Excuse me if there are any mistakes. I'm French and I use Google translate!

Hello everyone!

With the release of Donkey Kong Country Returns HD on January 16, I would like to explain to you why, in my opinion, Returns is better than Tropical Freeze. I've already looked through the forums and few people agree with me, people generally prefer Tropical Freeze. Please remain courteous and kind, I am open to criticism, so get on your keyboards!

Before starting, I would like to point out that I made Returns when it came out on Wii, then Tropical Freeze on Wii U, and only then did I make the original trilogy on SNES. Which perhaps explains my rather strange point of view on the saga.

1 - The story -

In Returns: The volcano on Donkey Kong Island erupts and the Tikis, inhabiting the island with our favorite sidekicks, hypnotize the wildlife in order to steal Donkey's bananas. Their goal is actually to create more Tikis in order to exterminate the two monkeys on the island and gain control over them. During the boss of world 7, we learn that the stolen bananas are in fact used to create new Tikis.

- In Tropical Freeze: While Donkey celebrates his birthday with his family, the snowmans freeze his island and expel the Kong family at the same time. Did they want revenge on Donkey following an old altercation? Did they just want their bananas stolen like the Tikis? Or were they just looking for a place to live properly? No answer will be given during the game. The mystery still lingers, even 10 years later.

2 - The levels

In Returns, the levels are certainly shorter, but the mechanics are more exploited. There are 6 levels in total dedicated to the mine carts, iconic of the saga, against only 3 in Tropical Freeze. The new feature, the rocket barrel, is the emblem of 5 levels against 3 in Tropical Freeze. Rambi is also less present in TF.

Returns has 9 worlds and 80 levels (3DS versions included) and offers iconic environments of the saga. Almost all of the environments of the first game are present, with the exception of the aquatic and snowy levels. There is even a stage taking place on a boat, reminiscent of Donkey Kong Country 2, and the volcano also allows you to recall some memories of the second episode.

Tropical Freeze has 7 worlds and 63 levels, or 2 worlds and 17 levels less. The aquatic levels are back, but the controls are a purge. Having to watch your air gauge is also annoying and prevents us from going at our own pace.

In addition, like the 2D Mario games, Tropical Freeze brings secret exits. The novelty is certainly welcome, but poorly exploited and for good reason: they are not indicated anywhere. It is therefore common to look for a secret exit in a level that does not have one. You also need to have the right teammate to access it (for example, you need Dixie for a secret exit in the water, otherwise it is impossible to access it) and some levels even have two secret exits.

In Super Mario World, the secret exits were indicated by a red dot instead of the usual yellow one, I do not understand why a similar system has never been used again.

I can't explain why, but I can't bring myself to like the environments offered by Tropical Freeze. The game is certainly very pretty, but I find that it doesn't match Donkey Kong. The "Tropical" side gives the impression of taking a walk in the park and we almost forget the goal of the game and the brutal side of Donkey.

The last world of the scenario is actually the island of Donkey Kong Country Returns totally frozen. The idea is nice, but we can't say that they put a lot of effort into its creation, although fortunately the levels are different. So there are actually only 6 completely new worlds out of the 7 worlds, and a reskin with new levels, of course.

The environments of Donkey Kong Country are always realistic. A jungle, a forest, caves, an amusement park, a library, a beehive and so many others. However, world 5 of Tropical Freeze takes us to an automated factory in the middle of a jungle. I didn't get hooked on this part of the game at all.

Furthermore, I prefer the map of Returns, which is actually a single island. Traveling from island to island in Tropical Freeze didn't transcend me more than that.

3 - The bosses

In Returns, some bosses are really very successful. The boss of world 4 is a mole and we fight on a mine cart that moves while dodging the boss's projectiles.

The boss of world 3 is vulnerable to bombs that must be thrown back at him.

The one in world 7 is in a kind of cockpit and you must first grab underneath him and hit him before jumping on him.

Each hypnotized boss is controlled by a Tiki, thus playing a different sound with each hypnosis.

In Tropical Freeze, with the exception of the boss of world 2, you simply have to jump on the bosses to kill them. The boss of world 4 is a water fight, but the way to kill it is equivalent to a jump.

World 3 has 3 bosses in one, since it is actually three monkeys to kill by jumping on them. Now this principle already existed in Returns with the three crabs acting as bosses in world 2.

4 - The rest / The conclusion

- It is no longer possible to breathe

- The boss fights are much too long and not inspired compared to Returns

- Dixie is completely cheated and allows you to fly and skip all the levels

- As a result, everyone abandons Diddy and Cranky

- Tropical Freeze ultimately brings few new features

- Less difficult and less long than Returns

- The secret exits: good idea on paper, but poorly executed

- The aquatic levels, a purge

- World 6 is a reskin of the previous game

- Less exploited mechanics

- The hard mode is less interesting than the mirror mode of Returns

As for the OST, Tropical Freeze is superior, even if the one of Returns is also excellent.

