Topic: Donkey Kong Country Returns: Tropical Thread -- Choosy Kongs Choose Cranky

[MagicCow64]

Picked up my copy this morning, and after intending to put an hour into before getting to work, I plowed through the first three worlds. The game is really pretty with a crazy amount of detail; it'd be worth playing through it twice just to pick up on visual fireworks you missed in the initial rush. And the music is stellar.

Despite the "more of the same"' reception that has dragged down some review scores, I actually think this game feels distinct enough from the first Returns game. Maybe it's just the music or the stronger enemy design/overall theme, but Tropical Freeze feels more like the original trilogy. That carries over into the design, as well; lots of tricky secrets, suicide banana signals and the like from olden times.

I'm also finding this game significantly harder than the first so far as well, though we'll see how the difficultly curve compares by the end. The levels are long, and they reward/require effective roll jumping. I find Dixie's twirl assist a little weird, but Cranky is aces, I go for him every time there's a choice.

Interestingly, I can see where some of the criticism about the controls are coming from. I think I actually prefer the DKCR wiimote set up, shake and all. Something about the separate grip button on the shoulder just doesn't feel right to me. I had a bit of an adjustment period overall, as well, as I was so used to NSMBU and 3D World that I kept holding a non-existant run button and wound up getting frustrated by the default momentum. Once you back off this though and focus on precise inputs and rolling rather than trying to run it clicks. I wonder how much the aggregate score of this game is being marked down because the reviewers were so used to 3D World and Rayman Legends from the end of last year.

[broodwars]

I'm about halfway through the 2nd World of Banana Slamma myself, and so far I'm liking it despite a few niggling issues.

It's good to have traditional controls back with roll mapped to the X/Y buttons (where it belongs), but the controls took a surprisingly long time for me to adjust to. After all the years I've played DKC games, I'm just used to keeping my thumb perpetually over or holding the Y button and B buttons. I've had to train myself to use X/A instead, and to not continually hold the X button since you don't need it to run anymore (and holding the button cramps my hand after a few minutes).  Likewise, it's taken me a long time to get used to using LZ/RZ to grab things, and I've had to get used to using LZ primarily since holding RZ while also using X and A tends to get uncomfortable.

So far, I'm liking the design and variety of the worlds this time around (although I'm not liking how short the game's rapidly looking to be), and the enemy design is vastly improved over the generic Tikis from DKCR. Having alternate exits now is great and I like the variety of the 3 Kongs, even if IMO Dixie is really the only Kong ever worth using. Cranky's fun to use in that DuckTales sort of way, but Dixie's helicopter spin has made getting the collectibles and generally staying alive a lot easier.  The game's difficulty curve is...weird. It both feels substantially harder and easier than DKCR in various ways.  I'm not a fan of the Kong Pow move. The meter seems to fill way too easily and the moves seem too useful (especially Dixie's since you can effectively double your HP gauge).  I'm also not sure it's an improvement that Retro took out the momentum-killing "stand here and blow things" bits from DKCR and replaced them with...momentum-killing "stand here and yank handles" bits.

And, incidentally, what's with this game's loading times? This game takes longer to load than The Last of Us, and that's saying something.

I'm also liking the music this time around. Even if a lot of the music (if not all of it) are remixes of previous DKC tunes, you can hear the impact of Retro bringing back the original composer. The old tunes just sound new and interesting, which I didn't feel was quite the case in the last game.

I'm still not seeing what part of this game took 3 years to make and I still wish this wasn't the game Retro was working on for Wii U, but so far it's been enjoyable (albeit exhausting).

[Caterkiller]

I'm about halfway through the 2nd World of Banana Slamma myself, and so far I'm liking it despite a few niggling issues.

It's good to have traditional controls back with roll mapped to the X/Y buttons (where it belongs), but the controls took a surprisingly long time for me to adjust to. After all the years I've played DKC games, I'm just used to keeping my thumb perpetually over or holding the Y button and B buttons. I've had to train myself to use X/A instead, and to not continually hold the X button since you don't need it to run anymore (and holding the button cramps my hand after a few minutes).  Likewise, it's taken me a long time to get used to using LZ/RZ to grab things, and I've had to get used to using LZ primarily since holding RZ while also using X and A tends to get uncomfortable.

So far, I'm liking the design and variety of the worlds this time around (although I'm not liking how short the game's rapidly looking to be), and the enemy design is vastly improved over the generic Tikis from DKCR. Having alternate exits now is great and I like the variety of the 3 Kongs, even if IMO Dixie is really the only Kong ever worth using. Cranky's fun to use in that DuckTales sort of way, but Dixie's helicopter spin has made getting the collectibles and generally staying alive a lot easier.  The game's difficulty curve is...weird. It both feels substantially harder and easier than DKCR in various ways.  I'm not a fan of the Kong Pow move. The meter seems to fill way too easily and the moves seem too useful (especially Dixie's since you can effectively double your HP gauge).  I'm also not sure it's an improvement that Retro took out the momentum-killing "stand here and blow things" bits from DKCR and replaced them with...momentum-killing "stand here and yank handles" bits.

