First Appeared on The Legend of Lorie
Rhinos, gorillas, and chimps, oh my! Donkey Kong Country Returns is back but now in 3D. If you missed out on Donkey Kong Country Returns on the Nintendo Wii system then this is the perfect opportunity to experience this classic platformer. Nintendo has made some small changes and added some extra features that will have old fans and new fans going bananas for this refreshing port.
If you are not familiar with the original Donkey Kong Country which released on the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in 1994, then no problem. New fans of the Donkey Kong Country series can “swing” right into this game without previous knowledge of it’s older counterpart. Old fans, however, you are in for a real treat. The story begins when Donkey and Diddy Kong’s stash of bananas is stolen and all of their jungle friends are hypnotized. Of course, this infuriates the duo so their mission is to retrieve all of their bananas by overcoming the craziest and most challenging stages and bring peace to Kong Country.
- Donkey and Diddy’s spiked friend is hypnotized into attacking them and eating their beloved bananas.
Use your 3DS controls to ground smash, roll, jump, and vine swing to collect all your bananas. This might sound like an easy task but the developers of Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D made sure it was not. A “new mode” has been added to the Nintendo 3DS port that was not available on the Nintendo Wii version. In this mode, developers did try to make playing DKCR 3D a little less difficult than it’s predecessors. By adding in an inventory of items like a green balloon that can save you from a fall and making DK’s life bar a little longer, gamers will be relieved to find out that the game eased up just a little on it’s difficulty. Don’t let this by any means fool you into thinking this game isn’t difficult. There have been many times where I have almost thrown my cute, blue 3DS XL out the window in sheer rage from falling off a cliff just a slight bit away from the end of the level.
Donkey Kong would be nothing without his trusty little sidekick, Diddy Kong. Just like in the previous Donkey Kong Country titles, Diddy acts as a sort of “extra life” if you pick him up out of a barrel. Diddy also acts as nifty “power up” that allows Donkey Kong to hover while jumping. Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D features a very frustrating multi-player mode. Be forewarned, Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D is already incredibly difficult but adding on a secondary player who takes the role of Diddy is even tougher. If you’re willing to take on the local multi-player challenge, the second player will need to have his own copy of the game.
- Try your hand at local multi-player but good luck…
The music in Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D is fantastic. The developers have brought on the same soundtrack from the original Donkey Kong Country game and revamped it. Old fans will adore the rebooted soundtrack and new fans will find themselves bobbing their heads to the catchy tunes. Just be careful not to bob too much, you might miss that jump over the lava! Besides lava flooded levels, there are other treacherous stages for Donkey and Diddy to overcome and the great thing about the port is that 4 new stages have been added that were not available in Donkey Kong Country Returns on the Nintendo Wii.
Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D looks exquisite in 3D. I almost feel like Nintendo should have originally made the reboot of the Donkey Kong Country series exclusively for the Nintendo 3DS instead of releasing it on the Nintendo Wii and then porting it years later. From hopping on enemies that appear to fly at you in the screen, shooting out of barrels, or riding rickety train carts; the game is truly the best in 3D. Of course if your eyes get tired there is always the option of turning the 3D down or completely off but then you might be missing out on a unique experience. Some levels are just better in 3D like a level where Donkey and Diddy must evade crashing waves on a dark beach. In 3D, this level is amplified and really pulls you into the world of Kong Country while playing. One of the downsides, however, is one slight turn of your handheld and your 3D experience will be slightly skewed causing Donkey and Diddy to fall to their death after trying to make a close shot from a barrel.
- DKCR 3D is a wonderful 3D experience but a slight wrong turn of your Nintendo 3DS and this shot from the barrel could be devastating and make you go ape…. poop.
Although most people groaned about a Donkey Kong Country Returns port, Nintendo and developers managed to make Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D a unique experience for new and old players of the Donkey Kong Country franchise. With stunning 3D graphics, a catchy soundtrack, a new mode to alleviate the frustrations of the modern day gamer, and 4 new levels; Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D is a game that fans of platformers will truly enjoy.