@@albinosquirrelmpls I know right? And for such an incredible game. It’s metacritic scores are overwhelmingly positive from both critics and users but he seems to really dislike it for some reason and yet likes Tropical Freeze- which is essentially the same game with different levels.
I was actually surprised he doesn’t really like this game. To me DKC Returns is better than any of the New Super Mario Bros. titles and at least a 8,5/10 in my book. So many lovely designed and challenging levels and while not as good as David Wise’ work, the soundtrack still slaps! The examples he showed didn’t do it justice, he should have shown K-Levels, Mine Cart and Rocket Barrel tracks.
It's just very disappointing they're spending time and resources on re-releasing an only pretty-good game for the second time and not even giving good attention to detail instead of making a NEW DK game.
@@theharvardyard2356 Yeah, the announcement and the remaster itself is disappointing for sure, even tho this is one of my favorite platformers. 60$ and especially if you’re someone who’s been waiting for a new DK game since Switch launch in 2017.
Agreed! Was actually thinking on buying this, because i like the original Wii version. But at that price point, no way! I'm gonna wait for a used copy to appear on ebay for a lower price point some years from now.
As usual with Forever Entertainment, colors are off and contrast is way too strong. They absolutely destroyed Panzer Dragoon and HOTD in terms of visual direction, and you can clearly see remnants of this here. Darks are way too dark, brights too brights, contrast is too high. Doesn't look good overall in terms of colors.
The art direction has been washed out here, if that makes sense. Everything feels less vibrant and organic, especially the water wich looks like it came from another, less stylized, game.
fantastic review! the longer load times and frame rate drops on boss fights is not really acceptable for 60 bucks. The music seems below par on this version.
@@ocelot-sensei4384 First time? Gamefreak is under nintendo. And not sure it’s really fair to blame Nintendo instead of the actual developer Forever Entertainment.
People were really thinking the multi billion dollar company is scared of announcing their next gen system the same day as a release of a rerelease of a game from 2010
This and Luigi's mansion 2 seem to me like nintendo said: "we had to delay the switch 2 so lets just cheaply remaster 3DS Games to fill in the gaps on our squedule".
Nintendo asks 60 bucks for this .. this is a serious joke. I'm a platformer enthusiast and I was thrilled when they announced this port (let's face it: even calling this a "Remaster" is way to generous) as I have never played the original. Then they dropped the pricetag and yeah - no thanks. It'd be hard to swallow if everything was perfect but somehow I already knew that they wouldn't even put in the effort (or at least the hired studio didn't and Nintendo didn't even bother to check the quality of the final product). Something like this should NOT be accepted.
Be Forever Entertainment in need of a big project: Step 1) Claim you can't port the Wii engine to the Switch for "reasons" Step 2) Suggest a rewrite on Unity Step 3) Get extra budget to support all this extra work Step 4) Profit Or maybe they just lost the source code, I dunno. I like mine.
Maybe they wouldn't have been able to handle the code of tropical freeze enough to implement returns on top given that the project was handled by retro studios and picking up code written by an entirely different team tends to be hard.
Completely agree. Especially with a traditional roll button I think I like the game better than Tropical Freeze. I think this is mostly due to the fact that Tropical Freeze ends with a bunch of ice levels where as Returns concludes with Factory and Volcano themed levels. Lots of moving platforms and hazards. Overall great platforming. While I don't mind ice levels, they a great break in the middle of a game, I don't think it's a good mechanic to conclude a game on. I can imagine Returns would be a lot more of a slog needing to waggle your controller to roll, but with a traditional roll button it plays great!
@seanmcbay I gonna have to disagree. I found the level designs in Returns way too obnoxious & repetitive and they can go on for too long. Also some moments that involved motion controls like blowing or pick up or slam into the ground kinda breaks the paste of the game.
I actually prefer the warm tropical theme of this game over the cold snow theme of tropical freeze. I also really like how each boss fight starts with an animal getting hypnotized by music, overall I love both games but have always preferred DK Country Returns more.
I am genuinely baffled by the critique of the game itself. I loved this game on Wii to the point I gladly double dipped on the 3DS just to experience it again. Tropical Freeze is fun but I wouldn't consider it remarkably better than this one.
Man that Tropical Freeze OST really is god-tier. I got to meet David Wise at a MAGFest and rightfully called him a god. I hope the soundtrack comes to Nintendo Music soon, with the extended credits music missing from the actual game.
@@Dac_vak if you see someone dressed as Regina from Mean Girls in a Bratz box on Friday, that's my wife. come say hi and say you're really impressed with the outfit. She worked way too hard on it and needs some praise and recognition.
So, let me get this: -There game has been remade in Unity despite being the same as Tropical Freeze (and I believe being at least related to the Metroid Prime one?) -There is lag now -Loading times are twice as long as even the 3DS version -Missing/worse visual effects (even if there are some nice new additions) and worse sound mixing/quality -File size is bigger than Tropical Freeze -60 bucks Incredibly disappointing. (Also there was even a Nvidia Shield version in 2019 already at 1080p)
In regards to the music, Nintendo did bring back the amazing David Wise to compose the soundtrack for Tropical freeze and he, as always did an outstanding job
Prime Remaster was 40 bucks, a much better remaster/remake. Kinda hard to tell why Nintendo charges what it does for these. But it sure ain't for graphic quality, likely just pedigree of the IP, and the costs of the studio porting it.
