the new Turbo Attack mode to play, which doubles the game's speed and brings its own percentage rating on your save file. But I don't think that I'm going to bother with it, much like I have never bothered with the Time Trial mode.

Playing the levels at increased speed feels very clunky because of Donkey Kong's heavy weight, but it is an interesting challenge nevertheless. And if this was all that Turbo Attack was about, then I would be playing this game from start to finish yet again this weekend... But they also based it on the horrible Time Trial mode and ask you to beat certain times again.

It is the exact same mode, simply sped up and with the clock now ticking down. And I'm not sure who was asking for this. The Time Trials have always been flawed, because the clock keeps running when you die. In order to get the best time, you will have to manually restart after each single death, but then it actually loads the whole level again.

At least the loading times have been decreased down to a quarter on the Nintendo Switch 2, so the Time Trial mode is now somewhat bearable. But the concept is still broken by design, where the checkpoints are also completely useless. The Lonely Mountains series shows how this should be done: before the first checkpoint it resets the timer, just so the players don't feel the need to restart, and dying after a checkpoint only adds a small penalty.

Well, you can still play the new Turbo Attack mode for the Silver Medals, ignoring the time goal, but imagine how it would feel if Mirror Mode also asked you to do it fast and only gave you an ugly mirror whenever you don't meet the allotted time... I hate this obsession with speed running in the gaming culture, where beating a tough game isn't enough anymore – you also have to do it fast and perfectly in order to truly complete things. So, one mode for this paradigm was already more than enough.

It's also getting annoying when developers feel the need to add an even harder mode to their games just to artificially lengthen it. You've fully completed everything and it felt great, you've cleared the game from your backlog and are ready to play something else, but suddenly the game has moved its goalpost even further. Metroid Dread and Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment would be examples of this. 

One good thing to say about both timed modes is that they will let you choose a barrel type. So, if you want to play the levels with Dixie Kong, because she lets you potentially skip whole sections, then you don't have to wait for the right barrel. That's a smart decision.

All in all, it still makes you hope that Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze will follow up shortly and also get a free upgrade to the Nintendo Switch 2. Maybe a Turbo Attack mode there could be handled a bit more nicely.

This update also answered a lingering question I had about all those remasters with "HD" in the title. The Wind Waker HD, Twilight Princess HD, Skyward Sword HD, Luigi's Mansion 2 HD... If you bring them onto the Nintendo Switch 2, those should technically have to be renamed into "4K". But apparently not. I suppose the title still indicates that this was originally made for HD resolutions and now they have simply upscaled it.

Nintendo Dropping the Bananza Ball

Imagine that the next big Zelda game for the Nintendo Switch 2 releases. You've been looking forward to it for years and while it may have some rough edges, it's a fun and innovative title overall, a strong contender for game of the year... But months after release Nintendo announces paid DLC for the game, which costs as much as Hollow Knight: Silksong and doesn't really add any substantial content. Instead, it's a simple game mode, where your goal is to collect as many Rupees as possible within a time limit.

That mode is fun in theory, but not really worth the additional price point. But to add some incentive to play (and buy) it, there will be time-limited events, which can score you exclusive armor pieces, which you can't get otherwise. It's a practice used by many mobile and free-to-play games to create "FOMO" and incentivize player retention, except that this won't be for some mobile game, like Super Mario Run, but for a full-priced title, which requires an arguably overpriced DLC on top.

Sounds like something that Nintendo would never do? Well, they are doing it right now, with Donkey Kong Bananza:

To be fair, the DK Island & Emerald Rush DLC from the latest Nintendo Direct looks quite neat, but it is something that you would expect from a free update, similar to Luigi's Balloon World in Super Mario Odyssey, not something that costs an extra 20 bucks. And to make things worse they have also announced time-limited events for it, which is the only way of getting certain statues (and potentially even certain outfits in the future). The first of those "Chip Fevers" will happen between October 28th and November 4th, so only for a week.

