Donkey Kong Country Returns (DKCR) is an unapologetically difficult game. It’s a reminder of an age where side-scrolling platformers where as brutal as they were fun; giving the player X amount of lives and laughing maniacally as it rapes every last one of them away, enjoying the sweet, salty taste of your tears.
Yet somehow Donkey Kong Country Returns remains one of the most enjoyable games I’ve played recently. Retro Studios has proven that they can not only take a franchise and give it a contemporary spin (See: Metroid Prime Trilogy), but also can deliver a game that is a visually stunning homage to a 2-D classic.
But let’s get back to the difficulty of DKCR, because I’m not done talking about it. For a little perspective, there is a level in the second world where I wasted 20+ lives to beat it. And this wasn’t a rare occurrence, the same thing happened again on the fourth world, then the sixth. While the game offers a checkpoint in every level, they come a little too infrequently. This is especially frustrating when you come across levels that may be stretched out a little too long for their own good.
However, for the gamer that loves to blaze through the titles he/she plays, there is a way to bypass the exceptionally hard levels without penalty. It’s called the Super Guide, and it’s been a Nintendo staple for a while now. Essentially the Super Guide is a white flag raising, surrender by the player. It’s an acknowledgment of your failure; choosing to hang your head in shame so you can move past what you otherwise couldn’t beat. There is no better Nintendo game to incorporate this feature than Donkey Kong Country Returns. When you die eight times in a row you are asked by your checkpoint pig friend if you want Super Kong--a Kong that looks like DK, but silver--to come in and run through the level for you, completing it and letting you move on to the next level. The only penalty being that you can’t keep the collectibles Super Kong picks up along the way.
I’m ashamed to say that I used the Super Guide. And after sitting there--controller on the couch--watching Super Kong blaze through this ridiculous mine cart level, I’m glad I did. I would have never beaten that. The Super Guide makes a lot of the levels in DKCR passable, as ridiculous as it is to admit that.
However, the game is so beautiful I didn’t mind replaying levels over and over again. Donkey Kong’s art direction is incredibly imaginative and lush looking. Donkey Kong Country Returns joins Super Mario Galaxy 2 and Metroid: Other M as Wii games that could be mistaken for next-gen titles. You can thank the use of vibrant colors, brilliant character designs, and fantastic environments that help mask the lack of HD visuals.