@@ruekurei88 I think it's not exactly pedigree, but popularity with kids. Donkey Kong and Luigi were in the mario movie, samus wasn't. kids will treat this like a new game, same way kids that grew up on the Mario Advance on GBA series saw them as new games.
I love returns because it is just fun, it is consistantly fun throughout. and the vibes feel better than tropical freeze. freeze checks all the marks for a great game but it doesn't feel as cohesive as OG returns. returns is cohesive fun from beginning to end. I think you are falling into a "I only play masterpieces" trap
In my opinion not only should this game of at least meant the standards of the original game but it should have far surpassed it for a full retail $60 price on a console that is two generations newer we should be seeing a distinct visual improvement in my opinion not just meeting the standards of the original
My problem with this is game is the music, they lost an awesome chance to hire Mr. Wise and make a proper remaster. Very hard review by the way, i think that even with that soundtrack this is an awesome game. Edit: I bought the game at launch at 38€ not 60. Are we really going to talk about that on reviews now? Because some games are at 80€, even remasters...
Correction: If you have a New 3DS XL, you can use a 60FPS patch on your modded handheld. That system is MUCH more powerful than the base 3DS and there are a LOT of 60FPS patches available for it.
This and Tropical Freeze are two of my favorite platformers of all time. Sure Tropical Freeze is better. It’s an iterative sequel. It should be. Still, this game is marvelous in my opinion. That being said, I hate the downgraded lighting.
“Who don’t have the best track record.” I’ll be glad when low effort studios go under so first parties stop tossing their greats to a bunch of randos. I hate seeing classics messed with when we could be getting great remasters instead
I find this video oddly disrespectful towards the original game. The level design is fantastic and comparing it to the sequel that came years later on more powerful hardware is unfair.
I don't think it's disrespectful. Even when comparing it to the original trilogy, Returns's levels fall flat. I can't really remember more than a couple levels from DKC Returns (part of it has to do with the dull soundtrack) but I definitely remember a lot from the SNES games. On the contrary, I'd say that the comparison to TF shows just how far Retro came in just 2 games when it comes to mastering DK level design; it's quite the compliment.
This game was revered before Tropical Freeze was a thing. Now, it gets treated on the same level as DKC3. I don't understand why it's impossible for people to just say "Yeah, this game is fantastic!" without needing to interject with a "But it's no Tropical Freeze!". Like, who the fuck asked your opinion of TF?
Jeez John hated it. I played it on Wii and absolutely adored it, even the motion controls. I played with the nunchuck attached though. I loved how hard it was and I made sure to unlock the final world and all.
What idiot came to the idea to port a RUDE engine game to unity?!? When said Engine was already ported and modernized for Prime Remastered in 2021!!!! Context: Prime Remastered was finished by July 2021 and sat 1 1/2 years on nintendos servers. Like many late Switch games which were finished months to years in advance.
The only reason I can think of is because Nintendo possibly being overtly restrictive about sharing their tech when outsourcing development. This port wasn't made by Retro so Nintendo probably didn't want to share their current tech with these developers, which is a shame because porting would be much easier if Nintendo simply shared their methods and techniques. Not that it matters now; the Switch's lifecycle is coming to an end.
I always feel like an outsider for preferring DKC Returns over Tropical Freeze; I played them both back in the day but DKC Returns has more nostalgia for me; I like that it reminds me so heavily of DKC on the SNES.
Man, this was one of my all-time favourite games to play on the 3DS. It's cool to see it back, but also disappointing to know that it could have been something special instead of a straight port from the Wii.
@BMW-sd6nn Okay, poor wording on my part, it's not a *straight port*- but it's a barebones translation in the same way Luigi's Mansion 2 was, which is just a little bit disappointing considering some of the banger HD reworks we've gotten on the Switch (such as Xenoblade Chronicles or Miitopia)
@braunstein5645 Agreed this is probably the most disappointing HD remaster we have seen. I mean it still looks good to me and I haven't played the original so I'm excited but yeah agree. The xenoblade stuff is a different league however as that is actually monolith soft upgrading their prior stuff, luigis mansion, DKCR, are studios they hire to do it, im kinda shocked nintendo picked forever entertainment tbh.
Is that because MVG likes to repeat a point over and over for 10 minutes which could have been said in 30 seconds? Like you are left wondering if you have reverse alzheimer's
Seems like this will be a skip for me, i really enjoyed the tropical freeze port as a first time player, but anything short of perfection when you're porting old games like this and charging this damn much is not acceptable. I should probably just pick up Mario wonder at this point, seems like the way better bet for a high quality 2D platformer.
This game is still way better than Mario wonder. I guess its down to taste but DKC returns is definitely one of the best platformers ever made, i dont know what the reviewer is on about.
Honestly, I kinda wish they could give Donkey Kong a brand new 3D Platformer similar like Donkey Kong 64 instead of another Donkey Kong Country game or port.
