When it comes to this game, I fall onto two polar opposite biases. On the one hand I am not generally a fan of platformers for the fact that the story is usually nonexistent and this is why I don’t play Call of Duty or sports games despite being a huge basketball fan. I love an immersive story and world and those games don’t really offer what I’m looking for. Now on the polar opposite side of the spectrum, with everything I said I love Donkey Kong. This game was a huge part of my childhood and I always felt it was so much better than Super Mario World. I felt that the characters, enemies, level design, and music were all much better and this game is no exception. Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze is everything you expect on a modern age platformer.
The biggest thing to take from this game is its difficulty. This game is super tough and is the main reason why I dropped it for so long. I bought this game on release date for the WiiU and I was super excited to be playing with my brother which was sure to bring back the memories from my childhood. However, we didn’t even get to the first boss and that’s how challenging it was. For whatever reason I decided to load up my WiiU again and give this game another shot and I’m glad I did. This game is far easier on single player than 2 players, which in all honestly is kind of disappointing because I don’t think I could ever beat it playing alongside someone else. The game offers some checkpoints, but they are spaced very well, not so frequent to make it easy, but not so rare where you get so frustrated. The Nintendo Switch version of the game does include an easy mode to play as Funky Kong with more lives and the ability to survive certain falls which honestly, I wish this feature was in the initial release of the game. I wouldn’t have used this feature, but with the target audience being children, I can’t imagine a child beating this game without it, that’s how difficult this game is. However, this is the plus to this game and every challenging game out there, beating each level is so satisfying, you feel a genuine sense of accomplishment and you are on top of the world.
The best part of Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze is the level design and the music. We all ways say games have amazing level design, but this is truly spectacular. Everything looks super crisp, the colors are vibrant, and every world gives you a different experience. For example, there are worlds under water, some worlds on top of ice, and even a world where everything is a silhouette. Some of these levels really make you feel like you are there, like one level where you are in a mine-cart and it truly feels like you are on a roller-coaster. I can’t say enough good things about the level design of this game, it has far and away the best level design in any game I have ever played and every level is a new experience.
What makes each of these levels such an experience is the score. David Wise does an excellent job with the music in this game as each track really encapsulates each level and adds to the overall experience. I always heard of how good David Wise was and now I understand it. With the combination of the beautiful levels and the amazing music you get really engrossed in this game. The test of a good soundtrack is when I go and listen to it after the game and of course it was the first thing I did after every world.
Unlike other Donkey Kong games, in Tropical Freeze you control D.K for the entirety of the game. However, DKCTF allows you one of three partner Kongs: Diddy Kong, Dixie Kong, Cranky Kong. Diddy allows you to glide with his jet-packs, Dixie allows you to float and glide with her hair acting as a propeller, and Cranky allows you to get a small double jump with his cane to avoid spikes. This is a very interesting concept to allow different partners, however one issue is that they are not much different and Dixie is far and away the best. Even though Diddy is my favorite, I could never justify picking him over Dixie because she does what he does, but better and Crankys jump always felt awkward for me to use. I wish had some more differences between the Kongs to make me have to really make decisions on which one I wanted.
I’ve mentioned the partner Kongs, but when it comes to Donkey Kong Country games one thing that is consistent is partner animals. Some of these in past games included the rhino, the frog, the sword fish and even an ostrich. Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze allows you to use the rhino, but only the rhino. This was very disappointing as I wish we could have had more animals slotted throughout the game to offer more variety in the experience.
One of the aspects of this game that I love is how much it rewards you for collecting. Collecting all the bananas in an area might offer a new area, an extra goodie, or a puzzle piece. These puzzle pieces are hidden around each level and getting all of them will allow you a figurine to view. However, the biggest reward is the K-O-N-G letters. If you get every single KONG in every level of a world it will allow you a secret level which I hear is crazy difficult. That’s the thing, these are not easy to come by at all. I only managed to get the full KONG in only a few levels and this shows just how difficult it is. However, this does offer some extra replay ability for those looking to complete the game in entirety. I love how this game really rewards dedication in collecting in this game as very rarely does collecting the items in an area not lead to a bonus.
My favorite part of this game has to be the bosses. These are some of the best looking, most difficult, and highly innovative bosses I have faced. Every boss requires a different way to win, but each time it is super satisfying to win. A reason why this is so satisfying is that these bosses are super long and there are no checkpoints so every time you lose you will have to start from square 1. This may be a turnoff for some people and if I’m being honest it was very frustrating at the start. However, after beating the bosses you feel on top of the world.
Now the biggest controversy for the game is the price point. The Switch version of the game is essentially the WiiU version with an easy mode, slightly better graphics and better load times. Here is where I stand on this, this game is just straight up fun. It is some of the best platforming I have experienced. However, at full price ($79.99 CAD) I cannot justify buying it on the Switch when I already own it for the WiiU. The graphics still look gorgeous, I have no need for an easy mode, and aside from the initial load time from the title screen, the load times didn’t feel long to me. I still think it is worth it for the price if the Nintendo Switch is your only console as it is just that damn good. However, if you can get it for the WiiU for cheaper then get it there, but if not go for the Switch version. However, do not get it for both as it is essentially the same game.
PROS
- Good Challenge
- Excellent Level Design
- Amazing Music
- Rewards Collecting
- Enemy Variety
- Fun
- Bosses
CONS
- Price Point
- Dixie better than all Kongs
- 2 Player mode is harder, not easier
- Only Rhino
CONSENSUS
16 Hours after completing the main game, Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze has brought back my childhood in an amazing way. Even after everything I’ve said it boils down to one thing, this game is so much fun! Not only is this what a modern age platformer should be, to me its far and away the best platformer of all time.
RATING
10/10: MASTERPIECE
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