I don't have a Nintendo Switch 2 yet, but I've planned on getting one soon for Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment. And Donkey Kong Bananza has been on the top of my list of other games to buy for the system, even above Mario Kart World. Now... I'm not so sure about that anymore, because I'm absolutely sick of such event nonsense, where you're obliged to play the game on certain dates. "Play the game now or miss out later!" At the same time I like my games to be "whole", so it's hard for me to ignore.

This is a singleplayer game first and foremost. And with those there should be no such obligations. You should be able to buy and play all of it whenever you want, without potentially missing out. And maybe they will repeat these events. Maybe they will update the DLC in a couple of years, so that you can still get the exclusive rewards after the events are over. If that happens, I won't have much of an issue with it. But as of now this is looking scummy. 

Next they'll add a monetized gacha system to Fire Emblem: Fortune's Weave, since this has been working out nicely for Fire Emblem Heroes...

Donkey Kong Bananza vs. Harmony

Today Nintendo has aired a Direct for Donkey Kong Bananza and the game looks quite phenomenal, they are truly doing something fresh and grand with this classic IP. The Direct revealed a young Pauline as DK's singing sidekick and since this is likely coming from the creators of Super Mario Odyssey, it feels like a potential prequel to that game, where Pauline became the mayor of New Donk City. Some more connections between Donkey Kong and Super Mario, besides the usual Mario Karting, certainly wouldn't hurt. After all, it all began with Donkey Kong on Arcade.

Anyway, something about the footage felt quite familiar to me and it wasn't just the Super Mario Odyssey style and outfits. It was about a singing girl riding on some big animal, who can even transform into bigger animals with the power of "Bananza", like a running Zebra and a flying Ostrich. It reminds me of the cancelled game by Retro Studios, called "Harmony", where a demo of it was leaked alongside a Nintendo Switch devkit dump earlier this year.

You can read some technical stuff about it on TCRF. There also used to be some footage of it, but it was taken down, where you will have to settle for a video from Arlo. Anyway, in the game you were going to play a redheaded girl, who sings to summon different creatures, like some grassy plant giant, who even has a similar statue to Donkey Kong. And then she is riding on their tops as you control these creatures, just like young Pauline on Donkey Kong. It wasn't anything amazing, so I'm not disappointed that this project didn't go anywhere, but to me it seems like some essence of this is going to live on with Donkey Kong Bananza.

Since the Harmony demo is from 2017, the prototyping Switch days, I doubt that Bananza had any influence on its cancellation. Like, the similarities could have been considered a problem, but I feel like it's more likely that there was a healthy influence. Maybe there was and we could hear about this in the developer interviews. Maybe Retro Studios was even involved in the development somewhat, but they were busy with Metroid Prime 4: Beyond, so it's doubtful.

In any case, the duo of Donkey Kong and Pauline has a lot more charm, so I certainly prefer that direction. And this truly has to manifest in the next Super Smash Bros. game somehow – I don't want the old Donkey Kong anymore, I want DK & Pauline. The Kong Bananza could even become his Final Smash.

Another game that I was reminded of by the footage is Tears of the Kingdom. The Lagoon Layer looks a lot like the Sky Islands. And the giant holes that lead down to the next layer feel a lot like the chasms into the Depths. If only the digging would have been as smooth in that game...

Donkey Kong Bananza – The Free Digging Game

The big gameplay gimmick of Donkey Kong Bananza is going to be his ability to freely tear through the ground. You can punch tunnels and fully explore the underground below you, like Minecraft on steroids. This has caught my attention, because this a mechanic I expected to see in an upcoming Zelda game.

In the developer interviews for Tears of the Kingdom, it was revealed that Aonuma wanted the player to dig underground in Breath of the Wild, which the developers didn't want to implement. This led to the caves in Tears of the Kingdom, but those won't let you dig freely. There are designated chunks of rubble that you can clear out, which makes exploring the caves more like a chore than some satisfying discovery.

