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Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze |OT| Donkey's Got a Brand New Funk
- Thread starter TheMoon
- Start date
- OT
Welp, playing DKCR again.
It was at this moment that I knew Retro "got it".
I'm tempted to bust out my Wii U from storage after finishing TF today.
By the way, all of you critical of the controls in this game are wrong, full stop. They're flawless. A stage like Platform Problems highlights their utter perfection (while also highlighting that Retro is the best platformer designer in the entire industry). There has never been a 2D platformer with better feeling controls. No, not even a game like Super Meat Boy or Celeste. A learning curve does not equate to something being flawed.
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I've always ranked it alongside DKC2 myself (though TF makes ranking them even harder), it was MUCH better than a lot of people give it credit for. I've been thinking of grabbing it on 3DS sometime to revisit it.
Fastest underwater, hes good for time trials in water stages.
I just completed the first world. Not sure how I missed this series on Wii U but really good. I'm surprised how much I like this. The original trilogy wasn't my favorite due to the more trial and error nature of it but this has been quite a bit better.
The time attack goals seem ridiculous though... I can't even get a gold on the first level.
The time attack goals seem ridiculous though... I can't even get a gold on the first level.
Just started playing the game on Switch and this is the first time I've noticed the limitations of the Joycon's directional buttons. Trying to make diagonal movements while swimming is extremely difficult and I've had to switch to the analog stick, which is less than ideal for 2D platformers. When playing with the Dpad on the Pro Controller, it controls fine. A minor annoyance, as I play the majority of the time on handheld mode.
pls do
Almost halfway through it (just going for KONG letters and K levels) and goddamn, I can see an argument for it being better than TF.
also fuck everyone Cave is a fantastic world there I said it
I believe they designed TF to be played with analog sticks, IIRC.
Yeah, the Cave is awesome! I can see why it'd bother some people though.
Returns is an amazing game. I don't like it more than TF, but there are definitely aspects of it that can be seen as superior. And playing through it before TF makes World 6 in the latter SO MUCH more memorable.
Grip n' Trip is fucking insanity jesus fucking christ
i forgot all about the mechanic where DK is standing on top of the mine cart
i forgot all about the mechanic where DK is standing on top of the mine cart
Unlike most platformers TF is actually made to work well with the stick as the amount you press it actually can change your speed and seeing as it takes DK a bit to get going anyway you're not really missing out on any instant changes in direction that you do by using the stick with other platformers, I only use the stick even when using the pro controller and just 100%'d the game.
Welp, playing DKCR again.
It was at this moment that I knew Retro "got it".
Man, I wish I would've kept my Wii copy of this game.
I sold it after getting DKCR 3D thinking I'd never revisit it due to motion controls and the lack of the new levels, but it just looked so much better on Wii.
Yeah, there are tons of minecart stages in Returns and they went completely crazy with a few of them. Great stuff.
It's a different approach to TF, which goes for restraint in its gimmicks (only using each a handful of times), whereas Returns exploits them to their fullest potential. Both approaches are perfectly valid. And it's not like DKCR doesn't have tons of variety anyway.
that part in Mole Patrol where the train is corkscrewing around the rocket barrel
fuuuuuuuckkkkkk
edit - jagged jewels yessss, punish me harder mistressssss
fuuuuuuuckkkkkk
edit - jagged jewels yessss, punish me harder mistressssss
Speaking of Returns, I had kinda forgotten just how amazing some of the levels in it are. I mean look at Switcheroo for example! The level design is so clever! It's genius:
Returns and TF are probably the two best platformers ever made. The level you posted is amazing.
Also, I had forgotten the bonus stages in Returns match the theme of the area you're in. They almost certainly ran out of time with these when making TF.
Yes, there is. 'The End is Nigh'.
But stupid comparisons aside, each game has its own right to exist trying to do its own thing, I find the controls in 'Tropical Freeze' a vast improvement over the classic Rare trilogy.
The current approach of generating different states through the acceleration is able to create a much less encapsulated layout with different layers of depth depending on the skill of the player, something that is absent in the original trilogy.
Fortunately, Retro Studios have taken some clues of Takashi Tezuka regarding how to design a 2D platformer with various layers of depth.
I've only played this game briefly, so maybe you're right.
To be fair though, you've only played three levels of TF. The brilliance of its control scheme didn't fully manifest itself until I was playing through the game's time trials.
Just reached the credits, 69% completion.
I definitely do not regret double dipping.
I bought this game and beat it on Wii U when it game out, but for some reason I hardly remembered any of it. Bits and pieces were blurred together with DKCR. I basically just reached the credits in a few days and put it down. I remembered nothing, so I was looking forward to replaying TF.
Incredible game, but not perfect. I'm not a fan of water levels in general, and this game was no better, which made that whole one world drag on for too long. The levels themselves were well made, just not for me.
Speaking of dragging on, the bosses were too long. At least give a DK barrel halfway through or something, dying right near the end of a fight and having to do the whole thing again was not fun.
The music was 10/10, some songs were more memorable than others, but David Wise can still capture that DKC feeling.
I think I still prefer the original trilogy, all three games over TF, but I know that's purely nostalgia talking. I prefer the darker theme of the originals, they felt like the graphics were trying to be more realistic, instead of the cartoony feel now. (I do realize that neither are really realistic at all). I also miss all the rest of my animal buddies, they were a big part of DKC 2 and 3 for me, I would have loved for them all to return with some new animals. Rambis face is off too, instead of looking angry and badass, he looks like he needs to sneeze.
