DKC Returns Update - No Water Levels and No Kremlings or King K.Rool

[CelticJobber]

I was looking forward to this game after E3, but the latest developer interview from Kotaku makes me alot less enthusiastic about it... I don't think the developers understand what made the original DKC series so great.

Aside from the fact that you have to play as Donkey Kong with only limited interaction from Diddy (kind of like Yoshi was in New SMB Wii). The lack of "aligators" and K. Rool is especially puzzling, as I don't see how it could be considered a DKC title without them. And the water levels are some of my favorites from the old series, so it sucks that they won't have any in DKC Returns.

http://kotaku.com/5572645/their-orders-are-to-make-a-better-donkey-kong-country

"Any return of other Donkey Kong family characters, such as Cranky and Lanky?

Tanabe: "There was a direction from Mr. Miyamoto as to what to up point in the series' legacy to draw from, but I think it will be the most fun for people to play it themselves and see who pops up along the way."

Okay, but what about DK's animal buddies, like the rhino he could ride in the first Donkey Kong Country?

Tanabe: "I know people certainly have enjoyed them in the past so we are definitely considering those elements of gameplay. But you'll have to excuse me for keeping this secret for a little while longer."

Water levels?

Tanabe: "There are no underwater stages this time around."

Wait. That last one was an answer with information. Walker elaborated, saying that experiments with DKC-style underwater levels: "felt slow... It just wasn't the kind of gameplay we were looking for."

So I guess that indirectly answers the question of whether Donkey Kong will ride a swordfish.

Tanabe did shoot down the possibility of a return of DKC villain King K.Rool. "There will be no alligators in this game," he said."

[joshnickerson]

They seem to be going for a quicker paced game this time around... slowly swimming through water would probably feel out of place.

[chrisbid]

as long as dk isnt exploring his paternal instincts and the game doesnt have 2 dozen cut scenes, i think most people will be more than satisfied.

[pepharytheworm]

Rare must own the rights to the Kremlings, were they in any game after the Country/Land series? I don't totally mind there being no water levels, but I don't like that you can't switch characters and a health bar. I do like that now you can play co-op at the same time and not just take turns.

[joshnickerson]

They were in DK: King of Swing and DK: Jungle Climber on the GBA and DS respectively. Kremlings also serve as goalies in the Mario Strikers games, for some random reason.

[Jorpho]

Krash also survived in Diddy Kong Racing DS, unlike Banjo and Conker, so it's not like Rare has a stranglehold on them.

Can't say I'd miss the swimming levels. Those were pretty awful.

[Aussie2B]

AKA no Donkey Kong Country

I feel like I'm practically the only one that wasn't given high hopes by the E3 video. To me it looks like just another game along the lines of Jungle Beat and all the other DK games since Rare stopped making them. Maybe fun games in their own right, but they ain't Donkey Kong Country. This is no more of a "return" than those others. Americans nor the Japanese have what it takes to make a proper DKC, period. It has that distinctive British platformer style. The recent Japanese DK games reeked of Japanese design, just as DKC Returns does of American design. The visual style is all off and cartoony, and I'm all but certain that they won't get the controls remotely right. The feel of the controls of the DKC games is a large piece of what makes them what they are. They strike a perfect balance between the rigid precision of Japanese platformers and the slippery looseness of American platformers. Not that those style of controls are bad in their own games, but they don't belong in DKC.

As for their comments on potential water stages, uh, design the game better? Water movement doesn't have to inherently be slow. In fact, I found it quite speedy in the DKC games.

[purenergy]

I will admit the new DKC sounds good, but am not going to judge this game until a final version is ready, and released.
DKC Returns may be an excellent game, and I can't wait to see the final result.

:)

[Kitsune Sniper]

I thought DKC Returns was a kinda remake?

Guess not. :(

[TRM]

I thought the trailer looked pretty good...too bad about the Kremlins though.

I won't miss the water stages either :)

[Rickstilwell1]

If you think about it, Super Mario Land 1 & 2 for Game Boy are both really good even though Bowser isn't the boss, but Tatanga and Wario are. As long as the gameplay is good, I don't think K. Rool makes or breaks the game. It could be that K. Rool took too much of a beating and he's not planning on coming back anytime soon. I just hope the same "jump on enemy / throw thing at enemy" system is used for fighting these newcomers.

