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Donkey Kong Country Returns

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Donkey Kong Country Returns
North American box art
Developer(s)Retro Studios
Nintendo
Publisher(s)Nintendo
Director(s)Bryan Walker
Producer(s)Kensuke Tanabe
Composer(s)Kenji Yamamoto[5]
Minako Hamano
Masaru Tajima
Shinji Ushiroda
Daisuke Matsuoka
SeriesDonkey Kong
Platform(s)Wii
Genre(s)Platforming
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Donkey Kong Country Returns, known as Donkey Kong Returns (ドンキーコング リターンズ) in Japan, is a side-scrolling 2.5D platform game developed by Retro Studios and released by Nintendo for the Wii console on November 21, 2010 in North America, December 3, 2010 in Europe, and set for release on December 9, 2010 in Japan.[5][1][2][4] It is the series' first traditional home console installment since Donkey Kong Jungle Beat, and also the first Donkey Kong Country entry not to involve Rare during the development.[5]

Plot

Under the hypnotic control of a group of evil Tikis known as the Tiki Tak Tribe,[6] the animals on DK Island have stolen Donkey Kong's bananas, forcing him to retrieve the hoard with the help of Diddy Kong.[7] The different types of Tikis fill the role of the antagonists this time, replacing the Kremlings, which do not appear in the game.[5][8] Cranky Kong, who owns shops throughout the island, is the only Kong family member that appears in addition to Donkey and Diddy.[6]

Gameplay

Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong ride a barrel. Returns combines 2D gameplay with some 3D graphics like character models and this mine cart in the foreground.

Players take control of Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong,[5] with many traditional elements of the Donkey Kong Country series returning, including mine cart levels, swinging from vine to vine, collecting bananas, and the golden "KONG" letters.[9] There are also levels with the characters and foreground environments appearing as silhouettes, spawning several new gameplay mechanics.[8] In single player, players can only play as Donkey Kong, although Donkey Kong can use Diddy's jetpack to extend his jumps. Multiplayer mode enables a second player to simultaneously control Diddy Kong.[8] If one player dies in two player mode, he can be brought back by hitting a DK Barrel that floats into view, similar to New Super Mario Bros. Wii. To avoid problems arising from differences in player skills, Diddy can hop on Donkey's back to take on a more passive role, while his jetpack can be used to make some of his partner's jumps easier.[8] As in past games, Donkey can pound the ground to defeat enemies and unveil secret items, as can Diddy.[8] The game has two control schemes, with the standard system using the Wii Remote in conjunction with the Nunchuk, as well as a more classical approach employing the Wii Remote held sideways, both of which use motion controls for the ground pound move.[5] In addition to common series elements like secrets and unlockables, there will also be a time attack mode.[8] Two animal buddies, Rambi and Squawks, appear in the game.[10] The game also utilises the Super Guide feature that has appeared in New Super Mario Bros. Wii and Super Mario Galaxy 2. If the player loses 8 lives in a single level, they will be given the option to allow Super Kong to take over and complete the level for them. However, any collectibles obtained while Super Kong is playing will not be counted towards the total.[11]

Development

Development on Donkey Kong Country Returns started in April 2008, just after some of the key personnel of Retro Studios had left the company.[5][12] At that time, Shigeru Miyamoto wanted to create a new Donkey Kong game and, at his request, producer Kensuke Tanabe recommended Michael Kelbaugh, the CEO of Retro Studios, who had previously worked on the Donkey Kong Country series while he was employed at Nintendo of America.[5][12] Satoru Iwata frequently referred to this turn of events as "fate" in his meetings with Retro Studios, which is why Kelbaugh suggested the homophonous project codename F8.[5][12]

Similar to New Super Mario Bros., the game was developed with the intention to invoke nostalgic feelings in the player with its art style and sound, while trying to provide them with new gameplay experiences.[12] Though Miyamoto initially opposed the idea, simultaneous two-player gameplay was implemented, contrary to the tag-team system of the original series.[7][12] First unveiled at E3 2010, the game employs fully-polygonal 3D graphics with levels containing three times the amount of textures and polygons that Retro's Metroid Prime 3: Corruption offered in a single room.[5] Over the course of six months, two thirds of the game's tools and engine had to be rewritten by the programmers, the animation and collision systems being subject to the most changes.[5] Retro Studios made some experiments with underwater levels, though they were ultimately omitted as they felt too slow and unfitting to the overall gameplay.[13]

