Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze - Nintendo Switch

*The following review is, admittedly, rather lengthy. All that to say, I wanted to be as in-depth as possible. Now then, onto the review.*In 2010, Retro Studios took control of making a game that was inspired by the classic Rare Trilogy for the Super Nintendo Entertainment system. That game was none other than the fourth installment in the “Donkey Kong Country” trilogy. The game was known as “Donkey Kong Country Returns.” The game was a nearly brilliant 2.5 D platformer that was able to pay homage to the games before it, and yet evolve the level design with the greater horsepower of the Wii. The game was one of the best Wii games, as well as one of the best platforming games of its decade. In 2014, Retro Studios released their sequel to “returns,” a game that managed to improve on nearly all the previous games shortcomings, and truly evolve the 2D platforming genre. This game was “Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze.” The game released on the Wii U in March of 2014, but many (myself included) missed out on the game initially as we did not own a Wii U console. When I finally brought a Wii U, and played it, I was truly blown away. This was a game that not only dethroned my previous favorite DKC game, “Diddy’s Kong Quest,” but also all of the 2D Mario games I had ever played up to that point. I am proud to say that “Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze” is one of my favorite games of all time and is by far one of the very best Platforming video games ever created. It has been four years since the games original release, and it is now available to play on the Nintendo Switch. If you have never played this masterpiece before, there is no better time to pick up this game than now. While I will post a link to my original review down below, I hope that you will enjoy my review for the Nintendo Switch version of “Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze.”My original review: https://www.amazon.com/gp/review/R23BLIKAMAEUB8?ref_=glimp_1rv_clPremise: Donkey Kong, and his family, which consists of Diddy Kong, Diddy’s girlfriend Dixie Kong, and DK’s curmudgeonly old grandfather, “Cranky Kong,” are celebrating our favorite Kong’s birthday, complete with a banana candle atop the (presumably) banana cream cake. Suddenly, a crew of Viking-inspired scallywags known as the “Snowmads” arrive on DK Island. The Snowmad leader, “Lord Frederich,” blows an icy chill out of his large Viking horn, which causes a giant ice dragon to materialize and cover all of DK Island in ice, snow, and shadow. The chill sends DK, and his whole crew far off the island to a distant archipelago known as the “Mangrove Cove.” It is up to DK and his buddies to run, roll, swim, climb, barrel blast, mine cart, and swing their way across several different islands to defeat the evil overlord on each one, taking out enemies along the way, all as they make their way back to their home to face off against the snow mad king himself. As this is a platformer, the story is about as simple as it gets. With that to say, with the absolutely stellar presentation and cut-scenes, the immersive atmosphere, the charismatic and genuinely threatening Viking-inspired villains, and the truly beautiful music by David wise, the game does have a genuinely gripping and even epic feel at times, particularly in the end stages of the game.Presentation: Tropical Freeze is a truly gorgeous game. Every single level is absolutely bursting with color and creativity. You have everything from Tropical Beach and Jungle levels, to mountain-climbing levels that look like somewhere in Switzerland, Safari themed levels that feel straight out of The Lion King, incredible underwater levels with all kinds of sea life in the background, and fruit themed levels even. The best-looking levels are probably the ones at the end, as everything is covered din ice and snow, it is both a sad site but nonetheless beautiful. The boss designs, and character detail are also fantastic. The whole game just looks great, and it now looks even better on the Nintendo Switch. Moreover, the designs themselves feel natural. Even though this is a game a bout an Ape wearing a red tie, the level design feels truly organic, there are no random floating platforms like you might see in a Mario game. Here, the levels really feel alive. You have vines that hang from trees, and there are levels where you need to use the air from an enemy’s horn to float yourself from platform to platform. Some levels have you in a fruit factory, where you need to jump on and off popsicles before they melt off of their sticks (yum!) And, of course, you have the last levels where you must move fast as you avoid flying icicles, giant snowflakes, and crumbling ancient structures. This game truly is a textbook example of 2D platforming game design. Furthermore, this game plays just as well in the Switch hand-held mode as it does docked on the television!The soundtrack to this game may be one of