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[dark10x]

This game is absolutely amazing. Way better than NSMB-Wii. That game had me questioning whether or not I enjoyed this type of platformer anymore, but DKCR has reassured me that I most certainly do. Not only is this one of the best platformers in years, it's significantly better than Rare's original DKC efforts. Game is hard as hell at times too. That Bombs Away stage gave me some real problems (though I did finally conquer it).

Again, my only disappointment stems from the music and the lack of water stages. Other than that, this is about as good a platformer as you could ask for. Retro Studios is probably my favorite Nintendo related developer.

Oh, and the motion controls aren't bugging me too much either. Would have preferred a button, but this isn't bad.

 

[Regulus Tera]

After careful consideration, Wiimote > Wiimote and nunchuk

2D platformers suck with analog.

 

[Hobbun]

Will have to try it with Wiimote turned sideways, have only played so far with Wiimote+Nunchuk. And where it's worked ok, maybe I will find wiimote by itself better. The only thing I worry about is the ‘shake’ to be awkward when using the Wiimote sideways.

 

[Oxx]

Balls. I thought this was out on Friday in Europeland.

NOE!

 

[Celine]

Edit: You probably thought I said can.

yes, my bad

 

[Foxy Fox 39]

The only complaint I can think of now is the lack of substantial variety within the stages or I should say the palette. Basically, where the heck was the water/snow stages?!

 

[Chet Rippo]

After careful consideration, Wiimote > Wiimote and nunchuk

2D platformers suck with analog.

This man gets it!

Now if only I didn't have school all day today. I just can't stop thinking about it, it's driving me nuts. :lol
At least I only have today and tomorrow until my thanksgiving break to get through. Then the rest of the week will be dedicated to DKCR.

 

[TheLastCandle]

The only thing about this game I don't like is the shake to roll mechanic. Aside from that, it is spectacular. I could eventually get used to the shaking, so we'll see.

The level design is out of this world. Also, I'm pretty sure I died 15 times on one of the mine cart levels. :lol

 

[TheExodu5]

I said I would post performance results and screens for Dolphin. Screens will have to wait, but performance isn't looking good for me so far.

I was getting around 70% speed on my 3.0GHz Q8300. Now, hopefully someone finds one of the Dolphin revisions that runs it better. I'm running r5186.

In the meantime, I'm just playing on my Wii. Was going to play off the disc, but dear god is that Wii's disc drive loud in this game. Installed it to the HDD, and now I can game in peace and quiet.

I don't have any Wii remote jackets, so I went ahead and placed the order on the Nintendo site to get some. Hopefully it makes the Wii Remote just a little more comfortable to hold. Controls are great nonetheless, despite the use of the Wii Remote and waggle. This definitely has a chance of being the greatest platformer of all time, from what I'm seeing here. It has to beat SMW, Yoshi's Island, and DKC2. Besides the music, I think it will surpass all of these.

 

[Stumpokapow]

It's really amazing how in agreement the critics are on this game:

- NintendoLife; 10
- Destructoid; 10 (only nitpick: shake-to-roll takes some time to get used to)
- 1up; A/10
- GameInformer; 9.5 (only nitpick: shake-to-roll less than optimal)
- GameTrailers; 9.0 (only nitpick: shake-to-roll sacrifices precision)
- IGN; 9.0 (two nitpicks: first world a little boring, shake-to-roll sometimes results in cheap deaths)
- Joystiq; 9
- Eurogamer; 9 (nitpicks: shake-to-roll doesn't feel smooth, multiplayer is a little underwhelming)
- GamePro; 8 (nitpicks: shake-to-roll sucks, vehicle levels are iffy)
- GiantBomb; 8 (nitpicks: shake-to-roll sucks, losing Diddy's abilities when you get hit sucks)
- GamesRadar; 8 (nitpicks: shake-to-roll sucks, some levels are frustrating more than hard)
- GameSpy; 7 (complaints: shake-to-roll sucks, some levels are frustrating)

Everyone thinks the level design, music, visual presentation, and core gameplay are great. Everyone who says anything negative starts with shake-to-roll. And look at the GAF impressions; anyone who says anything negative starts with shake-to-roll.

