Support NeoGAF

[Shotgun Kiss]

I'm going back through all the levels to find the puzzle pieces I missed. I was on my third playthrough of Canopy Cannons in the first world, trying to find a single piece. I couldn't find where it could possibly be until I accidentally fired myself out of a specific barrel cannon straight down, where there was a hidden canon and a puzzle piece. There was absolutely no kind of visual clue that anything was down there; I even replayed the level to check (usually there's a banana, or you can see the tip of a barrel).

I've seen some people talking about leaps of faith; well that's one right there. Yeah, Squawks could help you find it, but that doesn't help people who want to find all the pieces without Squawks.

DKC was pretty bad for leaps of faith when it came to bonus barrels, but DKC2 and DKC3 stamped that out completely.

 

[Mdk7]

I got it for Xmas, this game is just SOOOOOOOOOOOO good.

I love the way it plays (the motion controls are totally fine IMHO), and the art direction is nothing but stellar: every single detail (from wrecked ships to palms) is full of personality, and i'm in awe every time i see the little interactions between DK and the enviroments.
Oh, and the level design is top notch, the game's always genuinely creative and has a wonderful rhythm... really, Retro Studios is probably the best team in the world.

I'd love to see them at work on a console with a little more horsepower, dealing with something 100% original or giving Zelda the charm and uniqueness the series has completely lost these days.

 

[Datschge]

Nonsense, this is fantastic solo, actually can't imagine playing some of the later levels in co-op

Since I hate the controls and physics so much, but graphics and multiplayer are so good, I'm only playing with a friend anymore. And if there are sequences hard to get through controlled separately there's always the option to jump onto Donkey.

 

[BGBW]

Just want to say I hated the final boss so much.

Spoiler

Upon seeing the two hands I thought it would be a piece of piss having seen off many large floaty hand bosses over the years, but no DK happens to jump at the exact height of the hands meaning timing must be perfect. And no DK barrel after the rocket section? God damn.

Also upon completion of the game I noticed in world 1, level 1

Spoiler

the Giant Tiki mask is still in the background despite not being on the world map any more. Oh dear.

 

[_Alkaline_]

Just want to say I hated the final boss so much.

Spoiler

Upon seeing the two hands I thought it would be a piece of piss having seen off many large floaty hand bosses over the years, but no DK happens to jump at the exact height of the hands meaning timing must be perfect. And no DK barrel after the rocket section? God damn.

Are you insinuating there are mechanical issues with the final boss, or just that it's hard?

It requires decent timing and nothing more. It's completely fair, even without Diddy.

 

[BGBW]

Are you insinuating there are mechanical issues with the final boss, or just that it's hard?

It requires decent timing and nothing more. It's completely fair, even without Diddy.

That it was hard and the more I died the worse it became. Was so glad when it was over. However the DK Barrel issue I think is a fair complaint due to the fact

Spoiler

that the rocket section is a OHKO so there is no need for four hearts.

 

[KevinCow]

Just want to say I hated the final boss so much.

Spoiler

Upon seeing the two hands I thought it would be a piece of piss having seen off many large floaty hand bosses over the years, but no DK happens to jump at the exact height of the hands meaning timing must be perfect. And no DK barrel after the rocket section? God damn.

Once I figured out the first phase, it wasn't so bad, just tedious as fuck to redo every time I died to the second phase.

Spoiler

When he holds his hands sideways, just duck and it'll fly over you.

When he holds his hands vertically, quickly roll towards one of them and jump on top of it. You'll just bounce on top of it until he claps them together. I can't even imagine the perfect timing that would be required to do this the regular way. If you wait for the hands to start moving before they squish, it's too late to jump; if you jump before they start moving, you risk jumping too early.

The second form, though... geez. What a bitch. Especially getting in that last hit in. Half of my deaths on that boss must have been when he had one hit left.

On a somewhat related topic, one thing that really bugged me about this game compared to the old games is that they introduced a certain amount of randomness in certain parts. The bosses, for instance, have a certain number of attacks, and will randomly choose which one they do next. This is notably annoying because you can only attack most of them when they do certain attacks, and waiting as they do all their other attacks over and over again is just annoying. I imagine this is also a pain for time trials, since it essentially leaves it entirely up to luck.