my all time favorite video game soundtracks. David Wise, who composed the music for the original Donkey Kong Country Games, comes back to record the soundtrack for Tropical Freeze. The soundtrack is absolutely brilliant. The maestro has likely crafted what is one of my favorite video game soundtracks. Wise uses a mix of musical and instrumental sounds depending on the level, and it all sounds truly wonderful. You have the jazzy, upbeat tunes that get you in the mood for some terrific platforming, but you also have guitar inspired pieces for some locations. This game even includes some heavy-metal inspired pieces in some cases, particularly for the intense boss fights that you encounter throughout the game. Wise has also managed to craft music that is both extremely catchy, yet very atmospheric. The music that plays in the Safari levels is truly awe-inspiring, and the underwater music is ambient, beautiful, and something I find myself listening to on my phone on a regular basis. The music near the end of the game sounds truly epic, like something that Hanz Zimmer would have composed for a Batman film, or like something from “Game of Thrones,” even. Furthermore, some of my favorite musical tracks from Donkey Kong Country two reappear in this game, and they sound amazing with the more modern technology that David Wise had to work with. One of these songs is “Lockjaws Saga,” which plays in two of the ocean levels. The only issue I have with the Switch version of this game sound wise is that they slightly changed the end-credit music, removing the “Stickerbrush symphony” portion, and it doesn’t sound nearly as good without it. Nevertheless, this game’s soundtrack perfectly blends the old with the new and gives us something that is truly a treat for the ears.Presentation wise, the only downside to the original game was the often-lengthy loading time when starting the game and going into the levels. The Switch version of this game has improved that aspect immensely. While it is still noticeable at times, it feels much better and smoother than it did before. The presentation is still superb overall, and even better on the Switch.Gameplay: Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze has some of the finest Gameplay that you will ever encounter in a 2D platformer. The controls are so darn good that you rarely even think about the controller in your hand. You could almost bounce a dime off them and get change leftover. Donkey Kong, being an ape, weighs much more than, say, an Italian plumber would. You really feel that weight when he jumps, or lands on something, and yet it never feels like a hinderance, but rather another element to make the game more intuitive and more fun. Some oft eh level designs are even built around the ground crumbling beneath DK’s weight; it’s ingenious how Retro Studios incorporated this aspect of DK into this game.Donkey Kong has three Kong buddies to assist him this time around. In single player, the buddies act sort of like glorified upgrades, but they really are invaluable, and having them can tremendously affect the difficulty in some levels, as well as the collectibles or secret exits hidden throughout (more on that later.) Diddy Kong can use his jet-pack to glide himself and DK to the nearest platform ahead of them, Dixie can use her hair to glide as well, along with giving her and DK an upward boost. Cranky Kong lacks the ability to glide, but he can bounce on the ground continuously by using his poco stick, which includes being able to jump on enemies wearing spiky Viking helmets, and spiky terrain. Cranky is very reminiscent of Scrooge Mc-Duck. While I enjoy all the Kong buddies, I had the most fun playing with Dixie Kong and Cranky Kong. What can I say? There’s just something oddly fun and addicting about using an old man’s (man-ape’s) walking stick to bounce him and yourself up and down.This game also includes two-player co-op mode, where the second player controls the Kong separately from DK. I have had a lot of fun playing on this mode with my dad. The downside to this mode is that things can get hectic and out of control fast, causing more deaths than is ideal. This is because one player must continuously save another player from their kong barrel when they die, which costs one balloon (the form of life in this game) each time. When you both die, then you lose two balloons. That said, the multi-player is still pretty fun, but I would recommend you play this as a single-player experience, at least your first time around.In this game, you can purchase items from “Funky’s Fly n By.” These items include extra balloons, which serve as lives, extra hearts (hit points,) more kong barrels, and other items. In the switch version of this game, the shop is manned by one of Funky’s pet parrots when you play in Funkey mode.The level design is, I truly believe, the best I have ever played in a 2D platforming game. The levels are some of the most challenging, but also most creative, unique, beautiful, ingenious levels that I have ever experienced! There