It's pretty amazing, because the reception is clearly quite warm amongst fans, newcomers, and reviewers alike. Except for shake-to-roll. How did something like that not get fixed? Is this a Lair situation where everyone knew it was a problem, but because of some abstract principle, refused to fix it? It also speaks to the role of patches in console games; everyone knows that classic controller support would be patched in if patches were possible on the Wii.

 

[Plinko]

I haven't even played it and these impressions are making me hope they let Retro get started on a DK trilogy.

 

[Bisnic]

As much as i love this game... i hate those rocket barrel levels. Smashing the jump button as much as we can to keep it flying, but if you dare press a little too fast or a little too slow... YOU DIE. And if there is a hundreds bats around you or a giant bat behind throwing laser beams... you better hope you master that damn rocket barrel, or you'll see that "DK flying on a red balloon" a lot.

 

[dark10x]

In the meantime, I'm just playing on my Wii. Was going to play off the disc, but dear god is that Wii's disc drive loud in this game

I'm glad to hear that. My Wii disc drive was super loud while playing this game and I was getting concerned that there may be an issue with my system.

 

[Hobbun]

Everyone thinks the level design, music, visual presentation, and core gameplay are great. Everyone who says anything negative starts with shake-to-roll. And look at the GAF impressions; anyone who says anything negative starts with shake-to-roll.

It's pretty amazing, because the reception is clearly quite warm amongst fans, newcomers, and reviewers alike. Except for shake-to-roll. How did something like that not get fixed? Is this a Lair situation where everyone knew it was a problem, but because of some abstract principle, refused to fix it? It also speaks to the role of patches in console games; everyone knows that classic controller support would be patched in if patches were possible on the Wii.

Maybe CC support was something Retro wanted to put in, but Nintendo nixed it to push the motion controls? I don’t know, I am just guessing.

However, and again I am guessing here, but I think with the overwhelming positive response, with the exception of the motion controls for rolling, I would not be surprised to see the addition of CC support for DKCR2.

Of course nothing has been announced, but I feel they will be making another one as I think this one is going to be a hit sales-wise as well.

 

[desu]

Really wish they had just supported classic controller. Was the thing I was worried about ever since the game was announced were the motion controls and as it seems those didn't turn out perfectly.

Well hopefully I can run this on dolphin and use a work around for the motion controls!

 

[Stumpokapow]

Maybe CC support was something Retro wanted to put in, but Nintendo nixed it to push the motion controls? I don’t know, I am just guessing.

I'd absolutely guess that this was a top-down decision rather than a bottom-up one. We saw the same thing with Lair and Heavenly Sword and even Ratchet FTOD; although thankfully Sony came to their senses and the former two got patches and the latters' sequel didn't use motion controls.

Of course nothing has been announced, but I feel they will be making another one as I think this one is going to be a hit sales-wise as well.

I think this one's gotta be a hit sales-wise. It's Nintendo's holiday anchor title! But with such an obviously high quality product and a decent amount of promotion, I don't see how it couldn't do well.

 

[EatChildren]

I can only assume the shake to roll was indeed Nintendo higher ups shoehorning waggle into the game to make it more 'Wii like'.

Kind of like NSMBW and Kirby, but it worked fine for both of those. I'm guessing Nintendo were all "This is the Wii, so if you're going to make a traditional game you need to include something related to the controller", and by the looks of things DKCR doesn't have anything like the platforms in NSMBW and firetruck in Kirby, so Retro attached it to pounding and rolling.

