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Donkey Kong Country Returns |OT| Retro Studios Has Done It Again!

Dr.Hadji

Member
Mr. Wonderful said:
I actually like this about DKC2. Rather than making each level a poppable candy gimmick like in NSMB Wii, level types are repeated with a fresh take that more fully explores the possibilities of each level type. Like, when I play DKC2, I'll get to a certain level and be like, "YES! Another swamp level! I love the swamp levels!" Or, "YES! They're bringing back a boat level from World 1!"

Yah NSMB Wii does that...... across 5 games and about 20 years. The base had already been established before, Bros. Wii is that further exploring of level possibilities.
 
Got all the puzzle pieces, I still need to finish Worl 7 and 8 in Mirror Mode to get them all. Then there are Time Trials...Best for last!
 
Guess I'll check in with my short opinion after playing a good chunk of the game.

I still think it's too hard. It's killed a lot of enjoyment I could have had for the game. I have played it almost entirely with co-op though so that could be something but I wish it was easier. They needed a world like Mario where I could just grind some lives because playing with co-op really drains you in lives and when you run out it's no fun just to watch your partner play.
 

EzLink

Banned
So has anyone figured out if there are any worthwhile unlockables for getting all the puzzles pieces/doing all of the time trials/beating everything in
mirror mode
?
 

AniHawk

Member
kinggroin said:
May as well edit this post now to read, "well I just finished this game". If you aren't feeling the level design and gameplay by now, chances are you never will. Its like someone telling you, "no no no just wait until you get to the garden area in bioshock, THAT'S when it really picks up!"

If I could stick it out for Jak II, I can stick it out for this game. Almost halfway through anyway.
 

Socreges

Banned
World 8's
music and background is 100% Norfair-inspired. Just imagine Samus in DK's place, with the gfx being a little less cartoony. Those of you that would prefer DKCR2 over a Metroid 2D (as if Retro/Nintendo are having the same debate internally) don't know what's good for you...... :) ..... seriously, though, are you crazy.
 
Been playing the game some more and wanted to give a few more opinions.

I think what I don't like about the graphics in DKCR is that they are too cartoony looking. For example if the Cliffs levels were in the old DKC games you would see real looking dinosaur bones and realistic details in the rockwork and tar rather than bland simplistic textures. I really wish that if they do make a sequel to this game they go back to the Claymation realistic look of the old games and ditch the current look that looks like any cartoony platformer from sonic to rayman.

Music reminds me more of Crash Bandicoot and even the ps1 final fantasies rather than the old DKC games. :lol

Oh and I just want to say level 7-1 is the greatest thing ever. Im surprised nobody is comparing it to LIMBO.
 
All that Donkey Kong Country Returns 2 (or whatever it's called) needs is for them to:

1.) Add some of the cheesiness back in.
2.) Take out the motion controls.
3.) Wackier levels (amusement parks, etc).

I didn't really miss hot-swap Diddy after awhile.
 

Kai Dracon

Writing a dinosaur space opera symphony
Mr. Wonderful said:
I actually like this about DKC2. Rather than making each level a poppable candy gimmick like in NSMB Wii, level types are repeated with a fresh take that more fully explores the possibilities of each level type. Like, when I play DKC2, I'll get to a certain level and be like, "YES! Another swamp level! I love the swamp levels!" Or, "YES! They're bringing back a boat level from World 1!"

DKCR already repeats level types a lot compared to NSMBWii. I think it strikes a good balance between something like NSMB and older platformer designs that looped stage "classes" a lot to pad content.

The problem I find with platformers that reuse level types but more complex, is that they have less replayability. You end up just wanting to play the few "elite" levels in the set, and not the whole game. Generally, I tend to agree with the Mario tactic of making each level a unique thing, as rarity can make things more special and memorable.

By the end, DKCR only seems to reuse stuff such as the minecart when each minecart stage has something truly unique about it - not just longer, harder, with more traps, etc. So I can see enjoying playing through its full set of levels again.
 

Flare

Member
Finally managed to pick the game up yesterday. Played through the first world with my brother and it's been pretty fun so far. There's stuff hidden everywhere, and it gets challenging at times too (yeah, I generally suck at 2D platformers nowadays)...

Retro did an amazing job, everything just feels alive and fresh, and the game still manages to be the DKC Country I remember.
 
I have just watched and read a few reviews. And everyone compares it to either Donkey Kong Country on the SNES or "the Rare offering".

