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| Back and Ready for his Bananas |
The original Donkey Kong County was released in 1994 for the SNES and it was an absolute smashing success for Nintendo, it featured the titular character and little Diddy Kong and the duo’s quest to reclaim their stolen bananas. The year is now 2010 and Donkey Kong Country Returns is upon us featuring the same duo and a strikingly similar quest, some banana theft has gone down and DK isn’t too happy.
With a game like this you don’t exactly expect a coherent or even sensible plot, yet you forgive those aspects as this is all about the ‘gameplay’ itself and Nintendo haven’t let themselves down with their latest foray into platforming action. You play Donkey Kong Country Returns (from here on DKCR) either holding the Wii remote on its side like a classic pad or you can play it with the Wii remote and nunchuck. I won’t say which to play with as that’s totally up to you I will however say I chose to use the classic style so any complaints I have with control are directed at that.
So with that said let me get the bad out of the way, in DKCR you definitely feel as though you’re playing as the huge gorilla you’re supposed to be and while that’s accurate to details it hinders controls somewhat. It may take a couple of minutes to nail down the speed, jump height and reflexes of DK as he can seem a little cumbersome to begin with. Another issue with controls comes with a feature that appears to only be in the game simply due to the fact that it’s on the Wii; the mechanic is that for certain actions like blowing out fire and slamming the ground you must waggle the controller up and down. It may not sound too bad but when you’re trying to navigate areas and avoid enemies it can hinder you and cause you to take damage which could be avoided if you had a button alternative.
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| Crabtastic |
DKCR more than makes up for this however with its incredibly high calibre of level design, Donkey Kong’s latest adventure has a fantastic amount of variety when it comes to traversing the stages it sets before you. One moment you could be trying to avoid a tidal wave by just reaching cover and another you could be riding a mine cart flying up and down, jumping to avoid enemies and deathly gaps; there’s even parts where you get to ride an exploding rocket barrel. You may think while reading that ‘okay it has different types of stages, surely the actual platformer sections repeat sometimes or are a little dry’ and the answer is simply no. The team has gone to great lengths to keep the level of ‘unpredictability’ very high and consistent; you don’t really know what you’re going to be against next. The only time this falls apart is the boss battles as it’s your standard learn the pattern them dodge and jump on them, but the level of satisfaction is still high upon defeating them and you even get to punch an Ostrich in the face so what’s not to like. That point brings me to another positive and that’s the subtle deft humour used in the game, it’s not over the top or in your face but there are little touches that make you smile.
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| That might hurt a little |
Other aspects of gameplay do involve the aforementioned Diddy Kong and he’s almost invaluable in this game, I said before that DK is a little heavy when you play and while true Diddy almost nullifies the problem. Upon coming across certain ‘DK’ barrels you get to have the little monkey sit on your back with a jetpack that allows for higher and longer jumps and precise landings. This makes things much easier when navigating the many jumps you’ll be undertaking. There’s also a shop element to the game where you may purchase extra life, a secret key among other things. It’s available in between levels and is standard fair procedure really.
One misconception with this game is that it looks a little childish or people may feel it’s a cakewalk aimed at the younger crowd, play DKCR and have your expectations turned on their head. The game is no walk in the park and you may even find yourself frustrated at times simply because you cannot make ‘that’ jump or get past ‘that’ enemy. It’s a welcome challenge though and as said before the satisfaction is high. There is a feature though that if you die enough times you are allowed to simply bypass the level by watching an old grey gorilla go do the work for you.
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| Riding a flying barrel avoiding an oversea train... Yeah.. |
Nothing is done to break the boundaries of graphics here, it’s a traditional 2D platformer and does the best it can with what it has, the visuals will provide that nostalgia buzz for older players while still providing pleasing eye candy for new comers. The soundtrack is also incredibly well done by resurrecting older tunes from the SNES era and implementing new ones, I had to tip my hat to them in that department as you find yourself humming along to some tunes whether you’re playing or not.
All in all Donkey Kong Country Returns is what the title honestly says and fetches Donkey Kong back to a 2D platforming environment with fantastic level design rather than innovation. It may not have the technical excellency of Super Mario Galaxy or the artistic charm of Kirby’s Epic Yarn but it is a great game in its own right and should be played by anyone willing to give the game a chance.
Donkey Kong Country Returns – 8
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