Donkey Kong Country Returns

[Hobocop]

Wow I take back any doubts I had with this game, it is soooo good (at least thus far). Once you get used to having to waggle to roll - which really sucks at first, especially if you're going for time - there are few issues if any.

For those worried about replay value, I spent 2-3 hours on the first three levels alone (to be fair a good portion of that was spent seeing all the different things Cranky says), and there are supposely over 70 levels. Anyone worrying it might not feel like DKC should also put those worries away.

The secret areas and bonus rooms are cleverly placed and finding everything in each level gives this game a feeling that it was a great investment (I've gotten more out of the first zone than I did out of Sonic Colors, and I actually liked that game).

[Nekofrog]

The controls in this game are fucking unintuitive and fucking awful. So tired of fucking waggle when it should just be a button press.

[Gario]

people who don't think dkc3 has memorable music are probably too caught up on how ridiculous the first level's music is

if you don't think this song is memorable than there is something wrong with you

those are the fattest, juiciest drums the SNES has ever produced come on

Oh hell yeah. It did have it's good points, like the music .

[The Derrit]

The controls in this game are fucking unintuitive and fucking awful. So tired of fucking waggle when it should just be a button press.

can't you play it on gcn or virtual controller anyways

[ocre]

can't you play it on gcn or virtual controller anyways

Unfortunately not. When the game was first announced I was hoping it would be an option but they wanted to push motion controls. Pht.

[Hobocop]

Yeah seems like everyone is complaining about those motion controls (even though it could have been a lot worse), so the people at Retro had to know they weren't a good idea. I'm guessing someone at NCL imposed them onto the game

[EC2151]

lol ya can't make a wii game WITHOUT INSERTING SUPER HAPPY FUN-TIME MOTION CONTROLS WII WOULD RIKE YOU TO PURAY

Regardless, it's retro.

I'mma getting this either as a Xmas present to myself, or for my brother or something. Haven't decided yet.

[Devyn]

Well, the best Donkey Kong game I ever played was controlled by a pair of bongos, which I'm having trouble finding right now.

Anyway, I'm broke, so maybe I can ask for it for Christmas or something. I like how you can warp to places in the background (I've wanted to do that since the 8 bit days), and I'm looking forward to playing a 2D Retro Studios game.

[liquid wind]

yeah the way the background and foreground interact and how you transition between them is definitely a nice touch

brilliant game except for the unneeded use of motion controls IMO, I really want to find the retard who stood up during a board meeting and proclaimed "roll should be mapped to waggle!"

soundtrack is pretty nice too, I thought it would be more awkward than it is having kenji yamamoto do donkey kong but it works, although some parts definitely seem like "Donkey Kong Country: Metroid Prime Edition", though as expected the most standout tracks are remixes of DKC1 music

[JCvgluvr]

Although I have yet to play this awesome-looking game, what's the problem with waggle? New Super Mario Bros. Wii AND Super Mario Galaxy 1 + 2 did just fine with it. An option for different controls would've been nice, but can't we just adapt?

[Bleck]

the difference here is the rolling in Donkey Kong is absolutely goddamn crucial, not just sort of convenient like spinning in recent Mario

but yeah this game is pretty damn good, waggle excluded

still not as good as dkc2 though, sadly

[Hobocop]

Although I have yet to play this awesome-looking game, what's the problem with waggle? New Super Mario Bros. Wii AND Super Mario Galaxy 1 + 2 did just fine with it. An option for different controls would've been nice, but can't we just adapt?

Well, I use the Wiimote sideways, and a little tap isn't enough you actually have to move it a fair amount for it to register. So pressing left or right, plus 1 to run, then shaking the Wiimote followed by a quick jump using 2 gets way too clustered. This is compounded by the fact that you want to minimize the amount you shake the Wiimote so you have more time to use the jump... it can get bad (sometimes it doesn't register for example, and you just run off the ledge). And as posted above sometimes you have to use the long jump after a long period after having reached a checkpoint, so it can become very frustrating.

And on the subject of music, I'm a little disappointed. I played DKC1/2 the day before I got this (didn't have enough time for three ), and that music, especially the bass, is still unbelievable. This music sounds kind of cheap as if it was an afterthought, and lacks the kick in the subwoofers the originals had. Also, the original music sounds too generic (like the beach). There are some great surprises though (possible minor spoilers)... I thought that the Stormy beach level would have been great with DKC2's water music, but when the music from the snow levels from the first game started playing ... honestly I thought that track would have been overlooked but it fit in great.

[Nekofrog]

Although I have yet to play this awesome-looking game, what's the problem with waggle? New Super Mario Bros. Wii AND Super Mario Galaxy 1 + 2 did just fine with it. An option for different controls would've been nice, but can't we just adapt?

It worked in Mario Galaxy.

It doesn't work here. Just wait and try it. Trust me.

Edit: And yeah, the music is utter shit here. Nintendo once again went with the cheap and fast MIDI, and really bad MIDI at that.