I 100% agree! Donkey Kong Country games are fun, but I definitely think Donkey Kong needs to break back into a new 3D platformer. I wouldn't mind a collect-a-thon just as long as it doesn't have the excessive amount of collectibles and character-swapping of Donkey Kong 64.
Maybe. 64 wasn't that great, as it wound up being just Banjo Kazooie but extremely bloated. Maybe the 3D Mario team can tackle a 3D DK since they seem to be sitting around doing nothing at the moment anyways. It's been 8 years since Mario Odyssey. Where's their next game??? A new DK game would be a great change of pace for them if they're struggling to come up with something original.
I don’t get why Nintendo didn’t have Retro remake this game with the Tropical Freeze engine. Even if Retro are preoccupied with Metroid Prime 4, they put out a remake of Prime 1, so why not?
Remaking this game to TF graphics standards would be way too more effort for a late release like this and would barely impact how many copies the game would sell. It’s there to pad out the Switch library and ride the coat tails of a new DK ride before Nintendo move on to Switch 2.
I think because Retro had been working on this music game that got abruptly ended by Nintendo and then put on Prime 4. Just kind of sounds like a shit show there as usual.
I wonder if this has to do with releasing the game alongside the new theme park area. Remaking the game would have taken much longer if they went that route instead. They probably wanted to introduce a new audience to this franchise with both the game and the Super Nintendo World area releasing close to each other.
I love the 3DS version. Sure, it’s only 30 fps but the 3D effect and the last (mobile) console that actually has visible pixels that look comparable to scan lines has a certain charm. Biggest mistake here is asking 60 bucks for it imo.
It's odd that Nintendo never really found a standardized way to bring Wii (and Gamecube, since they're very similar) games over to the Switch. Some remasters use emulation; some seem to be rebuilt from scratch; this one uses Unity of all things.
Both this game and Tropical Freeze lack a certain quality that the SNES trilogy had. Perhaps it’s the excessive visual elements present in current DK games. In essence, while the game is good, it resembles those Android scam games with too much happening on the screen at once. It lacks the polished, clean experience with fewer elements that the previous games offered.
8:33 The foliage in the background here is not animated in the HD version 💀 And, in general, the new lighting somehow looks flatter than the Wii original, too...
I’m genuinely surprised that you’re not a fan of this game. I think it’s hands down one of the best platformers ever made. This is an excellent port, although I do not think it should be full priced considering it’s a 15 year old game and there is seemingly little to no new content.
Well, at least they got a Wii game to run at 1080p 60 fps instead of pulling a Paper Mario TTYD & cutting a Gamecube game down to 30 fps. Btw, the Wii was basically a suped up GC. I'm still pissed TTYD got cut down to 30 fps when it definitely didn't NEED to. Nintendo managed to get freaking Skyward Sword to double its original frame rate on Switch, and that's a much more demanding game than Paper Mario. Then again, people will excuse everything because "it's a rEmAkE!" as if the graphics are a UE5 game like Hellblade 2 trying to run on Switch.
The actually did implement some pretty heavy lighting tech in the ttyd remake, I don't like that its 30fps either but its rendering is a lot more complex than the gc version.
Paper Mario TTY looks absolutely gorgeous on the switch, way better than the original and the 30fps do not affect the enjoyment, I was actually quite impressed of how good the remaster was in almost everything.
It was already ridiculous that they were asking $60 for a basic port of a 15 year old game, but now that we know that it's also a sloppy port on top of that, it's downright unforgivable
Sucks how we're in the 4K era and it takes Nintendo this long to put out just basic HD versions of their games. If only they weren't propped up by marketing talking points that date back to 90's retailer training manuals, and the aggressive copyright strike era that lead to the forced positivity Nintendo Partner era on youtube. Then maybe they'd be forced to have competitive hardware again and compete for sales with the entire third party industry within their own ecosystem.
@@SotNist Compete with sales? The Switch is the second highest selling home console. AAA games barely sell and take forever to make based on new hardware capabilities. Even a simple fun game like Astro Bot will only sell 1.5M copies in 2 months while LM2HD sells that much in one week. 4K has nothing to do with the quality and design choices that Nintendo makes. You know this game took barely any time to remaster. Stop pretending like it actually took 8 years
@@gamerrrdude4405 I'm talking about competing for software sales within their own ecosystem against the entire combined, contemporary output of the gaming industry's third party publishers and developers. You know, what literally every other platform and ecosystem does. Every game you put out is going to be a best seller if there's hardly anything else on the platform to play. Duh?
@ What’s wrong with that? They are still competing and they didn’t get 140M+ console sales from having the exact same library as everyone else. Third party support is great and I want that on the Switch 2 as well, but the reason people buy a console is for the exclusives. They would have sold that much even if there were more third party support because that’s what this fanbase wants. If they were buying those games because “there is just nothing else to play”, then most people just wouldn’t play anything on the console.
@@SotNist Yes. I wouldn’t buy a console for that, but it’s a nice bonus. Get your priorities straight. There is no competition in the AAA industry whatsoever. That’s how Nintendo continues to dominate it with more sales. Stop pretending like you know what you’re talking about. Why would I buy a console with games I can play anywhere else already?
