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WiiU

Explore Seven Levels of Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze

by Daan Koopman - January 23, 2014, 11:36 am EST
Total comments: 9

We go bananas with Retro Studios' latest monkey-filled adventure! 

Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze is coming to the West in February and we are slowly learning more and more about the title. We want share some interesting bits with you this, as we can present you with seven gameplay clips of this highly anticipated release. Everything ranging from an underwater level to some minecart madness passes through without any hesistation and hopefully you like what you are seeing! Stay around for written coverage this upcoming weekend.

Talkback

KhushrenadaJanuary 23, 2014

Dat music. So glad David Wise came on board for this project. As much as I liked the classic tunes in DKCR and the nostalgia factor it brought, it is nice to get new songs and I'm loving what I'm hearing so far.

Ian SaneJanuary 23, 2014

In the aftermath of Nintendo missing their projections by a mile, it feels weird to see them trying to hype this game up.  I mean, they should hype it.  It's a finished product and one of the Wii U's biggest games.  But it really seems like an out-of-date product now.

The sales projection news felt like a turning point.  It feels like at E3 Nintendo is going to debut a new direction of sorts.  Not necessarily a new console or anything like that but some sort of reaction to the bad news.  It would be weird for them to just go about the same as always as if nothing's wrong.  Clearly they know they have to do something.

DKC Tropical Freeze feels like it's part of the old plan, the one that has failed.  Like NSMB U it's a 2D platformer.  Like Super Mario 3D World it got a cold reception upon its reveal.  Like both of those games it seems to have a 3DS equivalent that was released first, though at least in this case the 3DS game was a port so there will be those that already owned it on the Wii that didn't get it on the 3DS.  Nintendo's assumption that this would move Wii U's would naturally come from the same incorrect assumption they made about the Mario games.  So would they have started making a game like this NOW?  It feels like releasing a disco album in 1980.  This isn't the game to make but it has the unfortunate timing of coming out after we found out this isn't the game to make.

Of course the game is done and will probably be great so you release it.  But it just feels odd now.  Like all pre-release hype would come across as forced.  I wonder how long it will be until we start seeing games from Nintendo that feel like a reaction to the bad news: the "new" Nintendo I expect to see.

Aero LeviathanJanuary 23, 2014

I'm lukewarm on all the NSMB games but I loved DKCR, played it over and over on Wii, then bought it on 3DS and played it again. Am I the only one...?


I'm not even sure quite what it is about it, it just has so much more charm. Rayman, too. NSMB feels formulaic, uninspired.

KhushrenadaJanuary 23, 2014

Quote from: Ian

In the aftermath of Nintendo missing their projections by a mile, it feels weird to see them trying to hype this game up.  I mean, they should hype it.  It's a finished product and one of the Wii U's biggest games.  But it really seems like an out-of-date product now.
The sales projection news felt like a turning point.  It feels like at E3 Nintendo is going to debut a new direction of sorts.  Not necessarily a new console or anything like that but some sort of reaction to the bad news.  It would be weird for them to just go about the same as always as if nothing's wrong.  Clearly they know they have to do something.
DKC Tropical Freeze feels like it's part of the old plan, the one that has failed.  Like NSMB U it's a 2D platformer.  Like Super Mario 3D World it got a cold reception upon its reveal.  Like both of those games it seems to have a 3DS equivalent that was released first, though at least in this case the 3DS game was a port so there will be those that already owned it on the Wii that didn't get it on the 3DS.  Nintendo's assumption that this would move Wii U's would naturally come from the same incorrect assumption they made about the Mario games.  So would they have started making a game like this NOW?  It feels like releasing a disco album in 1980.  This isn't the game to make but it has the unfortunate timing of coming out after we found out this isn't the game to make.
Of course the game is done and will probably be great so you release it.  But it just feels odd now.  Like all pre-release hype would come across as forced.  I wonder how long it will be until we start seeing games from Nintendo that feel like a reaction to the bad news: the "new" Nintendo I expect to see.

Funny, I think it feels like a game that could be played at any point in a gamer's life like Super Mario Bros., Super Mario RPG or Metroid Prime. It seems like a game that wants to give the player a challenge and thrill them with exciting levels and yes, something that Nintendo would greenlight and make no matter what the troubles of the console it appears on may be.
I don't know what you think the "new" Nintendo would be but if that means chagning the types of games they make, then they are hurting what makes them strong and not fixing what has made them broken. The Wii U troubles stem from hardware quality rather than software quality. If anything then, the "new" Nintendo would probably release more titles like this than riskier fare like Fire Emblem which is normally a lower seller so to release it on a system with a small install base means sales would be even lower. Thus, they may try and stick even more to safer title with less expense like 2D platformers. This could be the new Nintendo right here.
And in case you forgot, CRANKY KONG IS PLAYABLE! You should be hyped to the moon to want to play this now.

HeyItsMeJanuary 23, 2014

Quote from: Aero

I'm lukewarm on all the NSMB games but I loved DKCR, played it over and over on Wii, then bought it on 3DS and played it again. Am I the only one...?


I'm not even sure quite what it is about it, it just has so much more charm. Rayman, too. NSMB feels formulaic, uninspired.


No you aren't the only one I bought it on 3DS even though I have the Wii version I think it has it's problems but it's amazing. One of the best platformers I have ever played. For some reason I didn't mind shaking the Wii Remote to roll. I can't wait for this game

AdrockJanuary 23, 2014

I bought Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D (on sale) specifically for the additional stages, but I got stuck on one of the temple stages and just stopped playing. I got everything in the Wii version; I just didn't have the heart to go through it again. I might give it another go while waiting for a Buy Two Get One Free sale because I also want to get A Link Between Worlds and Bravely Default.

Tropical Freeze is looking great. As Returns was one of my favorite Wii titles, I've been looking forward to the sequel since it was announced. I expect to be frustrated for many, many nights.

AdrockJanuary 23, 2014

Just watched the rest of the videos. The music is an improvement over Returns, particularly in the Busted Bayou stage.

MagicCow64January 24, 2014

Yeah, I'm pumped for this, regardless of general Nintendo troubles. Looks like they pulled out all of the stops.

DKCR on the Wii is probably the only game that got me to throw a controller across the room since I was a teenager (crystal temple on Mirror Mode) and whenever I see that my wiimote sync lights no longer work I'm gifted with the memory of a fond rage.

And with out more shake-to-roll I can actually attempt the time trials.

King of TwitchJanuary 25, 2014

Water level... so pretty. And it looks like you won't have to jam the b button over and over to swim upward, which is nice.

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