Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze

I realized that on my second playthrough of Returns that this game deserves more respect other than blatantly copying the gameplay from the SNES trilogy. After all, it has "Country" in it's title, I should had expected this. Even though not many animal buddies or kong members actually return, I must applaud the level design, diversity and difficult collectibles to be found here.

But then comes the next title, which is a marvelous expansion and sequel for the Country series, and genuinely my favorite one yet. Diddy, Dixie AND friggin Cranky Kong help Donkey Kong to retaliate against the frozen invasion of arctic animals on their own island, but first, they must hop from other islands to get back.

David Wise returns as the sublime composer for the franchise, bringing back a few fan favorite tracks remixed, but most impressively, he has created some outstanding new ones, with my favorite being Grassland Groove, whose level in itself might just be the best in the game for the sheer amount of presentation there.

Your partners have helpful extra mobility in order to reach platforms and collectibles better with just our main hero. Cranky Kong can hop around with his stick to bypass spiky floors and reach higher, while Dixie's traditional pony tail has been tweaked into a more vertical rise, rather than descending in the air slower.

The cohesive level design can be coerce, but remains coherent and consistent with only a few levels having true trial and error moments. The collectibles are familiar in their locations, but expect to have quite a challenge if you want to catch them all in order to unlock the secrets.

Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze looks largely the same as it's predecessor, but something that stands out is the fur to be found on the Kong members; extra attention was given to their appearance this time.

It also is hardly innovating for the genre, but nonetheless it remains a great king of 2D platforming alongside the recent Rayman games. Sonic and Mario should be brought to the same level as these two in modern times if you ask me.

Retro Studios sure took a while with this project though, 4 years? That sounds like a long time for this genre, unless they were working not only on smaller projects such as Mario Kart 7, but something entirely else as well?

In any case, Tropical Freeze is one of the best platformers I have ever played. Aquatic and ice bound levels truly return this time, there are tons of collectibles, secrets and other stuff to do, Funky Kong will help you out with his shop if needed and it clearly shows that Donkey Kong remains relevant and he is here to stay.

Rating: 9.0