dsheinem wrote:Sad to hear waggle is required. My interest in the game just shot way down.
Same here, but I picked it up anyway. I played up to the second world two-player, and a little further single player. At first I was like, "This isn't Donkey Kong Country!!!" But after playing it for a while, it's definitely a fun game. It's extremely similar to New SMB Wii. Might even be the same engine.
Having to shake the controller is a pain in the ass, but it's still a fun game. It got me in trouble already a few times (accidentally rolling when I didn't want to).
Let me put it this way, if you liked New SMB Wii then you'll like this game. If you like New SMB Wii and also liked the DKC trilogy, than you'll really like this game. Could have done with out the motion controls (classic controller support) but it's still a fun game.
So I just beat the game and (SPOILER) it unlocked a 9th world, kinda. I have to find some shit to play it. I'm assuming it'll work just like New SMB Wii, you have to get all the items in each stage of a world to unlock a level in the 9th world. I'm glad there's more game to be played, cause I am enjoying it, but I was kinda hoping for the Lost World type of deal like in DKC2 or 3.
The last boss was pretty fun, though a little unoriginal. Reminded me of the boss from Super Mario 64 with the hands, or Andross from Star Fox.
The credits kinda pissed me off. I really wanted classic DKC credits, with the cast of characters and all that. The credits in DKC Returns started off with the music from the credits of DKC1, but only for a few seconds before it trailed off into another song. What the hell kind of a tease is that!?
So I was watching the credits to see if Dave Wise would be in there (he did the music for the original DKC games) but sadly it wasn't there. I guess I already knew this. I always thought the music was a big part of the original games. In fact, it's some of my favorite music from any video game.
So... no kremlings or King K Rool. I was a couple of worlds into the game before I realized there were no kremlings. But in the back of my head I was thinking at the end of the game you'd find out King K Rool was behind it all. Too bad. It's a new era for Donkey, I guess. No Rool, weird Tiki things instead.
Which reminds me, something else I really missed. Why didn't the extra life balloons have Donkey's face? I saw those red balloons for a while before I realized they were extra lifes. And just red ones? No secret blue or green ones?
I could nit pick about a lot of little things that could have made it better, and more reminiscent of the original DKC games, but it's still a solid game of it's on right. I had the same feelings for Goldeneye Wii. Still a good game, but damn, they could have done so much to make it better.
Wow, I'm really surprised you all like it this much... to be honest, I'm pretty disappointed with it thus far.
There were a couple things I knew would piss me off from the get go. No David Wise was the chief among them. The man IS DKC, and to not hire him for the game is a downright stupid move. The new score, which for the most part is just modern riffs on Wise's old score, really just isn't as good. It has the whole kind of cheery aesthetic to it that lent itself to Mario sunshine and, really, aside from the forest level, it just doesn't work nearly as well.
Which brings me to my second issue. The aesthetics in general. The game looks like Miyamoto got a hold of the series and finally got to do things his way. Everything is exceedingly goody and exaggerated, and instead of the really high contrast and sometimes dark visuals we had in the snes days. It's all bright coolers and it looks like it's out of a damn cartoon, which also lends itself to the character design. The kremlings were goofy, yes, but these new tiki people and woodland critters are just boring. I'd rather jump on some weird peg legged alligator critter that says "BHONK" when it dies than the ten thousandth mole with a miner hat on in video games. The new aesthetics just don't interest me.
