“ReDONKulously” Good
Those of us that grew up playing the Super Nintendo Entertainment System will likely all remember one standout title, Donkey Kong Country (or one of its brilliant sequels at least). And it’s a game that stands out for so many reasons: flawless level design, smooth, precise controls, incredible graphics and a fun coop mode. Those that haven’t played a Donkey Kong Country title before may not appreciate just how groundbreaking it was.
And it’s because of the brilliant series on SNES that the excitement for this latest installment has been so high. When it was first unveiled at E3 earlier this year, everyone went nuts. Nevertheless, Donkey Kong Country Returns is not as similar to the original titles at one might be led to assume. There’s a few nostalgic similarities here and there, but otherwise it’s very much a modern platformer starring everyone’s favourite ape. Don’t take that last remark in a negative way, however. Donkey Kong Country Returns is a really fun side-scrolling platformer, which, if you haven’t bought it already, should definitely be on your Christmas list.
The premise is your typical platforming game; you control DK (and sometimes Diddy) and work your way through a variety of stages, vaulting over chasms, stomping enemies and collecting bananas. DK has had his banana horde stolen yet again, but alas, Kaptain K. Rool and his Kremling thugs are not to blame for a change! Rather, a mysterious Tiki tribe have been hypnotising the animals of the jungle into helping them steal from the big Gorilla, and DK ain’t best pleased. For some strange reason, the baddies are unable to cast their spell over DK (which results in a rather painful beating for one particular tribesman), and so it’s up to the Donk and his pal Diddy to reclaim their stash and beat up a few Tikis on the way.
The gameplay is, as is to be expected from a Nintendo game, solid. The variety of levels up for offer is quite stunning, and developer Retro Studios has done a great job of finding a good balance between casual jungle-roaming and chaotic platforming madness. Despite the relatively simple confines of being a platforming game, Donkey Kong Country Returns has a surprising amount of depth, most of which can be found in the challenge to collect all the secrets. Each level is littered with jigsaw pieces, letters that spell out “KONG”, banana coins, bananas and so on. Some of these are incredibly well-hidden, meaning that exploration can become an integral part of the game, whereas at other times, you will be required to simply time your jumps right or you’ll miss your chance to nab that prize. If you’re turned off by collect-a-thons, then don’t fret as the game is still great fun without all the item-hunting. The level design is superb. Many stages have this excellent sense of progression whereby the challenge gets tougher as you get further in, and in most instances, this results in the level getting seriously whacky (the mine cart stages actually blew my mind). There is some clever stuff that is well above that of your standard run-of-the-mill platforming experience, such as some very creative interactive backgrounds. When compared to other recent side-scrolling efforts such as New Super Mario Bros. Wii (which seemed a little bland and generic to me), the level design is well and truly inspired.
And this is what helps contribute towards Donkey Kong Country Returns’ strongest point: the difficulty. Those looking for a hint of nostalgia will be pleased to know that this game is hard. Very hard. Stages have checkpoints, but they’re spaced out just far enough apart to keep you on your toes. It’s nice to see a game in this day and age that not only has fun, crazy-looking levels, but also challenges you. You will lose countless lives. Futhermore, in coop mode, this game gets so much harder, and you’ll have to cooperate perfectly if you want to have any chance of making it to the end. I actually started to refer to the difficulty as “bastard mode” because it felt like the game was mocking my and my friend’s life. We must have seen the game over screen over 100 times in the space of an evening. There’s something about the lives system that doesn’t quite make sense, however. If one of you dies and then the other dies before you’re able to respawn, the game still takes two lives away from you. It’s incredibly evil, but it only egged us on to do better next time. Another complaint is the game over screen. I wouldn’t normally make a fuss, but it is very plain, and seeing as you spend most of the game looking at this screen, you would have thought they could have made it a bit more interesting.
There are two control schemes for the game. You can either use the Wii Remote and Nunchuk or just the Wii Remote on its own in the horizontal position. Out of the two, I personally found the Wii Remote and Nunchuk setup to be the most suitable, although that’s not to say that it isn’t playable with just the Wii Remote. Rather, Donkey Kong Country Returns has unfortunately been subjected to a lot of waggle control that really doesn’t add anything to the game. I found the roll attack was virtually redundant as a result of this, because in order to perform a roll you must hold either left or right and shake the controller. It’s clumsy and I don’t understand why they couldn’t have just had it as it was in the original, whereby it was assigned to the same button as run. The only waggle bit that I did enjoy was when you beat a boss – you are given the chance to beat the living bejesus out of the poor Tiki thing that was silly enough to confront you by violently shaking the Wii Remote (and Nunchuk when in use). It acts as a great stress release after having lost a gazillion lives trying to beat the boss in question.
Donkey Kong Country on the SNES will always be remembered for how it pushed the beloved system from a graphical standpoint. Unfortunately, Donkey Kong Country Returns was never going to be able to do the same thing for Wii, but nevertheless, it is still a pretty nice-looking game. The jungle is vivid and full of colour, the character models and animations are nice and smooth and the game keeps a solid frame rate throughout even the most hectic of moments.
I was slightly disappointed in the sound department. Don’t get me wrong, the aural experience is by no means a bad one, but when compared to the godlike Donkey Kong Country soundtracks composed by the legendary David Wise back in the 1990s, it’s nothing special. There are a few remixed versions of old favourites and the new tracks fit in just fine. The music never seems that epic, however, and for such an important and nostalgic return of the Donk, I was expecting a bit more.
The Final Verdict
It’s not only so good to finally see Donkey Kong back on our screens in a new adventure, but it’s also great that he’s come back in one that is a whole lot of fun. Exceptional level design and a tough, but rewarding, challenge keep you wanting to play further and even go back over earlier stages and find all the hidden goodies. It’s very easy to pick up and play, although the waggle may turn purists off. While the visual and audio aspects of the game are nothing spectacular, they’re good enough to make Donkey Kong Country Returns a great all-round package.
Give it a go, you’ll go bananas for it.
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