I realize this is a technical review, but my biggest issue is Nintendo pricing this game not only at a full retail price of a brand new game, but even higher than its original release price point. I hope the sales of this game give Nintendo a wake-up call that they need to reign in their pricing ego a bit.
Let’s hope the producers at Nintendo hold the folks doing the Samus Returns port to a higher standard. In Paper Mario on Switch, with its screen space reflections that use a lot of frame time, at least it’s teed up to be great on the new Switch hardware and gives an “easy” look upgrade to bring it in line with modern expectations.
I don't even care about most of the "flaws" here except the framerate issues.... but honestly I would not buy the game because the game itself is just meh. Back when it came out originally on Wii I was so disappointed, ESPECIALLY in the music. David Wise was an absolute wizard back on the OG Donkey Kong Country trilogy, and it's a war crime to give a game with "Donkey Kong Country" in the title bland music.
I think you were a bit harsh on this game John, I agree with you that it's not as strong as Tropical Freeze, the first levels at least, but in my opinion, the last couple of worlds of Returns are simply fantastic! With some very creative and fun level design and incredible music and arrangements! The first couple of worlds are a bit basic I admit but the game really picks it up in the second half for me
Gosh, why didn't they just use the Tropical Freeze engine and assets? It's literally already there. Wonder how this release compares to the Wii version emulated with a HD texture pack.
John Linneman said Yooka-laylee impossible lair is a ''much better game'' than DK Country Returns? Yeah, something's not quite right indeed. ....with his Brain.
This has got to be the worst review I've ever seen on Digital Foundry. The commentary is like "yeah, the game runs OKAY, with flawless framerate and better graphics, good thing that the studio is improving since they did so bad on their previous titles, and I have to say, I really don't like this game and find it uninteresting and boring, but you could say that it is good, if you are into that sort of thing" So full of backhanded compliments, it's kinda hilarious.
Some people love to downplay this game, and put Tropical Freeze on a pedestal for some reason. They're not that different. I always enjoyed this game just as much.
4 часа назад+2
@@shadowfired Agreed, Returns and Tropical Freeze are way more comparable than people make them out to be. I feel like its that some fans that don't like that David Wise didn't make the soundtrack and drag down the whole game with it. I also think people put the original trilogy on a pedestal too. I don't think they play nearly as good as the Retro Studios duo.
My problem with DF reviews are how inconsistent the format is between different videos. I sometimes get whiplash at their segues and the topics they choose to focus on.
One third of the video is spent on talking about how much John dislikes this game. I think this is way too much and unprofessional tbh. I like this game almost as much as tropical freeze but I wouldn't praise this game for 5 minutes in a 15 minutes video.
I am really a gamer that doesnt care much about Graphics and even performance is of less importance as long as games are still fun I can forgive everything. Still I really enjoy Digital Foundry Videos, also the ones about High End Graphics Games, but mostly I enjoy the Retrogame and Nintendo Videos from John. Even though they are usually seen as Graphics Analysis Videos, I still think that John does some of the best reviews in the entire Industry, because he notices and appreciates even the smallest Details. Watching a Review from him, makes me often enjoy those games more. Its really incredible work in my opinion. But about this game I have a completely different opinion. For me its not average, it is one of the best platformers ever. Maybe not as good as Tropical Freeze, but its very close and its so much fun. I wasnt a DK fan when I bought it on Launch Day for the Wii, but it became my favourite Game for the Wii and it made me reappreciate 2d Platformers. I played it 100percent both on Wii and 3DS and I cant help myself and buy and finish it again. If you have never played it, I can only recommend it.
Tantalus Media was known for serving up complete crap including the horrible South Park Rally before remastering Twilight Princess on the Wii U and Skyward Sword on the Switch so I can see how Nintendo was able to help Forever Entertainment get on the right track in order to deliver upon doing this port justice. They are pros at offering the proper guiderails to outside developers and bringing out the best in them.
There are MANY "minor" graphical issues throughout the game, colour, lighting, shadows and water surfaces are notably different from the original presentation... it's more like they just didn't care about the original work, it was just a job and they got it done.
I saw the complaints. They probably did just "phone it in" but I want a version of this game that isn't crippled by substandard controls for such a difficult game or a choppy frame rate such as on the 3DS.
I wonder how less people would have noticed those minor graphical changes by themselves if it wasn't for comparison videos...having the whole game in sharp HD on a modern big TV is a big improvement to the now muddy SD visuals of the original...but sure, a changed barrel animation that you only see properly in slow-motion (and other similar minor things) are a problem worth moaning about lol. I get the price criticism, but the game never looked better.
TF was waaay better but they still don't top the classics. You just get beat the charm, music and gsmeplay of the original trilogy. Not to mention..... Kremlings are just cooler baddies
I don’t think I’ve ever heard John less enthused about the subject of a video, lol
Same. I thought it was a reuploaded video from a decade ago.
@@jorge69696 I thought that too!
@@jorge69696that would have British accent
His opinions on the actual game are a lot more subjective though.