I will go back and try get 100%, maybe even 200%, if I don't move on by then. The difficulty is tough, but I was never in any danger of game over. I spent a good chunk of the game with 90+ lives. I played on Original mode, even though Funky is the cooler Kong. I'm looking foward to the super hard levels, I remember loving them on DKCR.
Incredible game, but not perfect. I'm not a fan of water levels in general, and this game was no better, which made that whole one world drag on for too long. The levels themselves were well made, just not for me.
Speaking of dragging on, the bosses were too long. At least give a DK barrel halfway through or something, dying right near the end of a fight and having to do the whole thing again was not fun.
The music was 10/10, some songs were more memorable than others, but David Wise can still capture that DKC feeling.
I think I still prefer the original trilogy, all three games over TF, but I know that's purely nostalgia talking. I prefer the darker theme of the originals, they felt like the graphics were trying to be more realistic, instead of the cartoony feel now. (I do realize that neither are really realistic at all). I also miss all the rest of my animal buddies, they were a big part of DKC 2 and 3 for me, I would have loved for them all to return with some new animals. Rambis face is off too, instead of looking angry and badass, he looks like he needs to sneeze.
I will go back and try get 100%, maybe even 200%, if I don't move on by then. The difficulty is tough, but I was never in any danger of game over. I spent a good chunk of the game with 90+ lives. I played on Original mode, even though Funky is the cooler Kong. I'm looking foward to the super hard levels, I remember loving them on DKCR.
I definitely do not regret double dipping.
I totally agree, though I actually kinda forgot that this game is best played with the analog stick... playing with the dpad loses a lot of precision, so I could see some having an issue if they're playing that way.
The weighty movement feels sooooo fucking good.
Yeah, the analog stick is practically required for these games. And the weightiness is indeed THE BEST
Oh, 5 at this point, with 100% of the collectibles.
I will reserve my opinion on the level of the silhouettes to not hurt sensibilities in this thread :)
But the conversation not was about level design, but about controls.
And 'Tropical Freeze', fortunately, is inspired by a Japanese tradition of platformers based in the use of a momentum and acceleration, and not in a western tradition of fixed and encapsulated movements.
Directly following a jump, DK will not duck until the cart completely lands and stabilizes, so there is a nanosecond delay in your ability to duck.
You guys are slowly but surely making me upset that Nintendo didn't include an uprezzed port of DKCR.
Well, I ain't gonna buy that since I'm not much of a double dipper. Would have REALLY sweetened the deal though.
I dont agree with the boss fight complaints. Having checkpoints between within the fights themselves would eliminate all challenge. They already give you a partner barrel so you start off with 4 hearts, and then during the battle itself theres multiple opportunities to get hearts. I also feel like decreasing the bosses health would trivialize them. Each cycle integrates new and increasingly complex attack patterns to learn so its not like youre fighting against the same thing. The boss fights are designed to test your skill, and if you dont mess up and do the fight perfectly, they actually do down pretty quick.
The NSMB series repeats so many assets, music, level and world themes over FOUR games. Every single level in DKC TF is unique with it's own unique assets, and nearly every stage has it's own song. Every single platform you step on logically exists in the world it's presented in. There was a painstaking about of care and craft put into every aspect of Retro's DKC games, where the NSMB games look like something out of a level editor.
I think a re-release of Returns is an even sweeter proposition than TF. HD visuals for the first time (without using an emulator), traditional controls, and probably the exclusive levels from the 3DS port (which was 30fps, so they'd be playable at 60fps for the first time). Right now, there isn't a definitive version of DKCR if you don't want to play on an emulator or hack your Wii.
Knowing Nintendo it's probably gonna cost 60 dollars though.
There is a lot to love about Returns even in the wake of Tropical Freeze, here's a random assortment of bits that make me still think "this game!"
- In World 1 the path diverges between the tree top stage and sunset shore, notice that the tree top stage takes place within the same timespan and sunset just over in the jungle and not by the shore since the stages are effectively being booked as Kong's chosen route through world 1, basically our first moment of Retro map based time progression seen a lot more in TF
- The one two punch of Stormy Shores and Tidal Terror in World 2
- Mast Blast in world 3 is one of the best stages in the series for playing out a sense of progression, you constantly move towards the background starting from the ruins/jungle, to the beach and then to the ships on the ocean. Few stages share its style and the ship areas have a structure of design seldom seen in the rest of the game.
- Bombs Away and Grip N' Trip, jesus fuck, adrenaline pumping minecart, the set piece at the end of bombs away when the track breaks off, phwooooooar.
- World 5 beginning the killer run of 5-6-7, pure platforming arse platforming galore.
From here it would just be me gushing about various stages in these worlds.
Playing for the first time. I am in world 3, just beat the second boss and the game is awesome. Ost is god tier and level design, particularly the vagon levels, is superb. The game is indeed challenging, but provides you options to make things easier even if you do not play as Funky in Funky Mode. I personally chose Funky Mode but I am playing as DK. Might be my favorite platformer when is all set and done. It is so good.
Typing up a large impressions (re-impressions) post now. Not sure if it should be a RttP or not. It's comparing Returns directly against TF.
It's not very obvious, but if you watch the backgrounds it kinda hints at the way the level works.
It involves backtracking after doing something to progress in the level, after you enter the ruins
There's a floating segment at the top of one of the tunnels you travel through with the current flowing through it. Once you power something else in the level, the previous sections get powered down. Bring Dixie with you once the tunnel is dormant again.
You can do time trials in any stage once you complete it normally first.
Thanks! The light spoiler was enough to help me find it.
Happy to see that 4-A has the DKC2 remix song