Then there's the controls. Maybe it's just he fact that I just got through with meat boy and the controls in that game reminded me about how rock solid performers used to be in that era. DKCR does get it right for the most part, but falters in two KEY areas. First of all, the roll. The roll worked perfectly well in DKC 1, 2, and 3. You roll into an enemy and it extends your roll that much further after. That was a great mechanic and it really gave the game a good boost of steam when it needed it. THe new mechanics, unless you have diddy and your constantly waggling, doesn't allow it, so often, you'll just ram into another enemy due to inertia and get hurt. F that. Also, waggle sucks. Secondly, like a lot of platformers, dkcr gives you a little boost if you jump on an enemy, but it does it in a very bizarre way that only works half the time, is never outright explained, and doesn't find universal applications within the games environments. If you jump and press jump, release, press jump again and hold it before landing on an enemy, you go higher. A good mechanic on paper, but when you have Diddy, you hover when you press jump again in the air, so the mechanic doesn't really work when you have him. So suddenly, a power up becomes a hindrance. It still works, its just now you have to time in this frame that really seems like a variable most of the time. IT never really feels consistent with Diddy on your back. Then you'd think that this mechanic would translate to the tires and mushrooms you jump on too, but that isn't true, you have to hit those right as you land on it, which yet again, with Diddy, can send you into a hover and fuck you up. That's dumb, and really, something that should have been addressed. The mechanic should work with most applications and to have Diddy actually hinder you is kind of crap.
Finally, the game outright ignores much of the progress that the series had over it's lifespan on the snes. Special stages repeat themselves often and are really nothing but banana collectathons, where dkc 1 2 and 3 all had some variety to them. The exclusion of any water level is downright puzzling, especially since DKC 2 really nailed them in a lot of ways. Rambi being your only mount, and barely showing up at that, is pretty lame; especially since squaks, engarde, etc, all really added some great variety to the old levels. "This didn't need to be streamlined, I don't know why Retro thought they had to." is a constant thought I have while playing this game.
It's still a good game though, and I will admit that there are some improvements made by retro, like the 2 player simultaneous co-op, no more save points, no more twenty thousand different types of coins and birds to collect, and thank god no Kiddy Kong. The bosses are all pretty good, though the early ones are derivative of the genre. The puzzle pieces are pretty fun and provide good incentive to revisit levels along with the time trails. The levels have good variety too, each one with their own gimmick for the most part. Really, everything is there, it just isn't as complete or as polished as the games before it, which shouldn't be the case when the game gets the backing it did.
It's not bad, it just didn't meet my expectations at all.
Last edited by AwesomeMonstar on Fri Dec 03, 2010 4:47 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Don't that just look oh so tasty?
NES-GB-GENESIS-SNES-GBC-32X-SATURN-3DO-N64-DREAMCAST-GBA-PS2-XBOX-GAMECUBE-DS-PSP-WII-360
scarper wrote:Getting this fer Christmas. I'm currently playing through the GBA version of the first game beforehand.
You ever played it before? Just wondering if you're a new school - old school gamer, or if you just never played it back when. Either way, you should definitely check out the second and third ones. I think the second one way the best, but they're all great.
I got DKC Returns for Christmas and I think it's excellent.
I deliberately didn't set my hopes high, since it wasn't being made by Rare, there was no Dave Wise music and no Kremlings, a more cartoony look etc... Basically, I thought they were going to turn it into something completely different, just with the DKC name slapped on.
However, I was very pleasantly surprised. I loved how so much music from the original was included and I found the gameplay and level design to be great.
I do agree with whoever it was that said that one of the buttons assigned to grabbing should have been used for rolling, although the waggling to roll doesn't get on my nerves too much anyway. Also, playing with the analogue stick doesn't feel weird, although it should. I don't know how that works.
I like the system of finding the jigsaw pieces to add replay value and I'm currently just about finished hunting them all down.
The only minor annoyance I have is that the secret temple levels are pretty tricky, and get frustrating because there is no halfway barrel - that doesn't make it harder, it just makes it more tedious. I can do the first half of the level in my sleep - why do I have to do it repeatedly just because I die right at the end??
One way to describe this game: an instant classic. I only hope we get a DKC2-inspired sequel .
What they should have done is REMAKE the trilogy with this game engine, instead of making a new DKC1 style game with almost no familiar enemies. But, I wont hold my breath and settle for a sequel.
Personally, I think the aesthetics are great. The levels that are done in silhouette look really cool, and certainly don't lend credibility to the accusation of everything being in bright colors.
Well, I am in the 7th world and I'll throw in my two cents
It's a good game. Some cool visual tricks in some levels and a lot of interesting twists on conventional platforming ideas. It's also quite challenging and much more of a complex platformer than the 16-bit entries were.....