@@albinosquirrelmpls I know right? And for such an incredible game. It’s metacritic scores are overwhelmingly positive from both critics and users but he seems to really dislike it for some reason and yet likes Tropical Freeze- which is essentially the same game with different levels.
John sounds thrilled to review this
I was actually surprised he doesn’t really like this game. To me DKC Returns is better than any of the New Super Mario Bros. titles and at least a 8,5/10 in my book. So many lovely designed and challenging levels and while not as good as David Wise’ work, the soundtrack still slaps! The examples he showed didn’t do it justice, he should have shown K-Levels, Mine Cart and Rocket Barrel tracks.
It's just very disappointing they're spending time and resources on re-releasing an only pretty-good game for the second time and not even giving good attention to detail instead of making a NEW DK game.
@@theharvardyard2356 Yeah, the announcement and the remaster itself is disappointing for sure, even tho this is one of my favorite platformers. 60$ and especially if you’re someone who’s been waiting for a new DK game since Switch launch in 2017.
Completely unacceptable for this to be released at the $60 price point.
WRONG! Completely acceptable. Don't like it? Don't buy it. Millions of others will.
Agreed! Was actually thinking on buying this, because i like the original Wii version. But at that price point, no way! I'm gonna wait for a used copy to appear on ebay for a lower price point some years from now.
@@Great-Documentariesand millions of others won't 😂
No way this game is worth 60 bucks😂😂😂😂 The budget has to be 10million. Maybe less....
@@60weHoodsta It was worth 60, back when it released, two fucking decades ago
As usual with Forever Entertainment, colors are off and contrast is way too strong. They absolutely destroyed Panzer Dragoon and HOTD in terms of visual direction, and you can clearly see remnants of this here. Darks are way too dark, brights too brights, contrast is too high. Doesn't look good overall in terms of colors.
The art direction has been washed out here, if that makes sense. Everything feels less vibrant and organic, especially the water wich looks like it came from another, less stylized, game.
‘Absolutely destroyed’. You drama queen.
The one thing I thought this game would excel at over Tropical Freeze was it's load times
fantastic review! the longer load times and frame rate drops on boss fights is not really acceptable for 60 bucks. The music seems below par on this version.
bruh framerates drops on a port of a game that came out in 2010? it's rough out here
Lmao, even Nintendo begins to lack polish 😂
Nintendo getting lazy since they know their base will buy anything...
@@ocelot-sensei4384 First time? Gamefreak is under nintendo. And not sure it’s really fair to blame Nintendo instead of the actual developer Forever Entertainment.
Yea, Nintendo has lost their minds charging $60 for a remake of a remake. This is at most a $30 dollar game.
People were really thinking the multi billion dollar company is scared of announcing their next gen system the same day as a release of a rerelease of a game from 2010
any minute now lol
The switch 2 will be crap. Mario odyssey was slop. Not looking forward to it.
@gorillagroddgamingAnymore buzzwords sir?
@gorillagroddgaming 🤥🫵
@gorillagroddgaming o no anyway
I hope they bring some patches to address those issues. I think we can expect that for a port for which they charge 60 bucks.
The fact that this game is priced at full price it's absurd
WHAT??? LMAO
Correction: a higher price than the original release of the game.
@@anthonyd4309Donkey Kong Country: Inflation Returns. Never thought to see it.
Big N needs money to continue suing people who do better job than them at (re)making games.
I hope they will double their pricing in the future so that we can see even more peasents cry.
This and Luigi's mansion 2 seem to me like nintendo said: "we had to delay the switch 2 so lets just cheaply remaster 3DS Games to fill in the gaps on our squedule".
Just finished Impossible Lair. It's good - but absolutely not a better game than DKC Returns
Nintendo asks 60 bucks for this .. this is a serious joke. I'm a platformer enthusiast and I was thrilled when they announced this port (let's face it: even calling this a "Remaster" is way to generous) as I have never played the original. Then they dropped the pricetag and yeah - no thanks. It'd be hard to swallow if everything was perfect but somehow I already knew that they wouldn't even put in the effort (or at least the hired studio didn't and Nintendo didn't even bother to check the quality of the final product). Something like this should NOT be accepted.
Earn more money. That simple. It’s sad how many „adults“ have to think about 60 bucks.
Why switching the entire project to Unity? Like the engine already worked on the Switch.
Be Forever Entertainment in need of a big project:
Step 1) Claim you can't port the Wii engine to the Switch for "reasons"
Step 2) Suggest a rewrite on Unity
Step 3) Get extra budget to support all this extra work
Step 4) Profit
Or maybe they just lost the source code, I dunno. I like mine.
Future proofing for PC after Switch 2 flops.
copium user above
Maybe they wouldn't have been able to handle the code of tropical freeze enough to implement returns on top given that the project was handled by retro studios and picking up code written by an entirely different team tends to be hard.
@@luisoncpp monster game were able to port the game to the 3ds without changing the engine.
I know Tropical Freeze is mostly better with better theming, music and art direction but I actually prefer the level design in this game.