I'm also liking the music this time around. Even if a lot of the music (if not all of it) are remixes of previous DKC tunes, you can hear the impact of Retro bringing back the original composer. The old tunes just sound new and interesting, which I didn't feel was quite the case in the last game.

I'm still not seeing what part of this game took 3 years to make and I still wish this wasn't the game Retro was working on for Wii U, but so far it's been enjoyable (albeit exhausting).

Just stop! You don't like things!

I am enjoying quite a bit myself but like you I am really having to readjust to the controls. In 1-k there are a lot of vines and I'm pressing like 3 buttons at once my mind goes blank as to which does what some times. So if I need to jump off quickly and roll jump of the next obstacle I tend to just fall off the vine more than I care to admit. If I had some AA batteries I would try the Wiimote set up myself, I like shake to roll.

Have either of you tried the time trials? So addictive! Being able to see the scores and how other people did it right there within in the game just makes it that much more fun and convenient.

[broodwars]

I am enjoying quite a bit myself but like you I am really having to readjust to the controls. In 1-k there are a lot of vines and I'm pressing like 3 buttons at once my mind goes blank as to which does what some times. So if I need to jump off quickly and roll jump of the next obstacle I tend to just fall off the vine more than I care to admit. If I had some AA batteries I would try the Wiimote set up myself, I like shake to roll.

Yeah, that's generally why I recommend getting used to using your left trigger finger on LZ to grab vines, which IIRC is how the controls worked in DKCR with the Nunchuk. When I try grabbing them with RZ, my hand cramps up from also pressing the 2 other buttons and I usually fall.

Have either of you tried the time trials? So addictive! Being able to see the scores and how other people did it right there within in the game just makes it that much more fun and convenient.

I appreciate that the time trials are there, but they're just not my thing. I play these games for the exploration aspects, so I'm not much of a speed runner (something that's really killing me in Rayman Legends' Online Challenges).

[Phil]

I really enjoyed the locales of island #2. 2-K was a pretty difficult level, but fair in its challenge. I must have lost 20 lives on that level (but being able to hop on a bunch of enemies to get a 1-up each time negated that).

[MagicCow64]

I have not tried the time trials yet. I'm theoretically very interested (I beat the best 103% run-through time printed in Nintendo Power for DKC3 back in the day), but I'm also worried that I'll get compulsive about it and ruin my life. I mean, what's the point of getting one gold if you don't get all of them?! I would probably have no choice if getting all the gold metals actually unlocked something substantial, but I sincerely doubt it.

I am now through the first four worlds. Difficulty scales up quite a bit. I had around 50 lives going into to World 4, but game overed on the boss. The K levels are brutal from the get-go.

So far I'd have to rank this a bit below Returns due to the grip control weirdness. I tried all four different gamepad configurations, and while having the grab button on the face of the controller feels better, having the roll button on the shoulder is terrible. Using the D-pad and the run button works better in some ways, but as was said above this cramped my hand up in a hurry.

My opinion could be turned around on this if there's a full-on Lost World with a second final boss instead of just a final temple level. Not holding my breath though.

[Mop it up]

I'll be waiting on this one. My sister didn't seem interested in the E3 trailer, and without plans for co-op there's little reason for me to get it now. I'm also a little disappointed that it looks like they didn't improve the multiplayer.

Maybe I should show a more recent trailer, though...

[MagicCow64]

Beat the main game a few hours ago. That final boss was a real motherfucker. Hard mode is going to be sadistic.

At some point over the weekend I fully acclimated to the controls and now have no complaints. It's weird, I think it just took some brain re-wiring to adapt to the three-button action set-up on a 2D platformer.

I went back a bit after getting stalled on the final boss and tried to dig up secrets in World 4. My most common thought: "How the **** am I still missing two puzzle pieces?"

I'm going to be with this game for a long time. Phenomenal all around. Good thing too, given the WiiU release schedule until the summer.

[Mop it up]

I forgot to post my impressions here, so here goes. Been playing this, it's fun. I've completed the first two worlds, which took a few hours, and I didn't 100% them, so I'm no longer worried about the game being shorter than DKCR. I don't think the levels are longer, they are pretty lengthy in DKCR. They are probably larger, in terms of scope and verticality and such, and so they can feel longer when going for all the collectibles. Speaking of, I feel like the puzzle pieces are more well-hidden in this, I haven't come across them as easily as before. I think there are also more levels in the worlds, with the secret ones and such, which would make up for having less worlds.

