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Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze |OT| There's always money in the banana stand

N

Neiteio

Member
EVH said:
So guys, as this game is obviously better than the latest New Mario and 3D World, do you think that Miyamoto will get jealous again because of the Donkey Kong games? :p
Click to expand...
I remember reading that the strong art direction in DKCR was what inspired the NSMB team to overhaul the backgrounds for NSMBU. Hopefully Tropical Freeze will also encourage them to be less lazy and bland.
 
M

Mlatador

Banned
titusandronicus said:
PXyAjBW.jpg


What should I play this game with?
Click to expand...

Regular game with Nunchuck + Wiimote ('cause its great fun) and speedruns with and on the Wii U Gamepad, because Wiimote/Nunchuck gets too tiring for that (if you intend to get some good worldwide times. For "just" getting gold, Wiimote/Nunchuck is fine, too).
 
N

Nocturnowl

Member
Neiteio said:
I remember reading that the strong art direction in DKCR was what inspired the NSMB team to overhaul the backgrounds for NSMBU. Hopefully Tropical Freeze will also encourage them to be less lazy and bland.
Click to expand...

I was actually pretty fine with how the backgrounds of NSMBU looked for the most part, funnily enough one of the few ones that I thought was a bit off was the often lauded starry night inspired background since it completely clashes with Mario and the enemies.

Now the music on the other hand...
 
Danny Dudekisser

Danny Dudekisser

I paid good money for this Dynex!
Neff said:
10. Pikmin 3 (although I haven't finished it yet)
9. Wind Waker HD
8. Sonic All Stars Racing Transformed
7. ZombiU
6. Sonic Lost World
5. Donkey Kong Country Tropical Freeze
4. Super Mario 3D World
3. Wonderful 101
2. Wonderful 101
1. WONDERFUL 101
Click to expand...

Yeah...

I played like 20 minutes of Wonderful 101. I didn't get it.

I should really go back to it, because like... everyone insists it's stupid good.

But there's no way it's better than TF. No. Way.
 
I

I Wanna Be The Guy

U-S-A! U-S-A! U-S-A!
decoyplatypus said:
I'm not ready to wade into the direct comparisons game, but I would like to say that in a little over a year on the market, Wii U now has:

(1) The best 2D Mario (or two of the best five, if you choose to split off New Super Luigi);
(2) A top-tier 3D Mario (with 4P co-op that makes it a pretty different value proposition from almost any other 3D platformer);
(3) Probably the best Donkey Kong game ever;
(4) The best Rayman game (that has the misfortune of being good rather than great on a system full of GOAT contenders).

It's been a good time for those of us who love the genre.
Click to expand...

NOPE.

Sorry but Rayman Legends was one of the biggest disappointments of 2013 and a joke compared to Origins. They dumbed down the difficulty. They made the lum requirements super low that a big aspect of the replay value was gone/pointless/not fun. The level design just wasn't as good on the whole. The quality was drastically brought down by absolutely awful gimmicky touch stages that made up quite a huge chunk of the game. The 8-bit stages are attrocious.

The game had good things going for it. The the normal stages were generally fun though overall even they weren't on par with Origins, the music stages were cool and the addition of daily challenges was neat. Those things keep the game from being a complete disaster. But the game did so much wrong that it's a complete insult to call it the best Rayman game. That's like calling Sonic Lost World the best Sonic game.
 
D

decoyplatypus

Member
I Wanna Be The Guy said:
NOPE.

Sorry but Rayman Legends was one of the biggest disappointments of 2013 and a joke compared to Origins. They dumbed down the difficulty. They made the lum requirements super low that a big aspect of the replay value was gone/pointless/not fun. The level design just wasn't as good on the whole. The quality was drastically brought down by absolutely awful gimmicky touch stages that made up quite a huge chunk of the game. The 8-bit stages are attrocious.

The game had good things going for it. The the normal stages were generally fun though overall even they weren't on par with Origins, the music stages were cool and the addition of daily challenges was neat. Those things keep the game from being a complete disaster. But the game did so much wrong that it's a complete insult to call it the best Rayman game. That's like calling Sonic Lost World the best Sonic game.
Click to expand...

Well, bear in mind that I've never really loved a Rayman game (Origins included), so all the content in Legends is what puts it over the top for me. I also didn't mind the touch stages. But I guess I should defer to Rayman fans when it comes to rating Rayman games.
 
T

Toad.T

Banned
Y'know, I'm just not feeling the game yet. It feels like there's not much new in comparison to DKCR. The A/V is good, as is the core gameplay. It just feels like there's something missing.

Or maybe I'm wrong. I dunno anymore.
 