[Ed Oscuro]

Walker elaborated, saying that experiments with DKC-style underwater levels: "felt slow... It just wasn't the kind of gameplay we were looking for."
Doesn't that strike you as a reasonable explanation? I'm sure they're not throwing out opportunities for fun just for the hell of it.

and Amen @ Rickstillwell. The GB Marios are amazing fun; I've had more fun with Super Mario Land than with the NES originals, in fact. Some designs, like Bowser, need not be seen year after year - he doesn't seem that cool or interesting a design anymore after having been slogged for years. I'm all for new and interesting things.

[Pichu]

Don't forget, half the characters in Donkey Kong Barrel Blast (racing game for Wii) are Kremlings.

[poloplayr]

thank God! I absolutely hated the water levels!

[Baloo]

Doesn't that strike you as a reasonable explanation? I'm sure they're not throwing out opportunities for fun just for the hell of it.

and Amen @ Rickstillwell. The GB Marios are amazing fun; I've had more fun with Super Mario Land than with the NES originals, in fact. Some designs, like Bowser, need not be seen year after year - he doesn't seem that cool or interesting a design anymore after having been slogged for years. I'm all for new and interesting things.

Yep, I'll third that. Super Mario Land and Super Mario Land 2 are definitely better games than the NES ones IMO, and there was no Bowser, Peach, Luigi, Toad. Hell, the enemies weren't even the same.

As someone who has enjoyed the DKC series a little bit (Someday I'll play through the 3 games, as they're sitting on my shelf right now) I'm excited to see this return. It seems the big name developers are going back to their roots in their franchises, which is a great thing to see regardless if the game is good or bad.

And knowing Nintendo, it can't be terrible.

[joshnickerson]

Jimmy Fallon seems to like it...

http://www.latenightwithjimmyfallon.com/video/donkey-kong-country-returns-demo-62510/1236116/

...whether or not that's a good thing depends entirely on your opinion of Jimmy Fallon, obviously.

[BetaWolf47]

People should be careful what they wish for though. When Donkey Konga came out, people begged Nintendo for a Donkey Kong Country game. Then Donkey Konga 2 came out. People kept begging. A Donkey Kong Country game gets announced. Next thing you know, the title gets changed to "Donkey Kong Country feat. Shania Twain".

[Voliko]

I care about variety, but this is a game marketed as a supposed sequel to a series long dead. It baffles me that they would remove a huge series staple in the game that hails the "Return" of Donkey Kong Country. I'm sure it will still be good, but those familiar faces will be sorely missed.

[Oobgarm]

*shrug*

I don't care if they're making things different. It looks like fun and I'm going to play it regardless. If I want the stuff they left out, I'll go back and play the originals.

[skaar]

I may be in the minority on this but I never really found the DKC games to be that great. I know many people who love the games to pieces.... they just seemed like very overrated platformers that got a lot of press because they were first party.

I'm always glad to see older games get more love though.

The new Kirby game is a lot more interesting to me.

[Rob2600]

I never really found the DKC games to be that great.

DKC was good, but DKC 2 was excellent.

[TonyTheTiger]

The original DKC is oddly relaxing. It's not too hard and a good number of levels have this zen-like feel to them. That's what I'll miss about the water levels.

[Jorpho]

The music was zen. The levels were just ugh. Especially that one with all the croctopuses.

[Sonicwolf]

Im going to miss the water levels. I found them to be hard yet entertaining at the same time. Varied gameplay is the key to a great game.

Although I wont miss the croctopus. They were god damned annoying if you ask me. Nightmares of my childhood.

[sixwayshot]

The water levels were memorable for the music and atmosphere they provided. Not because of the gameplay, which, even back then, was slow, a stark contrast to most of the DKC 1-3 levels.

As for the lack of reptiles to smack around? Whatever. Let's see what they can come up with. Don't worry about it not being exactly what you remembered, or not a perfect translation from the original.

[Aussie2B]

I may have loathed the croctopus as a kid, but that stage is one of the few in the game that actually offers a decent sense of challenge and tension. I think it's an extremely good addition to the game.

And anyone who thinks the DKC water stages are slow is mad. If you know what you're doing and jam on the swim button, you can get through them really quick, and with Enguarde, who's available in practically every water stage, you can really fly. Name one platformer, predominantly land-based but with a handful of water stages, that moves faster in its water stages. I mean, even freakin' Sonic, which is supposed to be all about speed unlike DKC, absolutely crawls in the Labyrinth Zone.