The more I look at this game the more infatuated I become. DK is my boy! I love love love Donkey Kong! When I first witnessed the commercial for Donkey Kong Country in the 2nd grade I made it my mission to be able to comfortably run on my hands and feet like an ape. By the end of high school I looked quite the fool but I looked totally at home in Kongo Jungle.
I can see a little bit from every Donkey Kong here. Some of the arcade, some of Rare's Country, DK64, Jungle Beat and Retro's Country. It's a wonderful amalgamation for what came before.
During my 200% run of Returns HD, I would begin to really analyze every single level. Retro made a real working world. There is so much logic and reason behind nearly every platform and peace of terrain. Floating barrels aside, there was a logical "realism" to nearly every set piece.
After a while I began to ask myself, how does this island sustain itself? Everywhere Donkey Kong goes, the place is left in absolute shambles. I can't imagine EAD took inspiration from Retro's bombastic set pieces but there really is a nice bit of cohesion between Retro's 2D games and this 3D game. Darn near everything is reduced to rubble in Donkey Kong's wake.