Review 99
Donkey Kong Country Returns (Nintendo Wii)
Rated “E” For “Everyone”
Donkey Kong makes his return to consoles starring in his latest adventure. It has been a few years since the tie wearing hero graced us with his banana collecting goodness. Is this return to the country worth it or should the big Kong just continue being a featured player rather than the lead?
=====Story=====
A volcano erupts on Donkey Kong’s home island. The eruption releases evil Tiki figures that hypnotizes the animal populace with their melodic tunes. The animals then are made to steal Kong’s vast supply of bananas to…take over with banana power?
Well, the main thing is that Donkey Kong’s bananas were stolen and it is up to him and Diddy to get them back. They were either too heroic or too not-big-in-the-brain-department to be effected by the Tiki trances. They just know that they want their bananas and it’s time to go ape on the volcano Tikis.
=====Gameplay=====
The core of controlling Kong and Little Kong hasn’t changed much from the 16-bit country days. Make Kong go left, make Kong go right, and make Kong jump. The added motion controls aren’t as bad (recommend Wiimote/Nunchuk combination) as they are for simple, yet necessary, actions like blowing and ground pounding and rolling. You’ll be doing every action possible to get through stages and uncover the many secrets strewn about each level.
The major change to gameplay is the joined-at-the-hip approach. In this case, they’re joined on DK’s massive back. Playing alone, Diddy rides on his larger counterpart. No more switching, but the game was designed to around this rather than because of this. Diddy adds 2 extra hearts to your health and can provide a little hover action with his jet pack to extend your leaps of faith from platform to platform. A second player can jump in and take control of Diddy so that you can get some extra help from a friend. Hopefully you have a fully functioning ape buddy that will help you rather than hinder you.
=====Difficulty=====
This return to the country came with varying levels of difficulty. The first stretch of land serves well in showing you what to do and how to implement it while gradually increasing the challenge of doing those tasks (as should most games). As you continue on with your banana retrieval, the levels grow in challenge putting your skills to the test. The final areas definitely test your mastery of Kong as they definitely up the challenge. Thanks to the pacing, while the difficulty does skyrocket at points, it never seems impossible. A great mark of good difficulty design.
Each level is filled with platforming goodness. Stages that have you interacting and playing in the background are done extremely well. A few more of these stages would’ve been welcomed. Levels that have you going to the right or to the up of the screen are well paced and can have you biting your nails as you try not to be screen-killed. Vehicle riding stages (mine cart and barrel rockets) are done well and are great challenges in testing your timing. Some may not like them as much since they can (and most likely will) be the cause of many one-hit/mistake deaths. The same can be said for a few barrel blasting sequences.
Boss battles aren’t the most difficult to deal with. Once you imbed the attack patterns into your banana filled brain, you won’t have much trouble dealing with them.
But in case you took one too many tries at a certain level due to losing a lot of balloons (lives), Super Kong becomes available. Choosing to use Super Kong lets the computer take over and beat the level for you (just like in New Super Mario Bros Wii). It will beat the level for you and leave a reminder that it beat it for you. You can always go back and beat the level yourself to get rid of that mark.
=====Content=====
Other than retrieving the stolen banana stash, there is a lot to collect in this title. You have 8 main island areas to venture through. Each area has at least 7 levels to conquer plus a boss battle. Each of those (minus the boss) has K-O-N-G letters and puzzle pieces to collect (for gallery purposes). Each level has secret passages to further help in collecting bananas and puzzles pieces. And each area has a secret level to unlock more secrets. And there’s a Golden Banana Temple unlocked after beating the game. AND there’s an unlockable mirror mode with increased difficulty that you can go through.
They crammed a lot into this barrel. Going through the game once will easily net you 8+ hours. And if you want to challenge yourself in the previously mentioned mirror mode, you’ll at least double that and then some due to the increased challenge it provides.
=====Final Thoughts=====
Donkey Kong’s return is definitely a winner. There is a lot to like here. Levels and graphics are designed well, the music is memorable and nostalgic, and the challenge and experience is unforgettable. There are a few things I’d like to give nods to.
The animals seem very Pixar/Dreamworks-esque.
The levels where everything is black with shades of red were very eye pleasing.
The inclusion of Super Kong doesn’t hurt the game. It’s an aid to those that just can’t get passed that one level that’s been knocking them off their vine. Doesn’t mean they can’t beat any level beyond that. It’s just that one level is giving them a tough time. I can almost guarantee that anyone that has to resort to using Super Kong will go back and prove to themselves that they can do it.
Small nods to Game N Watch, DK Jr. Math, and even (maybe) The King of Kong were nice easter eggs.
Even though I saw the volcano Tikis use the bananas, I still don’t know WHY bananas. I know I shouldn’t read much into it, but I still questioned it when I saw it, ha.
The art of collecting items never seems like an extra thing to do in Nintendo titles. You just get a sense of wanting to collect everything rather than having to collect everything.
Seeing Donkey Kong and Diddy jump in at the beginning of each level really sets the tone of “I’m about to kick some banana-pilfering booty.”
Retro Studios has done well with yet another Nintendo franchise. If they continue to do this, I can’t wait to see what they do with what they get a hold of next.
Donkey Kong Country Returns is a very much welcomed return. You can’t go wrong with this game. And perhaps those that wondered why Nintendo trademarked a certain phrase, it’s probably because they knew they needed that phrase for this game. Simply put…
Donkey Kong Country Returns is “On Like Donkey Kong!”
Rated 5 out of 5
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