H

Haines

Banned
beat it.

better than returns.

nintendo has made aother classic...only on wiiu.

i imagin we will get a 3rd on wiiu from monster games
 
Danny Dudekisser

Danny Dudekisser

I paid good money for this Dynex!
CrisKre said:
You are sweet. Keep it up.
Click to expand...

You said to come at you... and that's all I got.

I thought the waggle was a lot more precise than I'd expected in the first game, but found it a huge relief to be able to just hit the fucking R button in TF. What's the benefit to introducing any possibility for imprecision? That, and having to shake the Wii-mote to do a basic maneuver just feels unnatural. I shouldn't have to think about what physical gesture to make when I'm already using buttons for everything else.

The most frustrating thing about it was that apparently, Retro was going to give players a choice of control scheme, but Nintendo told them not to.
 
F

FreedomFighter

Member
So what is the third "DK" circle in the upper left-hand corner of the screen (under the level's name)?

I know the first circle with the star is the K-O-N-G letters and the second one is the puzzle piece circle. I thought the DK circle was for when you catch the barrel at the end of the stage with the DK logo on it but I just tested it and that's not right. I'm assuming you beat the level with only DK then?

Can someone confirm.
 
Danny Dudekisser

Danny Dudekisser

I paid good money for this Dynex!
FreedomFighter said:
So what is the third "DK" circle in the upper left-hand corner of the screen (under the level's name)?

I know the first circle with the star is the K-O-N-G letters and the second one is the puzzle piece circle. I thought the DK circle was for when you catch the barrel at the end of the stage with the DK logo on it but I just tested it and that's not right. I'm assuming you beat the level with only DK then?

Can someone confirm.
Click to expand...

That's for the time attack medals. Depending on your time running through a level, it'll be gold, silver, or bronze.
 
K

Koren

Member
EVH said:
So guys, as this game is obviously better than the latest New Mario and 3D World
Click to expand...
I find both 2D Mario and 3D Mario better than DK, personally. Except on the music part.

I'm not fond of some DK aspects, and I prefer more simple graphics, not for aesthetic reacons, but because it's easier to be precise to pixels when it turns to jumping.

Besides, there's a couple of things that bothers me with DK controls, such as using the same button for dash/ground attack and the fact that it's difficult to make a high jump on an enemy with Dixie when you DON'T want to hover first.

That being said, it's still a great game, and I'm currently enjoying hard mode.

FreedomFighter said:
So what is the third "DK" circle in the upper left-hand corner of the screen (under the level's name)?

I know the first circle with the star is the K-O-N-G letters and the second one is the puzzle piece circle. I thought the DK circle was for when you catch the barrel at the end of the stage with the DK logo on it but I just tested it and that's not right. I'm assuming you beat the level with only DK then?

Can someone confirm.
Click to expand...
The third one is medals for time attack.

You'll get a fourth one for soloing the level in hard mode (and the first one can get a blue color for KONG letters... I'm a bit disappointed that they're not in more difficult places to reach, btw).
 
B

bart64

Banned
FreedomFighter said:
Ah, ok. Thanks!

Not gonna be bothered with time attacks. I just want all the K-O-N-G letters, puzzle pieces, and secret exits!
Click to expand...
Be sure to check out the time attack replays at least. You can download top runs and witness just how much you suck at this game in crisp HD.

I keep coming back and collecting stuff and just having a great time being challenged. I was a little disappointed when this was announced but I have to take it back. I feel this style of play is even more welcome now than four years ago, it's great to have something like this in the mix.
 
J

jnWake

Member
I was watching a replay of the first boss and I hadn't noticed how the crowd penguins react to everything in the battle. When you hit the boss, they cover their eyes haha. Also, during the battle they're always watching the boss, so when it jumps you can see the penguins looking up.

It's quite neat.

EDIT: Also worth noting that some of the penguins are sitting on plane seats.
 
P

Phatosaurus

Member
5-K was bananas. I stilk think 2-K was harder but 5-K is very close behind.
Speaking of hard, did anybody else struggle to get the G on 6-B? Fucking hell the timing for the barrel took some working out for me.

On to 6-K now, tried it about 10 times but I'm retiring for the night. Too much Kong for one day.
 
Neff

Neff

Member
Chacranajxy said:
But there's no way it's better than TF. No. Way.
Click to expand...

I'm not sure you're allowed to be as decisive as that after only 20 minutes of W101, a game that takes 20 hours to beat from start to finish, and takes far longer than 20 hours to master.

Give it a few hours at least, learn some tricks, fight a few different enemies, kill a boss, and if it's not for you, then fair enough.
 
Danny Dudekisser

Danny Dudekisser

I paid good money for this Dynex!
Neff said:
I'm not sure you're allowed to be as decisive as that after only 20 minutes of W101, a game that takes 20 hours to beat from start to finish, and takes far longer than 20 hours to master.

