It was my day off, so I decided to dig into a game that I bought during my trip to LVL UP: Donkey Kong Country Returns. I don’t think I’ve played a proper Donkey Kong Country before, and even if I did, I probably don’t remember. So, I ended up going into this experience blind with my sister. I dug out the ol’ Wii, replaced the batteries in the Wii remotes, and hopped right in.

Donkey Kong Country Returns was the start of a modern continuation of the Donkey Kong Country series, this time under the helm of Retro Studios. We played the initial Wii version, which I got because of convenient multiplayer. You may wonder, “hey, why not get Tropical Freeze on the Switch instead?” Well, Nintendo never marks down their stuff and I found this game for $15.

Donkey Kong’s island is being haunted by a bunch of mystical tiki guys that wants his bananas, and he won’t be having that. What about that King K. Rool fellow that’s apparently in the initial trilogy? Well, he’s not here. In fact, I’m pretty sure his appearance in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate was his first in decades. Also, Diddy Kong is here and he’s the second player character.

Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong have your standard platforming moves with a mix of their own stuff. They can roll into enemies and they can slam the ground, which can break objects and open up background stuff for items. If you’re Donkey Kong, the ground slams also stun nearby enemies. Diddy Kong is a more versatile character in that he can hover with his jetpack and can use a peanut gun to hit enemies at a distance; though, as far as I know, it’s no help in boss battles. You can also blow stuff, but it exclusively seems to just be used for finding secrets.

My main gripe with the game is the reliance on waggling the Wii remote. Waggling the Wii remote does so many functions that it’s impossible to not use it, like slamming the ground and doing rolls. It’s just really kinda annoying? While the “1” button already has a purpose (grabbing things), why not use the “B” button which rests behind the D-pad and is within easy reach to utilize these functions? This problem is presumably fixed for the Nintendo 3DS port and the sequel though, on account of more buttons being available. This control scheme can be considered an early work in progress for the franchise, but it’s still annoying.

We played through the first world and had a blast, and part of what defines the game is the strong visual design. Instead of some stock background parallax as you would expect from a lot of older platformers, the backgrounds seem handcrafted to give each level its own distinct feel.

At times, Donkey Kong Country Returns takes full advantage of the 2.5D style by blasting players into the background for platforming, with some sections having barrels blasting you around the different planes of the game world and background set pieces directly interacting with the level. It all feels very dynamic, especially in comparison to Nintendo’s own in-house 2.5D offering of New Super Mario Bros.

On the difficulty side, the game is pretty fair. It’s easy to get through, though it isn’t “handholdy.” The difficulty spiked when it came to the mine cart level, which becomes a test of reflexes where most things kill you in one hit. My personal favorite level out of the bunch was the world’s secret level, where everything is a silhouette set against a sunset. It visually looks cool and presents a challenge of trying to discern enemies against background objects.

There’s a bunch of collectibles to get throughout the levels, and I’m of mixed opinions on them. Sometimes, it’s something well hidden or a prize for doing some platforming off the beaten path, which is fun. Other times, it’s just “break or blow on this background object,” which feels arbitrary and more of a chore than an accomplishment. Drawing on my gamer knowledge, I just know that there’s going to be some kinda secret world if you get all the puzzle pieces in the game, and honestly, I’m not too excited about that.

My sister and I finished our run through of the game with the first boss. My main problem with most platformer bosses is that they’re usually super simple, at least until toward the end of the game. The first boss actually leaves a good impression for bosses to come, because the boss has multiple phases, with the last one being reasonably tough with tighter timing to actually hit its weak point. It was actually a bit hard to fight it on co-op mode because one of its moves is to eat a player, which stops it dead in its tracks and screws up the timing of the other player.

Donkey Kong Country Returns is, so far, a fun and fair time. To be honest, Retro Studios’ 2D platformer offering just seems to be better than Nintendo’s own 2D platformers. It has this dynamic feel that’s missing from the New Super Mario Bros games and it has the difficulty that the Kirby games lack. I’m looking forward to playing more of this with my sister and hope to get out a proper review when we eventually finish the game.

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