Completely agree. Especially with a traditional roll button I think I like the game better than Tropical Freeze. I think this is mostly due to the fact that Tropical Freeze ends with a bunch of ice levels where as Returns concludes with Factory and Volcano themed levels. Lots of moving platforms and hazards. Overall great platforming. While I don't mind ice levels, they a great break in the middle of a game, I don't think it's a good mechanic to conclude a game on.
I can imagine Returns would be a lot more of a slog needing to waggle your controller to roll, but with a traditional roll button it plays great!
@seanmcbay I gonna have to disagree. I found the level designs in Returns way too obnoxious & repetitive and they can go on for too long. Also some moments that involved motion controls like blowing or pick up or slam into the ground kinda breaks the paste of the game.
This comment might convince me to give it another try at some point. I love the originals and Tropical Freeze
I actually prefer the warm tropical theme of this game over the cold snow theme of tropical freeze. I also really like how each boss fight starts with an animal getting hypnotized by music, overall I love both games but have always preferred DK Country Returns more.
HOW?
I'm genuinely shocked. Tropical Freeze's level design is significantly better than this... I guess to each their own though.
I am genuinely baffled by the critique of the game itself. I loved this game on Wii to the point I gladly double dipped on the 3DS just to experience it again. Tropical Freeze is fun but I wouldn't consider it remarkably better than this one.
I agree completely and, btw, it was one of the best selling game on the Wii. I finished it, what a great ride!
Tropical Freeze is godlike
I agree. I think I actually prefer DKR over Tropical Freeze.
Nintendo wants $60 for this. Bwahahaha. I love the Switch and own more games than most but I don't think so.
$60 for something I already played 15+ years ago
Cool
The load times should not be double... Damn
How anyone can say impossible lair is better is beyond me.
"...who then rebuilt the whole thing to run, in the Unity Engine."
Ooh noo.
Rather that than unreal engine 5 fps
unity engine isnt a bad engine.
@@happygofishingthe problem is that people routinely forget how to use it. And the owners are scummy, so there’s that.
Man that Tropical Freeze OST really is god-tier. I got to meet David Wise at a MAGFest and rightfully called him a god. I hope the soundtrack comes to Nintendo Music soon, with the extended credits music missing from the actual game.
DKTF is the best 2D platformer period if you ask me. Peak gaming.
Hey! Hope to see you at MAGFest next weekend! :D
Magafest?
@@Dac_vak if you see someone dressed as Regina from Mean Girls in a Bratz box on Friday, that's my wife. come say hi and say you're really impressed with the outfit. She worked way too hard on it and needs some praise and recognition.
@@quagthias how’s she going to be able to move if she’s in a box.
So, let me get this:
-There game has been remade in Unity despite being the same as Tropical Freeze (and I believe being at least related to the Metroid Prime one?)
-There is lag now
-Loading times are twice as long as even the 3DS version
-Missing/worse visual effects (even if there are some nice new additions) and worse sound mixing/quality
-File size is bigger than Tropical Freeze
-60 bucks
Incredibly disappointing.
(Also there was even a Nvidia Shield version in 2019 already at 1080p)
Quick and sloppy budget port for $60. Nice job Nintendo.
In regards to the music, Nintendo did bring back the amazing David Wise to compose the soundtrack for Tropical freeze and he, as always did an outstanding job
Tropical Freeze has one of the best soundtracks I've ever heard in a video game, absolutely incredible
Kenji Yamamoto did the soundtrack for dkcr- arguably a much better composer than wise but it just doesn’t fit donkey kong.
Surprised by how the video doesn’t mention that it includes the previous 3DS Exclusive levels
DF cares about performance, not content.
John probably didn’t even finish the game lol. His dislike for the game is palpable in this review (not that there’s anything wrong with that)
Nintendo trying not to charge 60$ for a rerelease of a 10-20+ year old game challenge (IMPOSSIBLE)
Prime Remaster was 40 bucks, a much better remaster/remake. Kinda hard to tell why Nintendo charges what it does for these. But it sure ain't for graphic quality, likely just pedigree of the IP, and the costs of the studio porting it.
@@ruekurei88 It certainly wasn't because of the costs because this port looks pretty lame.
@@ruekurei88 I think it's not exactly pedigree, but popularity with kids. Donkey Kong and Luigi were in the mario movie, samus wasn't. kids will treat this like a new game, same way kids that grew up on the Mario Advance on GBA series saw them as new games.
its ridiculous that this is 60$
Dolphin had the "HD" version for years ha.
This is the result of a "Nintendo Hire this Man" being answered with a* "Sure".
I love returns because it is just fun, it is consistantly fun throughout. and the vibes feel better than tropical freeze. freeze checks all the marks for a great game but it doesn't feel as cohesive as OG returns. returns is cohesive fun from beginning to end. I think you are falling into a "I only play masterpieces" trap
the biggest thing not right is the ripoff price
In my opinion not only should this game of at least meant the standards of the original game but it should have far surpassed it for a full retail $60 price on a console that is two generations newer we should be seeing a distinct visual improvement in my opinion not just meeting the standards of the original
My problem with this is game is the music, they lost an awesome chance to hire Mr. Wise and make a proper remaster.
