(Originally posted on November, 2014)
(2014, Wii U)
While Donkey Kong Country Returns (Wii, 3DS) was already a jaw dropping production in 2D platforming, Tropical Freeze feels like the game Retro REALLY wanted, amplifying everything which made their first attempt so great. Aside from swimming, there's not a huge change to the core game, nor does there need to be. You're simply given more of everything: more members of the Kong family to play as, more perspectives of the action and more personality in all the new islands.
The Country series has largely been about assailing the player with tons of unexpected traps, while offering plenty of extra lives as you figure out how to deal with each level. Sometimes though, a certain boss fight or area can be too much. Now the difficulty is more scalable thanks to the power-ups which have been brought back from DKCR on the 3DS. Addressing another criticism of the prequel, the Snomads are an excellent opposing force to the Kong family. Rather than the unengaging, possessed island life of the prequel, the Snomads will have you feeling like you’re really up against an invading army, much like the Kremlings of the older games.
The greatest feat of Tropical Freeze is how much more dramatic and creative the levels feel, topping what the prequel already excelled at. All solidly designed, each level attempts to be it’s own experience and stand out with a unique concept. Attempting not to spoil too much, a brief overview of the islands:
- Lost Mangroves: Dense with both vegetation and weathered machinery, the game refreshingly starts off with a type of locale not seen often enough in video games, showcasing Tropical Freeze’s new elements within the first few stages.
- Autumn Heights: A vague sense of evil strongly perfumed by vibrant colors and suspiciously uplifting music, the world's beautiful architecture and formidable sense of scope gave me a Earthworm Jim vibe on several occasions. My favorite world by far, it's imagery will even have Bohemian Grove conspiracy theorists jumping up and down!
- Bright Savannah: The power of nature is the theme to several of the more memorable stages. If you're still on the fence about buying this game, just youtube a "Grassland Groove" playthrough. Even though I already watched several runs of the level months before, actually playing it was even more amazing!
- Sea Breeze Cove: I'm not a huge fan of the swimming mechanics. DK's thrusts extend too long, which results in a lot of difficult to avoid hits. Unlike in Rare’s games, Retro doesn’t pretend that gorillas have gills, requiring you to (annoyingly) always be mindful of your air meter. Still, there's some beautiful scenery for ocean lovers and a very fun boss.
- Juicy Jungle: A silly but challenging world. Even though they’re enemies, the fat penguins looked so cute, awkwardly jumping on Jell-O, that I made an effort not to inflict any damage on them. The "story" of how the boss fight goes down had me laughing my ass off!
- Donkey Kong Island: Revisiting the location of the first game, the creativity goes down a bit in this (final?) world. The menacing, frozen wasteland is difficult, but drab compared to earlier parts of the game. At least the world contains a most impressive and dramatic "silhouette" stage.
And if you manage to unlock and beat the temple levels, there might be a little more to do!
The graphics, work and attention to detail put a certain other 2D Wii U platformer by Nintendo to shame. As described in my Returns review, so much effort was crafted into each level that you can ‘feel’ all the work that went into it. Besides the game simply being fun enough to replay, I’m compelled to revisit it just to be on the lookout for any details I likely missed.
The huge (4 hour+) soundtrack is incredible, sounding so clear and organic that you can almost hear the musician’s’ hands on the instruments. But for better or worse, it largely doesn't sound like traditional video game music. I found myself far more engaged by the quality in which each individual instrument was played than any of the tracks themselves. The soundtrack can be enjoyable even after a thousand listens, but lacks a distinctive, lingering punch.
Besides the swimming controls, my main complaint is that once again, the final boss is really annoying in that not only will you likely require dozens of tries to beat him, He's rarely vulnerable to attacks, so each fight will take quite a while. Even with a few issues, this is one the grandest productions of a 2D platformer available and overall enjoyable enough to be a must play for any fan of the genre. If you like the previous game(s), this latest banana quest will certainly bring you a grin as big as Donkey Kong’s.
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