![]() The HD rumble is a subtle, but a nice and fitting touch, with all the barrel blasts, ground pounding, and the like. The joycons also feel great, despite the lack of a d-pad which usually lends itself best to 2D platforming. ![]() You can swap out your characters easily in the options menu, so if you’ve grown tired of Donkey and want to return to the wacky fun of Funky, you can revert back to him with no sweat. This proved to be closer to my sweet spot in terms of difficulty, anyway. This allows you to dial back some of the cheapness of Funky’s overpowered nature, while still tossing you an extra heart as Donkey Kong. This is especially true in the later stages and during those stubborn moments where you’re compelled to snag each puzzle piece.Īs an interesting side note - you can sort of “split the difference” in difficulty by playing as Donkey Kong in Funky Mode. You’ll accumulate more lives and survive longer, to be sure, but the game still isn’t a cake-walk. However, with all the hazards and pits flung your way, Funky feels more like a necessary counterbalance to the chaos than a handicap or an “easy mode”. Of course, you could make the argument that the game becomes a touch too simplistic and easy going, and I won’t completely disagree. Obviously this doesn’t prevent you from instantly biting the dust by plummeting down a pit, though the extra hit often goes a long way when it comes to hazards. Even the frequent minecart stages grant you one additional heart, bringing the total to three. My twirling surfboard got me out of many hairy situations between the imminent danger of the arctic viking creatures, pits, vines, spikes, and any combination thereof. ![]() There were certainly fewer white-knuckle moments of intensity and fury in my experience, and I didn’t have to scramble for my life nearly as much. Couple this with a second player in local co-op, who’s given another 3 hearts, and there’s a far thicker buffer between you and a swift game over. His array of skills, along with his increased health - a whopping 5 hearts - allowed me to kick back and just enjoy the environments, the level design, and the rich soundtrack even more. Overall, I had a good old time soaring and plowing through stages with Funky Kong. He also apparently takes on the genes of a fish, as he can swim faster and breathe underwater. He even takes a page out of the Cranky Kong playbook, with his ability to absorb the damage of most spikes by using his surfboard to protect him, rather than Cranky’s method of bouncing maniacally on a cane. Actually, Funky acts as a sort of combination between every other playable Kong: he can do a double jump like Dixie, and hover for a bit ala Diddy Kong. This is done by allowing you to play as a roided-up version of Donkey Kong by way of the radical, surfboard flying ape dude known as Funky Kong. The main selling point of this game, however, comes in the form of the new “Funky Mode”, in which Retro injects its own clever twist on your typical easy mode. Thus, any significant technological leap comes in the form of a crisper resolution, along with smoother framerates and faster loading times. Regardless, they do take on a richer and glossier finish that’s easier on the eyes, allowing the charmingly colorful art style to flourish even more. Of course, the game still runs on the same engine under its slick new hood, so you’re still play around in the same blocky 2.5D cartoony environments with no actual polygonal enhancements. Environmental textures are crisper and at least a touch more detailed, and the more fuzzy details like the Kongs’ fur are now cleaner and pop a tad more. Of course, the game takes some strides graphically too, bumping up the 720p resolution to a more slick and vibrant 1080p when docked. Loading most of the levels would often take up a frustrating 15 seconds on Wii U, while the Switch version usually clocks in at 8-10. The simple act of booting up the game often took somewhere in the ballpark of 30 seconds to load on Wii U, while the Switch version achieves the same task in 10-12 in my experience. Not only does the game run at a consistently smoother 60 fps on the Switch rendition, but the once cumbersome load times have been essentially sliced in half, making for an all around more swift and streamlined experience. Well, calling it “bigger” might be a bit of a stretch, as there's no real additional content here to speak of, but it is a strong port with some added bells and whistles - and it certainly runs faster too. It’s bigger, stronger, and faster too - it’s the newest member of the DK crew! Yes, Donkey Kong Country has returned once again, this time making its debut for the Nintendo Switch, in the form of a Tropical Freeze remake. By Stephen LaGioia, posted on 01 June 2018 / 7,902 Views
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