The reason that Nintendo are able to compete with their rivals (Sony, Microsoft) is the fantastic catalogue of games based off their many successful franchises. Donkey Kong is the latest character from our childhood to make a "HD return". Donkey Kong Country Returns is an almost perfect remake of one of Nintendo's classics and with nothing to complain about, other than the brutal difficulty, fans will be ecstatic with this latest choice from the Nintendo archives to receive a High Definition remake.
The developers seem to have approached this game with old-school values, mixed in with new-school techniques to appeal to modern fans. It is a game made with love, you can really see the passion the developers had for this franchise and the final product is phenomenal, it joins New Super Mario Bros and Kirby's Epic Yarn as a modern day 2D classic.
With the power of the Wii, the prerendered graphics style has been replaced with real-time visuals. Other than this change, Donkey Kong Country Returns plays almost identical to the NES classic we all know and love, Donkey Kong Country. The game feels fresh, new, clean, and everything the original did, for the new generation. DK's banana horde has been swiped and his jungle buddies hypnotized by a new troupe of bad guys. Unlike the original, Donkey Kong Country Returns makes it clear why a giant banana horde has been stolen and although purists may be disappointed with the omission of the original cast of baddies, this is what makes DKCR's it's own unique experience. The new cast of baddies and bosses are just as imaginative and creative as the originals, in some cases even more.
Retro Studios stuck very close to the blueprint laid out by Rose in the Super Nintendo Original, so many of the levels stayed within the restrictions of the classic designs. For people who played the original it might feel a little underwhelming, i did expect allot of big changes, but after a while i couldn't complain about anything in this masterful game.
With every completed challenge, the player will feel more and more satisfaction. The game gets better with every step you take on you're journey through this chaotic jungle. Levels begin to get more creative and start to expand on the basics laid out in the beginning. The first 5 worlds will have you enjoying the game as a High Definition version of you're favourite childhood memory, but after world 5 you will be enjoying the thrill of every new experience that lurks around each corner. The classic run and jump, barrel-blasting gameplay is enhanced with the traditional mine cart runs, but Retro added their own take with rocket barrel runs where you'll have to navigate through hazards simply by boosting up or falling down.
The one thing i initially realized was that Donkey Kong Country Returns is the opposite to the highly successful, Kirby's Epic Yarn. While that game is easy to access for new comers and will encourage and help you, DKCR''s feels like an extremely punishingly tough test for hardcore platformer fans. If you are attracted by the pretty visuals, delightful characters, and creative environments then this might fool you into having an extremely frustrating experience. This game is brutally hard and is made for experienced gamers who were addicted to the original back in the day. There is nothing wrong with a game that presents an extremely difficult challenge, i personally welcome the challenge as it makes the game last longer and feel all the more satisfying after you beat it. The only way to complete the game 100% is to collect all the pick-ups (KONG letters and puzzle pieces) in each level. On top of this, each level has a time trial which can become addictive to try and beat, especially considering the high difficulty. Running through these levels as fast as you can is frantic, thrilling, and tense.
The game doesn't completely discourage new comers with it's difficulty as it incorporates the very successful "auto play" feature which was welcomed in recent games like New Super Mario Bros and Super Mario Galaxy 2. After you find you're self stuck at a certain area, you gain the ability to let the game play for you. It's a great addition because players like myself who will complete a game by their self without any help can just choose to skip this option every time, but for players who just want to advance and keep enjoying the game the feature will serve as a valuable tool throughout their journey.
Something is was disappointed with was the fact that you can only play as Diddy Kong in co-op, if you are the second player. In single player mode, Diddy is relegated to a power-up status. I love the way the Diddy mechanic forces you to change between the two, allowing for new game mechanics. It would have been nice to take the little monkey out with his big loveable brother at times but it's just a small thing i miss in this outstanding game.
The game plays with the Wii remote exclusively, or the Wii remote/Nunchuk paring. I found the Wii remote on it's own to control much smoother and precise than both controllers together. Depending on which direction is being pressed, the game will require some waggle motions for such thing's as ground stomps, or quick rolls. These were quite annoying as it never feels fully under you're control, i would constantly be having cheap deaths with these situations and it was frustrating.
Retro also added a few new gameplay mechanics to the standard Donkey Kong Country design. Climbing is the main and this makes sense considering what Donkey Kong is, you can climb on grassy areas simply by holding a button. There are some absolutely great levels designed to combine the platforming gameplay with the climbing and it all works extremely well together. The other mechanic, blowing, just seems out of place. You can blow by holding down and waggling the controller, making DK blow breath. This blow mechanic can be used to blow items and obstacles out of the way to advance or discover hidden treasures. This mechanic feels a bit unnecessary and at times distracted me from the game, looking for new objects that i was able to blow.
Each of the 8 full worlds are filled with action, but the most impressive thing about them is the way they look. The game is visually outstanding, the character animations are phenomenal and the vibrant colourful environments are just a pleasure to play through.
Overall Donkey Kong Country Returns is a modern day masterpiece. It brings back all the fantastic memories we have of the original classic, improving and bettering them. The game is one of the best looking games i have ever seen on the Wii and with the perfect gameplay and challenging levels, this game is truly one of the best platformers of the year.
Donkey Kong Country Returns is absolutely fantastic 9.5/10
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