Very hard review by the way, i think that even with that soundtrack this is an awesome game.
Edit: I bought the game at launch at 38€ not 60. Are we really going to talk about that on reviews now? Because some games are at 80€, even remasters...
I heard when the Wii version came out that David Wise unfortunately wasn't available as he was working on other projects.
All you need to hear is the loading times are double what they were from a DVD on the Wii fifteen years ago.
Kate, we have to go back.
Correction: If you have a New 3DS XL, you can use a 60FPS patch on your modded handheld. That system is MUCH more powerful than the base 3DS and there are a LOT of 60FPS patches available for it.
I have tried that myself and the FPS in the game is tied to the game speed, so playing at 60 means playing at x2 speed unfortunately.
I remember looking into this as I wanted to try this game for the first time and only one I found sped up the game.
My big complaint about this release is the fact that we still can't play as the other Kongs and play with them separately!
Really hope Nintendo pushes to fix all these issues 🙁
Ost-wise (no pund intented), not having David Wise for DK Returns hurts a lot.
Obviously, when he's here, it’s so much better.
This and Tropical Freeze are two of my favorite platformers of all time. Sure Tropical Freeze is better. It’s an iterative sequel. It should be. Still, this game is marvelous in my opinion. That being said, I hate the downgraded lighting.
“Who don’t have the best track record.” I’ll be glad when low effort studios go under so first parties stop tossing their greats to a bunch of randos. I hate seeing classics messed with when we could be getting great remasters instead
It’s called getting what you pay for
@ Good thing I ain’t buying
12:32 In fairness, I don't think there are more than 10 Video Game songs that in the same tier as the original Aquatic Ambience
I find this video oddly disrespectful towards the original game. The level design is fantastic and comparing it to the sequel that came years later on more powerful hardware is unfair.
Yeah, really strange video. We get it, he didn't care for the original game. But he just couldn't stop calling it bad over and over.
I feel like the criticism is fair game when both are now available on the same platform for the same price. If DKCR was $40 then yeah it'd be harsh.
It’s not disrespectful to say you don’t like something. Get a grip.
I don't think it's disrespectful. Even when comparing it to the original trilogy, Returns's levels fall flat. I can't really remember more than a couple levels from DKC Returns (part of it has to do with the dull soundtrack) but I definitely remember a lot from the SNES games. On the contrary, I'd say that the comparison to TF shows just how far Retro came in just 2 games when it comes to mastering DK level design; it's quite the compliment.
This game was revered before Tropical Freeze was a thing. Now, it gets treated on the same level as DKC3. I don't understand why it's impossible for people to just say "Yeah, this game is fantastic!" without needing to interject with a "But it's no Tropical Freeze!". Like, who the fuck asked your opinion of TF?
Jeez John hated it. I played it on Wii and absolutely adored it, even the motion controls. I played with the nunchuck attached though.
I loved how hard it was and I made sure to unlock the final world and all.
What idiot came to the idea to port a RUDE engine game to unity?!?
When said Engine was already ported and modernized for Prime Remastered in 2021!!!!
Context: Prime Remastered was finished by July 2021 and sat 1 1/2 years on nintendos servers. Like many late Switch games which were finished months to years in advance.
The only reason I can think of is because Nintendo possibly being overtly restrictive about sharing their tech when outsourcing development. This port wasn't made by Retro so Nintendo probably didn't want to share their current tech with these developers, which is a shame because porting would be much easier if Nintendo simply shared their methods and techniques. Not that it matters now; the Switch's lifecycle is coming to an end.
I always feel like an outsider for preferring DKC Returns over Tropical Freeze; I played them both back in the day but DKC Returns has more nostalgia for me; I like that it reminds me so heavily of DKC on the SNES.
Is John sick? Great video, but he sounds a bit unwell. Hope he's okay. Maybe the lazy $60 re-release just influenced his delivery here.
He's not thrilled about the re-release and doesn't like the original game either. So that explains it lol
@@holad-jlsegovia-423he should at least be professional about it.
Sounds like Nintendo needs to have the Devs fix some of the minor issues and soundtrack, especially for 60 dollar 8 years into a console cycle.
The remade music sounded like they're trying to put the player to sleep lol. Tropical Freeze has the masterpiece soundtrack
3:43 Jon seems to have finally started putting the comparisons on the correct way ⭐
Man, this was one of my all-time favourite games to play on the 3DS. It's cool to see it back, but also disappointing to know that it could have been something special instead of a straight port from the Wii.
You just watched a whole video describing to you how its not a straight port from the wii. My God lol.
@BMW-sd6nn Okay, poor wording on my part, it's not a *straight port*- but it's a barebones translation in the same way Luigi's Mansion 2 was, which is just a little bit disappointing considering some of the banger HD reworks we've gotten on the Switch (such as Xenoblade Chronicles or Miitopia)
@braunstein5645 Agreed this is probably the most disappointing HD remaster we have seen. I mean it still looks good to me and I haven't played the original so I'm excited but yeah agree. The xenoblade stuff is a different league however as that is actually monolith soft upgrading their prior stuff, luigis mansion, DKCR, are studios they hire to do it, im kinda shocked nintendo picked forever entertainment tbh.
