Donkey Kong Country Returns (Wii) Review

I’ve noticed a bit of a trend recently, and that is a few developers are doing their best to revive classic franchises that RARE brought to life back in their, well, let’s face it, better days. GoldenEye 007 on the Nintendo Wii was a large success both critically and commercially, which was great to hear. And now, here we are with yet another revival of a classic franchise. I’ll admit that Donkey Kong is one of my most revered franchises that I have experienced in my whole gaming “career” so to speak, and when a remake of this calibre was announced I was understandably quite sceptical. Thankfully, Retro Studios have managed to capture most of the essence of Donkey Kong in Donkey Kong Country Returns, although there are a few issues I have with it overall. Still, read on to discover why this might just be one of the best platformers available for the Nintendo Wii, nay, for all consoles.

Donkey Kong Country Returns sees the return of the familiar storyline – Donkey Kong’s most treasured banana hoard has been stolen by the local animals in the jungle. Of course, these animals weren’t malevolent by nature, but instead controlled by a group of shamanistic, err, things known as the Tikis. Yes, you heard right, the Kremlings and King K. Rool are long gone from Donkey Kong’s adventure this time, and part of the charm the original games had is unfortunately lost quite a bit. Enemies within Returns simply don’t have anywhere near as much personality as the original enemies in the original trilogy, with these new enemies being decidedly generic. It certainly feels a little bit dumbed down to have this approach taken with the game’s story, and it would’ve been nice to have some continuity remain from the original trilogy and to build upon the Kongs’ long lost rivalry with K. Rool. Alas, that didn’t happen.

There are a few cutscenes dabbled throughout the gameplay which do a great job of telling the story in a rather comical fashion while still getting their points across promptly. I never really felt the need to skip through them and despite being completely devoid of voice acting, they were still interesting and successful in getting the Kongs’ emotions across properly. This isn’t a dramatic epic, but the addition of these sequences is a nice touch that properly utilises today’s technology to present an updated iteration of Donkey Kong.

Speaking of that, Donkey Kong Country Returns is a game that boasts some of the best presentation on the console ever. Graphics are very smooth, the characters themselves are modelled almost perfectly and to top it off, the game runs with such fluidity when so much stuff is going on. Expect to run across a very stormy beach with crashing waves while dodging the limbs of a very menacing squid/octopus creature in one of the levels. All of these effects combine in a similar fashion on other levels to create a very fast-paced and alive atmosphere throughout the game, which is something that is great to see in a game that doesn’t provide a lot of freedom. The attention to detail graphically is just astounding in Donkey Kong Country Returns, with wind and trees blowing and reacting to Donkey Kong’s footsteps, blowing and smashing dynamically to really build up a persistently “alive” world.

Sometimes it’s just too much to take in, but that’s not really a bad thing either. Donkey Kong and his companion Diddy Kong are animated beautifully and some rather hilarious animations are included for idle stances as well as some moments in the game where the player makes a mistake. These smaller elements also add to the presentation and charm that the final product wears proudly, and it’s these smaller details that Retro Studios always seem to get right that put them ahead of the bunch. Some other unorthodox levels also add to the game’s presentation, including the infamous sunset levels where the levels are compiled entirely of silhouettes. Donkey Kong Country Returns just has a lot of moments where you will say “wow” to the visuals, at least when you’re not trying to lose lives while trying to adapt to constantly the evolving landscapes.

The biggest problem and one of the biggest disappointments for me is that the game simply doesn’t have a whole bunch of variety like the old games. I know that Returns should be judged on its own merits, and for the most part, I have done that; however there is a distinct lack of variety in the levels of Returns when compared to, for example, Donkey Kong Country 2 which had many different levels throughout heaps of different environments and all of these were supported with a very able and strong atmosphere. There will be no levels as atmospheric as, for example, Bramble Blast or Clam City in Returns that will remain with you for much longer outside of your first play-through. Still, it’s not fair to expect Retro to get everything right the first time, and as previously stated, the presentation in Returns is still very top notch.

The main gameplay mechanics you knew and loved in Donkey Kong Country return in Returns, however there are a few modifications that will either make or break the experience for you. Levels generally consist of moving from the start to the end, collecting bananas and other objects to complete the level. Throughout their adventures, Donkey and Diddy Kong can collect puzzle pieces to unlock artwork, either through exploration or the winning of the infamous bonus rooms, as well as the K-O-N-G letters for extra lives and an interesting post-game unlockable.

For the most part, Donkey and Diddy control very well and in a very similar manner to their previous appearances in the original trilogy. This should be music to your ears, simply because in a platformer like this, getting something as simple as the physics and mechanics just right is extremely important to make the game fun. It’s the kind of lack-of-balancing that makes this a little bit less enjoyable than you may hope. When playing solo, Donkey Kong loses a lot of his manoeuvrability when he isn’t equipped with Diddy, who has a hover jump ability utilising his barrel jetpacks. One could argue this encourages players to not get damaged enough to lose Diddy, however in some circumstances it is just too unavoidable and makes it a bit harder for Donkey to get through levels without his little nimble companion.