Give it a few hours at least, learn some tricks, fight a few different enemies, kill a boss, and if it's not for you, then fair enough.
Click to expand...

Pretty sure I'll love it once I figure things out. I'm just sayin, it's going to take a lot to best some of the WiiU's greats.
 
M

maxcriden

Member
I Wanna Be The Guy said:
NOPE.

Sorry but Rayman Legends was one of the biggest disappointments of 2013 and a joke compared to Origins. They dumbed down the difficulty. They made the lum requirements super low that a big aspect of the replay value was gone/pointless/not fun. The level design just wasn't as good on the whole. The quality was drastically brought down by absolutely awful gimmicky touch stages that made up quite a huge chunk of the game. The 8-bit stages are attrocious.

The game had good things going for it. The the normal stages were generally fun though overall even they weren't on par with Origins, the music stages were cool and the addition of daily challenges was neat. Those things keep the game from being a complete disaster. But the game did so much wrong that it's a complete insult to call it the best Rayman game. That's like calling Sonic Lost World the best Sonic game.
Click to expand...

I could not agree more (except about the Murphy stages, I did like those though I played them in co-op so that might make a difference). The 8-bit stages are just friggin' terrible. The definition of cheap. Oh, and the revamped Origins stages are much easier in Legends unfortunately. The whole thing was very disappointing as Origins was GOTY for me.
 
T

The Xtortionist

Member
Koren said:
I find both 2D Mario and 3D Mario better than DK, personally. Except on the music part.

I'm not fond of some DK aspects, and I prefer more simple graphics, not for aesthetic reacons, but because it's easier to be precise to pixels when it turns to jumping.

Besides, there's a couple of things that bothers me with DK controls, such as using the same button for dash/ground attack and the fact that it's difficult to make a high jump on an enemy with Dixie when you DON'T want to hover first.

That being said, it's still a great game, and I'm currently enjoying hard mode.
Click to expand...

I don't find Retro's DKC games to really require pixel-perfect jumps. They're usually very generous, even allowing DK to "hop up" onto the lip of an edge if he falls just a bit too short.

To high jump with Dixie or Diddy and retain momentum, tap jump again right after you bonk the enemy. There's a short window to turn a short bounce into a high bounce after the fact. Also, rolling/ground pounding is dependent on if you're pressing a direction or not, though rolling requires a split second of forward momentum to use.

ViewtifulJC said:
DK only
Click to expand...

ibckB8Lw9Ggxjn.jpg
 
W

Wookieomg

Member
Welp I just got 100% about half an hour ago. Unlocked Hard Mode then decided I was done with platformers for a while lol. Really put my platforming skill to the test in several levels, especially
5-K: Platform Problems. Fuck that shit. So hard >_<
The game was fantastic, all told. :)

Music? 110% amazing. David Wise's score made this game a joy to get immersed in. So many beautiful songs.

Gameplay? Top notch, minus a few hiccups here and there with weird hit detections or strange momentum carrying me further than was expected.

Level design? Superb. The fact that each levels play out like a story is just.. well it's brilliant. So good.

I could go on but those are my 2 cents on it.

Also, does anyone know if there are any other secrets or unlockable areas/levels for completing Hard Mode/getting all the KONG letters in Hard Mode?

I feel it's also worth mentioning that I never used Funky's item shop. Not once. I wanted to test myself to see how my mettle fares without the assistance of additional Dixies (my savior so many times! :p) or other items. This made the game probably a lot more challenging having to complete and navigate difficult levels with DK alone sometimes, but it was so rewarding to finish it all! :D
 
2

2spooky4me

Member
Phatosaurus said:
5-K was bananas. I stilk think 2-K was harder but 5-K is very close behind.
Speaking of hard, did anybody else struggle to get the G on 6-B? Fucking hell the timing for the barrel took some working out for me.

On to 6-K now, tried it about 10 times but I'm retiring for the night. Too much Kong for one day.
Click to expand...

The G on 6-B took me some time to figure out. I thought it was impossible with just one jump, so I tried immediately ejecting from the bottom barrel then ejecting again immediately from the top. Got the G, back down, then back up again. Normally, you assume the barrels keep moving, but when you understand that the barrels stop when you eject, it becomes very simple.
 
N

Neiteio

Member
Wookieomg said:
Welp I just got 100% about half an hour ago. Unlocked Hard Mode then decided I was done with platformers for a while lol. Really put my platforming skill to the test in several levels, especially
5-K: Platform Problems. Fuck that shit. So hard >_<
The game was fantastic, all told. :)

Music? 110% amazing. David Wise's score made this game a joy to get immersed in. So many beautiful songs.

Gameplay? Top notch, minus a few hiccups here and there with weird hit detections or strange momentum carrying me further than was expected.

Level design? Superb. The fact that each levels play out like a story is just.. well it's brilliant. So good.