 

[GregLombardi]

It's really amazing how in agreement the critics are on this game:

- NintendoLife; 10
- Destructoid; 10 (only nitpick: shake-to-roll takes some time to get used to)
- 1up; A/10
- GameInformer; 9.5 (only nitpick: shake-to-roll less than optimal)
- GameTrailers; 9.0 (only nitpick: shake-to-roll sacrifices precision)
- IGN; 9.0 (two nitpicks: first world a little boring, shake-to-roll sometimes results in cheap deaths)
- Joystiq; 9
- Eurogamer; 9 (nitpicks: shake-to-roll doesn't feel smooth, multiplayer is a little underwhelming)
- GamePro; 8 (nitpicks: shake-to-roll sucks, vehicle levels are iffy)
- GiantBomb; 8 (nitpicks: shake-to-roll sucks, losing Diddy's abilities when you get hit sucks)
- GamesRadar; 8 (nitpicks: shake-to-roll sucks, some levels are frustrating more than hard)
- GameSpy; 7 (complaints: shake-to-roll sucks, some levels are frustrating)

Everyone thinks the level design, music, visual presentation, and core gameplay are great. Everyone who says anything negative starts with shake-to-roll. And look at the GAF impressions; anyone who says anything negative starts with shake-to-roll.

It's pretty amazing, because the reception is clearly quite warm amongst fans, newcomers, and reviewers alike. Except for shake-to-roll. How did something like that not get fixed? Is this a Lair situation where everyone knew it was a problem, but because of some abstract principle, refused to fix it? It also speaks to the role of patches in console games; everyone knows that classic controller support would be patched in if patches were possible on the Wii.

Thanks very much for this summary, this was very helpful!

 

[Stumpokapow]

I can only assume the shake to roll was indeed Nintendo higher ups shoehorning waggle into the game to make it more 'Wii like'.

Kind of like NSMBW and Kirby, but it worked fine for both of those. I'm guessing Nintendo were all "This is the Wii, so if you're going to make a traditional game you need to include something related to the controller", and by the looks of things DKCR doesn't have anything like the platforms in NSMBW and firetruck in Kirby, so Retro attached it to pounding and rolling.

What's interesting is that no one seems to have a problem with shake-to-blow or shake-to-pound, just shake-to-roll. Which makes sense, because stb and stp are both going to be cases where precision is not critical and timing isn't majorly critical, but str is obviously a different story.

 

[EatChildren]

What's interesting is that no one seems to have a problem with shake-to-blow or shake-to-pound, just shake-to-roll. Which makes sense, because stb and stp are both going to be cases where precision is not critical and timing isn't majorly critical, but str is obviously a different story.

Yeah, blowing and pounding dont seem like a problem due to, as you said, being immobile. I wonder if it came about from having the roll continuous.

 

[TheExodu5]

I'm glad to hear that. My Wii disc drive was super loud while playing this game and I was getting concerned that there may be an issue with my system.

It basically sounds like a loud PSP to me. Lots of clank/clunk while the laser cage moves around.

 

[Eteric Rice]

The rolling works perfectly fine for me. I think it's possible that some are mistaking the difficulty of controlling yourself during the roll with problems with the precision of the motion controls.

 

[jett]

What's this shake to roll thing? Are you people playing with just the wiimote or nunchuck+wiimote? Do you still have to shake controllers to roll in the N+W configuration?

 

[TheExodu5]

What's interesting is that no one seems to have a problem with shake-to-blow or shake-to-pound, just shake-to-roll. Which makes sense, because stb and stp are both going to be cases where precision is not critical and timing isn't majorly critical, but str is obviously a different story.

Also, roll jump is the fastest way of getting around. This is going to make speed runs quite annoying.

 

[EatChildren]

What's this shake to roll thing? Are you people playing with just the wiimote or nunchuck+wiimote? Do you still have to shake controllers to roll in the N+W configuration?

Yeah, you have to 'bongo' shake the N+W to roll. No button.

 

[jett]

Yeah, you have to 'bongo' shake the N+W to roll. No button.

I see.

That's really dumb. /antoinedodson

 

[Hobbun]

I'd absolutely guess that this was a top-down decision rather than a bottom-up one. We saw the same thing with Lair and Heavenly Sword and even Ratchet FTOD; although thankfully Sony came to their senses and the former two got patches and the latters' sequel didn't use motion controls.