were multiple moments when I played this game when I thought, “How did they come up with these levels?” It really is a testament to the ingenuity of the game design that the levels can be so incredibly hard, and yet remain so fun even after you beat them. I find myself going back and replaying these levels just because of how fun they are. As I stated previously, this game has so much variety to its level design. The levels are based on the islands you find them in, and, as such, you have lots of variation. There are levels where you will be mine-carting around a giant tree, or where you have an entire level covered din a silhouette as you are moving through a canopy. There are levels where the ground literally crumbles beneath DK’s own weight. You have levels with hot air balloons, and even levels where you are in a rocket gliding through a half-eaten piece of cheese. How about a mine cart level where machine-saws create the platforms for you, before cutting them apart? There are levels with hot air ballons, and exploding mountaintops, things far beyond my limited imagination. Some levels involve you jumping on the heads of paper giraffes to get from one platform to another, while others have you using a kind of water seed to put out fires in order to swing from vine to vine. There is a canyon level where the camera goes from 2.5 D to full 3D for the barrel blasting segments. How about a level where you need to escape a storm while rising Rambi? The water levels also play as terrific as the ground levels do, and some even involve puzzle solving. There are even levels where you play both on ground, and in the water; one such level is “Rocking relics,” which has you jumping on all sorts of precariously placed pieces of wood to reach your destination, or swimming underwater to find all the secrets. The later levels have you jumping on switches (get it?) made of yellow, pieces of watermelon, and even popsicles (Yum!) My favorite levels are those on the last island, as they are all covered in ice and snow. I for one love “mountain-top tussle,” as it involves DK literally climbing up an avalanche. Other levels I love are “Seashore War,” which has you jumping through the beach where the snowmad’s ship has been harbored and “forest folly,” where you have to avoid being crushed by giant snowflakes! There is a level where you must move fast to avoid being crushed by giant icicles. There is one level where you are ingulfed in a snowball in its last phase and are crushing through enemies and breaking through snowmad towers. Last, but not least, the level where you are riding on Rambi through a molten volcano while the icy interiors crumble is beyond amazing. The game also includes bonus temple levels, which are really hard, but test all of your platforming skills.Tropical Freeze has some amazing boss fights. They include a circus seal, a giant owl at the top of a tower, three crazy chimpanzees, a mad fish in the middle of the ocean, an angry polar bear who lost his popsicle, and, of course, Lord Frederich himself. The boss fights force you toy use all of your skills and culminate the core mechanics of every island that you fought them on. You will die a lot but beating each one of these bosses is owe-so-satisfying! Delivering the final blow to the wicked snow mad king who invaded your home and turned it into an Icy wasteland reminds DK’s enemies that revenge truly is a dish best served cold (puns!) The boss fights, like the levels are incredibly well designed, have multiple stages, and get harder as you go along. They are also, like the levels, enjoyable enough to play more than once!Now, the part that everyone has been waiting for, Funky Mode. In the Nintendo Switch version of this game, you have the option to play through the game as the most chill and coolest Kong of all, Funky Kong. Not only can Funky jump and glide on his surf board, but he can also breathe underwater without any air bubbles, as well as stand on spiky ground. Moreover, Funky has more hit points than Donkey Kong. If you play as Funky Kong in single player mode, you can’t use any of the other kong buddies to assist you; considering how overpowered Funky Kong can seem, that seems like a relatively minor trade-off. While I had lots of fun playing as his Funkiness, I almost feel like he makes the game a tad too easy, as you can breeze through many of the levels without breaking a sweat. This takes away a little bit from the natural challenge that is so essential to fully appreciate this game. If this is your first playthrough of Tropical Freeze, I would recommend that you play on normal mode your first time around, to fully appreciate the level design, along with the reward of finishing a super challenging stage!Replay Value: This is honestly a game that is worth playing to completion in my honest opinion. I have played through this game four times now and have enjoyed it just as much each playthrough. Not only are the levels themselves so much fun to replay, but the game also has hidden levels on every island that