[Benjamin Briggs]

well

at least it's better than sonic 4

and other m

:c

[Altermentality]

Well, I use the Wiimote sideways, and a little tap isn't enough you actually have to move it a fair amount for it to register. So pressing left or right, plus 1 to run, then shaking the Wiimote followed by a quick jump using 2 gets way too clustered. This is compounded by the fact that you want to minimize the amount you shake the Wiimote so you have more time to use the jump... it can get bad (sometimes it doesn't register for example, and you just run off the ledge). And as posted above sometimes you have to use the long jump after a long period after having reached a checkpoint, so it can become very frustrating.

And on the subject of music, I'm a little disappointed. I played DKC1/2 the day before I got this (didn't have enough time for three ), and that music, especially the bass, is still unbelievable. This music sounds kind of cheap as if it was an afterthought, and lacks the kick in the subwoofers the originals had. Also, the original music sounds too generic (like the beach). There are some great surprises though (possible minor spoilers)... I thought that the Stormy beach level would have been great with DKC2's water music, but when the music from the snow levels from the first game started playing ... honestly I thought that track would have been overlooked but it fit in great.

I've been playing with the nunchuck and it doesn't seem to be quite so bad as you describe. Next time I'll try playing with only the Wiimote sideways, and see which I think is the greater of two evils.

True enough, my boyfriend was teasing me. "I thought you were a pro at Donkey Kong Country?" I am, when I have a solid controller in my two hands and can press a button to roll =P

I'm not very far into it, just almost through the second world (the beach). So far, I think it's a very beautiful and creative game, and barring some control issues, a lot of fun. I definitely approve of this game and the effort that was put into it. It's a good platformer and I wish it lots of success in sales, and hopefully a sequel can be made, taking the issues people are having into account. (And with Dixie Kong.)

However, like has been mentioned, the music is far from standout. While I love hearing old DKC melodies pop up again, the remixes as of yet are not particularly powerful in their execution, and I felt the same way as Hobocop: the beach music was really generic. Can't recall it from yesterday at all. The enemy designs are, like I predicted, also really generic.

I didn't think Cranky Kong was going to be in (it was probably an early announcement, but I was trying to avoid spoilers) but I think they got him down pretty well. His comments make me smile, even if they're not quite as brutaly self-deprecating as Rare used to have.

[JCvgluvr]

Did you guys really hope or expect DKCR to be greater than or equal to DKC2 in music, level design, characters or...anything besides graphics? Some people have their expectations set way too high. You just can't get better than the best.

My expectations are that this game surpasses DKC1...maybe. Much lower expectations on my part, and much less disappointment awaits me.

I'll check the controls personally before I say anything else about them.

[EC2151]

Then again it's not TOO hard to surpass DKC1.

A number of my friends even criticize DKC2 for poor level design after the 3rd or 4th world (like Krook's Walk/Castle Stages relying too much on memorization than actual platforming). I disagree but I definitely see where they're coming from.

And while I only played DKC3 ages ago, nothing stood out as particularly memorable in terms of level/enemy design.

Of course, I WILL have to wait until I get a good chance to try everything out myself, but criticial reception is at least SOMEWHAT reassuring (as much as critical reception can be) in its near-universal acclaim of level design and near-universal complaint of control quibbles.

[RDX]

first boss music

^^is this some kind of sick joke

[EC2151]

Dem midi samples

[Hobocop]

first boss music

^^is this some kind of sick joke

I'm 99% sure that's not the boss music. The other 1% isn't sure because the boss music here is so forgettable.

They should have just stuck this in there

[Altermentality]

Did you guys really hope or expect DKCR to be greater than or equal to DKC2 in music, level design, characters or...anything besides graphics? Some people have their expectations set way too high. You just can't get better than the best.

My expectations are that this game surpasses DKC1...maybe. Much lower expectations on my part, and much less disappointment awaits me.

I'll check the controls personally before I say anything else about them.

Yeah, of course we need to compare this game to the original trilogy, as Retro was trying to make a game that captured what people love about those titles. So in order to evaluate their success, we need to discuss both what bothers us and impresses us about this game if it were a standalone title, but also how it pales or shines in comparison with the original series.

But I did never expect DKCR to "live up to" the old games, because they are from a completely different era, by a completely different studio. While I do wish Retro would have tried as hard to capture the musical and artistic style as they had with the gameplay, because those things matter a lot to me, such things are really up to their discretion and they're free to charge ahead in whichever creative direction they choose. I can't complain too much about the art direction overall (in fact sometimes it quite impresses me), although the music is a bit lacking.

I'm 99% sure that's not the boss music. The other 1% isn't sure because the boss music here is so forgettable.

They should have just stuck this in there

Going to add another 99% vote for the same reasons. I would have remembered samples that bad. Read the Youtube comments on that video and you'll see that even Youtube commenters aren't swallowing it.

I actually did try to look up a walkthrough to refresh myself on the music just now, but I couldn't hear it well. Still, it seemed completely different.

[EC2151]

I distinctly remember hearing Metroid Prime samples (especially choir samples) in Retro's and Yamamoto's music.

[Bleck]

this game is more of a sequel to DKC than it is DKC2 or 3

[Zombie]

I am pretty excited for this. Bought it today but I probably wont be able to play it much until after thanksgiving. I played the old games back in the day, but never owned a SNES to complete them. So I think I'll have a good time with this... Looks like a solid and creative platformer.

[ocre]

It's definitely a AAA title. A must-own for any Wii owner. Maybe the best game on the system. Challenging and rewarding.