Firstly is this just to fill in space and time. Because to me it seems irrelevant. It isn't exactly a sequel or anything. It's just a platformer. You measure it by it's controls and level design.

Secondly, if they must make a comparison why is there no mention of Donkey Kong: Jungle Beat. Just because it doesn't follow the "country" nomenclature it was still a great game in the series. To me it looks more like DK:JB than any other Donkey Kong game.

I think Nintendo realised that using a few old school words in the titles has a nostalgic impact which they over-sighted before. So it's not a really a revival of a series, since it was here on the Gamecube anyway. It's like the game never existed, despite a re-release recently.
 

AniHawk

Member
the thoroughbred said:
I have just watched and read a few reviews. And everyone compares it to either Donkey Kong Country on the SNES or "the Rare offering".

Firstly is this just to fill in space and time. Because to me it seems irrelevant. It isn't exactly a sequel or anything. It's just a platformer. You measure it by it's controls and level design.

Secondly, if they must make a comparison why is there no mention of Donkey Kong: Jungle Beat. Just because it doesn't follow the "country" nomenclature it was still a great game in the series. To me it looks more like DK:JB than any other Donkey Kong game.

I think Nintendo realised that using a few old school words in the titles has a nostalgic impact which they over-sighted before. So it's not a really a revival of a series, since it was here on the Gamecube anyway. It's like the game never existed, despite a re-release recently.

believe me, the more distance JB can get from Returns, the better.
 

V_Arnold

Member
AniHawk said:
believe me, the more distance JB can get from Returns, the better.

Jungle Beat was easily one of the best, if not THE best 2d platformer the last gen had to offer to us. Too bad people were too lazy to learn the awesome konga controls for it.

(Not to mention some of the mechanics of the highly praised Super Mario Galaxy, currently GOTY 2007 GAF was actually introduced in Jungle Beat first.)
 

Lathentar

Looking for Pants
V_Arnold said:
Jungle Beat was easily one of the best, if not THE best 2d platformer the last gen had to offer to us. Too bad people were too lazy to learn the awesome konga controls for it.

(Not to mention some of the mechanics of the highly praised Super Mario Galaxy, currently GOTY 2007 GAF was actually introduced in Jungle Beat first.)
His comment was a knock on Returns not Jungle Beat.
 

Dash Kappei

Not actually that important
I've just wanna drop a post to add a huge BRAVO to Retro Studios for this game.
I've just got it less than two days ago and I've been hooked since.
Doesn't happen often with me, most times even new games I buy go straight to my backlog (the wall of shame/money wasted when I could have waited for a pricedrop instead).
I must admit before gettin Returns I was adamant that I had enough of my share of platformers already for this gen, thanks to the Wii, but this game totally wowed me.
I was never a huuuuge fan of DKC but I enjoyed them (especially DCK2).
I, however, LOVED Jungle Beat, and even if different I'm loving Returns in a different way... it's not entirely brilliant like JB but it is amazing in its own way, the only little thing I can say is that it lacks JB's bosses, those were something else.
Well, this game's skyrocketing to my GOTY top 5 list.
Everything blends so well, I had a couple of problems with the controls the first hour or so but now they're second nature. The graphics, the art, difficulty curve and gameplay all scream "triple A" to me.
This one is shaping up as one of the few TRUE must-own games of the year for me.
 

Socreges

Banned
Lathentar said:
His comment was a knock on Returns not Jungle Beat.
Yeesh. There's one for everything, I guess.

8-K is awesome.
After a while I was completing the first few trials thanks to muscle memory alone.
Kinda wish it was longer, though.
 

KAL2006

Banned
Buckethead said:
All that Donkey Kong Country Returns 2 (or whatever it's called) needs is for them to:

1.) Add some of the cheesiness back in.
2.) Take out the motion controls.
3.) Wackier levels (amusement parks, etc).

I didn't really miss hot-swap Diddy after awhile.

4.) Add water levels
5.) More animal friends
6.) More vertical levels
7.) Better music and some DKC2 remixes
8.) Better enemies (I prefered the enemies in DKC Trilogy)

DKCR is a great game, but there is so much that can be improved. I still give this game a 9/10, but with these improvements they can make the best platformer of all time. Please Nintendo, let Retro work on the sequel right away.
 

KevinCow

Banned
the thoroughbred said:
I have just watched and read a few reviews. And everyone compares it to either Donkey Kong Country on the SNES or "the Rare offering".

