Customer Reviews

Donkey Kong Country Returns

5 star:		(219)
4 star:		(68)
3 star:		(17)
2 star:		(10)
1 star:		(10)

 

 

I don't normally write a review before I've beaten a game but after several hours of play I've got to say Donkey Kong Country Returns is grand. I've been playing it since the midnight release. Where do I start? It's like slipping on an old glove. I didn't even have to read the manual. The graphics are gorgeous, the controls are great and for once the motion controls didn't feel like a gimmicky addition. Rare just got owned!

Many hours of my misspent youth involved playing Donkey Kong Country on the SNES, whether alone or with a friend, I remember playing that silly Mine Cart Madness level until I had it memorized. All I can say is the people at Retro Studios must've loved DKC like many of us because they just knocked it out of the park with this one. They took everything I loved about the first DKC; barrel craziness, lots of enemies, easy and accurate controls, and beautiful scenery; and magnified these things by a factor of 100. This is just the kind of sequel I've been waiting for, for years. Retro Studios didn't reinvent the wheel, they duplicated and polished the wheels and then stuck it on a Ferrari. Let's break it down shall we?

Story
Who cares it's DK! No seriously though, gone are the kremlins, now we're up against this mask thing a-la Crash Bandicoot. This mask thing steals your bananas, and now DK has to get them back... Donkey Kong Style. The classic DK humor is here, and the cut scenes have that DKC feel to them. Which are very well done by the way.

Controls
The controls are great for a platformer. I seriously had no problem slipping right in. They are tight and responsive. The motion controls are easy to learn, and actually make sense. For instance to do DK's trademark ground pound is just a matter of shaking the Wii Remote and Nunchuck up and down, in - you guessed it - a slapping type motion. Plus they give you multiple options for controls. (No GameCube controller though.)

Graphics
Beautiful. Seriously. Bright and vibrant background with colorful and original enemies. DK and Diddy have never looked better. The detail in the respective character animations is awesome. The Wii is definitely getting put through some paces with this game. Everything is crisp and sharp. Nothing to complain about at all.

Music/Sound
Yeah, those rocking jungle beats are back. Remixed in all of their glorious detail. I let it set on the start menu for a few minutes and just rocked out. XD The sounds also are very good. DK's deep roar and chest beating sound great, and Diddy's little squeaks and enemy deaths are clear and are recreated well.

Levels
You start out in the jungle just like the original DKC, except on steroids. You also have an over world view of the island also like DKC. But these aren't just clones. Yes the barrels are here, and the cool secrets that were scattered around all over DKC make their appearance too. Which was really cool. (That's another thing Retro Studios nailed on the head. All of the secrets.)
You have the traditional K-O-N-G letter finding, as well as puzzle pieces which unlock what seems to be some really cool stuff, coins (like DKC 2 and 3) which you can use to purchase alternative paths among other stuff, bunches of bananas. The list goes on. But it's all there for you to find on purpose or by accident. (Don't tell me that my friends and I are the only ones who used to swap secret locations around as though they were status symbols?) Oh and tons more Mine Cart levels. There's one on the first world even. Thank you Retro!
The checkpoints make their way back here too. That's right, just like in the old days. You die before the checkpoint you go back and restart the level. I smiled a little inside.

One weird thing though. I was the only one at Wally World who showed up at Midnight to get this. Surely I can't be the only one who was excited enough to drive 20+ miles to get it. It just shocked me because I really expected a long line. It was so worth it though. I'm not embarrassed to say I own a Wii now XD.
Any way, enough nostalgic gushing. If you're a DKC fan (forget that horrible N64 thing) this really is a must own. No joke. Maybe now I can finally retire my SNES cart... Nah. XD

I always make sure I play a game all the way through before a leave a review about it since many games grow on me over time, and some games are very exciting for a week until you realize the replay value is non existent. Many of the reviews for this game and others are given on release day or the next day! Leaving a hasty assessment of the game. It was a difficult journey but I have finally completed the game and can give it a fair and honest review. To get 2 things out of the way before I start the review I want to say that this review is coming from a game developer and very looooong time fan of the Donkey Kong Country series. Needless to say I was extremely excited when I heard the announcement of this title at E3 and it became my most anticipated game of the year. I was also very pleased to hear that the game would be developed by retro studios who are held in very high regard with their Metroid prime series. But has the Return been a good one?

