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[Brashnir]

It's a solid game, but ultimately, it has the same fatal flaw as any game with powerups where you lose them when you get hit. The game has an inverted difficulty mechanic, where the game becomes more difficult for people who are worse at it. (To a greater degree than the same should happen simply due to a difference in skill.)

There's also a lot of shitty UI issues that knocked the game down a peg or two for me.

Overall I enjoyed it, but it's definitely not the best platformer ever.

 

[schwabdizzle]

I am hoping for an NX Port of this.

 

[dreamlongdead]

This is definitely one of the few Wii U games that I'm actually interested in. The others being Tokyo Mirage Session, Bayonetta 2, and Xenoblade X.

I don't know how accurate GAF's constant claim of greatest platformer ever is, but DKC:TF seems to be exactly up my alley.

I'm primarily focused on having hardcore single player experiences.

 

[Nocturnowl]

Is it a good game? Yes. Best platformer ever? Nah, no chance. This is thrown around way too much for this game on GAF for my liking.

Funnily enough you can apply this quote for my opinion of Super Mario World.

 

[Solid SOAP]

I actually think I enjoyed Returns a bit more, perhaps it felt a bit more novel in that there hasn't been a legit great DK game released since the Country games, but tbh I think I prefer the less lengthy and more concise level design of Returns. I also didn't care for the alternate exits, I felt many of them were rather cheaply done.

 

[Kyleripman]

They stuffed so much DKC1 love into Returns and yet TF is very subtle with its DKC2 references. You hear a tiny bit of Run Rambi Run or Snow Bound Land in some of TF songs but its waaaaay too subtle.

Ive probably said this in other threads regarding TF but i cant get over it. Stickerbrush Symphony's wasted potential bothers me to this day.

Why in the holy hell would they purposely make a Bramble level and NOT put the Stickerbrush remix in it? Instead they threw it into the starting section of a rocket barrel level and into the credits. (Which you cant hear the full version of in-game by the way)

Oh right and theres a beehive level but no Flight of the Zingers remix. I dont know who made some of these decisions, David Wise or Retro, but it sucks.

I always wondered about these decisions, too. It seems deliberate - how could they NOT think to use the music there? Big missed opportunity. The bramble level was even called Bramble Scramble, for crying out loud!

Fantastic game, of course.

 

[trugs26]

I recall having more fun with DKC Returns, but I still love both games (this is coming from someone who fully completed each game, and got gold on each time trial, and sometimes shiny gold as well). I'd have to go back and replay them and really think about whether it is in the GOAT category.

 

[correojon]

I booted up Returns on 3DS to check, and it does indeed work the same way as in TF of holding and not needing to time it. That's just with DK by himself though. In Returns you're stuck with Diddy a lot of the time, so releasing and then holding jump activates the hover instead, and hitting an enemy while hovering or coming down from hovering doesn't bounce you without tapping jump again. This means with Diddy you do end up needing to time jumps to bounce with him unless you use up all your hover and fall from a large height or something.

I just checked and you´re right, that method works for both games, but as you say it interferes with the hovering of Diddy and Dixie. Now that I´ve grown accustomed to just tapping the button at the last moment I feel more comfortable doing it this way.

Sounds like you opted to use D-Pad controls. I would highly recommend to anyone that has yet to play through the game to use the Control Stick instead. That might sound weird for a 2D game and I think we can all point to examples of where that control scheme was not desirable. But the newer DKC games are the exception to that rule as they were very much built primarily around using analog controls instead of digital controls. Of course different people have different preferences, but even if you typically opt for the D-Pad in other platformers I would encourage people to give the default control scheme a try first.

I used the control stick, I said in the OT that it felt strangely natural! I think this may be the first 2D platformer where playing with the control stick was better than using the DPad. Not counting PC and Xbox360 games if you´re using the XBox360 controller with it´s horrible DPad.

Man, I was on board with this until I got here and you were dead wrong lol.

Diddy is super-fast underwater. Dixie is only superior if you need to save yourself from a pit a lot, otherwise Cranky is the way to go due to his insane speed and ability to bounce on damage zones. It's not even funny how crazy a great Cranky run looks.

Holy fucking shit how can you be so objectively wrong in EVERYTHING you say lol.

Cranky is the best for speedrunning and high leve play, but for every other playstyle Dixie is better. Cranky´s abbility is only useful when there are spikes, so it won´t save you over pits. There are many Puzzle pieces and even KONG letters that require Dixie´s hovering and even underwater there are some puzzle pieces and secret exits that require Dixie to swim against currents.
I 100% agree on your opinion about the Gamespot review...it´s like the guy played a totally different game.

