"Retro Studios hits another one out of the park."

Metroid Prime really put Retro Studios on the map. After they wrapped up the series, “What will Retro do next?” became a hot topic of discussion. The revival of Rare’s 2D platforming series, Donkey Kong Country, was definitely not among my guesses.

Donkey Kong Country Returns may not look as wildly different from earlier titles in the series as Prime did to Metroid, but it’s still crammed full of new ideas. Rather than attempting to make a shinier version of what you’ve already played a decade and a half ago, Retro has used the SNES originals as the foundation for something greater.

Gone is the tag team co-op of the original. Instead, simultaneous multiplayer makes its triumphant debut. But unlike New Super Mario Bros. Wii and Kirby’s Epic Yarn, players can occupy the same space freely instead of knocking each other around. This is a necessity in the context of DKCR as the levels can be hard enough without another player knocking you off course.

DK and Diddy retain their original abilities such as pounding the ground and rolling, but have also learned a few new tricks to shake things up. The ability to grab onto and climb grassy surfaces allows for a lot of new level design opportunities. At its simplest, you’ll find yourself climbing across a ceiling or a wall while other times you’ll end up climbing around spinning wheels or a pendulum lined with grass.

Oh, and Diddy has a jetpack. He can’t fly, but he has a slight hover. It’s more of a safety net than anything. There never seemed to be any secrets that required its use. In co-op, player 2 has that extra little advantage and can jump on player 1′s back, allowing them to use the jetpack (assuming player 2 wants to sit it out for a bit). What’s more interesting, though, is its effect on single player. You’ll play as DK. Getting Diddy out of a barrel will grant you two extra hits and the use of his jetpack. Lose him and your little safety net is gone.

The strangest new ability allows you to blow. On paper, it sounds incredibly stupid. Who came up with the idea to have blowing become part of your move set? How is that a thing? I don’t know. But the more important question is, “Why does it work so well?” Sometimes you’ll encounter a flaming enemy whose fire must be blown out before you can attack them. More often than not, though, you’ll encounter very subtly places objects (flowers, pinwheels, etc.) in the background that, when blown, reveal secrets. Sometimes these are placed in really dangerous areas forcing you to hurry in order to find the secret without being hit.

And there are so many secrets. K-O-N-G letters are scattered throughout each level as they were in previous games, which are key to unlocking extra post-game stages. There’s also somewhere between five and nine puzzle pieces to find in each stage, some of which are found in the series’ trademark bonus rooms. These unlock extras such as concept art galleries. And if that wasn’t enough, each stage also unlocks a time trial mode upon completion.

Undoubtedly, the level design is the star of the show in DCKR. Throughout the game you are bombarded with fresh ideas and dynamic designs, occasionally utilizing multiple layers of depth. You’ll take cover as the ocean waves destroy everything around you, dodge machines trying to smash you to the beat of the music, make your way through a level of Zelda-like red and blue switches that alternate the existence of platforms, and more.

And the vehicle levels aren’t any less cleverly designed. Mine cart stages return, but never overstay their welcome. There’s also a rocket you can ride that has a Lunar Lander-esque throttle to control your altitude. These stages have just as many exciting, dynamic aspects as the normal stages.

Even bosses have become more compelling. That isn’t terribly hard to do considering the laughable nature of the original Donkey Kong Country’s bosses. Still, each fight feels significantly different than the last and accents each world nicely.

I should probably mention that this game will likely murder you at times. Yet even in its most difficult sections, I never felt cheated or frustrated. It’s a finely polished sense of difficulty that never feels impossible to overcome. Of course, if you do find yourself stuck you can resort to using the Super Guide (which won’t appear until you’ve already died repeatedly), but my pride simply would not allow that.

The presentation is top notch. The enemies and environments are very animated and full of life. A select few stages have an absolutely gorgeous silhouette style with minimal, hyper-accented color. And the music, while largely relying on remixes of classic tunes, is (for the most part) really great.

Having played the original Donkey Kong Country earlier this year, I can say without a doubt in my mind that Returns is the better game. In fact, it is a simply fantastic platformer that should not be missed. It stays true to its roots without becoming shackled by them, allowing it to grow into something truly special instead of a cheap nostalgia trip. It’s easily one of the year’s best games.

This review is based on a copy of Donkey Kong Country Returns purchased by the reviewer. The game was finished both in single player and in co-op.

Tags: Donkey Kong Country, Donkey Kong Country Returns, Nintendo, platformer, Retro Studios, Wii

This entry was posted on Thursday, December 2nd, 2010 at 5:00 am and is filed under Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.