That was supposed to be joke...
Donkey Kong Series
- Thread starter Metal
- Start date
That's just what i've dreamed of.
I finished Donkey Kong Country Returns today, and my feelings about this game are mixed. I like all the musical throwbacks to the original games, but the level design is as CM30 once said: too hectic for a DKC game. There are very few calm levels in this game, instead of the original DKC trilogy which had a perfect mix of exciting and calming. Don't get me wrong, I still love the new ideas like the silhouette levels and such, but the overall feel of the game, especially in the later worlds doesn't feel very DKC-like. There's one thing however that wasn't changed: the difficulty. I was also a bit disappointed that King. K. Rool didn't return. (But I don't know whether the character of King K. Rool is owned by Nintendo or not.) However I'm glad that the Animal Friends were added.
I think in DKCR the worlds definitely feel more alive than they do in the original trilogy. Because the levels are made with models and not sprites, you can really have the environments progress in ways the trilogy couldn't. The most you could hope for was the rain clearing up or the day becoming night. But the backgrounds would all be the same and repeat over and over. Same trees, same bushes. In DKCR every tree is unique... well uniquely placed.
Those new DKC games are spectacular in their own right and should be recommended. However, I don't consider them proper DKC games, and here's why...
1) They're constantly trying their hardest to wow your socks off and show off. It's downright distracting, confusing, and shameless at times.
2) They don't feel like DKC/DKL. They feel more like a new DK platformer series trying its best to outdo the old games with super fancy effects/gimmicks.
3) Instead of reviving the iconic, beloved characters/baddies, they prefer to invent new things that don't resemble the same style (like the checkpoint pig).
4) Very few throwbacks: only one playable animal buddy (Rambi), one or two Kong family members, etc.
5) Bonus rooms have far less variety, and become repetitive and boring.
6) They don't take place in the established DK Universe. The island/world is totally different, as are the inhabitants.
7) No water levels in the first game. A ridiculous amount of minecart/vehicle areas in both.
8) Tropical Freeze broke a major 'law', adding a Sonic the Hedgehog-style air meter underwater (Rare didn't even have one in DK64, that's how much of a thing it was)
9) They neutered Cranky (he's not even cranky anymore). It was absurdly unfaithful making him a playable hero. They destroyed his iconic role as a cantankerous, boastful heckler, turning him into a sweet, friendly old Scrooge McDuck wannabe (with zero personality). They could have used Kiddy, Tiny, Chunky, or Lanky!
I understand they're trying to reinvent DKC, but it had a very distinct style, world, characters, traditions, etc. which made it iconic. It wasn't constantly reinventing itself like Wario Land (apart from K. Rool's changing theme).
@Just a Wario fan Nintendo do own the rights to K. Rool and the Kremlings, however it's pretty clear Nintendo/Miyamoto are trying their best to phase them out.
1) They're constantly trying their hardest to wow your socks off and show off. It's downright distracting, confusing, and shameless at times.
2) They don't feel like DKC/DKL. They feel more like a new DK platformer series trying its best to outdo the old games with super fancy effects/gimmicks.
3) Instead of reviving the iconic, beloved characters/baddies, they prefer to invent new things that don't resemble the same style (like the checkpoint pig).
4) Very few throwbacks: only one playable animal buddy (Rambi), one or two Kong family members, etc.
5) Bonus rooms have far less variety, and become repetitive and boring.
6) They don't take place in the established DK Universe. The island/world is totally different, as are the inhabitants.
7) No water levels in the first game. A ridiculous amount of minecart/vehicle areas in both.
8) Tropical Freeze broke a major 'law', adding a Sonic the Hedgehog-style air meter underwater (Rare didn't even have one in DK64, that's how much of a thing it was)
9) They neutered Cranky (he's not even cranky anymore). It was absurdly unfaithful making him a playable hero. They destroyed his iconic role as a cantankerous, boastful heckler, turning him into a sweet, friendly old Scrooge McDuck wannabe (with zero personality). They could have used Kiddy, Tiny, Chunky, or Lanky!