For the most part.....Yes.

The best part of the game for me was retro studios decision to keep the same difficulty found in the original games. THE GAME IS TOUGH! Collecting every puzzle piece and KONG letters for the game is a daunting, but very enjoyable task! Is that not hard enough for you? Try and get a gold medal on every level in Time Attack! Time attack is a spped run mode that will make the most hardcore of players squeeze the controller with frustration. This will keep you coming back for more for a very long time.
It is difficult for me to determine if this game will be too hard and difficult for the younger or casual gamer, But I think its safe to say much fun can still be had here from the younger or casual gamer just trying to play through the levels.

The Graphics and art style for this game is top notch (which is to be expected from retro studios) I would say a step above New Super Mario Bros which this game takes heavy influence from. That being said I dont get the nostalgia of the original donkey kong country games when I play this game. But yet again I wasnt expecting that to happen with this game. Dont get me wrong, the graphics and aesthetic are great but when the original donkey kong country games came out the visuals were revolutionary! Still to this day nothing matches the looks of that game, and I can give this game a free pass on that topic.

The game also gets increasingly fun as you progress through the game, the level design and level interaction are great! It is also good to see a return of mine carts and even Rambi!

Now on to some of the cons of the game.

Co-op is horrible. I never expected it to be any good especially since I heard it would be very similar to New Super Mario Bros. But Kirbys Epic Yarn gave me hope since the co-op in that game works great and is fun and not aggravating. Sadly to say the co-op in this game is nothing but frustrating and pointless. Me and my wife much rather play one player and take turns everytime we die or get to a checkpoint. This is the most critical aspect of the game for me especially since the 2 player mode in the original games worked Perfectly! The ability to switch characters on demand with select allowed you to work with each others abilities. I dont mind nintendo wanting to add these new co-op modes to there games, but they should really add a CLASSIC 2 player mode as well and the player can choose for themselves. Like mentioned earlier, the only game that got this right was Kirbys Epic Yarn.

The decision to give the game motion controls without the choice of opting out of them was also a very poor decision. This has been one of the most heated debates with the game. I dont believe this totally breaks the game like some reviewers think but I also dont think it makes it better. It is MUCH easier to perform a roll with push of the button then a control waggle. Its simply not as responsive. The option to have full classic controller support would have been an easy and welcome inclusion to the game (hint hint for game sequel) And for those who fully support the waggle roll for this game, have you tried completing the time attack levels using the roll? to obtain a gold you must roll almost the entire level leaving you with very sore and awkward gameplay.

My final cons are with the bonus levels and characters. The bonus barrel levels are extremely repetitive. They cycle through the same 4 or five throughout the entire game.
Its also unfortunate that rambi is the only animal friend in the game which you can ride. One of the best things about the originals are the variety of animal friends that can help you on your way. This game only has one. And he doesnt appear very often.
Both of these flaws are obvious time restraints from the developer, if this game wasnt trying to meet a christmas release I believe most of these problems would have been taken care of, and we would have been left with a near perfect game.

Now after all that being said the game is still a FANTASTIC gaming experience. Even though the flaws are many, the pros are great as well. I am very glad for this game purchase and I will be playing it for years to come. I really hope Nintendo is planning on releasing a sequel to this game!