I was expecting there to be some remixes from DKC2, but I think everything I've heard so far has been new material. But that's fine, because this new stuff is pretty good. DKCR was kind of disappointing in the music department, so it's nice to have a DKC game with a good soundtrack again.

So far the game feels pretty similar to DKCR which is both a good and bad thing. It's good because it continues with and builds on the elaborate, well-planned level design, but bad because I completed every little thing in DKCR and know the mechanics inside and out. So there hasn't been much that feels new aside from the swimming. It isn't a big deal though because the levels are still fun.

I'm disappointed that they didn't improve the multiplayer, because I'll be trying to play through with my sister. When we played through the first game, she didn't start to have too much trouble until the sixth world, and by the final world it was getting to the point of frustration. I had to give her an invincibility code in order to get her to complete the game with me. That's something I couldn't do here, so we might not beat this one if we start it. I'll see what the later worlds hold.

[Caterkiller]

The multiplayer aspect is an absolute joy for me. My brother and I are pretty well coordinated and sometimes we just fly through stages while collecting everything. Having Dixie does make it a bit easier for lesser skilled players but yeah, this game is just as rough as the last. Well actually the mine kart and rocket barrel levels are not only easier due to the 2 hit system now but there are less set pieces going off to confuse you and make you panic compared to DKCR.


I'm actually going through the game a 2nd or 3rd time depending on how you look at it. I finished the game solo a couple weeks ago and unlocked hard mode. In the mean time I've been playing co-op through every stage with my bro when I'm over his house. It's so freakin fun playing this game with someone! Maybe it's just the personality of my brother but man all we do his crack up the entire time with game over after game over.  We play in the same room my cousin and I used to play in when he lived in that home, except back then it was Donkey Kong Country 2, Diddy's Kong Quest.


I loved shake to roll in Returns but it honestly put me off of the speed runs which I wanted to do badly. Now though with buttons I take on the online leader boards like a champ! Is no one else attempting them?! It's so fun! We should put together a top 10 of a few stages like back in the Jungle Beat days! I'll be sure to set the bar high.


The bosses in DK Returns were absolutely awful to me. Mugly, the moles, ugh, they were aesthetically unpleasing to me and just down right boring. These bosses are so cool! They are all animals again! Cool animals too! Some of the mare pretty tough and their patterns seem to change more than the ones in Returns as well. That owl and bear are just too cool!


Now I'm going through Hard Mode. I like to do the hardest world first and work my way back. Being able to choose any Kong is really nice and gives you the easy way or the hard way. Or the medium way, or the medium easy way with a touch of hard. Broodwars complains about that but I'm just glad that option is given so some stages won't be excruciating.


The game is just too fun and for some reason seems like it's on that more "realistic" creepy side that the original DKC titles had. Maybe it's because there are more pixar like animal characters but the environments seem real and lived in to me where as the environments in Returns seemed a bit more stylized. Them under water Atlantis like levels always make me go wow.

[roykoopa64]

I'm only on the second world, but wow, this game is amazing. I thoroughly enjoyed all the DKC games since the SNES days, and it just amazes me what Retro can do with the franchise.

[Adrock]

My main issue with Tropical Freeze is through no fault of its own. I transitioned directly from Returns which is a great game overall, but the anger is still so fresh that it's affecting my enjoyment here. I completed the first world minus the boss, and the temple stage just brought back terrible memories of the temple stages in Returns. I may put this game on the back burner for now just to have a break from Donkey Kong. I had a greater appreciation of Returns once I distanced myself from it and was able to separate my thoughts of the few super-frustrating stages and the generally well-balanced rest of the game.

My impression of Tropical Freeze is still positive so far. The stages have a grander scope but still feel rather familiar. Blowing air has been replaced by pulling stuff from the ground which is an upgrade and makes more sense for Donkey Kong. I agree with Mop it up in that the puzzle pieces are better hidden in Tropical Freeze, a couple were weirdly out of the way while others I found by accident. I like Dixie, not terribly fond of Cranky and only use him for puzzle pieces (basically when I have to). I kind of feel that it's odd that the sidekick character just fucks off when you get a different barrel. Aren't they all headed in the same direction plot-wise? Power in numbers; live together, die alone, and other such adages.

[pokepal148]

I see no reason for me to get this game, I already have mario and rayman I think I'm good on 2d platformers for quite a while.

[NWR_insanolord]

This game is better than either of those.

[Caterkiller]

I see no reason for me to get this game, I already have mario and rayman I think I'm good on 2d platformers for quite a while.

I don't know man. This game... This is the game!