Donkey Kong Country Returns took everything from the original games, and made it all better.

User Rating: 9 | Donkey Kong Country Returns WII
By wiigenius | Review Date:
Donkey Kong Country Returns is an absolutely great 2-D platformer for the Wii. It incorporates the classic gameplay of the original games from the SNES, yet adds unique motion controls and gameplay mechanics. First of all, this might be a downer at first, but you cannot play as Diddy Kong unless you are the second player. You will overlook this very quickly though, as the game makes use of him by having a jetpack for Donkey Kong to make more precise jumps. To control Donkey Kong, you move left and right with the directional pad, jump with A, and pick up objects with B. With motion controls, if you press down on the d-pad and shake the Wii remote, Donkey Kong will blow air out of his mouth to uncover various objects that you need to advance through the game. These items are bananas, banana coins, and puzzle pieces. If you shake the remote normally, Donkey Kong will pound the ground and hit giant plates that activate extra parts of the levels (and occasionally necessary parts). Multiplayer is also in this game, and with the second player, Diddy Kong can shoot peanuts out of his pop gun by shaking the Wii remote.

The level design, graphics, soundtrack, and challenge are all spot on. Each level is bursting with creativity, from the mine-carts to the rocket barrels. This is an absolutely gorgeous game by any 2-D platformer standards, with the background actually being used in some levels of the game. The music is also extremely catchy, and very memorable, providing very well made remixes of jazz tunes from the previous games. But the challenge is what really takes the cake. This game is exceptionally difficult, and many hours will be spent trying to obtain every KONG letter and puzzle piece of the 8 worlds that this game offers, plus the bonus 9th world (only after you have beaten he game).

There are SOME things that I did not enjoy about this game, however. One is that you cannot play as Diddy Kong. It really bugs me personally, but it's not something that will ruin your fun. Second is that the rewards you obtain for getting all of the puzzle pieces and KONG letters are a little tacky. Images are not something you will strive for in this game, and won't bother to look at them more than once. Dioramas are neat, but again, they serve no purpose and you don't really feel like you've obtained something special. i wish Retro Studios gave us the option to play as other characters from the past Donkey Kong games, such as Dixie Kong, but that is just minor nitpicking.

Donkey Kong Country Returns is a must-have for any Wii owner. The superb levels, the beautiful graphics, the (at times) insane challenge and the multiplayer are all incredibly well made. You will be hard pressed to get every secret for this game, and while the prizes feel unnecessary, I could not recommend this game more.

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