This is a quick review without my nostalgia goggles:

Pros:

+ Amazing gameplay: The controls are really smooth and although you are only limited to the "wii remote" and "with nunchuck" controls, the game plays flawlessly, specially with the nunchuck.
+ Incredible level design: Most levels are very clever, they are a step ahead of you and I always liked that, specially coming from a DK game. I really love the fact that this element was left intact.
+ Challenging: Veteran gamers of DK games will not be disappointed. The game packs a somewhat high difficulty almost similar to the originals. However, you now have to get hit twice before you die (or 4 times if you have Diddy). And even with this new "life system" the game will manage to make you lose. Casual gamers should not get scared though, the game offers a vast amount of extra lives and an item that increases the amount of hits DK can receive. One warning though, stay away from the extra levels located almost at the end of some worlds. These levels are really challenging.
+ Long levels: On average, I think every level last around 5 to 8 minutes or probably even more. It's easy lose track of time while playing this game. Prepare to lose a whole week and probably even more with this game.
+ Great sound: Old tunes are back and will put a huge smile in your face once you heard how well remixed they are. It also contains some new tunes that are alright, but not as catchy as the classic DK tunes. These new tunes also try to capture the essence and style of older DK sounds and they succeeded in doing so.
+ High replay value: Collecting simple things has been a major factor in DK games and this game is no exception to the rule (except for the 64 version which took collecting stuff to a whole new level). Anyways, any true gamer will play this game many times just to get that 101% completition. One thing I like is that they now emphasize the importance of collecting the K O N G letters. Aside from a life, you get something else which I won't spoil. In older DK games they would just give you a life and since that was their only purpose, in many levels there were left unnoticed.

Cons

- DK's new ability: I wonder who thought that blowing things was a great idea... Yes, that's right, DK can now blow plants and enemies that are on fire. It's kinda lame since DK it's all about stomping and smashing. Who has time to blow stuff when you can blow up stuff?
- Forced motion control: The game feels really good with the wii remote and nunchuck but I really wanted to play this game with the classic controller.
- Diddy as a sidekick: Once you get him, he jumps on your back and helps you hover if you hold the jump button. However, he will always stay there, you cannot control him like you used to in the first DK. He is also very small now.
- Lame Boss fights. These new bosses take the word "useless" to a whole new level.

The negative aspects of the game are easily overshadowed by the amazingness of the game. Veterans of DK as well as newcomers to the series will find a place in this game. I can easily find myself revisiting this game many times in the future, just like I revisit the DKC series on the SNES.

Now, let me put my nostalgia goggles for a second. These aspects do not interfere with the rating of the game. These are solely my opinion and how the game compares to older installments.

Pros

+ The gameplay was well translated from 2D to 3D. I was worried the game would flop because 3D often do not feel as well as their 2D counterparts.
+ Old Donkey Kong elements are back, like Rambi, coin collecting, the K O N G letters on every level, and balloon lives.
+ The remixed music of older tunes was my favorite aspect of all. Although the levels feel fresh and new, the music gives them a familiar feeling.

Cons

- NO KREMLINGS. WHYYYYYYY!? I loved these guys to death and I think it was a huge mistake in taking them away. Sure, the tikis are cool and all, but beating a kremling felt better than bashing a tiki drum... Also, the kremlings had a variety of enemies while the tikis feel pretty much like the same enemy.
- No King K. Rool! ALL MY RAGE! Imagine playing a Mario Bros game where Bowser is not your main enemy! BLASPHEMY!
- The lack of animal friends is disgusting.
- The levels do not have the same charm of the originals. I don't know why but the textures and places do not form the same ambiance that the classic games had. Not a really big factor considering how the design had to be changed.
- The DK coin in every level was replaced by puzzle pieces (much like Banjo's jigies). I really liked the DK coin. At the end of the level, the pieces are put together to form a coin... of a fruit. Of all things it had to be a fruit? Really? Yes, I am complaining that this coin was not the DK coin.

For starters, this is a completely new/different game. You will find it familiar at places (levels, etc) but instead of the pre-rendered backgrounds, everything is rendered in full 3D. The controls are not bad, I actually like the way they're set up with the Wii and Nun-Chuck. I haven't tried yet, but I suppose if the Classic Controller is compatible with this game, then it'll make it that much more fun to play!

One thing I have to say though, I was disappointed with how limited the co-op is. If you're playing single player, you will always be in control of Donkey Kong. If you bring in a second player for co-op, they will always be in control of Diddy. While some might not have an issue with this, I liked being able to switch between them in each level. Keep in mind that for the single player mode, Diddy serves merely as character support, for example when you jump as DK and you get the boost from Diddy's jet pack.