Is Donkey Kong Returns on 3DS worth playing after I beat Tropical Freeze? I was never sure how similar the two titles were.

That´s what I´m doing and I´m having a blast! I preffer it to the Wii version due to the controls, having to wiggle the wiimote for certain moves was an awful design decission.

 

[MrBadger]

Funnily enough you can apply this quote for my opinion of Super Mario World.

Mine too, actually. Played through it countless times. Good game for sure, but not "best ever" good.

Spoiler

unlike Tropical Freeze

 

[Firemind]

It's not even the best DK game.

 

[User 479360]

It's a really good game, but it's not "The best ever" good. The original Donkey Kong Country series is most definitely better than these recent Retro games.

 

[Brian_FETO]

Tropical Freeze is the kind of game that people hype up and you're like "....really?"

But then you play it and it's like "yes, really".

Fantastic controls, beautiful levels, incredible music, everything is delightful about that game. I still need to finish it, I just rarely turn on my Wii U at this point

 

[Off-Kilter]

You know what OP, I think I might agree with you. It's crazy to think about and it seems silly to crown a game so recent as the best platformer ever but Tropical Freeze has it all going for it. Tight controls, inspired and varied level design, the right amount of challenge, beautiful visuals, and of course, one of the best soundtracks EVER. And it just oozes charm and personality (those penguins are too adorable). Truly a gem.

 

[TheSpaceBetween]

When will everyone realize that Cranky is as good as, if not superior to Dixie? The cane bounce is NOT just useful in certain situations. It makes getting around levels easier than than Dixie regardless of circumstances, but only if you truly master the cane bounce. It's basically advanced tactics vs the beginner safety net that Dixie is.

 

[timetokill]

I always laugh knowing that this "fucking" Donkey Kong game became easily the best of them all.

I love love LOVE how weighty Donkey Kong feels. That's always been my favorite thing about the series, is the sense of weight and momentum he has. No floaty jumps.

 

[TheSpaceBetween]

I always laugh knowing that this "fucking" Donkey Kong game became easily the best of them all.

I love love LOVE how weighty Donkey Kong feels. That's always been my favorite thing about the series, is the sense of weight and momentum he has. No floaty jumps.

The strange thing is that all four of the Kongs have the same exact movement parameters (outside of their special abilities), yet DK feels so much weightier than any of his buddies. I guess it's due to his animations and his character model being larger.

 

[WillyFive]

I thought Tropical Freeze was rather underwhelming after playing Rayman Legends first. DKCTF did a lot of the same stuff as Rayman, but not as good; and the core gameplay wasn't as fun or satisfying as Rayman's.

 

[MrPanic]

Really need to play this again. Had a lot of fun with this game, but I ragequitted the game on what I believe was the final boss so I never actually finished it. The level designs were just top notch and so was the presentation. The only real gripe I had was the bosses outstaying their welcome. The idea of optimizing your attack cycles to get through the early stages of the fight faster on retries is novel, but when the only hard part left is at the end of the fight and it takes ten minutes to get there each time, the novelty quickly turns into straight up boredom. Especially with how staged and scripted the fights are set up it's baffling there's no checkpoint system to speak of. Other than that though, this game pretty much borders on perfection. Great write up.

 

[Kinsei]

Yes it is. Retro is now five for five when it comes to fantastic games and I can't wait to see what they do next.

I actually think I enjoyed Returns a bit more, perhaps it felt a bit more novel in that there hasn't been a legit great DK game released since the Country games, but tbh I think I prefer the less lengthy and more concise level design of Returns. I also didn't care for the alternate exits, I felt many of them were rather cheaply done.

Jungle Beat is a legit great DK game. If you passed on it due to the bongos then I highly recommend you pick up the Wii version without bongo controls.

I do agree that the secret exits weren't very good. I wish there had been some other way to unlock those levels.

 

[Solid SOAP]

Jungle Beat is a legit great DK game. If you passed on it due to the bongos then I highly recommend you pick up the Wii version without bongo controls.

I've played and liked it, but it was a bit too unorthodox for my taste. DKCR and TF are just right.

I do agree that the secret exits weren't very good. I wish there had been some other way to unlock those levels.

Glad to find somebody who agrees with me, many praised their inclusion like they were a long lost friend. It was cool to see in a modern platformer with a (semi) AAA budget, but most of them felt lazy to me with only one or two standout ones.