The question is do you think Nintendo would still allow CC support for the eventual DKCR2 due to the overwhelming ‘one issue’ of the “shake-to-roll” that is mentioned in the reviews and blogs/messageboards?

Or do you feel they would just overlook it and make the sequel only motion controlled again?

 

[verbum]

From Ars Technica:

Donkey Kong Country Returns is difficult and makes no apologies for it. You'll die often, you'll be surprised by enemies and circumstances, and you'll have to play certain levels over and over before you see the end. Bone-crushingly hard games aren't rare these days, but Nintendo brings a certain swing to the frustration. Playing this game is like sitting across from a friendly chess master who is also a skilled conversationalist; you'll lose way more often than you'll win, but at least the time you spend doing so is fun.

Creating a game this hard that doesn't cause the player to walk away is tricky, but Nintendo nails it.

The levels themselves are varied, and they throw enough interesting things at you that you'll rarely be bored. You'll zoom in and out of the background, you'll fly on barrels that are rocket-propelled, and you'll fight rogue waves... and this is just in the first few worlds. The more you play, the more you'll realize that Retro saw the platforming structure as a challenge, not a limitation. The whole thing feels fresh and interesting, devoid of the gimmicks and tricks lesser games use to pad their feature set.

Yes, this is difficult, so it may not be suitable for your kids. But if you grew up with the Donkey Kong Country series and want something that improves on the formula while still offering a huge challenge, this is your game. Nintendo continues to peddle nostalgia with a few core franchises, but when it's this good, it's hard to be outraged.

Verdict: Buy
Time to blow the dust off the Wii.

http://arstechnica.com/gaming/reviews/2010/11/catching-bananas-throwing-controllers-ars-reviews-donkey-kong-country-returns.ars?comments=1#comments-bar

 

[Edag Plata]

HA HA HA ANOTHER DUSTY WII JOKE HA HA HA! ITS SO FUNNY!

 

[Nemesis_]

I must question whether those who say the Wii is getting dusty are blind.

 

[Scrow]

HA HA HA ANOTHER DUSTY WII JOKE HA HA HA! ITS SO FUNNY!

well it's true. haven't played my Wii for a long long time, it's literally caked in dust. but i will play it soon for this game.

 

[Crumpet Trumpet]

I dunno how people are able to make the dusty Wii joke after the year the Wii has had...

 

[farnham]

I dunno how people are able to make the dusty Wii joke after the year the Wii has had...

well they are also saying that the best way to use a wii is to use it as a door blocker or something

 

[VGChampion]

I never have any shake-to-roll problems after switching to the nunchuck.

 

[Ranger X]

WTF are you on about NSMBWii ? :lol

You guys played the first world only or something? This game is as good as it gets, DKCR looks like it could also achieve that. I think you guys have tick nostalgia hats. NSMBWii does what Super Mario Bros 3 and World does and more + more complex and inspired level design imo.

 

[Regulus Tera]

My problem with shake to roll is that the shake required is wilder than in NSMBW and the galaxies. I'm already conditioned, dammit.

 

[dark10x]

WTF are you on about NSMBWii ? :lol

You guys played the first world only or something? This game is as good as it gets, DKCR looks like it could also achieve that. I think you guys have tick nostalgia hats. NSMBWii does what Super Mario Bros 3 and World does and more + more complex and inspired level design imo.

My problems? Uninspired visuals, sluggish controls (much worse than Mario World), and terrible soundtrack (a huge knock against it). The game itself is very good, there's no doubt about it, and I could certainly appreciate it. However, the best games in the genre also deliver on those fronts. Music is very important to the experience for me and NSMB drops the ball in a big way. Visual design is also something I consider important and NSMB Wii just doesn't look the part.

The biggest issue, however, are the controls. While functional, everything reacts much slower than I'm used to in a Mario game. As far as I'm concerned, Mario World was the pinnacle of the 2D Mario games (Miyamoto even agrees with that one) and the controls were FLAWLESS. NSMB is as sluggish as Super Mario Bros 1 but, with more complex and intricate level design, it becomes more of a problem.