The other minor complaint I had was that only Rambi and Squawks were present. I wanted to see Enguarde the Swordfish and at least Squitter the spider. The Snake would've been cool, too. But we've only got the two I mentioned.

Another thing I was INITIALLY disappointed with was the different roster of Baddies. I was expecting the humanoid crocodillian Kritters, but found them all to be missing. There is a new set of villains, which does take the game in a new direction. I don't want to spoil anything (though don't think I actually am), but K. Roll is absent from the game as well. It explains why the baddies are different, and leave room for brand new content.

Speaking of brand new content... The boss battles are EPIC! They're not the simple "jump on Gnawty's head 5 times and he dies" approach from the original game. They are very involved, and actually make the co-op shine when you're really working together to beat the boss.

Another positive is the Silhouette levels! Those were awesome! The soundtrack is excellent, the graphics are excellent (to the Wii's standards, of course), and the plot is very interesting.

One other note I thought I should add... the game is SURPRISINGLY CHALLENGING! I can tell you I am stuck right now on a part of the game that, although I could just use the Auto-Play to complete the level with, I would just rather complete myself. Oh yeah, that's another feature included in the game. If a level is too hard and you just can't complete it, you'll be given an option to "Auto-Play" the level, kind of like on the more recent Super Mario games. This is great because the game is truly challenging, and you will feel very tempted to use that feature at least once in the game.

Now, let's not forget the MINE CART levels! If there was one thing missing from DKC 2 and 3 it was the mine card levels. Sure, DK2 had the Roller Coaster Levels, but those weren't the same. Let's just say they are BACK and the wait was WELL WORTH IT!!! The Mine Cart level(s) are amazingly well put together, and yet feel very familiar. It's nice playing a game that brings you back to your childhood memories, while still surprising and challenging you at every step of the way. It makes for a fun experience, whether you're playing solo or co-op, and actually gives the game some re-playability value.

My tips are: the first time around, don't worry about collecting every single item in the game, or doing the silly "Blow" move every place possible. It will take away from the story, and the fun of the game. The last thing you want to do in an action platformer is to grind. So just play through normally, if you don't get all the bananas, puzzle pieces (banjo kazooie reference?), or K-O-N-G letters, it's OKAY. It's not the end of the world, and if anything, it'll give you an excuse to play the game all over again. Also, skip the nun-chuck. It really doesn't make the controls easier, if anything it just over complicates them a little. Also, if you're playing co-op, skip it the first time around. It's better to have the co-op's help when you're going back to older levels trying to collect all the pieces.. And you'll find that some pieces you absolutely need the co-op to get (at least you'll need both monkeys).

Overall, this is an excellent game that you will most likely play through at least twice, or maybe more depending how nostalgic you are for the series.

I will not go into a long review of the game, as there are plenty here already. I will say that this is most definitely another great classic remake for the Wii. This is exactly why I bought a Wii. I love the old Nintendo games and here is yet another of my favorites. I think that they did a great job in recapturing Donkey Kong Country. The game play is similar to the original, with a few added bonuses. The graphics are great. And the Wiimote controls are actually very well done. I would highly recommend this game to Donkey Kong Country fans!!

I recieved this game for christmas, but hadn't planned on buying it due to my lack of interest despite being a veteran gamer who mastered the original DKC trilogy on SNES. When I popped it in and started playing, I thought "Hey this is pretty good. Maybe everyone was right about this being a great game."

However by the fourth level, my opinion had changed. This game seems good at first, but there are several things that weigh it down. First, you can only control Donkey Kong. In the original trilogy you could switch characters at anytime during gameplay. Not here. Diddy can only be played in a two player game. In one player mode he stays on Donkey's back and uses his jetpack to extend your jumping distance. Second, where are all the animal buddies?! The only one in the game is Rambi and he only appears in about FIVE stages in the whole game! What an epic letdown! The levels also don't feel very different from each other besides the backgrounds. After a while it feels like you're playing the same levels over and over which is boring.