you can only unlock if you collect every kong letter in each level on each island. These levels are super-duper-uber difficult but beating them ultimately unlocks a secret area. There are also secret exits scattered throughout many of the levels, which open up the island pathways to secret levels for that stage. This encourages replay-ability as you truly want to play every level in this game, trust me! You also have many puzzle pieces to collect in these levels, which unlocks image galleries when you find them all (you can purchase squawks, a parrot, to help you track these down.) The only downside to finding some of the puzzle pieces is that the bonus stages in each level can be a little repetitive; each stage just involves you collecting all of the bananas before the timer runs out, as such, I would recommend you skip these all-together on your first playthrough of a level, in order to really appreciate the level design. As it, there is so much content to this game that you will be coming back to it long after you beat the last boss.The Verdict: Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze is a truly incredible platform game. The game is a true work of art with its ingenious game design, gorgeous visuals and style, and, of course, its killer music! This game has absolutely everything that I could have wanted in a Donkey Kong Country game, and a platforming game period! This is a game that manages to perfectly blend the classic, retro (another pun) gameplay of the Super Nintendo Donkey Kong Country Games, while evolving it into something that never could have been conceived of more than twenty years ago. The result is a game that completely shatters the standards set by the previous game. Retro Studios has used the new technology to offer challenges, level design, and gameplay that truly feel like an evolution of the genre. While it has the old-school look, and old-school challenge, this is very much a modern Donkey Kong Country Game. In a word, Tropical Freeze is a Masterpiece, and a game that future 2D platform developers should look to as an example. If you have never played this game, go and by it right now! With the Nintendo Switch, you can play this game anywhere, which makes it all the better! The Switch price point is a little up there, and the Wii U version is actually much cheaper to get now; that is something to consider if you are one of the few people who own a Wii U, as this is very much still as good on the Wii U as it is on the Switch. With all that to say, stop reading my review, get this game, and go on an adventure that with Donkey Kong and his crew, and have the “coolest” DK adventure in a lifetime!Cons:Repetitive bonus stages for the puzzle piecesSomewhat unreasonable price point for a Switch PortFunky Mode a bit too easyPros:Absolutely incredible level designTons of variety in stagesFlawless ControlsMultiple Kong BuddiesAwesome Boss fightsHidden stagesIncredible replay valueOverall:10/10Peace,Dana

Donkey Kong Country Tropical Freeze is a marevelous game. Originally released on the Wii U in 2014, the game was doomed to a small audience from the start. Which was a shame because players who passed it up (or simply didn't want to invest in a Wii U to play it) missed out on one of the greatest sidescrolling platformers in recent memory. With great challenges, great platforming and some of the best level design ever witnessed in a side scrolling platformer, I'm glad to see the game was given a second chance to appeal to a broader audience. This is Donkey Kong Country at its best. It's far better than Donkey Kong Country Returns (which was already an excellent game) and at times even exceeds the best of the original trilogy on the Super Nintendo. And part of that is because it's such a well designed game, even if it's greatness was recognized perhaps a little too late.Tropical Freeze, like most platformers, doesn't really have a story so much as it has a setup. That being that a bunch of animals and other critters come by and cover DK Island in ice and the land becomes frozen. It's now up to Donkey, Diddy, Dixie and Cranky to save the island. And this is going to be an arduous task. Donkey Kong Country Tropical Freeze is known primarily for its difficulty. The first couple of levels will be fairly simple and straight forward but once you've got your bearings and the training wheels come off, Tropical Freeze is an unrelenting challenge where your abilities will be tested. Stages will begin one hazard, throw new hazards at you, combine them and end with a third completely different hazard if you let it. The levels are also lengthy and varied. One amusing aspect about Tropical Freeze is that no level you play ever really feels like any other level you play. They all feel unique in their own way. And just when you're positive a concept in a level is being repeated... they toss in a twist. Oh sure, you've been on a mine cart before and the first one is simple... but then you get to ones where water spouts raise platforms and you have to jump between