Again, despite all that, I still recognize it as a very good platforming game. It's just that the Mario games have such a high standard of quality and, as it had been a long time since we had a 2D Mario title, I was disappointed when it failed to match the best. As far as Wii platformers go, even unassuming games such as Klonoa are better in my eyes.

DKCR, however, feels much better than the original Rare titles and features significantly more interesting level design. It's just a better game all around. The bar was lower, of course, but that doesn't minimize their feat. DKCR is amazing.

 

[TheLastCandle]

I dunno how people are able to make the dusty Wii joke after the year the Wii has had...

It drives me crazy, but what can you do. It doesn't matter at this point how many great games the system has, it's never going to end.

 

[dark10x]

It drives me crazy, but what can you do. It doesn't matter at this point how many great games the system has, it's never going to end.

I'd assume most people game consoles are dusty (unless they actively take care of them). Simply using a console isn't going to prevent dust from settling.

 

[taoofjord]

Just wanted to chime in again and say that this is definitely one of the best platformers I've ever played. I'd put it up there with the best of the best. Retro has floored me with this game, too, as I wasn't a huge fan of Metroid Prime 2 and 3.

 

[WillyFive]

and terrible soundtrack (a huge knock against it). Music is very important to the experience for me and NSMB drops the ball in a big way.

How come? It reused music from the DS game, but why is it bad music?

 

[farnham]

How come? It reused music from the DS game, but why is it bad music?

indeed

this tune is one of my all time favorites on any mario game

soo cheerful (and i really was dissapointed that NSMBWii just reused NSMBDS music)

 

[dark10x]

How come? It reused music from the DS game, but why is it bad music?

I hated the music in both the DS and Wii game. I simply didn't find any of the tunes catchy nor did I feel they added anything to the experience. It's difficult to nail down a reason for something so subjective, but really, I just did not like it. The Galaxy games knocked it out of the park with amazing soundtracks (give or take a few dull tracks). NSMB is one of the least memorable Mario soundtracks I've ever heard.

For me, the music in a platform game is supremely important and adds a lot to the experience.

soo cheerful (and i really was dissapointed that NSMBWii just reused NSMBDS music)

Yeah, it's just too "ragtime" for me. The tune itself doesn't really do anything for me, but it's the absolutely awful sampling that really kills it. That awful synth voice sound they use throughout NSMB is especially bad.

So, yeah, it's a mix of melodies that left me cold with really bad sampling. It all sounds like music you'd find in one of those midi keyboard sound banks used for demonstration purposes.

 

[Ranger X]

My problems? Uninspired visuals, sluggish controls (much worse than Mario World), and terrible soundtrack (a huge knock against it). The game itself is very good, there's no doubt about it, and I could certainly appreciate it. However, the best games in the genre also deliver on those fronts. Music is very important to the experience for me and NSMB drops the ball in a big way. Visual design is also something I consider important and NSMB Wii just doesn't look the part.

The biggest issue, however, are the controls. While functional, everything reacts much slower than I'm used to in a Mario game. As far as I'm concerned, Mario World was the pinnacle of the 2D Mario games (Miyamoto even agrees with that one) and the controls were FLAWLESS. NSMB is as sluggish as Super Mario Bros 1 but, with more complex and intricate level design, it becomes more of a problem.

Again, despite all that, I still recognize it as a very good platforming game. It's just that the Mario games have such a high standard of quality and, as it had been a long time since we had a 2D Mario title, I was disappointed when it failed to match the best. As far as Wii platformers go, even unassuming games such as Klonoa are better in my eyes.

DKCR, however, feels much better than the original Rare titles and features significantly more interesting level design. It's just a better game all around. The bar was lower, of course, but that doesn't minimize their feat. DKCR is amazing.

Super Mario World isn't faster. Plug it back and try right after NSMBWii. I can agree with the rest though. Music didn't bother my experience with the game but it was better in Super Mario Bros 3 imo. The controls are also more towards Mario Bros 3 than Mario Bros 1. The first Mario was very very tight, it's not my favorite controls. To the opposite, I feel that in Mario World I can write my freaking name in the air during a jump. I never completely dug that super free control style. NSMBWii striked the perfect balanced for me. The incredible level design apparently made me forget the soundtrack is of the "doing the job" type.