Which is also what I hate about it. They overdid it here. Some parts of the game are just damn annoying like those rocket barrel riding stages. I HATE those. They are infuriating. Plus, those K lettered extra levels you unlock in each area are sadistic. The game is also very low on checkpoints in every stage, which has been a source of frustration for me. Replaying a chunk of the stage while also having to re-acquire your collectibles AND replay those hidden mini-games when you die is extremely annoying. There is also a lot of trial and error and memorization invovled in some parts of the game like the mine cart stages. The original DKC was not a very hard game. I don't think DKC 2 was either. So there was no precedant for DKC Returns' high difficulty. It feels like it is not keeping in the spirit of the originals. The DKC series was never a "hardcore" platforming series. I actually remember them as fun and relaxing games
The waggle for doing Kong's moves doesn't bother me too much. It probably was unnecessary, but I disagree with a previous comment made about them in that I very rarely have lost a life due to waggle controls. Most of my deaths have been from sadistic level designs. Pulling off the "shake" moves is MUCH easier if you play using the remote AND the nunchuk. Often times you can fool the game and just shake the remote only even though the game and manual tell you to shake both of them.
About Diddy Kong, I dislike that he has been reduced to a power up in single player rather than a playable character. I am also not keen on the inclusion of game breaking elements like Super Kong(who will play the level for you)or the parrot that shows you where hidden items are or the invincibility item. If you play DKC Returns FAIRLY, it is too hard. If you use the helper options the game gives you, then the game is too easy and you also feel like a wimp for using them. There is no happy middle ground here folks. The game doesn't have a NORMAL difficulty. It's either super hard or super easy
The soundtrack is good, but doesn't stand out like the one in DKC. The best tracks in the game are actually the ones recycled from DKC. Fortunately, they recycle a lot. It's great for nostalgic reasons, but hearing some of the original DKC's relaxing tunes while new DKC is throwing dirt in your eyes and kicking you in the balls kind of kills the nostalgic vibe
I like the look of the game, but I do miss the characters from the originals and let's be honest, no new DKC game is going to make the kind of visual impact the original did in this day and age. The one thing that bugged me with the Tiki character is that it kept making me feel like I was playing Crash Bandicoot. I also disliked the parts of the game where they throw you into the background because then you and everything else around you become so damn small it gets hard to see what is going on. I think they do this just to create some visual variety
For all my complaints though, the game has rock solid gameplay and the levels show a lot of creativity, and the game is addicting, but they seriously could have toned down the difficulty some. I keep wanting to do just one more level though each time I finish one so the game is doing something right. Even so, at times the game seems hard JUST for the sake of being hard. Maybe I'll post more thoughts when I finish it. Right now the game is hovering around a 7.5 if I were to give it a review score. Certainly better than the dissapointing Sonic 4, but still not as fun as the 16-bit classics it is based despite its meatier gameplay. Sometimes, less is more and sometimes you really can't go home again
RyaNtheSlayA wrote:
Seriously. Screw you Shao Kahn I'm gonna play Animal Crossing.
I just finished this game and I think it was excellent. I think Retro studies made a new installment not a pseudo-remake. I think that is an important point to remember, and I think that is what gave the game its greatest strength. It wasn't just a throwback to the 2D, oh this was this fun lets do it again with better graphics, like the New Super Mario Bros games have been. They took some of the old, and weren't afraid to do a lot of new. The title is this way is misleading. It should have been DKC4, because I feel that encapsulates the feel of this game more. This game is a new installment not a remake. Yes some of the negative points have been brought up, mainly the music wasn't anything to write home about. However, the criticism of no Kremlins and K. Rool I think is unfounded. Retro Studios wasn't trying to copy Rare, and I think including a new enemy worked very well to advance the series, and not just spit out a graphical remake of an SNES game. I also have to say I think this is the hardest game in the series, and the hardest game I played on the Wii. I died, and died, and died, and died. I can't believe how many times I died. It gave me a challenge in platforming I haven't gotten on a modern console since the SNES.
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