After I was finished with Tears of the Kingdom, I kept thinking about what the next the open world Zelda could do to be more fun. I was going to write some of these ideas down on this blog, but sadly I didn't find the time yet... And one of them was to bring back the transformation into the different species, just in an open world setting. You would be able to freely explore the skies and the oceans as a Rito and a Zora respectively, once you've obtained the ability to turn into them. And for a Goron I thought it would make the most sense to bring back this digging idea from Aonuma. Let the player mine through the ground wherever they want to discover underground caves.

But looks like they've given this idea to Donkey Kong instead, he's even a miner now in this game. And don't get me wrong, it's fantastic to see new takes on classic characters. Nintendo shines with fresh ideas and this is something completely new for the Donkey Kong franchise, but it also feels like a great fit. And the whole digging mechanic looks like a lot of fun.

At the same time I'm a bit disappointed that I'm not looking at Goron Link doing all this. Of course, this doesn't have to be exclusive to Donkey Kong, there still could be a Zelda game in the future with a similar ability. Just not in the near future...

 

Donkey Kong Country Returns HD (Review)

Donkey Kong Country Returns has a similar history to Hyrule Warriors when it comes to its three different releases. It first came out on a console, the Wii in this case, and then later received a port on the Nintendo 3DS. That port made things easier on you and also offered new exclusive contents, but it it looked worse and halved the frame rate to get the game even running on the smaller system. Some years later you get the "definitive edition" on the Nintendo Switch, which offers the improvements of the Nintendo 3DS version without the downsides in the graphical department. And that's very nice to have, but are there really no compromises...?

Donkey Kong Country Returns HD x Tetris 99

Another Maximus Cup is taking place in Tetris 99 right now with a theme for Donkey Kong Country Returns HD. I've just beaten this remaster the other day, so the timing was very nice. And the theme is quite nice as well, I like the visuals a lot and how the Rambi blocks are used for the garbage.

The only complaint is that the music choices are a bit vanilla. It starts with "DK Island Swing", the track from the first levels, then goes into the title theme, and finally plays the "Lift-Off Launch" rocket barrel music. Those are good tracks and can make you hum along, but I would probably have swapped the title theme with something else, because it doesn't feel like the stakes are raised at that point.

Anyway, get this while you still can. The younger Maximus Cups are not up for purchase via tickets, so if you miss one of them, you probably won't have the opportunity to obtain them anytime soon.

Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D (Review)

If you already own Donkey Kong Country Returns on the Nintendo Wii, like I do, then going for the Nintendo 3DS version is questionable at best. Maybe you are curious about the additional levels. Maybe you want to play through this excellent game with some novelties. Or maybe you will be just getting this for your collection...

Whatever the reason may be, it doesn't leave a good first impression due to its halved frame rate. At times it even goes clearly below 30FPS, which is unacceptable for a game requiring precise reactions. While it is impressive in itself that Monster Games, the studio behind this port, managed to bring this Wii game onto the Nintendo 3DS, this comes with a cost. And not just the price tag on the box... It just doesn't play as well, especially when you're used to the smooth 60FPS of the original or in Tropical Freeze.

It's also questionable what details were preserved and what not. They certainly were liking the rich backgrounds, which can be rather distracting on the 3DS, while the shadows below enemies are now gone. And we're not talking about complex shadings, but simple "circle below butt" shadows, which were mainly there to give you information with enemies that are above the ground. Those can be critical at times, especially with the final boss, where there was a part that required you to stand right at the edge of its shadow. At least the bubbly background is still there being bubbly...

At least the controls got improved overall, mainly because there aren't any motion controls this time, which originally were used for ground pounding, rolling and blowing (based on your direction). The rolls are the critical part here and they could be a source of frustration with the Wii title, since inputs may not be registered or accidentally triggered. And using a button is simply more precise and reliable. If you can get used to the lower frame rate, then the 3DS version will be more fun to play.

