Donkey Kong Country Returns

When Donkey Kong released for arcade in 1981, it was all the rage and it marked Nintendo on the video game map. After disappointing sequels, Donkey Kong fell in the shadows of his enemy Jump Man, later dubbed Mario. During the 16-bit console war, Nintendo lost the upper hand when Sega released the Genesis and their new mascot, Sonic the Hedgehog. Out of desperation, Nintendo spilled all its fate into Rareware's hands. The result was one of the best games to have ever been released: Donkey Kong Country.

The game had been super successful and it spawned two sequels and a 3D DK game called Donkey Kong 64. But ever since then, Donkey Kong has just been making appearances in games like Mario Kart, Mario Party, and Super Smash Bros. and had a Nintendo Gamecube release called Donkey Kong Jungle Beat, but it wasn't very successful. Now DK hasn't had a console release since then, until now. This is Donkey Kong Country Returns.

For many years, Mario has been living in the highlight all the while Donkey Kong gets left behind. I was one of the many people to cheer when I saw the E3 trailer of this game, and seeing the company who produced this game only made me the more giddy. Retro Studios returns after finishing the Metroid Prime Trilogy to bring us Donkey Kong back. So does the game live up to its hype? Does it play well?

The story of Donkey Kong Country Returns is pretty simple, a clan of Tiki People rise from a volcano in Donkey Kong Island, hypnotize the local animals and steal Donkey Kong's banana horde. After finding that his bananas are gone, he and Diddy Kong set out to get them back. The story is simple but that wasn't the hook for this game, its all about the levels and the gameplay.

With Donkey Kong Country Returns you can either use the Wii Remote held sideways or you can use the Wii Remote and Nunchuck; since I prefer the Wii Remote sideways I'll explain the controls with that control scheme. The controls of this game are simple, you jump with the 2 button, you grab things with the 1 button, move with the control pad, and do Ground Pounds, Blow, and Roll by shaking the controller. When I read reviews for this game, many people criticized the motion controls and said that they were unreliable and dodgy, but I found them pretty good. You shake the remote while standing still to Ground Pound, you crouch and shake the remote to blow at dandelions, and you shake the remote while moving to do a roll. They work well and everything is tight and controllable.

Now, the gameplay, how is it? Well, to put it in small words: it is simply amazing. The levels in this game are what make up the gameplay. Things in the background, like giant squids and continuous waves, attack and interact in the plane that you're in. There are also times where you might get blasted into the background and the game continues there. It's simply amazing how they have all this and still have secret rooms to look for. For, in this game, you must find the four KONG letters and puzzle pieces in each level. These are hard to do later on, for they are well hidden and well placed in times when you're in a hurry. Diddy Kong also adds to the gameplay, not only does he give you two more hearts while playing but when he's with you, he allows you to hover after a jump using his jet pack.

At first I wanted to experience how hard this game was because the DKC games are popular for being difficult, and at first I was disappointed in the difficulty. I went through Worlds 1 and 2 without much struggle, but once you reach the Caves (World 3) the game is simply brutal. The difficulty is only increased when you want all the puzzle pieces and the KONG letters, this game does not play around. The difficulty of this game brings a very welcome addition: the Super Guide, which had been previously featured in Super Mario Galaxy 2 and New Super Mario Bros. Wii and it allowed the computer to show you how to beat the level if you have died more than 8 times in a level. I never used it, but it has been offered to me many times, I died a lot in this game.

Lastly, I'll talk about the graphics and the music. The graphics in this game are simply beautiful and colorful. They breathe life into the world of Donkey Kong, and makes the world seem even more amazing than the Mushroom Kingdom and outer space from Mario Galaxy put together. The graphics pop out the most during levels such as the mine cart levels, the silhouette levels, and boss fights, they're simply beautiful. The music, believe it or not, is actually better than the graphics. It brings modern versions of classic DKC music to great effect. The music is so good it'll get stuck in your head after your done playing, its so catchy and very well done. It adds to the mood of each level and in a way adds a bit of rhythm to the gameplay.

Overall, the game has great gameplay, beautiful graphics, catchy music, and very tight controls. The game offers a great time, its very fun, and actually pretty difficult. This time Mario will have to settle in the overgrown and much better shadow of Donkey Kong Country Returns. I'm sorry Mario, better luck next time because I'm giving  a well deserved 10/10. Donkey Kong is back and I thank Retro Studios and Nintendo for bringing back the beloved king of the jungle, may he reign forevermore!