Review: Donkey Kong Country Returns

Susan Arendt

Nerd Queen
Jan 9, 2007
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Review: Donkey Kong Country Returns

It's Donkey Kong Country all over again, which is just how we like it.

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Scarim Coral

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Oct 29, 2010
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I've been glad it been getting good reviews since I had preorder it. I can't wait to get it next Friday! Wait when does a crab eat a banana?
 

seekeroftruth86

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Nov 20, 2010
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Scarim Coral said:
I've been glad it been getting good reviews since I had preorder it. I can't wait to get it next Friday! Wait when does a crab eat a banana?
When it's a PIRATE CRAB!

This is incredible. My nostalgia filter already paints this series as awesome and now actually seeing the excellent visuals and gameplay, I'm sold all the more.

And Susan? Squirrels live EVERYWHERE. Seriously, they're like adorable rats with big bushy tails and little twitchy noses. Pretty sure they don't eat bananas though...
 

teh_Canape

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May 18, 2010
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I may look like a douche or something here...

but in my opinion, there can't be Donkey Kong Country without Vectorman

*vectorman remake, sega? lay sonic off and bring up the green balls guy?"
 

Moriarty70

Canucklehead
Dec 24, 2008
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All I care about is that the childhood joke is intact. We aways loved the fact that no matter how large and brutal the object/creature was that killed Diddy the only sound he made was a small high-pitched "ow".
 

SnipErlite

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Aug 16, 2009
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Bet it isn't as good as the Gameboy colour one :) That was a bastard hard game, but damn fun.


Although it's good to see this is potentially on par with it. (Y)
 

Mr. Fister

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Jun 21, 2008
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Ugh, I don't have the money to buy this, so my next best choice is to wait for relatives to give it to me on Christmas day. The endless positive reviews for it is certainly not helping.

I wanna play this now, dangit.
 

Susan Arendt

Nerd Queen
Jan 9, 2007
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Not G. Ivingname said:
Susan Arendt said:
The game has pirate crabs and you noticed the squirrels?
Pirate crabs with an over-the-top death scene, no less. And you know...it probably says something about me that a crab with a hook and a hat didn't bother me at all, but a squirrel in the jungle did.
 

SaturdayS

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Nov 8, 2010
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I'm a shitty gamer and hate difficult games, but I needs to support this one. However I am a little disappointed (in the most redundant of ways) that they didn't keep the insane character texture details of the original DKC. DK used to look like a hairy (odd looking) ape now he looks like every other wii/3d animated movie character, like plasticine.

teh_Canape said:
*vectorman remake, sega? lay sonic off and bring up the green balls guy?"
Yes, yes, and yes please!
 

coldfrog

Can you feel around inside?
Dec 22, 2008
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Susan Arendt said:
Review: Donkey Kong Country Returns

It's Donkey Kong Country all over again, which is just how we like it.

Read Full Article
Having recently played the original Donkey Kong games again, I noticed a key item missing from your review - Does the game include the ability to save the game at any point? (between levels at least) I love love love these platform games, but that might mean the difference between buying it new and waiting for an after Christmas sale.
 

Capt. Crankypants

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Jan 6, 2010
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THAT is your one question Susan? What about "How does he expect those bananas to keep for any period of time with THAT MANY in such a small space?". Bananas really aren't the most intelligent thing to try and horde for any length of time.
 
Jul 13, 2010
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Giraffes don't live in the jungle, nor do African elephants, which would be the only elephant you would find around a giraffe.

Anyways, might dust the Wii of to have a look at this.
 

Susan Arendt

Nerd Queen
Jan 9, 2007
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coldfrog said:
Susan Arendt said:
Review: Donkey Kong Country Returns

It's Donkey Kong Country all over again, which is just how we like it.

Read Full Article
Having recently played the original Donkey Kong games again, I noticed a key item missing from your review - Does the game include the ability to save the game at any point? (between levels at least) I love love love these platform games, but that might mean the difference between buying it new and waiting for an after Christmas sale.
Ah, fair question! It saves automatically when you finish the level. You can't save it yourself, but so long as you get to the end of a level, you're good. Also, Cranky will front you 4 balloons if you use up all your lives, then quit.

uro vii said:
Giraffes don't live in the jungle, nor do African elephants, which would be the only elephant you would find around a giraffe.
True, but they're more appropriate than a friggin' squirrel.
 

KDR_11k

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Feb 10, 2009
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SaturdayS said:
I'm a shitty gamer and hate difficult games, but I needs to support this one. However I am a little disappointed (in the most redundant of ways) that they didn't keep the insane character texture details of the original DKC. DK used to look like a hairy (odd looking) ape now he looks like every other wii/3d animated movie character, like plasticine.
What? He always looked like plasticine in DKC to me, along with everything else in that game. I hated the look on the SNES.
 

coldfrog

Can you feel around inside?
Dec 22, 2008
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Susan Arendt said:
Ah, fair question! It saves automatically when you finish the level. You can't save it yourself, but so long as you get to the end of a level, you're good. Also, Cranky will front you 4 balloons if you use up all your lives, then quit.
Wahoo! The gods of gaming smile upon me today! You just cost me 50 bucks! Thanks!
 

Electrogecko

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Apr 15, 2010
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SnipErlite said:
Bet it isn't as good as the Gameboy colour one :) That was a bastard hard game, but damn fun.


Although it's good to see this is potentially on par with it. (Y)
Wasn't the GBC version a low quality remake of the SNES version?
As much as I loved all 3 original games, (and I really love them....100% in all 3....#2 has my favorite soundtrack of all time) this one is better....really. It hurts to say it but I'm pretty sure it's true.

This review didn't mention the time trials that open up whenever you beat a level. These are the most challenging parts of the game. Gold medals are ridiculously difficult....you basically need a perfect speedrun to get it....just the way I like it. I can't even get all the golds in the first world, so thinking about how difficult it's gonna be in the end...but I'm up for the challenge...I love the challenge.

The KONG letters must all be found in one run-through to get credit, while the puzzle pieces stack. Getting all the KONG letters in a world opens up a new, extremely challenging level, and the puzzle pieces unlock extras like artwork and music. Combined, each level has about a dozen collectibles to find, and the puzzle pieces especially are very well hidden and often have you risking your ass to get to them. As a perfectionist, I can see this game lasting months at a brisk pace.

The level design really is fantastic. The environment is much more present than in previous games. You constantly find rocks and structures crumbling around you, lava levels rising, tidal waves pounding the shore, cannons being shot at you from the distance, etc. There's always something going on in the backround that deserves to be noticed, like a well placed reference or a physics based explanation for why a set of platforms is behaving in the way it is. Sometimes studying the screen carefully will give you a subtle clue that will help you find something of interest. Some of the fastest paced and most exciting levels I've ever experienced are in this game, and I found that my heart was pounding by the end of them and all the way through. It's one of those experiences you want to write all your friends about.

The only gripe I can see people having with this game (unless they can't handle the difficulty) is the lack of classic controller support. If you want to roll, you're gonna have to shake your controller, which means that clearing difficult gaps and doing time trials will require a lot of precision wiimote flicking. I was also worried about this fact, but after playing, I found that the conrols are responsive, unobtrusive, and intuitive. When I think about how the game would play with 4 face buttons, for some reason, I don't think it would be quite as fun. There's something oddly satisfying about the controls, and I'm not sure if I would use the classic controller even if I had the option.....I'm sure Yahtzee will mercilessly beat this point if he ever reviews the game.