So yes, I like Returns, I even love it. It is one of my favorite video games. But I don't like Tropical Freeze. I also love the first and third installments, but I liked the second one less. Everyone loves Diddy's Kong Quest and Tropical Freeze, which I can't seem to like. Am I a UFO?

Everyone to your keyboards!

And sorry for the novel XD

Ps : I wanted to create a poll to find out which one you prefer between Returns and Tropical Freeze. I'm very unfamiliar with Reddit and don't know if there is a way to do this. I apologize if that is the case. There was a "Poll" icon when I wrote my text but when I clicked on it, it sent me to a page saying "this page does not exist." I gave up.

So, don't hesitate to comment and tell me which one you prefer, and above all, why!

View Poll

So I just remembered something I can't explain that I experienced a long time ago in world 3 of the original snes DKC.

I was on the stage Vulture Culture, and while I'd beaten the stage plenty of times before, this particular time I got tilted. No matter what I did, I just kept making stupid mistakes over and over again.

I burned through a huge amount of lives, I don't know how many, but definitely 10+.

Then something unexpected happened. When I restarted from the checkpoint once again, there was barrel in the gap where there had never been one before. I jumped into it and it warped me straight to the exit.

I know there are other stage skips in the game, but I've never been able to find anything on this one in particular. I don't know if was a mercy thing that appeared because I'd lost so many lives or if I'd somehow triggered it by doing something unusual I was unaware of.

Does anybody know anything that could solve this old mystery for me?

https://preview.redd.it/tdkgcy03t74e1.jpg?width=403&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=eef71baec6b2aa838ea85bf51b0a4dc8460bc651

I think this would be a very intriguing topic at the time Pauline is a full-time main cast and appears with Donkey Kong in most games, that reminds of the fact Candy was Donkey's love interest back in the early days of DKC franchise.

However, Candy cannot be described as a very active character within major official games (simply based on the fact she was never playable in any form). Instead, people had more impression on her performance in cartoon adaption. And obviously recent DKC materials, from Mario sport games, 2023 movie to the recent Universal Studio, don't want to mention most DKC characters including her. When it comes to being supportive NPC, now Nintendo also seem to prefer to stick to Cranky and Funky.

Personally I think it's a shame for Nintendo to not make Candy as useful and supportive as she is in TV series, given that most heroines in Mario series (Daisy, Birdo, Toadette) have been getting a better life these days, and even Warioware has a bunch of supportive female companions, Nintendo's treat for Candy and girls in DKC seems to be very poor .

And then.... not sure if having Donkey only passionate for Pauline now is okay? We know the two won't really result in a romantic relationship, so I feel like not keeping Donkey and Candy's relationship is kinda bad for the two. Bowser is always known for one-sided crush so he is fine with that, but Candy is an already built character so removing her seems to be a bad move.

I know Pauline is Miyamoto's earlier creation so he sure has more preference for her, and obviously Miyamoto didn't seem to care about Candy when he created newer Mini March series. But tide has changed and I don't think she and Candy contradict each other in storytelling. Pauline was the one to contradict with Peach yet she survives with new settings, after all.

Do you think bringing her back to newer games (not necessarily playable, at least as a supporting cast) would be good?

View Poll

https://preview.redd.it/m4cgk5let54e1.png?width=308&format=png&auto=webp&s=b94ba8d9861b4644d28125e85e8bef00656f2546

There's no gameplay difference between these and Gnawties. Is there a specific reason they're in the game?

Finally finished DKC3, playing through DKC1-3 as a kid I always saw 2 as the best, replaying them as an adult definitely has me feeling more appreciative of 3.

That's right, Top Banana. <⁠(⁠￣⁠︶⁠￣⁠)⁠>

The game saves when you collect all KONG letters in a level I feel like it's such an improvement over DKC1-3's save system, it's tied into the gameplay more than just save points on a map

edit: best of the OLD games i mean, DKCR and DKCTF auto save is just the norm now and best for the modern day

DK64 is by far the best in the series, looking at an objective standpoint it is the best its also the most ultimate game in history due to the ammount of content it holds

if you personally disagree thats fine, but i mean cmon, its objectively the best right? what do you think

edit: im not going to respond to comments if you get heated for mo reason

https://www.deviantart.com/orioto/art/Neo16bit-Ghostly-Grove-1057962502

Hi, i'm a 14 year old boy who was playing dck1 on his uncle's snes. Everything was going fine until i came up to this level. I suffer from epilepsy and i just can't beat it. I really want to know who was the idiot who came up with the idea to create a bird that causes seizures. Anyway, i just can't beat this level and i really need help but i don't know what to do.