Anyhow, I am really surprised by DKCR and it's REALLY great so far. However the "shake to roll" becomes a problem for me in time trial (I would destroy all the gold times with a button press really) because I need to shake in advance so it triggers when Donkey actually lands. It feels easier to miss than simply pressing a button when I land. Soundtrack so far is also of the "doing the job" type and does not bother me.

I will until I am halfway through the game at least before passing a final judgment. It's definetely starting great but there's alot of things that can happen along the way. One thing I don't agree with you though (and the GAF hive mind) is that the DKC on SNES are overrated. That Donkey Kong there (well, at least the first world), is exactly the gameplay that was on SNES. So far it's just as good as say, DKC2. But it's not way surpassing it.

Oh, last little nitpick. When you have diddy, the timing to bounce on ennemies is a little too hard imo. Easy to miss a rebound for no good reason while it's extremely easy with only Donkey Kong. The rebound is also a bit fucked up anyways. The window in wich you can press the jump button (and then hold it) to rebound on an ennemi is not the same as when you want to rebound on "stuff" (like tires). The rebound on stuff window is ALOT smaller. I think it should have been the same as bouncing on an ennemi.

I however like the fact you need to press the button for each rebound. Nice skill addition.

 

[farnham]

I hated the music in both the DS and Wii game. I simply didn't find any of the tunes catchy nor did I feel they added anything to the experience. It's difficult to nail down a reason for something so subjective, but really, I just did not like it. The Galaxy games knocked it out of the park with amazing soundtracks (give or take a few dull tracks). NSMB is one of the least memorable Mario soundtracks I've ever heard.

For me, the music in a platform game is supremely important and adds a lot to the experience.

i really hate the main theme of NSMB.

and its reused all the time

but the athletic theme is really good

 

[verbum]

It drives me crazy, but what can you do. It doesn't matter at this point how many great games the system has, it's never going to end.

Personal tastes. The last game I played on our Wii was SMB Galaxy. It's been gathering dust since, literally. Only so much time in a day. As an example, I've been playing Fallout 3 on and off for a year. Just got Fall Out:New Vegas for the next year.
Donkey Kong will be played with the reviews it's been getting.
Getting older means the days get shorter for some reason.

 

[farnham]

It drives me crazy, but what can you do. It doesn't matter at this point how many great games the system has, it's never going to end.

the funny thing is

anyone checking out wii reviews at this point are probably people that care about the wii enough to check what games are comming out (ie nintendo fans)

the people that will actually chuckle reading that dust joke are ps3, 360 owners that are probably not even caring about the wii enough to read wii reviews.

in other words, anyone that reads a review with a wii dust joke is probably going to be pissed off.

 

[Bisnic]

I'd assume most people game consoles are dusty (unless they actively take care of them). Simply using a console isn't going to prevent dust from settling.

Tell me about it, i'm a huge WoW player, and the dust on my black PC & monitor is hard to miss.

I'm sure all these "lol dusty Wii, time to blow it off" people still have dust on their 360/PS3/PC.

But i guess saying your Wii has dust is better than saying that the Wii sucks, amirite?

 

[TheExodu5]

Super Mario World is faster and more responsive than NSMB Wii, easily. If you're finding otherwise, then I'm guessing you're using an emulator that's adding input lag. NSMB is incredibly sluggish, and jumps are almost entirely momentum based, which gives way to the controls feeling very floaty.

DKCR is the second best controlling platformer I've ever played. The first is Super Meat Boy.

 

[WillyFive]

For me, the music in a platform game is supremely important and adds a lot to the experience.

I agree. But the music is the one thing I thought fully delivered on the original DS game. It was catchy, fun, and iconic, and really fun to play while it went in the background.

i really hate the main theme of NSMB.

and its reused all the time

I thought it was wonderful. But alright.