Wii Review: "Donkey Kong Country Returns"

Publisher: Nintendo

Developer: Retro Studios & Nintendo

Release Date: November 21, 2010 (USA)

Premise:

Donkey Kong Country Returns is a 2010 Reboot of the franchise that brings back Donkey and Diddy Kong. The story involves creatures known as "Tiki's" who come to Donkey Kong's island and hypnotize everybody and steal all of the bananas. Donkey and Diddy Kong, unfazed by the their feeble attempts of hypnosis, embark on a journey to get the bananas back.

Gameplay: 

The gameplay is the traditional side-scrolling adventure, with Donkey and Diddy running and jumping across many different game worlds, jumping on the heads of enemies and throwing barrels at foes who dare to step in their path. The game can be very frustrating as parts of it can be very hard, especially for those not used to this style of gameplay.

The controls are very simple and you can choose between classic controller layout (by holding the Wiimote sideways) or using the Wiimote+Nunchuk to control Donkey and Diddy. All you really do is run and jump to collect bananas and defeat enemies to get to the end of the stage, as is the classic gameplay of the original. There are new moves such as the "Ground Pound" that shake the ground and knock around any enemies nearby.

Graphics:

Graphics for this game are what you would expect from a Wii game. Very colorful and bright world, vibrant detail in the levels along with a living background rather than a simple pre-rendered one that was common to retro side-scrolling games. The environment reacts to your movement, especially the "Ground Pound," and the ambience of the game world really shows through amazingly.

Sound:

All of the classic Donkey Kong music is present, along with some extra's to modernize the franchise. The sound effects for movement and when you bop an enemy on the head are very nostalgic and bring back so many memories of playing the originals on the old Nintendo systems.

Length:

An average play-through will take you between 5-8 hours if you just play normal and enjoy the scenery. If your goal is to collect everything and "100%" the game, it can drastically increase the playtime to the point of over 12-15+ hours of gameplay.

Value:

Donkey Kong Country Returns is an excellent reboot of the franchise, bringing back all of the classic elements that made the first games so great. Unfortunately, though, I cannot see paying the full retail price of $49.99 for the game, as with the repetition and relatively short game time it makes me feel uncomfortable paying that much for the game.

A good price, in my opinion, is about $20 or so, which will leave you satisfied inside your heart and your wallet, but supporting the developer by paying full retail price wouldn't be the worst thing in the world.