Donkey Kong Country Returns was originally released on the Wii back in 2010, and was a fairly fun platformer. Years later today, Monster Games wanted to do a port of the game to the Nintendo 3DS for gamers to play on the go. Were their efforts successful? Read on to see where this barrel of monkeys leads.
The game starts off with pretty much a re-creation of the events of the first game, only this time there is a new group of baddies, the Tiki gang. After his banana stockpile for some unknown purpose, Donkey and Diddy Kong run after them and give chase through 2d style platforming levels in 3D enhanced polygon graphics. There are 7 areas, each with a varying amount of levels. There are also secret levels that can be unlocked with items, or collecting all the KONG letters in the levels. These extra KONG levels have orbs at the end of a level, but they are very challenging. The orbs when completely collected, unlock on more secret level. And new to this version is the Cloud area which has even more challenges. Puzzle pieces can also be earned that unlock music in the gallery or images. You can also earn medals in the time attack mode, but that’s more for bragging rights and the amount of completion. The levels start out simple and easy, but the later levels threaten to make pull your hair out or throw the game down.
The level design is very well done and the later stages are very intense but they instill a good sense of wanting to complete them at all costs, and the players will get a good sense of accomplishment after finally clearing them. If you think the game is to hard though, you can start a new game in New Mode, a mode where you are given one more set of hearts, the items at the shop are cheaper, and there are two new items to buy. The first lets you be rescued from a pitfall sometimes, depending on the level layout. The second item lets you be temporarily invincible while in a mine cart or rocket barrel, which are some of the most challenging areas in the game. Outside of these changes the game is still easier than the SNES games. Lives are easy to collect, and they can be farmed and saved this time around. Diddy also gets a jetpack to allow for hover jumping. You can even do two player player gaming.
There are a few shortcomings to this game however. Even though you can choose two control schemes between d-pad and slider pad movements, they each have a different button layout. None of which are reconfigurable. Some people might have a problem having rolling, and running and picking up barrels mapped to two different buttons, but it’s easy to get used to. Also, roll jumping seems to need a decent startup before being pulled off, and DK’s momentum is too fast. This also applies to his braking power. He seems slide when he breaks. This lack of control can lead to accidental deaths. Still a pure button layout instead of the Wii version’s shake controls make this game much better than original release. This is despite the fact that the game has a less vibrant color scheme, lower resolutions, and a cut framerate from the original. The framerate is consistent at least, and doesn’t get in the way of getting through a level even with the 3D turned on. The 3D effects in this game do make the game look sharp, and make certain objects stand out better from background with a similar color schemes. Although sometimes it’s better to turn it down or off completely, as it can be difficult to see things during the mine cart and rocket barrel levels.
At the end of the day, this version of the game is with little doubt the definitive version of the game if you haven’t played the previous version, or just want it on the go. The new control setups and additions do go a long way at making the game more accessible. Definitely give this one a try.
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