However, this is only true on an XL system, because it may not play as well with the small buttons of a normal Nintendo 3DS. And even if it does for you, then the small screen will still pose a problem, which wasn't really taken into consideration for this port. There are several sections that put you into the backgrounds of the levels, making you very small. Too small for a normal Nintendo 3DS.

The control options also aren't ideal, because you have to pick between the slide pad and the D-pad, they are not active at the same time. Curiously, this also changes the button layout, where the slide pad lets you roll with X or Y and grab with L or R. With the D-pad this gets swapped for no good reason. Why not make it like in Tropical Freeze, which lets you freely set up everything as you want it.

Some of the other improvements from Tropical Freeze have made it into this, though. One of them are the three new items:

• the Crash Shield protects your mine carts and rocket barrels for two times
• the Green Balloon saves you from a fall
• the portable DK Barrels can be used at any time
  

But these are only available in Cranky Kong's Shop when you play the new "Normal Mode", which also adds an extra heart to both Donkey and Diddy. This mode feels more balanced, actually, and it even adds a heart to Mirror Mode, making that one much easier, which you may even need. Similar to Tropical Freeze, there is now an incentive to collecting the KONG letters in Mirror Mode again, because their trophy icon will then turn blue. So, there is some additional challenge to be found there.

In addition, if you play in Normal Mode, you will be able to purchase the pearls in each world, which are normally gotten at the end of the super-challenging K-levels. They are now required to enter the ninth world, which previously was just a single level (the Golden Temple), but now was expanded with eight new levels on the Nintendo 3DS. So, if you want to check them out without going through the hardship of completing all the difficult temples first, then this will be a welcomed option.

None of these new purchases will be available in the "Classic Mode", which works mostly the same as on the Wii, which means that you will only have two hearts per Kong and so on. It also comes with the additional levels, but they cannot be easily unlocked here. Oh, wait... technically they can, because they've also added the Super Guide to the temple levels just in case, which is extremely annoying. The optional K-levels were designed to be mastered step by step and you will therefore die a lot. To have the little piggy appear after a few deaths, offering you help, just feels like the game is taunting you at this point. (This personally frustrated me more than the levels themselves.) If someone picks Classic Mode, they clearly don't want the additional help, so this was uncalled for.

Whatever path you choose to get into the new "Cloud" world, you won't be missing out much in any case... It's this typical theme-recycling in a final world or area, which you have seen in many Nintendo games before. You will find eight islands in the clouds and each island is based on the stuff from the game's normal eight worlds, without really doing anything with the whole sky theme. That's exclusive to the final level, which already existed on the Wii. So, you get a jungle level, a beach level, a temple level, and so on.

These new additions are well done, but they wouldn't stand out if they were just part of the original worlds. You may not even notice that they are new in that case. Only the factory level truly shines, where you assemble a gigantic Donkey Kong robot in the background, which takes action at the end of the level. This is a memorable highlight, but otherwise these additions are rather forgettable and not a real reason to purchase the 3DS version. They may even feel like filler, padding the game before you can play the Golden Temple and unlock Mirror Mode. But they are still better than nothing...

The Good:

• No motion controls
• Eight new levels, though slightly unimaginative

The Bad:

• Bad frame rate
• Some important details are missing, like enemy shadows
• Things get too small on a normal Nintendo 3DS
• Super Guide is even more annoying

Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze (Review)

Retro Studios shows Nintendo how it's done – whether it's Metroid games, Mario Kart courses, or Jump'n'Run levels. And the latter is especially creative and motivating in Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze on the Wii U. It's quite different from New Super Mario Bros. U, where you get the same plains, desert, forest, ice, mountain, sky, and volcano worlds for the forth time. Instead, it clearly sets itself apart from its predecessor, Donkey Kong Country Returns, with new ideas.