I understand they're trying to reinvent DKC, but it had a very distinct style, world, characters, traditions, etc. which made it iconic. It wasn't constantly reinventing itself like Wario Land (apart from K. Rool's changing theme).
@Just a Wario fan Nintendo do own the rights to K. Rool and the Kremlings, however it's pretty clear Nintendo/Miyamoto are trying their best to phase them out.
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My main complaint of DKC Returns is that that the level design is so... not Donkey Kong with the over-the-top action sequences. Heck, sometimes it feels more as if you're watching Indiana Jones than playing Donkey Kong Country. And yes, there were too many minecart levels and they were hard AF and not even one proper underwater level while the original four games had them more than once per game.
And for King K. Rool, I hope he returns in a true ¨Returns¨ game along with the Kremlings. He's such a good villain. Why leave him out of the games?
Yeah this surprised me in the first level. I expected the trusty star barrel like in the original games. It surprises me that they didn't add such an recognisable feauture.
So true. Why the same challenge over and over? I wanted at least one ¨Bash the Baddies¨ challenge or ¨find the coin¨.
While I like the idea of a playable Cranky Kong, his personality should be left unchanged.
And for King K. Rool, I hope he returns in a true ¨Returns¨ game along with the Kremlings. He's such a good villain. Why leave him out of the games?
Well, the new games like to put action before atmosphere, and I really don't think Retro/Nintendo studied the flow and structural style of the old level designs.
A lot of their platforming gimmicks, mechanics, and ideas don't look like they're from a DKC game, more like they're taken from other platforming series with bits of barrel blasting sprinkled inbetween (to try and convince you that you're playing a DK Country game).
I spent countless hours of my childhood drawing my own DK level blueprints, so the differences with the new games are obvious. They're just not made for old fogeys like me.
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Yes we do but the original DKC games also had exciting levels that felt adventurous but were much calmer and only some were fast-paced and there was much more variety in the level types. Just watch a playtrough of DKC Returns and any of the four original Donkey Kong Country games. You will see the difference with ease. Returns strayed too far from the original games while it should have been a proper throwback to its roots.
I do like the more relaxed approach to the old game but hey its different devs and the wanna take the creative aspects over building an atmospheric world.
Zelda used to have Christian/ Catholic overtones but toned it down quite a bit. Mario used to be mute, now he "talks" alot, Hell Kirby used to just be okay until like 94 or 95 when he accended to a whole new level of quality.
So DK is more over the top but NSMB aside Nintendo doesn't forget but will always change things up. Hey when the DK arcade games became DKC it was a huge and unpredictable change.
I hope my point makes sense.
Zelda used to have Christian/ Catholic overtones but toned it down quite a bit. Mario used to be mute, now he "talks" alot, Hell Kirby used to just be okay until like 94 or 95 when he accended to a whole new level of quality.
So DK is more over the top but NSMB aside Nintendo doesn't forget but will always change things up. Hey when the DK arcade games became DKC it was a huge and unpredictable change.
I hope my point makes sense.
Differences between new and old DKC which isslowly becoming if not already an argument for which DKC games are better. Koopaul wants new, JAWF wants old. I'm a pussy who opts for the middle road.
How is DKCR not atmospheric? How is Tropical Freeze not atmospheric?
These games are TEN TIMES as atmospheric as the original trilogy.
I'm not saying they lack atmosphere but DKC Returns has more action and overal less of the calmth that defined in my opinion the original games. Don't know much about Tropical Freeze since I haven't played it yet, but it looks like an improvement over Returns, not only because of the water levels.
I also want to take a middle road but I still feel Returns hadn't enough of the classic elements. I like the new things like the Rocket Barrels and silhouette levels, but I didn't like the fact that King K. Rool and the other Kongs save for Cranky and Diddy. I have a feeling that Tropical Freeze is the ¨true¨ DK Country Returns here.