Outside of the bosses, there are a few stages with randomized or seemingly randomized elements. In one or two of the Volcano stages, you have fireballs falling slowly from the sky and making random zigzags everywhere in no pattern that I can figure out. Then in one of the Cliff levels (Sticky Situation, I think), you have platforms falling down and speeding up or slowing down randomly. Sometimes in the same column of falling platforms, you'll be able to jump up and reach the next one up, other times you won't because it'll be a couple pixels too high.

It's not a huge deal, and it doesn't really pop up much outside of the bosses and these two stages, but I'm just not a fan of randomized elements in this kind of game.

 

[Jackano]

About the final boss:

Spoiler

I think he is very cheap. WTF Retro, I already beat this guy in Super Mario 64, Smash bros and Starfox. 3 examples just in top of my head... Plus, the rocket section just before was very unecessary!

 

[BGBW]

Once I figured out the first phase, it wasn't so bad, just tedious as fuck to redo every time I died to the second phase.

Spoiler

When he holds his hands sideways, just duck and it'll fly over you.

When he holds his hands vertically, quickly roll towards one of them and jump on top of it. You'll just bounce on top of it until he claps them together. I can't even imagine the perfect timing that would be required to do this the regular way. If you wait for the hands to start moving before they squish, it's too late to jump; if you jump before they start moving, you risk jumping too early.

The second form, though... geez. What a bitch. Especially getting in that last hit in. Half of my deaths on that boss must have been when he had one hit left.

The first phase wasn't bad I just didn't want to keep resetting the level I just wanted to win. I'll give Retro some credit as I haven't felt this frustrated by a game in a long time. The problem I have with dying a lot is that I get stuck using the same tactics.

Spoiler

Took me a while to realise one could duck under his hands because I was used to jumping over all his attacks.
To know when to jump you have to wait for his hands to flash purple and jump instantly. With two hands the best position is the middle, with one hand it's the opposite side. However your tactic sounds easier.

 

[Garcia]

I had no idea the last boss was that hard to beat on single player. Playing co-op he was dead in less than 2 minutes and I think we just lose 4 lives. Guess I'll know as soon as I try to gold him later on.

 

[Regulus Tera]

My problem with the last boss is the Diddy barrel placement. It's located before the

Spoiler

rocket

section, which is OHKO and in which you cannot use any abilities. And the checkpoint is situated right after that, so there's no way to go back and pick Diddy up if you die at the actual battle where Diddy might actually be helpful.

 

[nincompoop]

My problem with the last boss is the Diddy barrel placement. It's located before the

Spoiler

rocket

section, which is OHKO and in which you cannot use any abilities. And the checkpoint is situated right after that, so there's no way to go back and pick Diddy up if you die at the actual battle where Diddy might actually be helpful.

I didn't have any issue with that, the last boss would have been a piece of cake with Diddy once you learned his pattern. Forcing you to fight him with DK alone (unless you miraculously manage to beat him on your first try) made the fight appropriately challenging. They gave you plenty of recovery hearts too, so the difficulty wasn't too overwhelming.

 

[totowhoa]

I didn't have any issue with that, the last boss would have been a piece of cake with Diddy once you learned his pattern. Forcing you to fight him with DK alone (unless you miraculously manage to beat him on your first try) made the fight appropriately challenging. They gave you plenty of recovery hearts too, so the difficulty wasn't too overwhelming.

Sure, but only having two hits meant you had to sacrifice a lot of lives to get a feel for the boss. Two hits, and wham--start over. Diddy would have made him *way* easier yet still harder then all the bosses. It was an unnecessary jump in difficulty to essentially disallow Diddy, and that's what annoyed me. Many lives later though... Took him down without incurring a hit. The extra hearts he throws out are nice, but once you take a hit, you have no room for error in a fairly tricky, reflex-heavy boss fight.

Definitely makes mirror-moding him way easier, though.

 

[Nabs]

Anyone else addicted to rolling?

 

[flintstryker]

Anyone else addicted to rolling?

Love unlimited rolling with Diddy.

 

[daakusedo]

When you're completing time trials, you become the roll.

 

[CoffeeJanitor]

Outside of the bosses, there are a few stages with randomized or seemingly randomized elements. In one or two of the Volcano stages, you have fireballs falling slowly from the sky and making random zigzags everywhere in no pattern that I can figure out. Then in one of the Cliff levels (Sticky Situation, I think), you have platforms falling down and speeding up or slowing down randomly. Sometimes in the same column of falling platforms, you'll be able to jump up and reach the next one up, other times you won't because it'll be a couple pixels too high.

