Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze (Switch) review

Good to meet you once again

I was excited to see that Donkey Kong Country will be returning as Returns. live at E3 so many years ago that I was unable to contain my joy. Ever since Rare assumed the role and launched Diddy Kong into the world, this series has had special meaning for me, and Retro Studios did a fantastic job with it.

Consequently, Tropical Freeze is an even more impressive achievement. even when Nintendo re-releases it for an additional $10.

We should speak about the pricing first since I'm sure a lot of you are salivating at the thought of not knowing how the Switch port of Tropical Freeze preserves the heritage of the original with minor enhancements.

It is true that this Tropical FreezeFour years later, switch port is $60, essentially the same (more on that in a sec). That is ten dollars more than the original Wii U. It's strange, it's terrible, and Nintendo should not do this in the future. Their approach seems disorganized, since Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, which included a season pass, was priced at the same amount as the original 8 on Wii U. Similarly, Captain Toad, which will cost $40 on Switch with a few extras, is also priced at the same amount as the original. In any case, Tropical Freeze is an experiment, and in the end, you have to draw your own boundaries.Reentering Tropical Freeze was a lot simpler than I had anticipated, which leaves me feeling a little conflicted. That is less of a headache to do thanks to the quicker Switch load times and the option to choose the new "Funky Mode" right away. When I discovered that the latter was essentially simply "easy," my heart did begin to drop a little. Funky has five lives instead of two (overkill), can breathe underwater, glide, and double jump. He is also immune to the majority of spikes since his surfboard cleverly shields them. It's really more akin to "super easy mode."It's not a negative thing! I really wish I could play a less corny, more subdued version of Funky and switch to a different, softer difficulty level whenever I wanted to. As things stand, I believe that many more ardent gamers will attempt a few levels with Funky, become disinterested, and create a whole new file without using his board's trademark (yes, he brands your save file). It would be beneficial to try that as Tropical Freeze runs at 1080p60 on TV mode, which is the best way to play the game to date (though portable mode without any kind of forced waggle is also really good).The characters is at their cutest in this new classic, which nevertheless has an amazing, dynamic sense of level design.This sequel, with its ridiculous Snomad clan enemy, nearly doesn't deserve to be compared to Returns, yet it does in practically every way. Each character's subtleties blend in well with the level design (Dixie's glide, Diddy's modest rocket boost, and Cranky's pogo stick all seem just right), to the point that almost every leap feels purposefully designed.You may once again play Tropical Freeze as you choose, whether that means laboriously finding every hidden doorway or collectible or speeding through each level and stomping your way out.The platformer Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze should be played by as many people as possible. It's up to you whether you do it via the $10 secondhand Nintendo Selects Wii U edition or this regrettably priced Switch edition with bland new content that can be skipped._{[The publisher supplied a retail build of the game for this review. Since it is essentially the same as the Wii U version, it is not rated.]}