This was a slog to get through. Very difficult, at least for me. That doesn't make it bad, just something to keep in mind. Anyway, anything Retro Studios touches seems to turn into Gold. Thank God they were given the DKC series, because I can't imagine any other Studio having enough love and respect for the series, as well as talent to take on the daunting task to bring back such a beloved and revered series. Props to them, and props to Nintendo for having faith and trust in them to do it.
For starters before I say anything else, I want to get the worst out of the way. I know I just gave a ton of props to Retro Studios, but the game could've been perfect had the game not had it's decently big flaws. To me, the game peaks to early, mainly in the first 3-4 worlds. Also, some of the places you visit don't feel like DKC at all, especially whatever that factory World was, it felt so out of place. Something else that bothered me a bit, was how even the studio modernized the DKC series and did a great job, in many ways, the game felt a bit stuck in the past. Examples for what made me feel this way include, Hit detection is still a problem, checkpoints can be horrible, Boss Fights have are long and slow yet they have no checkpoints, Boss Fights also don't allow you to get your partner back which DKC2 did, Platforming with the sideways doesn't feel that good, and they still use the same plot of "DK loses his bananas" trope. These brought down the game from what I originally thought it to be, and It's just disappointing to me, knowing that all the good this game has, DKC Returns could've been the pinnacle of the series.
Alright, now the good. Let's start with the Levels and their designs. As I said, I believe the levels peaked to high in the earlier levels, but all the levels were fun and well designed. I don't feel the levels were as well Designed as DKC 2, Tropical Freeze, or even the original DKC, but that can be said for many games, and DKC Returns has stellar design in it's own right. I prefer the early level aesthetic, I loved the Pirates stuff. Anyway, the levels were fun and creative, and full of secrets. I do feel DKC2 did the secret mini games in the levels better, but they still did a good job.
The gameplay throughout the levels, though I don't like the Wii controllers on its side, I do think it was near perfect. I do wish they did a better job on the Rocket levels, I think those could've been the most fun in the game. Platforming was a little floaty, but felt nice and fun. Playing with Diddy Kong on your back was fun, but I'm not a fan of not being able to play as Diddy in single player. They make him into basically a power up, and you lose him to easily due to the difficulty. Also, the new mechanics with the Wii controller were ok, blowing on fire, pounding on the ground, etc, it doesn't feel very good to shake the Wii remote. I do think the gameplay was fun, just a few misses.
The Music was great, not as great as the SNES games in my opinion, but David Wise was on it, so it's pretty much guaranteed to be near perfect. If anyone else helped then they did a great job as well. I felt the music set a good atmosphere and was faithful to the DKC series. Nearly perfect job as usual.
The game looked fantastic. I loved the art style and the animations were unreal. It's seriously impressive what they were able to do in making the animations look so great. I do feel DK looked a bit weird in the Cutscenes, but it's fine, he's always looked a little weird. I also loved the look of the world maps, such great details in the environments. Also phenomenal details in all the levels. Can't say enough, it continues the streak of the DKC games looking fantastic.
I mentioned it already, but I do wish the plot was just a little more interesting than the "DK loses his bananas" trope. The story was great, as the adventure you go on is pretty awesome and full of memorable moments. However I do wish DK had some more serious motivation. It's whatever though, no one plays these games for the plot.
Alright, I have my complaints with the game, some major some minor. Complaints the unfortunately bring the game down for me. However, the score is still high. That should tell you, that even with it's flaws, it's a must play for anyone who likes to play videogames, and a must have for Wii owners. The Music, The Adventure, The Levels, The Art Style, The Platforming, it all culminates into a great game, and an impossible continuation of the DKC series. I hope everyday that we'll get a new DK game, one for just himself. These are some of my favorite games, and I loved playing DKC Returns. As I already said, if you like DKC games and/or video games in general, play this game.
Score: 4.5/5
Letter Grade: A
For starters before I say anything else, I want to get the worst out of the way. I know I just gave a ton of props to Retro Studios, but the game could've been perfect had the game not had it's decently big flaws. To me, the game peaks to early, mainly in the first 3-4 worlds. Also, some of the places you visit don't feel like DKC at all, especially whatever that factory World was, it felt so out of place. Something else that bothered me a bit, was how even the studio modernized the DKC series and did a great job, in many ways, the game felt a bit stuck in the past. Examples for what made me feel this way include, Hit detection is still a problem, checkpoints can be horrible, Boss Fights have are long and slow yet they have no checkpoints, Boss Fights also don't allow you to get your partner back which DKC2 did, Platforming with the sideways doesn't feel that good, and they still use the same plot of "DK loses his bananas" trope. These brought down the game from what I originally thought it to be, and It's just disappointing to me, knowing that all the good this game has, DKC Returns could've been the pinnacle of the series.
Alright, now the good. Let's start with the Levels and their designs. As I said, I believe the levels peaked to high in the earlier levels, but all the levels were fun and well designed. I don't feel the levels were as well Designed as DKC 2, Tropical Freeze, or even the original DKC, but that can be said for many games, and DKC Returns has stellar design in it's own right. I prefer the early level aesthetic, I loved the Pirates stuff. Anyway, the levels were fun and creative, and full of secrets. I do feel DKC2 did the secret mini games in the levels better, but they still did a good job.
The gameplay throughout the levels, though I don't like the Wii controllers on its side, I do think it was near perfect. I do wish they did a better job on the Rocket levels, I think those could've been the most fun in the game. Platforming was a little floaty, but felt nice and fun. Playing with Diddy Kong on your back was fun, but I'm not a fan of not being able to play as Diddy in single player. They make him into basically a power up, and you lose him to easily due to the difficulty. Also, the new mechanics with the Wii controller were ok, blowing on fire, pounding on the ground, etc, it doesn't feel very good to shake the Wii remote. I do think the gameplay was fun, just a few misses.
The Music was great, not as great as the SNES games in my opinion, but David Wise was on it, so it's pretty much guaranteed to be near perfect. If anyone else helped then they did a great job as well. I felt the music set a good atmosphere and was faithful to the DKC series. Nearly perfect job as usual.
The game looked fantastic. I loved the art style and the animations were unreal. It's seriously impressive what they were able to do in making the animations look so great. I do feel DK looked a bit weird in the Cutscenes, but it's fine, he's always looked a little weird. I also loved the look of the world maps, such great details in the environments. Also phenomenal details in all the levels. Can't say enough, it continues the streak of the DKC games looking fantastic.
I mentioned it already, but I do wish the plot was just a little more interesting than the "DK loses his bananas" trope. The story was great, as the adventure you go on is pretty awesome and full of memorable moments. However I do wish DK had some more serious motivation. It's whatever though, no one plays these games for the plot.
Alright, I have my complaints with the game, some major some minor. Complaints the unfortunately bring the game down for me. However, the score is still high. That should tell you, that even with it's flaws, it's a must play for anyone who likes to play videogames, and a must have for Wii owners. The Music, The Adventure, The Levels, The Art Style, The Platforming, it all culminates into a great game, and an impossible continuation of the DKC series. I hope everyday that we'll get a new DK game, one for just himself. These are some of my favorite games, and I loved playing DKC Returns. As I already said, if you like DKC games and/or video games in general, play this game.
Score: 4.5/5
Letter Grade: A