 

[TheMoon]

I

Cranky is the best for speedrunning and high leve play, but for every other playstyle Dixie is better. Cranky´s abbility is only useful when there are spikes, so it won´t save you over pits. There are many Puzzle pieces and even KONG letters that require Dixie´s hovering and even underwater there are some puzzle pieces and secret exits that require Dixie to swim against currents.

You need Cranky for some pieces too where you have to break a barrier underwater. With clever bouncing you can get most of the pieces with Cranky too. Been a while since I played so I can't name any specfics.

Cranky isn't just used for spikes, but for every spiked surface which includes enemies you can't jump on otherwise. You can do incredible things with Cranky. Just because Dixie is best for novices doesn't make her best. At the very least Cranky and Dixie are even but Dixie is by no means a clear superior choice.

 

[Bluth54]

I am hoping for an NX Port of this.

I would honestly be pretty shocked if we didn't eventually get a DKCR and DKCTF port to the NX.

 

[Kenagain240]

I thought Tropical Freeze was rather underwhelming after playing Rayman Legends first. DKCTF did a lot of the same stuff as Rayman, but not as good; and the core gameplay wasn't as fun or satisfying as Rayman's.

Rayman got real stale, real fast. I got that game for free and had to drop it after an hour or two. By no means was it a bad game, but I don't even consider these games in the same ball park

 

[Firemind]

Jungle Beat is a legit great DK game. If you passed on it due to the bongos then I highly recommend you pick up the Wii version without bongo controls.

The bongos are the reason why it's so enjoyable to rack up combos. To remove that is to remove the essence of the game.

Coincidentally it's the most fun DK game and therefore the best. Praise EAD Tokyo!

 

[Neff]

The controls, mechanics and level design are sublime, but acquiring the over-abundant collectibles (especially if going for 100%) can be repetitive, tedious, and often jars with the otherwise fast style of play the game does so well. The bonus stages in particular are numerous and bland (although fun to find). For these reasons I prefer DKC1 and 2 over Tropical Freeze, both of which I legitimately enjoyed taking to 101% and 102% respectively. In fact I'd even say Donkey Kong Country Returns has the slight edge in level design, and is also the preferable title to TF.

But yeah, Tropical Freeze is a classic, no doubt. Looks and sounds amazing, too.

 

[Bedlam]

My favorite platformer ever. Surpassed every Nintendo platformer by miles (especially the boring 3D World). Actual follow-ups would be Rayman Origins and Shovel Knight for me.

 

[ec0ec0]

Jungle Beat is a legit great DK game. If you passed on it due to the bongos then I highly recommend you pick up the Wii version without bongo controls.

bongos or nothing.

 

[Aostia]

I am hoping for an NX Port of this.

Please no
I need a trilogy

 

[TheMoon]

people have gotten too used to the #remastersawait generation^^

 

[Currygan]

game is incredible, but definitely needed more secret levels/worlds. It has all the qualities minus the staggering abundance of a SM3DW just to cite one

 

[TheDinoman]

Yeah, that's another thing, the bonus rooms are incredibly lacking.

It's really bizarre, Retro really stepped up their game when it came to level design and yet the bonus rooms are incredibly rudimentary in comparison. I've been replaying DKC2 on my n3DS after finishing up Tropical Freeze and it's really crazy how much more dynamic and interesting its bonus levels are, and that was a game from like over 20 years ago.

In DKC2's bonus rooms, even if it was mainly three types (Destroy all enemies, find the coin, collect the stars), each and every single one was at least extremely distinct and unique from each other. In TF it's literally just "collect all bananas" and they end up reusing the same 10 or so rooms throughout the game. Very unfortunate.

 

[MetaCircular]

To me, it has an extremely unpleasant "game feel". DK has too much weight/momentum and you're forced to play as him. Buddy power-ups produce limp, unsatisfying jump arcs. It's a very well-designed game, but much less fun to me than Super Mario World, Super Mario Bros 3, and even DKC2.

 

[correojon]

You need Cranky for some pieces too where you have to break a barrier underwater. With clever bouncing you can get most of the pieces with Cranky too. Been a while since I played so I can't name any specfics.

Cranky isn't just used for spikes, but for every spiked surface which includes enemies you can't jump on otherwise. You can do incredible things with Cranky. Just because Dixie is best for novices doesn't make her best. At the very least Cranky and Dixie are even but Dixie is by no means a clear superior choice.

I thik we can agree that Cranky is best for skilled/experienced players and Dixie is best for less skilled/experienced ones. As I play more and get better Dixie is starting to feel like she makes me go slower than I could, while Cranky is helping to go faster. But if I had gone with Cranky while I was still grasping how the game controls it would´ve been much more frustrating. I´m starting to see them as sort of difficulty system: Dixie makes everything easier but doesn´t allow for high level, fast paced gameplay, while Cranky´s more difficult to use but allows insane stunts. Sort of like Bayonetta removes Witch Time in harder difficulties and makes you rely more on parries and Dodge Offset to perform well.