My biggest gripe with this game is the difficulty. Many people have said in their reviews that this game is not that tough to beat. I don't know what they were playing, but I found this game to be extremely hard (at times I wanted to break my controller in frustration). The rocket barrel levels were absolutley horrible! It's so easy to crash into something and one hit kills you instantly! Whoever designed those levels and thought they would be a great idea needs to have their head examined.

The unlockables also were very disappointing. After countless deaths and collecting all the letters and puzzle pieces, I expected some interesting things unlocked on the menu, but no such luck. All you get are a bunch of unintersting pictures, music, and dioramas. After what I went through to get 100%, I felt like I had wasted my time (and screw Time Attack and Mirror Mode, I've tortured myself enough).

This game was fun at first, but now it just feels repetitive and frustrating. It isn't a bad game, but I felt it had a lot more potential and could have been a lot better.

First and foremost, this is a really beautiful game. I'm so glad that not every game has to be a 3D rompfest through a forest, that 2D platformers seem to be making a comeback, like the new super mario brothers games. They did an excellent job with this one. All of the levels are diverse, each being stylistically different, and each having a unique challenge to it (such as riding a rocket barrel that cannot stop, or riding on the back of a whale that periodically dives under water.) The controls are fairly intuitive too, although I think the "blowing" was a huge mistake on the level of DS games that make you use the microphone. All in all, though, the game is very fun. The game captures the flavor of the original donkey kong games without copying them, although I wish the sense of whimsy was a little bit higher. I think the game takes itself more seriously as a game (indeed, it is much harder than the previous games) than the earlier ones, which I think had a bit more humor (such as in DK3 when Ellie the elephant spent the entire level stampeding through because she was scared of some rats.)
However, I have two serious gripes about the game. The most serious one to me is being locked in as playing donkey. In the previous games you could switch off between the two main characters. This wasn't just an aesthetic choice. Donkey was slow and lumbering, but very powerful. Diddy was small, quick, and agile. Dixie was slower than Diddy, but she could use her hair to break her fall. Throughout the earlier games you could constantly switch back and forth between them at will to use their unique talents, and in many places you had to to get hidden goodies. I don't like being forced to use Donkey when Diddy was always my player of choice.
The second is the lack of animal friends. Squawks is no longer playable, merely chiming in to tell you when something is hidden. Squitter, Ellie, Enguarde, and Rattly are gone. Rambi is the only one remaining, and while he is awesome, he is largely absent. In a sequel, I would like to see both points adjusted.
I also think the new enemies are lame in comparison to the Kremlings.
All in all, however, I think it's a worthy nephew to the original trilogy.

Pre-ordered from Amazon, and I very much am enjoying it over all. It is a nice nostalgia trip and a pretty good stand alone game all by itself. I've only had time to go through the first 1/3 or so but will happily tackle the rest.

Most people have already covered the important bits, so I'll add a few of my own based on comparing the new game with the old SNES days:

Good:
-Old style game play - most of the gameplay is highly reminiscent of the old game. You'll find yourself picking it up really fast and smiling at the old memories.
-Inventive new game dynamics - there is a lot of new stuff. Many of the levels have unique dynamics (a level where you are running from an Octopus, one with giant waves that crash down) as well as incorporating some of the fun old dynamics from older games (rotating platforms, lots of verticle climbing (grass instead of ropes mostly). Seems like the developers had fun coming up with new stuff.
-Nostalgia levels - some levels just scream "look! I'm supposed to remind you of a level from the old game!" The first level is especially true. It's called jungle hijinx. It's not entirely the same but has much of the same landscape and enemy placement. You can go back in the banana cave and back up to Donkey Kong's hut for bonuses just like in the original.
-Lots of stuff to collect - moreso than the old games even. I don't know if there's a percentage tracker for completionists though...I haven't seen it yet.
-Lives = candy - depending on your viewpoint this might be bad instead of good, but this game gives away free lives right and left. You will probably never run out. Clearly they decided to make it so that you would not be worrying about it much...just enjoying the game and having opportunity to do the levels as many times as you need to complete them.
-Heart meter - on the old game if you hit something you lost your character (Donkey or Diddy or the girl or the baby depending on which game). In this one both of your characters have two hearts. So you keep them around longer. The game sort of depends on it. I've found a couple of situations where it's incredibly difficult if you cant take at least one hit (but it's always possible if you want to try).
-"Super Kong" - I'm not really a fan, but if you fail hard enough, you get the option to watch super kong do the level (basically it just shows you a level run through) and then the level is complete and you can move on. I guess they didn't want anyone getting stuck. I'm ambivalent about this one. I checked it out but have vowed not to do it again. With all the other things mentioned, it's almost like they're afraid of making the game too challenging. I WANT to spend time being frustrated and thinking the game is hard...that's how you get that glowing sense of achievement when you DO manage to do it.
-Boss levels - they seem more involved and fun than in the old games to me. The creatures you fight are interesting, sometimes even cute and they're fun to take on in their different incarnations.

