By Aaron N
The Donkey Kong Country series made it's return to consoles in November of 2010. The last time a Donkey Kong Country game was released was way back in 1996 for the super nintendo. The game would be followed up by the aptly named Donkey Kong 64 for the nintedo 64 but it was a totally different gaming experience. It went from the sidescroller jump-on-enemies gameplay, to the 360 degree gameplay made famous by Mario 64. The Donkey Kong Country series is very dear to my heart, and thanks to my amazing girlfriend who got me this game for Christmas, and Sonic 4, I was able to see firsthand the revival of this classic franchise. How did the move back to sidescrolling go for this classic gaming franchise? Let's find out.
Graphics:
Let's start off with the graphics. There is one thing you can count for with the wii it seems, and that is cartoonish grapics. It can't have as realistic graphics as the xbox 360 or the PS3 so Nintendo seems to have grown into using more cartoonish graphics for the most part. Now that is not a bad thing. Many times the cartoony graphics are beautiful. Take for instance Super Mario Galaxy 2. This game did not have the most realistic graphics but you could still get enthralled in the universe it created and be amazed by how great the graphics looked. Donkey Kong Country Returns is no different. You could see his fur move as Donkey Kong ran through the levels. You could believe that these characters could exist in that world. Also even though it was a 2D sidescroller, the game stil had depth to it. In many instances it forced you to play in the background of the level. This is where the graphics really shined through.
Story:
The story for DKC Returns is a different one than past games in this franchise. Gone is the typical King K Rool steals something from the title Kong characters and the Kong duo have to defeat the meniacal king in order to restore order to the world, or just get the bananas back. Instead it's a new story about a race of creatures who look to be made out of musical instruments who can control animals by playing a catchy song, (which is indeed very catchy). They do however take Donkey Kong's precious pile of bananas. This leads to Donkey and Diddy Kong setting out to take back what is rightfully theirs. It was interesting that "Returns" returned to the classic combination of Donkey and Diddy Kong. The last two DKC games featured the duo of Diddy and Dixie Kong and then subsequently Dixie and the overgrown Kiddie Kong. The Kongs fight their way through different creatures til they eventually fight the head bad guy. I will let you find out what happens when you play it.
Gameplay:
The gameplay for DKC Returns was phenominal. Once you start playing the first level you will immediately be put back to a time when nothing really mattered. It makes you feel like a kid again, and isn't that what video games are supposed to be all about. The controls are very easy to use and there really isn't much to get used to. The controls are very similar to the other DKC games so you can basically jump right in and play the first level without much of a learning curve. I had only a few gripes with the game play. First you are given two lives per Kong character you have. Let's say you have both Donkey and Diddy, you have two hits until you lose Diddy then two more hits with just Donkey until game over. But this isn't my gripe, I actually think that's pretty cool. My gripe is that in some levels like for instance the cart levels, once you fall or get hit you are basically done. This is where the game gets repetitious, for you find yourself playing the same part over and over again just trying to get to the next save area of the level and even then sometimes you run out of lives right after that and you have to start the level all over again. Needless to say it gets very frustrating at times. My other main gripe is that some parts in the levels are almost impossible to do if you don't have Diddy by your side. When you have Diddy you have the luxery of being able to hover with the use of Diddy's jetpack. Donkey by himself does not have a good jump and is kind of useless at times. Other than that the gameplay is fluid and extremely fun to play.
Music:
The music is a very important part of the gaming experience. As I write this I am listening to video game music. The music in "Returns" is very good and definitely fit in the DKC franchise. While there wasn't many tracks that will become iconic or that will stay with you, when you are playing the game the music gets you into the world that was created in this game. It is definitely an important part of the experience of playing Donkey Kong Country Returns.
Overall:
Donkey Kong Country Returns is a welcome addition to this franchise. The characters, world, and everything in it all seemed to fit within the franchise. This game did not seem to be made just to make money off of an old franchise but rather it improved on the past games and added something to the franchise. I had a lot of fun while playing this game and I can guarantee that you will have fun as well.
Donkey Kong Country Returns gets a 9/10
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