Firstly is this just to fill in space and time. Because to me it seems irrelevant. It isn't exactly a sequel or anything. It's just a platformer. You measure it by it's controls and level design.

Secondly, if they must make a comparison why is there no mention of Donkey Kong: Jungle Beat. Just because it doesn't follow the "country" nomenclature it was still a great game in the series. To me it looks more like DK:JB than any other Donkey Kong game.

I think Nintendo realised that using a few old school words in the titles has a nostalgic impact which they over-sighted before. So it's not a really a revival of a series, since it was here on the Gamecube anyway. It's like the game never existed, despite a re-release recently.

People aren't comparing it to Jungle Beat for the same reasons they're not bringing up, say, King of Swing. First, they had nowhere near the impact of the DKC games. And second, they play almost nothing like the DKC games aside from being 2D platformers. JB is much faster and more arcadey, more about getting combos and less about precise platforming. Country is more about precise platforming and secrets.

They probably greenlit a new DKC game because they saw there was demand for it, but they didn't just make a random 2D platformer with DK and slap Country in the title for sales. They designed the game to feel like a successor to the DKC games, and they succeeded, especially in the level design and game mechanics.

Basically, it comes down to this: Remove DK from DKCR, and people would probably still compare it to DKC. Remove DK from JB, and nobody would know the difference.
 
KAL2006 said:
DKCR is a great game, but there is so much that can be improved. I still give this game a 9/10, but with these improvements they can make the best platformer of all time. Please Nintendo, let Retro work on the sequel right away.
I agree with the music and enemies, but I seriously don't understand the water level love.

Shitty controls, ahoy.

And yes, seconded, I'd love another Retro DK game, Nintendo needs to throw money at them so they can expand and work have a more frequent release schedule.
 
Mr. Wonderful said:
I would love Retro to do two more games for this series, just like they did a trilogy for Metroid.

This. I'd love to see at least one more on Wii, but I don't know how realistic that is.
 

AniHawk

Member
RPGCrazied said:
I'm only on the 3rd world, but what are the puzzles pieces for?

art and dioramas and stuff. They're not necessary for unlocking levels or anything. I'm kinda ignoring the quest for those right now until I beat the game.
 
Just played the first few levels.

I really hate the controls.

Waggle should not be forced upon us. I felt the same way about NSMB

And just like NSMB, they should have let me use the GC controller.
 

Socreges

Banned
I'd like another dozen levels just like 7-K. So damn good.

jamesinclair said:
Just played the first few levels.

I really hate the controls.

Waggle should not be forced upon us. I felt the same way about NSMB

And just like NSMB, they should have let me sue the GC controller.
Keep going. You'll adapt. I'm not a fan of waggle and would prefer something more intuitive (i.e., button press), but I've had very few problems recently.
 

KevinCow

Banned
On the one hand, I'd like to see Retro do a DKCR2 because from the Iwata Asks, it sounds like they really got into the groove after E3. If they only really got into the groove that close to launch, imagine how good a full game with the knowledge of the entire first game's development under their belt will be.

On the other hand, I don't want them to be stuck on one series for the next five or so years again. And seeing how different DKCR is from the Metroid Prime games in pretty much every single way yet they still manage to both be great, they're clearly extremely versatile. I'd love to see what else they can do.
 

totowhoa

Banned
about 130% complete, all puzzle pieces through world four and all mirror levels through world 3 so far.

JoeFenix said:
People are bitching about the graphics in this game?

Seriously, I am hyper critical and the graphics in this game are phenomenal on all levels.
Performance is perfect too, I can't believe the complaining going on in here...

Anyway, 6-K, 6-B and 7-1 are up for those interested

http://www.youtube.com/user/JoeFenix

Do you have any sort of strategy for tackling the time trials? Or do you just speed through 'em and just try not to fuck up and while picking out where maybe you can roll-jump-bounce-bounce so that when you die or finish you can just try to make sure you catch it in the next run? That's basically been my approach, which takes forever :lol Trial, error, trial error, trial, error... it was fine for me for some of the harder levels that require this (first time you play some of the K levels for instance), but it was always much more rewarding to get a little each time in a level than the time trials have been so far.
 

richiek

steals Justin Bieber DVDs
OK, I finally hit a brick wall in 4-5.

It's that fucking giant bat and its sonar blasts. They're impossible to dodge due to the constant button mashing. How do you guys get past it?
 