Bad:
-Controller: there are two options - wiimote and nunchuck or just holding the wiimote sideways. I found the first to be okay, but didn't like it since the controls are really designed to be simple and using both just feels like its not necessary. The wiimote alone feels a lot more intuitive if you've played the old games. You hold it sideways like in some of the Mario games for wii (Paper Mario, New Super Mario). This is not the best since it only has 2 buttons on the right hand side instead of 4 like the SNES controller so some of the old functions are assigned off to "shaking the wiimote." Also the d-pad on the new wiimote is a lot smaller and more squared off so it makes your thumb hurt pretty fast if you don't have the old Nintendo (original system) calluses still in place. The other bad thing is that the game refuses to acknowledge the wii classic controller. I don't know why not...it would be nice to play with. My understanding is that if you purchase the original games from the wiiware store, you can use it with them. There is no reason why this game shouldn't support it.
-Shaking the controller - you have to shake it a lot to do things like blow (new to this game), pound the ground, roll and so forth. I don't play with a wiiplus wiimote, but with the old style the shaking doesn't always recognize if you have to do it multiple times in a row which can lead to some unhappy deaths.
-Character respawning - the old games did a good job of recognizing when you'd already killed enemies. This time around they will almost always come back if you go so much as two screenswidth away and come back. It's minor, but still pretty annoying since it seems like the wii should have so much more capability to remember stuff like this.
-Kremlings/Plot - there is a new plot involving these tikihead things stealing the bananas (instead of Kremlings). That's okay I guess (even if the new ones look kind of...stupid and boring) but most of the enemies are just regular animals and whatnot, not the tikis. Makes it feel like you're mostly just going for a jungle stroll instead of fighting an evil Tiki/Kremling empire like in the original game.
-Pigs - what is up with the pigs? They are in every level (halfway points and so forth).
-Lack of old characters - most of the old characters are missing. Kranky runs the store and also fills his old position of giving random advice. In the store you can buy an additional level for each world, squawks (who points out where stuff is in the levels by squawking from the left hand corner of the screen but not doing much else), a couple of other bonuses for defeating hard levels, and extra lives. Rambi is around every now and then. But other than that, none of the old characters seem to have made the jump.
-Lack of barrels. The old game relied HEAVILY on barrels. I miss them. Now they are there, but you almost never use them and when they are there you almost never need them anyway (maybe just for busting open a bonus level or something).
-Diddy Kong - this is my NUMBER ONE complaint. In single player mode, he really isn't playable. When you get him he's just an extra buff that sits on your back and gives you a jetpack ability (for long range jumping) plus extra health (he has 2 hearts as well as your two hearts). This sucks...in the old days it was really fun that both characters had different abilities...made the game completely different depending on which you have.
-Looking around- the screen is FIRMLY locked on Donkey Kong. In the old games if there was something interesting below you, you could crouch down and the screen would scroll down a bit to see it. Same with looking up as far as I remember. You can't do that anymore. Which sucks...there's a lot of stuff that you just barely see below you sometimes. It'd be nice to look down and I keep finding myself trying.
-Wii Update-when I first popped in the game, it asked me to update my wii before playing it (pretty sure it was specific to the game since it didn't show up the way normal updates do). I don't know what the update consists of, but I can see this being a problem for some if you have modified your Wii. If you have hacks, you may have to choose between losing your hacks and possibly your wii or not playing the game. That's unfortunate.

