Just completed all levels and got all puzzle pieces.

Such a great game. The cherry on top of Retro's brilliant designs is that everything is rationalized. Every moving object is moving for a reason, every spinning platform is spinning for a reason. The amount of attention put into that is remarkable.

Controls take some getting used to and some of the decisions they made makes the game unnecessarily more challenging (such as needing to hold RT to grab onto ropes), but the challenge is welcome.

That said, between this and DKC Returns, I've had enough DKC. Unless the next one is one with full 3D gameplay. Some of those level intros where they fly through the environment in 3D really made me wish they would attempt to make one.

@Griptor

Sure wouldn't mind seeing Retro make a 3D platformer... but yeah, I agree. As much as I love these games, I'm good for now. They are highly replayable if I need a DKC fix and I really want to see what else this studio is capable of beyond Metroid and DKC.

It would be really nice, of course, if they are expanded and can work on more than one project at a time. Miyamoto made those comments last year about Retro being ready for that.

I haven't played this on a TV since I first booted it up...and I'm on world 5. Off-TV continues to validate the gamepad in my eyes. I ain't even mad that it's just a blank screen when playing on the TV.

The game is really good, but I'm not blown away or anything. I think DKCR had a much bigger impact on me. The level design in DKCTF is just as good, and the stages are longer, and more "alive", which I really like. The music is a lot more memorable here, too.

@anon_mastermind

At the point you are now I felt like you do. It took me beating all the levels and going back to re-play them for missing pieces to truly appreciate it.

They follow Nintendo's philosophy in games like Mario 3D World: they never re-use the same elements in levels. Each level presents something new and is different. It's so varied. Even art wise. I unlocked one "secret exit" level in particular that made me go..."what the hell? This is beautiful! And this theme isn't used anywhere else in the game!" And it's on the optional extra path so a lot of people might miss it. A lot of love is put into the game.

But, DKCR will always have the bigger impact in the end, totally. This is just more of the same. Not a bad thing, but still not new. I felt the same way about 3D World compared to 3D Land. Great game but 3D Land will always have that edge over it.

Just finished up World 4.

Fuck that boss.

That is all.

Hey Guys, It's been ages since I came here!

Does anyone else think there is a lot of loading in the games, especially when you boot it up?

@Cube191

People complained about Lego City Undercover, which I found to be a ridiculous claim because after the single lengthy load, there was the whole game world without issue (sans missions). But here, just backing out to restart a level for any reason is a long chore. Levels and world maps take longer than comfortably tolerable. It's a shame because it's the one main issue I have with the game so far, well issue of real worth.

@missypissy

Great.... I'm almost there. Now I have something to.. look.. forward?.. to..?

I'm enjoying the swimming levels but I also am hating the loosey-goosey-ness of the swimming, even with Diddy or Dixie in a team up. Considering the speed and accuracy you need at times, it's just not ideal.

@DrFinkelstein

Enjoy that fight then! My problem with swimming was that moving forward took a lot more effort than stopping on a dime and going backwards. So whenever I needed to adjust myself, I would stop and go backwards into some danger instead of just stopping. There were certain sections in some of the levels of that world that irked me. Then that boss fight came around and really got me. Ended up having to use Dixie's tag-team-power special to allow more than 4 hits. =/

Granted, I also had major issues with the World 2 boss. I might just suck.

I don't like it.


More thoughts to follow.

This game is currently $10 off on Amazon. Quick, somebody convince me to buy it!

My concern over the game is that it's too similar to DKCR, and also that multiplayer hasn't been improved. I played through DKCR in co-op and I was hoping to do the same here.

@Mop it up

Dixie is my favorite Donkey Kong pal! The levels look awesome. They're a ton of fun to go through.

Get it. That's all I've got.

@Mop it up
It is really similar, but the music alone makes it worth the price of admission. The levels are longer and have more variety, and the swimming parts are really well done.

By the way, I just beat the game! Final boss delivered, and I have a lot more left to do. Looking forward to it.

Also, love this remix in the credits music. That saxophone.

How in the flying fuck do you find the Water World unlockable levels?? I can't find any. I haven't found the 2 that branch off right from the first level. Where the fuck is the hidden exit? And it also looks like it might break off from other levels.

Where is the shit?

@Mop it up
Actually I'd almost go so far as to say it's NOT a lot like DKCR. The levels are considerably longer and the game considerably more challenging. It has a very different flow. And the levels are just so incredibly tight and varied, even within the same level! Some levels could have been like 2 or 3 levels worth, it's pretty crazy. And the collectibles are much harder to get this time around. Basically, EVERYthing is a lot harder. It really makes it feel very different, trust me. Honestly, I truly think it's a very different feeling game. Controls also feel much different since motion controls are gone.

@Mop it up

I don't think the game is similar. The levels are waay different, as well as the story. Add in two new controllable characters, even though Dixie is the one to use, unless you HAVE to use Cranky for a couple times, like puzzle pieves, ect. Though, another characrer can be used, cause even if you die, you get to keep the puzzle piece as long as you complete the level.

Saying Tropical Feeze is too similar is just wrong. Sure, both games are platformers, but levels again are different, bosses are def. different and each boss is different. Id say if you dont like the DKC games, old ones or newer ones, then skip this. Though, anyone who likes platformers, will love this game. Tropical Freeze is amongst the best of the Wii U games.Enough said.

On this question of whether it's more of the same, it really just depends on your threshold there. DKCR is one of the greatest platformers of all time and if you didn't like that or wouldn't be happy with just more of that, I don't know what to tell you. What I can say is that Tropical Freeze is more of an evolution of what happened in DKCR than, say, some of the recent NSMB games are to their prequels. It feels different in many respects (length of levels, difficulty, number of characters, environments) and I'd have a hard time accepting any argument that it is inferior to the original game. It'd be a shame to miss out on Tropical Freeze if you liked DKCR. Especially if you're primarily concerned about originality.

@carlosrox

The key is to pay attention to the "story" of some of those levels. Watch what's happening in the background/environment and work out the logic of how to proceed. Took me a while to do that, too, because I'm conditioned after 25 years of playing platformers to distinguish between environmental things you can't change and those you can. In this game, you can change more than you'd expect.

Also, remember that at least one level is going to be the "collect all the KONG pieces" level.

Listen up, you twerps - there is nothing wrong with a game sequel that's remarkably like its predecessors.

There are just conflicting opinions out there about how similar it is, it's tough for me to figure out. I haven't seen any footage of the game since the original E3 trailer, because I like to discover as much about a game as I can from actually playing it. I also haven't really read the comments in this thread that pertain to the game itself. Of course, I realise it's hard to find out how similar it is without watching the game in action or reading descriptions of the actual game, but I figured I'd ask anyway. I don't mind more of the same if a game uses those same elements in fun and interesting new ways (like Galaxy 2 with Galaxy), but I do mind it when the design is barely different and/or just overlays a gimmick to try and spice things up (NSMB2, the Special World in Galaxy 2).

I noticed that no one addressed my comment about multiplayer. Is that because no one's tried it, or because there's nothing worth noting about it?

I actually forgot about the potential for good music. I haven't listened to any of the pre-release samples, nor have I looked up any of it. I'll be hearing it for the first time through my speakers instead of dingy ol' YouTube.

I used the Classic Controller for DKCR, but the controls might still be a problem. I really liked using the shoulder button to run, made it a lot easier to hold down and still use the face buttons. I don't think that's the control scheme for this game though, so I hope I don't have a problem with whatever this game does.

I decided to go for it. It's a bit pricey, but I could use some more Wii U games. I also grabbed Wonderful 101 when I was at it. It's on like Donkey Kong!