two tracks. while avoiding sharks. That's not an exaggeration either, that level exists. It takes the familiar concept of the mine cart ride and adds so much spice to it that even the concept of a mine cart stage feels different. And if the game wasn't so good at establishing such a crazy, goofy tone you might think some of the concepts you experience are absurd but they're not.Most levels are extremely difficult, though that you'll find yourself retrying levels over and over again. And sometimes the only way to really master the level is to fail at it several times. This kind of trial and error gameplay can be a little off putting for some gamers, but the game compensates for this by being fairly liberal with extra lives. And once you get the patterns of a level down it can be liberating to finally best that difficult stage. The player can feel a sense of accomplishment. Of course, this challenge may still be a little too steep for some players. The Donkey Kong Country games are known for their difficulty in general, but Tropical Freeze takes it to a whole new level. Even the bosses are more difficult than previous games. Getting the best of Tropical Freeze's levels, however does make for a good feeling because the challenge is so high in some of them that finally beating them feels like an earned victory.Donkey Kong is not alone on his adventure. He has a few buddies along for the ride who provide some abilities for him. Diddy Kong allows DK to hover for a bit, Dixie has a helicopter spin which allows her to propel DK upwards and Cranky has a cane bounce that allows him to damage certain enemies. Each one is useful in different situations and they'll add two hearts to DK's health. But if you lose two of those four hearts your buddy is gone and you no longer have access to their abilities. This makes the game easier, but only marginally so. You're more likely to be grateful for two more health points as opposed to the abilties your buddy grants you some of the time. On the other hand, many of your deaths will come from stage hazards and pitfalls rather than through most of the normal enemies, many of whom are easily dispatched.Even if you find it just a little too challenging, however, you can play the new Funky Mode which allows you to play Funky Kong who can sustain more hits before he perishes and can go on some of the more harsh terrain (such as spikes) that the other kongs can't. This makes for a much easier go at the game. It's a great mode to try out, but I strongly suggest putting it aside and trying your hand at the standard mode first. It's a much more rewarding and invigorating experience that way, but if you need a slightly easier go at the game, it's nice to know the option is there.Visually Donkey Kong Country Tropical Freeze is pretty beautiful on the eyes. One of the highlights of Returns was jumping between the foreground and background and it's the same thing here, but in many of the stages there's usually more going on and a much greater visual flair. Textures pop out more and are brighter and more detailed than they've ever been, and the cartoon like art style helps sell the insanity that some levels might bring to light. But what really sells some of the visuals are that there can be so many things going on at once in a given level. From weather hazards to platforms collapsing... and the game handles just about all of it without dipping in frame rate or missing a beat.The music, however, is probably the best and most rewarding aspect of Donkey Kong Country Tropical Freeze. Fans of the original Super Nintendo will be happy to know that David Wise returned to compose most of the music here. His melodies are well known from Donkey Kong Country and Donkey Kong Country 2 more so than anything (particularly tracks such as Aquatic Ambiance and Stickerbush Symphony) and he hasn't really been back to Donkey Kong Country in over twenty years. Now he's back and working with some of Nintendo's best composers: Daisuke Matsuoka (Donkey Kong Country Returns), Minako Hamano (Super Metroid) and Shinji Ushiroda to compose what is easily the best soundtrack in Donkey Kong history since 1995's Donkey Kong Country 2. Though Returns was a great soundtrack it was mostly remixed tracks. Here much more of it is original and it's absolutely amazing to listen to. They're great tunes and it works out just fine.The only real thing that holds Donkey Kong Country Tropical Freeze back is that some players may find it too much of a challenge. The level design is top notch, but also designed in such a way that dying is inevitable. If you're easily frustrated then Tropical Freeze may not be for you, but if you're up for the challenge then it can be rewarding.

Nice fun platformer I played with my brother. We did play funky mode and he was funky kong but it was still a fun challenge

Good

I bought this as a just because present for my boyfriend. I opened the case and looked inside because another reviewer said the disc was missing. We got our disc and my boyfriend finds the game to be fun