AniHawk

Member
richiek said:
OK, I finally hit a brick wall in 4-5.

It's that fucking giant bat and its sonar blasts. They're impossible to dodge due to the constant button mashing. How do you guys get past it?

Lots and lots of painkillers.
 

totowhoa

Banned
richiek said:
OK, I finally hit a brick wall in 4-5.

It's that fucking giant bat and its sonar blasts. They're impossible to dodge due to the constant button mashing. How do you guys get past it?

My strategy:
You have to have good control of the rocket already, of course. If you've got that, then just realize this: He moves from top to bottom, but he shoots at a consistent rhythm. Always. So if you're at the top, and you drop all the way, he's going to stop on rhythm every time to shoot as he moves down. Once you get the timing, you can get a feel for when he's going to stop to shoot and you can begin to swerve between them. Heck, if you lead him right, sometimes you can just sit at the top of the screen while he works his way from the bottom and he'll have to shoot two misses before he finally makes it up to shoot you at the top, at which you'll be dropping down to snag a puzzle piece or something! Takes some practice, but the RHYTHM is important. He always shoots 1 shot every 2.5 seconds or whatever, and he'll wait and lock on to you if he can... if he can't get to you, he'll just shoot wherever he's at. This section is VERY short, so just stick it out! Once you get to the G-letter you're nearly there!

It's not bad at all once you get the hang of it. After dying several times I thought about what I was doing wrong, and I thought about his behavior on my next my life. Once I made note of the above and focused on that, it only took me two or three balloons to finish him off.
 

bananaman1234

Unconfirmed Member
richiek said:
OK, I finally hit a brick wall in 4-5.

It's that fucking giant bat and its sonar blasts. They're impossible to dodge due to the constant button mashing. How do you guys get past it?

I already said it earlier but I'll say it again: to propel your barrel all you need to do is hold the button down. Mashing is just to get it started.
 

richiek

steals Justin Bieber DVDs
isoku said:
I already said it earlier but I'll say it again: to propel your barrel all you need to do is hold the button down. Mashing is just to get it started.

Well that certainly helped. I finally passed the level. Thanks, guys.
 

Rezbit

Member
This game...is fucking awesome. I find myself with a stupid-ass grin most of the time I'm playing it. It has also made me feel like an imbecile in some levels with the amount of times I've died.

Controls took a little bit of getting used to, but feel pretty smooth. I roll nowhere near as much as I did in the originals, I guess that's a design decision?

Some of the music reminds me of tropical-themed Metroid Prime songs :lol ...I think one of the Ruins levels in particular, will have to go find it again.
 
Rezbit said:
This game...is fucking awesome. I find myself with a stupid-ass grin most of the time I'm playing it. It has also made me feel like an imbecile in some levels with the amount of times I've died.

Controls took a little bit of getting used to, but feel pretty smooth. I roll nowhere near as much as I did in the originals, I guess that's a design decision?

Some of the music reminds me of tropical-themed Metroid Prime songs :lol ...I think one of the Ruins levels in particular, will have to go find it again.
DK needs some speed for roll, jumping and landing roll are incredible effective. I did some Time Trials and I never feel DK so fast, except for Jungle Beat of course.
 

Rezbit

Member
Sgt.Pepper said:
DK needs some speed for roll, jumping and landing roll are incredible effective. I did some Time Trials and I never feel DK so fast, except for Jungle Beat of course.

Ah gotcha, so I'll need to pull out the roll more if I wanna be an expert player. Currently playing it pretty casually, for want of a better word. Haven't bothered with many of the jigsaw pieces, got a few KONGs though.
 
Rezbit said:
Some of the music reminds me of tropical-themed Metroid Prime songs :lol ...I think one of the Ruins levels in particular, will have to go find it again.

Platform Panic is basically Ridley's Theme.
 
Rezbit said:
Ah gotcha, so I'll need to pull out the roll more if I wanna be an expert player. Currently playing it pretty casually, for want of a better word. Haven't bothered with many of the jigsaw pieces, got a few KONGs though.
Yeah, don't bother with the jigsaw pieces at the moment. They are a lot harder to get, and they don't unlock levels. Unlike the DKC trilogy, the roll jump here is a lot bigger.

The level design really shines when you do Time Trials, you can see Retro's effort in designing those levels.

I just noticed that I had a typo in my previous post. I better go to bed.
 
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