The controls, mechanics and level design are sublime, but acquiring the over-abundant collectibles (especially if going for 100%) can be repetitive, tedious, and often jars with the otherwise fast style of play the game does so well. The bonus stages in particular are numerous and bland (although fun to find). For these reasons I prefer DKC1 and 2 over Tropical Freeze, both of which I legitimately enjoyed taking to 101% and 102% respectively. In fact I'd even say Donkey Kong Country Returns has the slight edge in level design, and is also the preferable title to TF.

But yeah, Tropical Freeze is a classic, no doubt. Looks and sounds amazing, too.

I think the collectibles are a strong point of the game, as they allow playing the game differently. The puzzle pieces and secret exits force you to stop and look for them, adding an exploration component to the game. It´s this precisely which made me consider it at the height or even better than SMW. You can play the game in a fast way and still get the KONG letters, so you can enjoy each level in different ways. Or you can go for Time Attack for an even more extreme fast paced gameplay.

game is incredible, but definitely needed more secret levels/worlds. It has all the qualities minus the staggering abundance of a SM3DW just to cite one

I agree that more levels would´ve been great but I think that´s a testimony of how great the game is;with one or 2 more worlds I´d still have been left wanting more! It was a bit dissapointing that beating all temple levels only unlocked 3 new leves instead of a full new island

Really need to play this again. Had a lot of fun with this game, but I ragequitted the game on what I believe was the final boss so I never actually finished it. The level designs were just top notch and so was the presentation. The only real gripe I had was the bosses outstaying their welcome. The idea of optimizing your attack cycles to get through the early stages of the fight faster on retries is novel, but when the only hard part left is at the end of the fight and it takes ten minutes to get there each time, the novelty quickly turns into straight up boredom. Especially with how staged and scripted the fights are set up it's baffling there's no checkpoint system to speak of. Other than that though, this game pretty much borders on perfection. Great write up.

Yup, this is specially bad with the Owl boss that has some instances of instant death hazards long into the fight. It would´ve been cool to have mid fight checkpoints and give you KONG letters after every cycle, so to get all of them you have to beat it in one go, or reduce the number of hits in the first cycles after some attempts to make those phases go faster.

 

[Neff]

I think the collectibles are a strong point of the game, as they allow playing the game differently. The puzzle pieces and secret exits force you to stop and look for them, adding an exploration component to the game. It´s this precisely which made me consider it at the height or even better than SMW.

I don't have a problem with the concept of secrets in an action platformer, I had a fantastic time exploring the levels in SMW, Yoshi's Island, DKC and DKC2. It's just that I feel there's too much of it, and not enough of an incentive to look for it. It's not easy to ignore the scent of gaming secret trails, just in case they lead to something good. And sometimes in TF, they do. But a lot of the time they don't. Yoshi's Woolly World has a similar problem in that it's equally stuffed with (imo) superfluous junk to collect.

Still, like I said, both damn good games all the same.

 

[TheMoon]

I thik we can agree that Cranky is best for skilled/experienced players and Dixie is best for less skilled/experienced ones. As I play more and get better Dixie is starting to feel like she makes me go slower than I could, while Cranky is helping to go faster. But if I had gone with Cranky while I was still grasping how the game controls it would´ve been much more frustrating. I´m starting to see them as sort of difficulty system: Dixie makes everything easier but doesn´t allow for high level, fast paced gameplay, while Cranky´s more difficult to use but allows insane stunts. Sort of like Bayonetta removes Witch Time in harder difficulties and makes you rely more on parries and Dodge Offset to perform well.

I would sign that, yea.

 

[ghibli99]

Admittedly, I didn't read the entire thing, but TF is a spectacular game. I think it's best in small doses given the length of each stage (especially if you are going for 100%), and as a result, it took me close to a year to at last finish it. Like DKCR, the temple stages were my favorite. Some truly diabolical stuff. Between this, 3D World, NSMBU/NSLU, and Woolly World, the Wii U is home to some of this generation's finest platformers.

 

[TheSpaceBetween]

I don't have a problem with the concept of secrets in an action platformer, I had a fantastic time exploring the levels in SMW, Yoshi's Island, DKC and DKC2. It's just that I feel there's too much of it, and not enough of an incentive to look for it. It's not easy to ignore the scent of gaming secret trails, just in case they lead to something good. And sometimes in TF, they do. But a lot of the time they don't. Yoshi's Woolly World has a similar problem in that it's equally stuffed with (imo) superfluous junk to collect.

