Time to go on a vacation to Donkey Kong Country and visit DK and Diddy. Is this country as fun as it used to be?
The story hasn't really changed much over the years; Donkey Kong's bananas are stolen once again and he sets out with his nephew Diddy Kong to get them back. The only real difference is the enemies. Instead of the Kremlings (who belong to RARE I hear), you get Tiki masks who can hypnotize the wildlife of DK's island. The story is just there to propel the player through the game so it is barely worth mentioning and can't be graded.
The gameplay is where the Donkey Kong series really shines. The gameplay has changed a bit from the original games though it is controlled with the Wiimote on it's side like an older game. You still run from left to right while defeating all the enemies on your path to the goal, finding secrets and collectables on the way. The feel, handling and control have all undergone changes. You move faster compared to the original, you fall faster and you can climb on certain surfaces. You still jump on enemies, collect the letters to spell KONG, collect bananas and life balloons and travel through eight differently themed worlds, defeating a boss at the end to move on. It's a tried and true formula and it works it's wonders here. The biggest hook is the level design and difficulty. The levels are designed in a trial and error way which, while it can get incredibly frustrating, forces you to better yourself to breeze through.
The game wants you to keep momentum, rarely stopping to make precise jumps. Due to this the game is perfect for time trials, which this game has. The levels are satisfying to run through and can really test your skills as well as your patience, it's an amazing return to form, but it is not without it's flaws...with the flaws being the controls. The movement, jumps, and run feels fine, but the ground pound, blow and roll are handled via the Wiimote's motion control. The problem is that you need to be running to roll, standing to ground pound and ducking to blow. Where the problem lies is in execution. Say I need to ground pound a switch, which you do plenty of; I run over to the switch and begin to ground pound, but instead I roll and fall off the nearby ledge all because I haven't completely stopped movement. That wouldn't be a problem if I wasn't being chased by insta-kills. While this is a problem and it has claimed plenty of my balloons, it is not even near a game breaker.
The audio is a nostalgic slap in the ears. The soundtrack is mostly made up of old tracks from the previous Country games which is both a good and bad thing. It's great because that music is awesome but it's bad because we don't get much new. The new sound effects do their job and never get on your nerves, except DK's death sound which you'll hear a lot of. Overall, it's Donkey Kong Country.
The visuals on display are fantastic, Wii or not. The levels get really busy and there's always something to look at. Things explode in the background, collapse, attack you, chase you, it's a sight to behold. The character models are well done and overall, it's a damn pretty game.
Overall, Donkey Kong Country Returns is the return to form that all DKC fans were waiting for. It definitely beats the original and the third game, the second might still beat it, but just wait for Donkey Kong Country Returns 2.
PROS:
- fast, fun platforming action
- eight action-packed worlds for you to jump your way through
- remixed soundtrack from the originals
- challenging
- lengthy adventure
- beautiful environments and nice looking models
- challenging time trails
- busy environments provide quite the spectacle
- crazy rocket barrel stages
CONS:
- remixed soundtrack
- can be too frustrating
- difficulty not properly balanced thanks to easy access to extra lives
Gameplay: 9.5/10
Audio: 9.0/10
Presentation: 10/10