I could go on but those are my 2 cents on it.

Also, does anyone know if there are any other secrets or unlockable areas/levels for completing Hard Mode/getting all the KONG letters in Hard Mode?

I feel it's also worth mentioning that I never used Funky's item shop. Not once. I wanted to test myself to see how my mettle fares without the assistance of additional Dixies (my savior so many times! :p) or other items. This made the game probably a lot more challenging having to complete and navigate difficult levels with DK alone sometimes, but it was so rewarding to finish it all! :D
Click to expand...
You unlock art for beating Hard Mode. Hard Mode also lets you play as Diddy, Dixie or Cranky in single-player.

I think I've heard you can just go straight to whichever levels you want in Hard Mode, and you don't have to beat them in order. Is this true?

Also, regarding Funky's Shop, if you like 3D figurines, be sure to buy them there. They have them for just about all of the Snowmads, plus the Kongs and some other items.
 
N

Neiteio

Member
The Xtortionist said:
Yep. You choose it the same way you choose time attack. I still went in order though.
Click to expand...
Ah, so you even access it from your original file, on a per-level basis? Neat! This is excellent incentive to finish the game 100% (beyond how fun the game is in and of itself).

Can you use their guns when you play as the individual characters in single-player Hard Mode? (I.E. Diddy's peanut poppers, Cranky's dentures, etc)
 
C

Currygan

at last, for christ's sake
Chacranajxy said:
I think you're definitely on to something there. For me, what sticks out is that the levels in Tropical Freeze have a better sense of place to them. In 3D World, it feels like they designed the challenges they wanted to have first, and then came up with the environment. That would explain why in the desert area, for example, there are maybe 2 levels that even involve the desert. Here... the experience feels more tied to the area where you are. I've been replaying through levels in world 4, and the way these levels tend to progress, with you being on the land for part of it and underwater for other parts, with the music changing accordingly... each level feels like its own story, in a way. Look at the
tornado level
in world 3. You
start off on the ground with mini tornados spinning around you, and by the end, you're actually running across platforms in that tornado
. There's a real feeling of progression here, which is something that was lacking from Mario 3D World.

And obviously, David Wise kicks all kinds of ass here.
Click to expand...


good observation. Ultimately I guess it comes down to 3DW feeling a lot like a huge candy box, with lots of extremely different flavours to choose from; it's all tasty, but doesn't rest too much on your tongue; like Galaxy, you're bombarded with a barrage of fresh ideas and experimentations, but they're gone quick - and lacking Galaxy's sense of epicness and groundbreaking mechanics, they tend to vanish from people's minds - and before you learn to love a new power up, another one takes place in the next level. TF's progression, as you put it, is more organic to the context and truly feels like a journey a big ape and his mates would go after if they were real: it's thematically coherent, and that's not something I hold against 3DW, since it's just a different approach to the genre
 
T

TheSpaceBetween

Member
Just wrapped up Juicy Jungle on Hard. The boss battles are really tough with one hit kills and this one certainly was no exception. TONS of fun though.
 
N

Neiteio

Member
By the way, I have screenshot requests since I'm busy working on something at the moment:

- 2-5 Alpine Incline
- 2-B Rodent Ruckus
- 3-2 Baobab Bonanza
- 3-3 Frantic Fields
- 3-4 Scorch 'N' Torch
- 5-3 Fruity Factory

jokergif4.gif
 
L

Lathentar

Looking for Pants
Best no damage run on Dynamite Dash. Such a rush. There were a few places I could shave off some time as well. Who said using Wiimote+Nunchuk couldn't put up WR times?
 
M

MvmntInGrn

Member
Wow 2-K took me about an hour and 15min to get through. Seeing as I was getting lives as I played it I probably spent 70-ish lives. I had a really good path set out though so once I got through it the gold medal time trial wasn't hard at. In fact it was the same path I used to get through the level normally.
 
N

Neiteio

Member
The Xtortionist said:
Alpine Incline: A Visual Tour

abload.de/img/wiiu_screenshot_tv_0178dzi.jpg
abload.de/img/wiiu_screenshot_tv_01cxi22.jpg
abload.de/img/wiiu_screenshot_tv_01ttcpx.jpg
abload.de/img/wiiu_screenshot_tv_017jfur.jpg (if you stand here, beams of sunlight will move over you O:)
abload.de/img/wiiu_screenshot_tv_0135ubi.jpg (the fog in the background moves O:)
abload.de/img/wiiu_screenshot_tv_018pu42.jpg
abload.de/img/wiiu_screenshot_tv_01kjusq.jpg
Click to expand...
Oh man, I love the third and sixth shots. The latter, especially, has so many layers in the background. :-O

And so it looks like the projectile attacks for buddy characters in Hard Mode are aerial moves, huh?
 
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