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Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze
Wii U
Released On: Feb 21, 2014
83
9.0
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 77 Critic Reviews
83
84% Positive
65 Reviews
65 Reviews
16% Mixed
12 Reviews
12 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 77 Critic Reviews
83
84% Positive
65 Reviews
65 Reviews
16% Mixed
12 Reviews
12 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Everything in Tropical Freeze was made with extreme care and attention. From the landscapes and enemies to the music and level design. Each island has its own ecosystem so filled with details and different things to do that, as soon as one level is over, the question of what will Retro do next always looms around, and the developer always surprises.
Tropical Freeze is a trip to a time when games didn’t hold your hand or treat you like some sort of imbecile. It revels in its challenge and while there will be many moments of screaming and frustration, it never feels unfair, and that’s what makes this game great.
User Score
Universal Acclaim
Based on 979 User Ratings
9.0
91% Positive
893 Ratings
893 Ratings
3% Mixed
34 Ratings
34 Ratings
5% Negative
52 Ratings
52 Ratings
User Score
Universal Acclaim
Based on 979 User Ratings
9.0
91% Positive
893 Ratings
893 Ratings
3% Mixed
34 Ratings
34 Ratings
5% Negative
52 Ratings
52 Ratings
This sounds rude, but I mean it in the best way when I say that I'm glad the DKC series came to a grand, yet subtle close, right here.
I grew up playing DKC Returns with my brother on the Wii back in 2017, completely unaware of the Wii U or this game even existing. But when I grew up and got on summer break, I heard about this game and thought I'd give it a kick, see if it would do any tricks for me.
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Wii U
It's a little odd how Returns changed the style of Donkey Kong Country from two individual characters to Donkey Kong and his friend/ power up. I don't think it's a bad way to go about the series, but I'll be honest when I say I miss the older Country games play style. Aside from that hiccup tho? Honestly Tropical Freeze delivers more Donkey Kong Country goodness than the original did.Tropical Freeze is oozing with far more flavor and charm than the majority of the country games did, and compared to Returns, does far far better with it's stylish backgrounds and levels. Not to knock Returns, as honestly it was a great return to the Donkey Kong Country series; Tropical Freeze just improves on everything that Returns did. Add that together with Dixie and Cranky in the mix, and the amount of new areas and platforming that you can do is pretty **** top of all this improvement, they also made Tropical Freeze far more challenging than any other game before. Honestly the game's difficulty curve is so smooth and the deaths just feel so fair that it really should be a testament at how to make difficulty in game making classes. Add that with a bunch of resources for a player to access more life's or use a super version of Donkey Kong that will make the game easier, and it really does feel like they thought of everything when it comes to the hurdles of platforming skill.Really Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze is one of the best Country games out there. The platforming is great, the atmosphere is great, and the unlockables are abundant. There is so much to do and see in Tropical Freeze that makes it well worth retail price.
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Wii U
The kongs are back in one of the most beautiful platformers we have seen in high definition. Maybe it lacks innovation, but its incredible rhythm and funny gameplay makes it a must-have for Wii U owners.
Tropical Freeze is a marvel. Though it doesn’t deviate from expectations in the slightest, it’s an exceptional, and exceptionally tough platformer that just about every masochistic Wii U owner should play.
Donkey Kong Country Tropical Freeze is a master class in the art form of 2D platformers, but it’s way too difficult for its own good and this makes the inherent flaws and limitations of the genre all the more obvious.
Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze is a finely tuned and well crafted trial of reflexes that rewards tenacity and endurance with the satisfaction of having achieved something far from easy...Just don’t expect the kids to stick around and enjoy it with you.
If the regular levels were as inventive as the boss battles, then Tropical Freeze would be a surefire hit, or at least a game that demands more of your attention. No matter how much I was looking forward to seeing DK in HD, it's difficult to maintain that enthusiasm when the end product plays it so safe: even the visuals fail to make an impact. They're nice enough, but like the level design, the environments are mostly bland.
Old-school Donkey Kong is BACK, BABY!
This game feels exactly like the old Donkey Kong games on the Super Nintendo. And that's a good thing, because those classic 2D platformers were great.
Great level design. Secrets everywhere -- it's pretty hard to get all the puzzle pieces and spell out K-O-N-G in a single playthrough of a level you haven't seen before. Every island has its own aesthetic, and every level its own gimmick. (Unlike Super Mario 3D World, where every level had its own gimmick, but the worlds didn't have every level sharing the same aesthetic).
Everything is beautiful. Super, super beautiful.
The reason for my mixed review score?
It's just not quite as fun as my other games. I'm only on the 3rd island but haven't put the game back into the slot because all my other games are more fun, including some older Wii games.
Also, the load times are ridiculously, inappropriately long. I suppose that's the biggest thing that turns me off from the game -- knowing that I'll be waiting a full minute or two between each level. The load times are worse than they are for Mighty No. 9, which was pretty bad on load times.
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Wii U
Would be a good game without the terrible controls... Who came up with the idea to make it extra complicated and add another button for grabbing vines if the previous game could do it with a single button? What happened to running with pressing Y and rolling your thumb to B to jump while running? A formula we had in every Mario game since 1980...
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Wii U
This game just wasn't enjoyable to me. I didn't find it fun after the first few levels. Overcoming challenges was unsatisfying. Maybe you just have to play with another person?
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Wii U
Summary Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze has players help Donkey Kong and his friends get back their home from Vikings. Swing, swim, leap, and barrel-blast your way through tons of eye-popping levels to save DK Island from a permanent freeze.
Rated E
for Everyone
Platforms:
- Wii U
- Nintendo Switch
Initial Release Date: Feb 21, 2014
Developer:
- Retro Studios
Publisher: Nintendo
Genres:
