Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze

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Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze
Take back DK Island from the Arctic Invaders!
Protagonist(s): Donkey Kong Genre(s): Platform Platform(s): Wii U Nintendo Switch Release Date: Wii U: JP: February 13, 2014 NA/EU: February 21, 2014 AU: February 22, 2014 BRA: March 20, 2014 Nintendo Switch: JP/KOR: May 3, 2018 WW: May 4, 2018 Developer(s): Retro Studios Publisher(s): Nintendo Country: United States Series: Donkey Kong Country Predecessor: Donkey Kong Country Returns

Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze is a 2D platform game developed by Retro Studios and published by Nintendo for the Wii U in 2014. It is the sequel to the Wii/3DS game Donkey Kong Country Returns, and is overall the fifth (sixth if counting Donkey Kong 64) game in the Donkey Kong Country series. It's also currently the final overall game in the series.

A port for the Nintendo Switch was released in May 2018, which features upscaled graphics, motion control support, and the new Funky Mode, which allows you to play as Funky Kong.

Why It's a Cool Adventure

1. Just like Donkey Kong Country Returns, the game faithfully replicates the feel of the classic Donkey Kong Country games while still adding new mechanics of its own.
2. Great graphics, as per Donkey Kong Country standards, with gorgeous visuals and lots of variety in the themes for the levels.
3. Fantastic controls, as is to be expected with Donkey Kong Country, with each Kong controlling smoothly and having their own abilities.
4. Very diagetic level design, where platforms and obstacles always feel organically integrated into the level's theming.
5. Excellent soundtrack composed by David Wise, especially "Horn Top Hop", "Windmill Hill", "Mountain Mania", "Scorch n' Torch, & "Amiss Abyss". The soundtrack also brings back "Stickerbrush Symphony" from DKC2.
6. The game again features a hardcore platform difficulty, however, the difficulty curve is more forgiving than its predecessor.
7. Unlike most Nintendo platformers, which usually stick to a single gimmick for each level, Tropical Freeze levels use multiple gimmicks at once for very creative and varied level designs without being too in-your-face about how each one works like in DKC3. Levels are much longer now because of this.
   • Some levels have hidden exits that lead to bonus levels, just like in Returns.
8. The rather awkward blowing mechanic that required motion controls from Donkey Kong Country Returns (although the 3DS version reassigned that to Down+Y/X) is replaced with a new "pulling" mechanic where Donkey Kong pulls out switches buried into the ground to trigger mechanisms or find items. Pulling is much faster and easier than blowing so it doesn't interrupt the pacing.
9. The game's title screen has a gorgeous sounding "DONKEY KONG!" jingle that plays.
10. The mine cart and rocket barrel levels return, and this time they have two/three hit points, which makes them significantly less punishing then before while still challenging.
    • You can also equip shields that protect your vehicles from damage.
11. In addition to Diddy Kong being playable, Dixie Kong and Cranky Kong are now available in their own Kong Barrels, each with their own abilities.
12. For the first time since DKC3, underwater levels make a return with significantly improved swimming physics so they're not tedious to play.
13. Funky Kong is finally playable in the Switch version, having his own unique quirks: he can double-jump, hover/glide using his surfboard, and can breathe underwater forever.
14. This game introduces a new cast of antagonists, the Snowmads. While still not as memorable as the Kremlings, they have very creative designs based around Arctic/Antarctic animals and Vikings.
15. Creative and challenging boss fights that often change their attack patterns as the fight progresses.
16. Each level in the final world is a revisit to the main worlds of Donkey Kong Country Returns in their frozen Snowmad-filled forms.
17. Both versions have a new accessable area called "Funky's Fly 'N' Buy", in which you can purchase and equip an assortment of different items:
    • Diddy, Dixie, and Cranky Barrels to help DK in the levels.
    • Red, Green and Blue Balloons to get an Extra Life, recover from the stage after falling, and be able to stay underwater longer.
    • Squawks, who like in Donkey Kong Country Returns will help you locate Jigsaw Pieces.
    • Banana Juice, which will turn you golden after taking a hit from anything, also like in Returns.
    • Heart Boost, which grants DK and his partner another Heart.
    • The Crash Guard, which will shield the Kongs from damage on the Mine Carts.
    • The Capsule Toy Machine, which will randomly give you a figurine of a Kong or Snowmad character.

Frozen Qualities

1. The difficulty is unbalanced, as is typical for a Donkey Kong Country game, and most of the obstacles in certain levels are downright frustrating and nearly impossible to beat, especially the Temple levels which, just like in the previous game, have no checkpoints.
   • Bopopolis is easily considered the hardest level in the game.
2. Dixie Kong is slightly overpowered, just like in DKC2 and DKC3, due to her helicopter hair allowing her and/or DK to cross large gaps, similarly to Yoshi's Woolly World/Crafted World's Flutter Wings.
3. Very long loading screens, especially the loading time for the map startup. The loading times, however, have been greatly shortened in the Switch port.
4. The Switch Port, other than having a slightly higher resolution and a playable Funky Mode, doesn't have anything new.
   • Also, contrary to WIACA #9, the title screen in the Switch port no longer has the "DONKEY KONG!" jingle.
5. There isn't much of a reward for getting Puzzle Pieces or beating Time Attacks, both of which can be very difficult and frustrating at times.
6. The final boss battle against Lord Fredrik, while epic and challenging, is somewhat disappointing as it plays out just like the regular bosses. This is a stark contrast to King K. Rool's boss fights, which always had a unique boss theme to them (Gangplank Galleon, Crocodile Cacophony, and Big Boss Blues) and K. Rool himself would have unique gimmicks to defeat him, such as his blunderbuss or electricity damage.
   • Fredrik himself, and his Snowmad crew, are clear rehashes of the iconic villain King K. Rool and his Kremling Krew, who are once again entirely absent.
7. As before stated, Funky Mode is basically the game's Easy/Mellow Mode, as Funky Kong himself has five hearts, can breathe infinitely underwater and can hover in the air, defeating all the difficulty of the game.
   • Also adding to the easiness of Funky Mode, you can bring items with you when you're in the level.

Reception

Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze received positive reviews on both Wii U and Switch (respectively, Metacritic's critic and user scores are 83/100 and 8.9 for Wii U, and 86/100 and 8.6/10 for Switch). It was nominated for Best Game of 2014; while it didn't win, it did win Best Platformer of 2014. When the game was initially released on the Wii U, it was mostly ignored due to the Wii U's lack of popularity and didn't sell very well. However, when it was ported to Nintendo Switch, the critical and commercial reception was significantly better.

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