It's not a huge deal, and it doesn't really pop up much outside of the bosses and these two stages, but I'm just not a fan of randomized elements in this kind of game.

Nah, there are definitely patterns in these situations.

Agree about the boss battles though.

 

[GC|Simon]

I have just beaten the game So great. Fantastic job, Retro! I love you.

Played it in coop with my brother all the time btw. I think it was more difficult in some situations (e.g. at disappearing platforms) than playing alone, but on the other hand, there were situations in which playing with a second player was really, really helpful (e.g. at the final boss and also at other bosses).

 

[revolverjgw]

Does anybody have some links to the most impressive time trial runs?

 

[lordoftherink]

Does anybody have some links to the most impressive time trial runs?

Browse through this guy's channel. I think he has done one for every level.

 

[EmCeeGramr]

Okay, the last puzzle piece on that World 2 level with the cannon fire is just unfair. The hit detection on the explosions seems really weird, it's hard to see how far away the cannonballs are, and I just got the end with the barrel unscathed, and by god if I did not hit that target then Christ I must have missed by a single pixel because that I watched that barrel impact that wooden wall. Fucking bullshit.

 

[Jokeropia]

I finally beat

Spoiler

The Golden Temple

! Damn this game is fucking hard at times, no way am I gonna try for mirror mode or all time trials. I'm satisfied just having beaten every level.

Really, really awesome game though. Retro fucking rocks.

 

[EmCeeGramr]

This game owns but fuck the rocket barrel levels seriously what were you thinking with those controls Retro

 

[Deleted member 30609]

umm, anyone who didn't play this in high school and get OMG NOSTALGIA chills when Retro ripped it off need to get the fuck out, yo
http://www.addictinggames.com/helicopter.html

 

[watkinzez]

umm, anyone who didn't play this in high school and get OMG NOSTALGIA chills when Retro ripped it off need to get the fuck out, yo
http://www.addictinggames.com/helicopter.html

If it weren't for the version of that game on my phone, I'd probably still be playing Hot Rocket now.

 

[rollingstart]

umm, anyone who didn't play this in high school and get OMG NOSTALGIA chills when Retro ripped it off need to get the fuck out, yo
http://www.addictinggames.com/helicopter.html

there was a reason you played it in high school and not at home

 

[Deleted member 30609]

you're right, I didn't have access to the computer and internet uninterrupted like I did when I was in Year 7 math class

 

[apana]

umm, anyone who didn't play this in high school and get OMG NOSTALGIA chills when Retro ripped it off need to get the fuck out, yo
http://www.addictinggames.com/helicopter.html

I thought SF Cave was the first game like that?

 

[brandonh83]

Just unlocked all the

Spoiler

K levels, 5 and 6 K

are like what the fuck

 

[_Alkaline_]

This game owns but fuck the rocket barrel levels seriously what were you thinking with those controls Retro

They're easy. Just tap A unless you need to accel quickly, in which case hold it.

There's is absolutely nothing wrong with the controls of it. It's meant to be chaotic and unwieldy.

Now, if you have an issue with the actual design of these levels, then that's certainly valid. Personally I had no issue with them, but I can see why some do.

 

[Gin]

5k is the hardest level in the entire game - also those puzzle pieces - wtf!

* note this is not including any

Spoiler

mirror mode stuff

 

[EmCeeGramr]

They're easy. Just tap A unless you need to accel quickly, in which case hold it.

Yeah I figured that out on the first one, it doesn't help that even several worlds later it's terrible to be letting go of A and having the momentum carry you into a ceiling half a second after you let up, or vice-versa with holding A and crashing into a floor. It's way too much momentum, and constantly having to feather the button before letting go or holding it is annoying.

 

[revolverjgw]

Browse through this guy's channel. I think he has done one for every level.

...sheesh. Looks like it takes crazy skill and practice.

I was surprised how hard this game was and all I did was just beat the levels, didn't bother with letters/puzzle pieces/speedruns. Starting at world 4, I got a game over on probably 50% of the levels in the game. In my defense, I didn't buy an item until the final boss though... needed the extra heart.

 

[Duckhuntdog]

This game owns but fuck the rocket barrel levels seriously what were you thinking with those controls Retro

The lava cave one is nuts. You need to have the level memorized to know when to tap or let off the button. Watching the super guide do it is a bit helpful.

I also think that having to hit the jump button before you land on an enemy for extra height feels a bit wonky and would feel more natural if you hit it as you hit the enemy.

