Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D Review

[gameinfo title=”Game Info” game_name=”Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D” developers=”Retro” publishers=”Nintendo” platforms=”3DS” genres=”” release_date=”Out Now”]

DKCSTORY
Much like all the other Donkey Kong games that before it, our beloved ape finds his bananas stolen by an evil Tiki Tribe who have brainwashed the entire island’s animals. The plot is meaningless however provides a good reason for you to be exploring the world.

DKCPRESENTATIONDonkey Kong Country Returns is visually spectacular. The look and feel of this extremely colourful game looks vibrant on the 3DS screen. Playing this game brought back a lot of memories from my childhood SNES days and it really surprised me with how true the developers made the game to the original. The 3D effect is really good and works well into the games mechanics which sees you traversing through the foreground and background. I didn’t notice any visual downgrade from the original Wii version. Whilst the FPS is locked at 30FPS, I didn’t notice it enough to dampen the experience. The classic Donkey Kong music and sound effects took me back and was a treat to listen to.

DKCGAMEPLAYYou will be extremely glad to know that every form of motion controls have been removed from this 3D port. This was one of the glaring negatives of the original Wii game and thankfully doesn’t make any sort of appearance in this. The game controlled extremely well which is important for such a fast paced platformer. You’re given the choice to use either the circle pad or the dpad with the face buttons acting as jumping and rolling.

The other major change comes in the form of a new mode. The mode is called “New Mode” and is designed to aid players who found the original challenging(It was extremely challenging). This mode gives the player an extra heart to your life bar as well as more items to help you along your journey. Some of these items include slowing down the minekart or giving yourself a DK barrel at any time. I found that this mode provided a much better learning curve to the game and makes it extremely more accessible to a wider audience.

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DKCRETURNS2
On top of Donkey Kong Country Return’s lengthy campaign, there are also a bunch of collectibles such as secrets sections within levels as well as collecting all the K-O-N-G puzzle pieces which opens up a new world to play through. You can also buy a key in each world from Cranky which will unlock a new level in each world. You can unlock pictures in the art gallery by collecting puzzle pieces found throughout levels. Combine all these collectibles with challenges and time trials and you’re set for a long while.

I found the level design in the game to be some of the best of the series. All of the worlds provided completely different visuals as well as new enemies to defeat. Working out what tactics to use against what enemy whilst jumping through a difficult stage is where the challenge in this game lies. I never found deaths to be cheap and always found that using the right timing was key to get through the level. Whilst there is a world added to the remake of DKCR, I wish that there were a few more levels or mini games added in to give returning players a new experience.

DKCCONCLUSIONDonkey Kong Country Returns was an amazing game that revived the Wii late in its life cycle. The game on 3DS is even better in almost every way and cannot be missed by anyone that owns the system. If you’d had previous struggles with getting through the difficult game on the Wii then give it another go with New Mode.

DKCCONCLUSIONN