Reception

Donkey Kong Country Returns received very positive reviews. It currently has an average score of 88% on GameRankings and Metacritic. IGN's Craig Harris awarded the game a score of 9.0/10 and an Editor's Choice award, stating, "This is an incredibly challenging, old-school throwback that might not set the genre afire with innovation, but in my book, it's better than the awesome game that inspired it," continuing to state, "Rare should be proud that its design is in the right hands. Or just insanely jealous."[16] Game Informer awarded the game a score of 9.5/10 (as well as naming it Game of the Month for the December 2010 issue), with the reviewer hailing it as "one of the best platformers [they'd] ever played."[17] GamesRadar gave the game 8/10, praising the title for its standout levels and fan service whilst criticising it for some unfair levels and motion controls. Giant Bomb gave the game 4 out of 5 stars claiming, "Retro recaptures most of Donkey Kong's venerated platforming roots in this fine Wii sequel."[18] GameXplain awarded the game 5 out of 5 stars for both single player and co-op calling it "one of the best platformers in the last 10 years." GameTrailers gave the game a score of 9.0, praising its gameplay and diversity of the levels.[19] Video game talk show Good Game's two presenters gave the game a 9 and 8.5 out of 10 praising the music how true it stays to the original tracks as well the gameplay staying away from becoming too complex and not being a wagglefest and also saying "If you're a fan of the old Donkeys, or your just want a great platforming experience, this is worth at least as much as Kong's golden banana hoard."[20]

References

  1. ^ a b "Nintendo Refreshes the Dog Days of Summer with Upcoming Cool Games". What's New. Nintendo of America, Inc. 17 August 2010. Retrieved 18 September 2010.
  2. ^ a b Matt Wales (29 September 2010). "Donkey Kong Country Returns Gets UK Date". IGN.com. IGN Entertainment, Inc. Retrieved 29 September 2010.
  3. ^ Daniel Vuckovic (11 November 2010). "Donkey Kong Country Returns out in Australia December 2". Vooks.net. Retrieved 11 November 2010.
  4. ^ a b "ドンキーコング リターンズ". Nintendo Co., Ltd. Retrieved 10 November 2010.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Craig Harris (17 June 2010). "E3 2010: Kensuke Tanabe and the Metroid Palm Tree". IGN.com. IGN Entertainment, Inc. Retrieved 18 June 2010.
  6. ^ a b Chris Slate. "The Boys are Back!". Nintendo Power (December 2010). Future Publishing Limited: 48–56.
  7. ^ a b "Donkey Kong Country Returns". Nintendo E3 Network. Nintendo of America, Inc. 15 June 2010.
  8. ^ a b c d e f "E3 2010: Reviving DKC Interview". GameTrailers. MTV Networks. 18 June 2010. Retrieved 18 June 2010.
  9. ^ Simon Bramble (15 June 2010). "Donkey Kong Country Returns revealed". Official Nintendo Magazine. Future Publishing Limited. Retrieved 15 June 2010.
  10. ^ Craig Harris (22 September 2010). "Monkeying Around in Donkey Kong Country Returns". IGN.com. IGN Entertainment, Inc. Retrieved 22 September 2010.
  11. ^ Kristine Steimer (8 November 2010). "Donkey Kong Country Returns: Diddy's Day Out". IGN.com. IGN Entertainment, Inc. Retrieved 8 November 2010.
  12. ^ a b c d e "Iwata Asks: DKCR". Nintendo E3 Network. Nintendo of America, Inc. 16 June 2010. Retrieved 16 June 2010.
  13. ^ "Their Orders Are To 'Make A Better Donkey Kong Country'". Kotaku. Gawker Media. 25 June 2010. Retrieved 28 June 2010.
  14. ^ "Donkey Kong Country Returns". GameRankings. Retrieved November 21, 2010.
  15. ^ "Donkey Kong Country Returns". Metacritic. Retrieved November 21, 2010.
  16. ^ http://uk.wii.ign.com/articles/113/1135734p1.html
  17. ^ Donkey Kong Country Returns review - 9.5/10 in Game Informer
  18. ^ http://www.giantbomb.com/donkey-kong-country-returns/61-31732/reviews/
  19. ^ http://www.gametrailers.com/video/review-donkey-kong/707720
  20. ^ Bendixsen 8.5/10, O'Donnell 9/10 (29 November 2010). "Donkey Kong Country Returns Review". Season 5. Episode 42. ABC Television. {{cite episode}}: External link in |transcripturl= (help); Missing or empty |series= (help); Unknown parameter |transcripturl= ignored (|transcript-url= suggested) (help)
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