 

[brandonh83]

Just got to 9-1. After this, is that pretty much it as far as new level content? Is there a secret boss or anything of that sort?

 

[Kyleripman]

would feel more natural if you hit it as you hit the enemy.

This is what I do, and I get the extra height every time.

 

[brandonh83]

This is what I do, and I get the extra height every time.

This is what I do too and it's hit or miss. Not sure how many times I've died because of this. I'm not saying that it isn't my fault every single time but I can't quite figure out how it works, exactly.

 

[Jtrizzy]

Picked this up with a wii the other day, and am loving the stroll down memory lane. Really dissapointed by the lack of online co op, not just in this game, but smg/nsmb as well.

 

[ivysaur12]

Picked this up with a wii the other day, and am loving the stroll down memory lane. Really dissapointed by the lack of online co op, not just in this game, but smg/nsmb as well.

Welcome to being a Wii owner.

 

[brandonh83]

Maybe this is just me, but this isn't really a game where I wanted/expected online co-op.

 

[Jtrizzy]

Its really too bad, I was hoping for a game I could play with my casual gaming older sister online, and Mario Kart seems to be the only one. Why include wifi and friend codes? Nintendo makes the best co op platformers, but none seem to have online.

 

[lordoftherink]

Maybe this is just me, but this isn't really a game where I wanted/expected online co-op.

Pretty much. Had a great amount of fun playing it with younger relatives over the holidays, and most of the fun came from telling who to get the puzzle pieces or KONG letters and laughing over all the ridiculous deaths. I don't think I'd have nearly as much fun playing with someone else online.

 

[_Alkaline_]

This is what I do too and it's hit or miss. Not sure how many times I've died because of this. I'm not saying that it isn't my fault every single time but I can't quite figure out how it works, exactly.

Hold A just as you're about to hit an enemy. Works every single time.

 

[brandonh83]

Hold A just as you're about to hit an enemy. Works every single time.

I wonder if it's my controller, then. I literally do the same thing every time I try to jump-bounce, sometimes it works, but most of the time it doesn't. Prehistoric Path and 8-K were fucking nightmarish because of this.

 

[Jtrizzy]

I did the same thing. Play this game with my family over Christmas, then I pick up a wii so I can have a fun way to stay connected to my sister who lives 5 hours away, and for the nostalgia factor, which it has delivered.


If a simple games like Laura Croft TGL can do online co op, then so should Nintendo's flaship titles, or at least one. How hard would it be to add online to the co op mode in this game? It leaves us with Mario Kart, which is good for the most part, but it doesn't hold a candle to this or the other Mario games imo.

 

[Chuckie]

5k is the hardest level in the entire game - also those puzzle pieces - wtf!

I beat that bitch yesterday. Took me at least 80 balloons. Thank God that also means you have all the puzzle pieces after so many many many deaths

 

[Ushojax]

umm, anyone who didn't play this in high school and get OMG NOSTALGIA chills when Retro ripped it off need to get the fuck out, yo
http://www.addictinggames.com/helicopter.html

Yeah, I fucking breezed through the rocket barrel levels thanks to this game. Even if I hadn't though, the barrel controls couldn't be simpler. Press 2 to climb. That's it. I guess some people can't handle the momentum based gameplay, a bit like the people who can't do the rolling stages in Galaxy 2.

 

[Do The Mario]

I just finished world 8.

Amazing game. There is so much diversity in the 2D levels that I was always curious as to what the next level involved.

I am generally not a completionist, but I am already going back and collecting all the 'KONG" letters.

 

[Lathentar]

I just finished world 8.

Amazing game. There is so much diversity in the 2D levels that I was always curious as to what the next level involved.

I am generally not a completionist, but I am already going back and collecting all the 'KONG" letters.

You better collect the KONG letters as they open up the best levels in the game!

I just got Shiny gold on all Jungle levels except Mugly. Got the minecart stage right on the nose with 1:42.00.

 

[EmCeeGramr]

The game is still great, but man co-op is not well thought out. There were several occasions in some of levels where we couldn't get to secrets because of the way it works (Diddy roll-jumps and hovers off to the left side of the screen to get a secret, is teleported back), or were cursing at each other due to the other collapsing platforms by jumping on them.

And another thing: what twisted, warped creature at Retro thought of a level where

Spoiler

SUDDENLY MILLIONS OF BABY SPIDERS

. I'm going to have nightmares for a week.