I am optimistic about Donkey Kong Country Returns, and also suggest that people have a little more faith in it and Retro Studios.
Make no mistake. I have complete faith that this will be an awesome game.
Given their potential and talent, i was expecting a big grand Zelda-like (in terms of universe) game with detail and intrigue like how they layered Metroid.
This is dead on. Look at the scope of Metroid Prime with the huge world and all the cool details in the scans. Those games were EPIC in a way that Nintendo seems to never want to be anymore. You just let your mind wander about what they could do with a different genre or without having to follow any Metroid conventions and it's just amazing to think of what they could do.
Hell it's not even Donkey Kong, I think the choice of genre is underwhelming. You can only do so much with a 2D platformer. The scope of such a game is so much smaller than that of Metroid. You're going from a very open design to a very linear one. You're going from something that will let you cut loose with backstory and details to something that is very simplistic.
Can you imagine how fans would react is Blizzard announced a kart racer? Kart racers are cool but people associate Bilzzard with something bigger. Not all genres are equal. There are certain ones you expect to just be quick and fun while there are others that take you on an epic journey. I want an epic journey game. This looks like a super fun weekend.
In a way it was almost like Retro themselves had become a franchise in our minds. And this franchise was as well regarded as Zelda and Metroid. Mario might be the bigger seller but Zelda and Metroid are the "sacred" Nintendo franchises. It's something about the adventure genre. It's big, it's intimidating, it's epic. The fans like those elements of it. This is why Link's Crossbow Training and Metroid Prime Hunters create controversy. The fans don't like the idea of their sacred franchise being dumbed down and when you move into something more linear and action-based that's what you're doing. You're making the game for people who can't think. Shoot this, go this way. Don't get lost, don't get stumped. Zelda and Metroid aren't for everyone but that's fine. It's supposed to be more for those willing to take the time and effort to tackle something deeper. It's the appeal of non-linearity.
This is like if you turned Zelda into a level based sidescroller. It feels wrong, even if turns out to be good. We associate Retro with a certain scope and sidescrolling games are a step below. Non-linearity is associated with epic games and we associate Retro with that.