Might edit this review with more stuff as I find it, but that's it for now.

When my wife and I saw previews for this game, we both decided together immediately that we would get it. We both had hyper levels of nostalgia for the classic trilogy of Donkey Kong Country games on the SNES, and when I saw that Retro studios, the geniuses behind the best Metroid games in the franchise (Metroid Prime Trilogy Collector's Edition, for those unacquainted), I knew this sequel/reboot would be of the highest quality.

We were not disappointed.

We had an absolute blast playing together through each level to the end barrel, collecting red ballons, banana coins, and literally hundreds and hundreds of bananas along the way. We jumped around on evil sentient tiki torches, ran away from mountains of ants, and pounded on weird yet ridiculously fun bosses ranging from toad-armadillo-rhino hybrids, to a chicken operating a mech. All the while, we laughed, we fought, we screamed at the television, and we high fived when we actually got through a particularly difficult patch. This is not an easy game by any stretch of the imagination. In fact, it is one of the most challenging games I have ever attempted to play in my life. Oh, it starts out easy enough, but by the fourth world, every level will leave you breathless and your adrenal gland aged at least a couple more years. Playing it on co-op, as me and my wife did, makes it even harder as you have to be almost one minded in jumping at the same time in rapid succession across platforms that collapse within one or two seconds of landing on them. We didn't have too much of a problem though, and it was made all the funner for it. Who would have thought Donkey Kong would be awesome for husband-wife bonding? Plus, if a sequence is too difficult OR requires you to be too precise for two players to get through, the second player as Diddy can jump on DK's back and let player one get through that rough area. It's a brilliant, yet simple, design choice on Retro's part. This game has a ton of replay value as well, as you can't see everything this game has to offer without all the KONG letters and puzzle pieces. Heck, we were even playing optional levels, just to experience the greatness that is DKCR in every way we could.

Obviously, I am smitten with DKCR's gameplay, its strongest suit, but is there anything else that is great about it? The answer is a resounding YES! The graphics are fantastic by any system's standards. The backgrounds are full of depth and amazing originality. Because of this advancement in graphical technology, Retro could do things unheard of in the day's of DKC 1-3. For instance, some of the barrel shooting sequence send you in full 3-D trajectories and may land you way off in one of the background courses, only to send you crashing through giant stone totem poles to get you back to the main ground. Some levels also feature foregrounds being only black silhouettes with the only color being DK's tie and Diddy's hat and shirt. These levels were very, very unique and visually stunning. The animations are fantastic in every way, as well as the animal designs. The music is a perfect blend of nostalgic tunes and very cool new tunes that resonate with surprisingly deep atmosphere. I was very impressed.

All-in-all, Donkey Kong Country Returns is a brilliant and triumphant return to platform for DK, who has spent too long being cameos in Super Smash games and Mario Kart or starring in bizarre titles like Jungle Beat. After playing this, I can't help but wonder what took the big guy so long to come back, but boy am I glad he did! My wife and I can't recommend this game enough! BUY IT! PLAY IT! LOVE IT!

I'm a very casual gamer. I only buy a game or two a year, play it for a couple hours, then I'm done. I bought Donkey Kong Country Wii today because I loved the previous installments of the series, and expected something larger than life, interactive, and fun. Thankfully I wasn't disappointed. There are many things that have made the DKC series so appealing through the years, not the least of which is that they're all simply FUN without taking the player on a long and complicated quest. That same spirit is in every scene of this game- DK slams his way into every level in search of bananas and evil baddies to do away with, and that's about it (there are other elements, like puzzle pieces and balloons, but they aren't necessary enough to the game to the point of you having to pounce on every mole hill trying to root them out). The game takes full advantage of the Wii technology- the levels are gorgeous to look at, exploding in color, sound, and humor- this is one deserted island you want to move to. The levels are mostly easy with just enough challenge and hidden tchotchkes for days and days of enjoyable playing. Full recommendation for all Wii owners.