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Donkey Kong Country Returns Review

Donkey Kong Country Returns Review

Donkey Kong Country Returns (Nintendo Wii)
Released On: Nov. 21, 2010
Developer: Retro Studios / Nintendo
Publisher: Nintendo

To say “Donkey Kong is back” would not do justice for how special this moment is. Retro Studios has worked with Nintendo to not only put out a new Donkey Kong game on the Nintendo Wii, but they did it in the best way imaginable — by bringing him back to surroundings and kind of gameplay that fans have been longing for. When RARE first created Donkey Kong Country back in the mid 90s, the giant ape and his monkey-pals were kings of the 2D genre. With 3D rendered character models and the most fun sidescrolling gameplay imaginable, the Donkey Kong Country series was one of the most cherished series of the time.

After RARE (then developer) left Nintendo in the early stages of the Gamecube lifespan, and Donkey Kong went through a number of experimental phases. None of them were as largely successful or critcally acclaimed as his SNES legacy, and every appearance from the great ape left fans wanting a return to that formula.

Retro Studios has returned the series to the basics. Even the title of the game — Donkey Kong Country RETURNS — spells out how DK and his family are back to what fans have been wanting.

I’ll go ahead and spoil it — this game is great. This game is fantastic. This game is what Donkey Kong fans have been wanting — no questions about it.

But is there room for improvement? Is Donkey Kong Country Returns a “return” to something that should have been left behind? And should the series not play off nostalgia, but rather evolve from that gamplay and move forward?

Read on to find out:

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