For example, the Autumn Falls take place in a Bavaria-inspired alpine scenery, including big beer mugs. The Bright Savanna, which will transition into a canyon, offers something new in every level, where this even tells a story of how the world is progressing. That's also true for the fifth world, the Juicy Jungle, where you may expect your typical forest- and jungle-themed levels, but it's actually a sherbet factory. First the fruits will be plucked, then sliced, then turned into jelly, and finally frozen, where Donkey Kong has to survive all these steps. The final world then brings back him back to his Island from Donkey Kong Country Returns, where each world of that game was turned into a single level that is frozen over. There's a ton of creativity found in Tropical Freeze, something that Super Mario has been lacking lately.

But it's not just the worlds and their themes, the levels themselves are also very well done. Well, similar to the previous game, you will have to learn them to a degree, because the levels may change as you keep going. And with certain things it's hard to react when you don't see them coming. That may not be to your taste, but once you've got to know a level, they will offer a nice flow, where most of them where clearly designed for speed-running, which requires you to truly master each level. If one jump doesn't have the right timing, it can already be over.

That may sound frustrating, but the levels stay surprisingly motivating, so that you keep trying. The game's Hard Mode may even bear testimony to that, despite the fact that there are no checkpoints and you only get one heart, so that you will to start over after a single mistake. That sounds impudently frustrating on paper, but it's charmingly addicting. Of course, unless you're just exceptionally good at Jump 'n' Runs, you will die a lot, but there is a joy to be found in mastering the levels step by step. And this is coming from someone, who didn't like the Mirror Mode in Returns as much, even though that one still had checkpoints. It's not Tropical Freeze is the easier game of the two, but it's certainly the fairer one.

Additional modes like this also offer you more replay value. You won't just run through the game once and that's it. In Tropical Freeze Hard Mode might be where the real game begins for you, and everything until then was just the warm-up. Additionally, the game also comes with a Time Attack mode again, where you have to speed-run each levels to earn different medals. This has much improved from the predecessor, because a death will now reset both the level and the timer. In Returns the timer kept running, which meant that you had to leave and reload a level whenever you wanted to truly start over. That was already cumbersome enough, but with the loading times in Tropical Freeze this would be a catastrophe.

That's one point of criticism that needs to be mentioned. We're used to short loading times with Nintendo games, but in Tropical Freeze you are staring at clouds. Even the loading screens are freezing sometimes! Looks like Retro Studios has lost mainly their optimizations talents, less so the creative fellows.

What's really frustrating about the game are puzzle pieces, however, which is another thing worse than in Returns. For the most part the puzzle pieces used to be about discovering hidden secrets, which can be a lot of fun for those who love to explore, like myself. And to a degree this is still true for Tropical Freeze, but more than often this has now turned into banana-collecting mini-games, where you have to grab a given number within a time limit and/or under challenging circumstances. So, instead of getting the puzzle piece directly from a vase, it spawns some erratically flying bananas, where you have to jump around like a monkey to not miss one of them.

The rocket barrel levels are some of the worst offenders, where you have to perfectly catch a stream of bananas. If you don't want to replay the entire level whenever you have missed a banana, you will have no choice but to kill yourself and try again from the latest checkpoint. And then try again. And again. It's not exactly the best video game design if it encourages in-game suicides on such a degree, where I have called the game "Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Frust" after some point. Given, this only matters for completion and it has already been a problem in the previous title, but not as badly.

This is also true for the bonus rooms, which only add insult to injury here. They still interrupt the game, as they did before, but they have even less to offer. There are now only ten configurations, instead of twelve, and they lack the visual variety this time. You also won't get any balloons or coins anymore, because that's apparently too much of a bonus, and instead you have to collect exactly 100 bananas in each of them. This gets old very quickly and also requires these rooms to be larger, where the image is zoomed out quite a bit, making this even harder. And you can't repeat the bonus rooms, so again you will to kill yourself for another attempt at the puzzle piece. (In one level this wasn't even possible with a bonus room at the very end, which means you really have to repeat this from the beginning if you screw it up.) If you are a completionist, then the puzzle pieces will probably become the worst part of the game for you.

Another topic of interest are Donkey Kong's barrel buddies, where next to Diddy Kong you will also be able to play as Dixie and Cranky this time. That's fantastic on first glance and a main selling point of the game, but the problem is that Dixie completely outshines her boyfriend in all aspects. While Diddy can hover for a bit in the air and also get a single boost underwater with his jet pack, Dixie's hair lets her gain additional altitude after a jump and can be used like a propeller when submerged. So, there is no good reason to ever pick Diddy, unless the game forces you to.

At least Cranky Kong has some usage with his pogo move, which is helpful against certain bosses and even required from some of the secrets. But when playing Hard Mode, where you can chose any character, Dixie will be the way to go 95% of the time. And that's just shows how unbalanced they are. Also, there are still no other animal buddies besides Squawks (for finding puzzle pieces) and Rambi, who again is as rare as the beautiful silhouette levels. At least with the re-introduction of underwater stages you would have expected to meet Enguarde somewhere...

This might have helped with those levels being quite slow-paced, which is in stark contrast to the snappy gameplay ashore. World 4, which primarily takes place under the ocean, can therefore be a real pace killer. But there is again an answer to that in the form of Dixie and her propeller hair, letting you breeze through the waters...

Finally, the soundtrack by David Wise also needs to be mentioned, because it's tremendous. While Kenji Yamamoto's work on the games from Retro Studios, including Donkey Kong Country Returns, was also great, the music in Tropical Freeze offers a groove that perfectly matches the action.

The Good:

• Sublime level design in creative worlds
• Perfectly crafted levels
  
• Difficult, but motivating
• No annoying super guide
  
• Ear candy soundtrack
• Responsive controls
  

The Bad:

• Frustrating "get all bananas" puzzle pieces
• Dixie makes Diddy obsolete
• No new animal buddies
• Long loading times
  

Donkey Kong Country Returns (Review)

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...

Retro and Donkey Kong

Well, pretty much since I opened this blog, I've been speculating what Retro Studios' newest project would be. My guess was, that they worked together with the Zelda team on the newest Zelda game for Wii. This even might have been true at one point. After the release of Twilight Princess the Zelda team had experimented with first person gameplay in Zelda (with Link's Crossbow Training as the result). And they probably consulted Retro Studios at one point for their experience with the Metroid Prime Trilogy. However, the First Person Zelda idea probably didn't turn out so well and was dumped at one point.

With Nintendo been saying, that Retro is doing what they do best, I guess a lot of people including me jumped to false conclusions. What is Retro doing best? At that time you might thought it's first person gameplay, adventure and exploration, since that's what they've done for years now with the Metroid Prime Trilogy. But that's not what's their biggest strength is. What they do best is reviving old franchises, they are able to understand the essence of the franchise and make a game, that brings this essence back to life. They know what the fans of the franchise want and how to attract new players at the same time. It's what they've done with Metroid Prime and it's what they do now with Donkey Kong.



It's entirely different from everything Retro has done in the past decade, no one would have expected that from Retro. But we all agree that this is absolutely the kind of game, that brings Donkey Kong back in the spotlight. Well, it's a similar approach to New Super Mario Bros., but good 2D platformers on home consoles became a rarity since the Super Nintendo times and there's tons of demand for it (New SMB Wii sold over 14 million in half a year). The Donkey Kong Country games were very successful on the Super Nintendo, but since then there wasn't any other good Donkey Kong game. Well, I guess Retro did it again.

I personally haven't played any of the Donkey Kong Country games yet, but this might change with Retro's new game. They are that good. Nintendo really has found quite the ace in Retro, Retro is now what Rare once was for Nintendo in the 90s. And Retro making a new Donkey Kong Country game is symbolizing this very well.