And the circumstances we refer to are generally most of the game. Donkey Kong Country Returns is pretty damn challenging, particularly for those of you who aren’t well seasoned in platforming. This is coming from someone who completed the original trilogy games fully at a very young age. Returns is a bit of a challenge and it’s sometimes made even harder when the game throws so much at you. It’s great for those who want a challenge, and that was definitely me, but those who aren’t as well versed in platformers will probably have a hard time. Luckily, the Super Guide function from New Super Mario Bros. Wii is included to help less experienced players get through. At first I wondered why this function was implemented into Returns, however after watching a few of my friends play through this, its necessity becomes increasingly evident. To be fair, however, extra lives are incredibly abundant and even when you run out they are available for purchase from Cranky’s shop.

Of course, returning from the original trilogy are a few things that fans will know and love. Bonus Rooms are back and as challenging to find as ever before, requiring the player to complete small tasks in a separate room to earn a puzzle piece. Cranky Kong also makes a return to sell the Kong family items that may come in handy, including keys to new levels and Squawks the Parrot who helps players find secrets and bonuses within each level. Speaking of animal buddies, Rambi the Rhino also makes a return and mixes the gameplay up a little bit, which is a nice touch. There are still many things that will make you laugh or bring back memories of the original game—icing on the cake for those long-time fans of the franchise.

Despite being a Wii game, Donkey Kong Country Returns doesn’t utilise the motion controls as much as you would expect. That being said, there are a few exceptions to this statement, and some of which become quite a nuisance during gameplay. The game can be played in either Nunchuk + Wii Remote mode or simply with a Remote held horizontally—however the latter seems to be the better option. Shaking the Remote makes Donkey or Diddy bash the ground to destroy items and reveal secrets, while shaking the Remote while crouching causes them to blow a wisp of air. Both of these elements are incorporated rather cleverly to solve puzzles and don’t feel that awkward at all. It’s the third motion-controlled action that I find particular problems with.

Everyone remembers that rolling was a great way to reach certain collectables in-game, and it was also a good offensive tool too. In Donkey Kong Country Returns, for some bizarre reason, rolling is done by shaking the Remote while running. Usually I would not have a problem with something like this if it worked; however, sometimes it’s just so damn awkward that it’s impossible to pull off successfully and subsequently. This is disappointing. We did admittedly work out a way to map the roll to another button on the Wii Remote using homebrew, which fixed the problem, but for most that will not be an option and it feels almost shoehorned into the game for the sake of having waggle.

The game’s soundtrack is a great mix of new tunes and some very familiar favourites from the original game but remixed to feel a bit more updated. For the most part these pieces are excellent but that is probably because they were already amazing in the first place. The original tunes are developed to fit more in theme with the Tiki Tribe in the game and in this regard they do quite a great job too. There are a few sound effects and such thrown about but they aren’t really anything special, more or less just adding to the game’s overall ambience above anything else.

Donkey Kong Country Returns is quite a value filled package. There are a total of eight worlds with at least five levels in each and a boss, with a bit of variety throughout. That being said it’s a bit disappointing to be missing a few trademark levels such as lava and/or ice/snow themed ones, but still it’s a pretty complete package that doesn’t feel like it’s missing anything at all. Co-operative play is included in which both players play at the same time, instead of tagging in like in the previous games. What’s even better is that they can drop in or drop out of the same save game without having to create a new one, once again, unlike the previous games. The only real concern we found with co-op was the unfair advantage Diddy Kong players had with the jetpack ability, but otherwise it still works quite a treat.

The main story mode is pretty easy to get through, lasting the player no longer than six hours if they were rushing straight through it. That being said, players who want to find everything and thus experience everything the game has to offer (including an awesome mirror mode) must collect everything and this will take upwards of ten hours to do. Simply speaking, there’s a lot to do in this kind of game and a lot of it will keep you quite busy.

Donkey Kong Country Returns is definitely a return to the series’ greatness that we’ve been yearning for since the third game was released oh-so-many years ago. Retro have proven yet again that they can bring back an old brand, albeit this time without taking as many creative risks as they did with their Prime series. This is, without a doubt, a game that almost every single Wii owner should have in their library. This is not hyperbole.

Graphics 9.5

Donkey Kong Country Returns features some of the best presentation on the Wii and proves that an HD display is not necessary to achieve stunning visuals like these. Only a disappointing lack of variety brings this down.

Gameplay 7.5

While Returns does a great job at keeping things traditional, a few niggles here and there with the motion controls truly stop this game from being as great as it can be.

Sound 8.5

A great mix of remixed themes from the old trilogy as well as some new tunes that fit in perfectly with the new setting makes this games soundtrack quite well put together.

Tilt 9.5

A very lengthy campaign with collectables that actually unlock something worthwhile makes Donkey Kong Country Returns a great package. Co-operative modes add to the fun, rather than detracting from it, and make it quite enjoyable for almost any member of the family, or your lesser well performing friends.

Value 8.5

Being a huge, almost psychotic, die-hard Donkey Kong fan, Returns almost fed my appetite for another high quality Donkey Kong game. The serious lack of atmosphere when compared to the original trilogy was a bit of a let-down for me; however this was still an amazing ride.