Still, like I said, both damn good games all the same.

But knowing that the puzzle pieces are essentially useless from playing Returns, and the fact that KONG letters are there in plain sight, one could easily ignore the puzzle pieces even on a first run of TF. There are a lot of them though, but I wouldn't compare it to YWW. You pretty much could not take 10 steps without a secret being somewhere.

 

[TheRedSnifit]

Wait.

People are actually saying the Rare trilogy was better than the Retro games?

 

[TheDinoman]

Wait.

People are actually saying the Rare trilogy was better than the Retro games?

I feel like both camps have their own strengths and weaknesses. I think Retro's games have better and more dynamic level designs but I generally prefer the style and atmosphere of the Rare trilogy, especially in DKC2. And as mentioned before, the bonus rooms in Rare's games (DKC2&3) were much, much better than Retro's. They're all amazing games though, with DKC2 and Tropical Freeze being the king and queen of the series.

 

[Mechanized]

I bought it recently, it's a fun game but it didn't grab me at all. The quality is apparent, everything feels tight and precise, great aesthetic and music. I got a few levels in and had enough though.

 

[TheMoon]

I bought it recently, it's a fun game but it didn't grab me at all. The quality is apparent, everything feels tight and precise, great aesthetic and music. I got a few levels in and had enough though.

You haven't even seen the crazy stuff.

 

[Cow Mengde]

I actually think I enjoyed Returns a bit more, perhaps it felt a bit more novel in that there hasn't been a legit great DK game released since the Country games,

 

[Labrynian Rebel]

Definitely a huge contender for best 2D platformer, Top 5 guaranteed.

 

[Evil's Bane]

It's a truly fantastic game and one of the few games I find myself coming back to every few months for a run through. You got me craving it again with this topic, honestly. lol.

 

[Dynedom]

Considering waggle lowered my love of DKC:R below DKC2 considerably, I'd love to finally play the complete package in DKC:TF. No waggle, supposed god-tier platforming and David fucking Wise

edit: And Yes, put me in the camp that puts DKC2 above Returns. Although if I could experience Returns waggle-free, it'd tip it over DKC2.

 

[Huge Succeeded]

The game has an inverted difficulty mechanic, where the game becomes more difficult for people who are worse at it. (To a greater degree than the same should happen simply due to a difference in skill.)

???

It's a really good game, but it's not "The best ever" good. The original Donkey Kong Country series is most definitely better than these recent Retro games.

Nah, they're not. I mean, to each his own, but I don't even understand that opinion personally. Maybe it's because it hasn't been too long since I first played the DKC games (as opposed to having played them 20 years ago), but besides bonus stages and buddies I personally don't see what the original DKC trilogy does better than Tropical Freeze.

 

[Huge Succeeded]

edit double post

 

[TheMoon]

???

He means:

have buddy = easier; keep buddy (skilled player does not get hit) => stays easy
lose buddy = becomes harder, no back-up safety net (novice player struggles more, gets punished faster)

 

[phanphare]

The controls, mechanics and level design are sublime, but acquiring the over-abundant collectibles (especially if going for 100%) can be repetitive, tedious, and often jars with the otherwise fast style of play the game does so well. The bonus stages in particular are numerous and bland (although fun to find). For these reasons I prefer DKC1 and 2 over Tropical Freeze, both of which I legitimately enjoyed taking to 101% and 102% respectively. In fact I'd even say Donkey Kong Country Returns has the slight edge in level design, and is also the preferable title to TF.

But yeah, Tropical Freeze is a classic, no doubt. Looks and sounds amazing, too.

should be noted that you don't have to get all the puzzle pieces to 100% the game or unlock all the levels, just the K-O-N-G letters. so while the over-abundant collectibles complaint is valid it's not in regards to 100%'ing the game or seeing all the content.

Considering waggle lowered my love of DKC:R below DKC2 considerably, I'd love to finally play the complete package in DKC:TF. No waggle, supposed god-tier platforming and David fucking Wise

edit: And Yes, put me in the camp that puts DKC2 above Returns. Although if I could experience Returns waggle-free, it'd tip it over DKC2.

they need to port Returns to NX and have TF's control scheme. there's a great game in there but as of now it's either choose between 60fps + waggle or standard controls + 30fps on 3DS

 

[Huge Succeeded]

they need to port Returns to NX and have TF's control scheme. there's a great game in there but as of now it's either choose between 60fps + waggle or standard controls + 30fps on 3DS