The MVG-tier script reading has me wheezing
Is that because MVG likes to repeat a point over and over for 10 minutes which could have been said in 30 seconds? Like you are left wondering if you have reverse alzheimer's
Seems like this will be a skip for me, i really enjoyed the tropical freeze port as a first time player, but anything short of perfection when you're porting old games like this and charging this damn much is not acceptable.
I should probably just pick up Mario wonder at this point, seems like the way better bet for a high quality 2D platformer.
didn't like Tropical Freeze at all but loved the SNES DKC. Any chance Returns is closer to the SNES experience than tropical freeze?
This game is still way better than Mario wonder. I guess its down to taste but DKC returns is definitely one of the best platformers ever made, i dont know what the reviewer is on about.
@@ahsdjsdgfhjgdhhhhhhhthe point isn’t about the base game, the problem is that the port really isn’t great.
@@HeretixAevum naw, DKC Returns is better than Mario Wonder
@@RemixerUltimate well he did say that the fundamental game is an average platformer
Let’s be real. They are NEVER going to top that original Aquatic Ambiance song on the SNES. Same could be said for a lot of SNES soundtracks honestly.
The SNES games were far better than the Retro Studio games. They are timeless classics.
@@dangamer8884 Returns and Tropical Freeze easily clear DKC 1 and 3 for me
I prefer the tropical freeze remixes over the original SNES. Hardware limitations lowered the sound quality a lot.
Like expecting a Diablo sequel to top the Diablo 2 soundtrack.
@raymaniqe1906 Tropical Freeze I would agree. Returns feels a bit worse than DKC1 but comparable to DKC3. DKC2 is still probably the best DK game.
For $20 id buy it again. Otherwise HARD pass.
Sixty entire United States dollars, folks.
Honestly, I kinda wish they could give Donkey Kong a brand new 3D Platformer similar like Donkey Kong 64 instead of another Donkey Kong Country game or port.
I 100% agree! Donkey Kong Country games are fun, but I definitely think Donkey Kong needs to break back into a new 3D platformer. I wouldn't mind a collect-a-thon just as long as it doesn't have the excessive amount of collectibles and character-swapping of Donkey Kong 64.
Maybe. 64 wasn't that great, as it wound up being just Banjo Kazooie but extremely bloated. Maybe the 3D Mario team can tackle a 3D DK since they seem to be sitting around doing nothing at the moment anyways. It's been 8 years since Mario Odyssey. Where's their next game???
A new DK game would be a great change of pace for them if they're struggling to come up with something original.
The contrast and lighting is sooo off. The Wii version seems to lean way more into the snes version. This looks like a mobile games.
Dolphin doing something similar at least 10 years ago.
People still hating on soundtrack
I don’t get why Nintendo didn’t have Retro remake this game with the Tropical Freeze engine. Even if Retro are preoccupied with Metroid Prime 4, they put out a remake of Prime 1, so why not?
Remaking this game to TF graphics standards would be way too more effort for a late release like this and would barely impact how many copies the game would sell. It’s there to pad out the Switch library and ride the coat tails of a new DK ride before Nintendo move on to Switch 2.
@ That’s a fair point. It’s still a shame that Retro didn’t developed this version though.
I think because Retro had been working on this music game that got abruptly ended by Nintendo and then put on Prime 4. Just kind of sounds like a shit show there as usual.
I wonder if this has to do with releasing the game alongside the new theme park area. Remaking the game would have taken much longer if they went that route instead. They probably wanted to introduce a new audience to this franchise with both the game and the Super Nintendo World area releasing close to each other.
Because retro was busy with prime remastered and prime 4
The load times completely killed my interest. This should be almost instantaneous. How you gonna be slower than the 3DS version? 😂
I love the 3DS version. Sure, it’s only 30 fps but the 3D effect and the last (mobile) console that actually has visible pixels that look comparable to scan lines has a certain charm.
Biggest mistake here is asking 60 bucks for it imo.
Returns has better level design than tropical freeze
not even close
Bad take. Not a hot take either. This is a 2/10 take at best
It's odd that Nintendo never really found a standardized way to bring Wii (and Gamecube, since they're very similar) games over to the Switch. Some remasters use emulation; some seem to be rebuilt from scratch; this one uses Unity of all things.
BTW: The Switch port includes the additional content from the 3DS version.
Both this game and Tropical Freeze lack a certain quality that the SNES trilogy had. Perhaps it’s the excessive visual elements present in current DK games. In essence, while the game is good, it resembles those Android scam games with too much happening on the screen at once. It lacks the polished, clean experience with fewer elements that the previous games offered.
Dude, forget that it's missing effects etc etc, this game should be STUNNING. This should be massively improved visually. $60 XBLA game.
8:33 The foliage in the background here is not animated in the HD version 💀
And, in general, the new lighting somehow looks flatter than the Wii original, too...
I’m genuinely surprised that you’re not a fan of this game. I think it’s hands down one of the best platformers ever made. This is an excellent port, although I do not think it should be full priced considering it’s a 15 year old game and there is seemingly little to no new content.
Yeah... Not paying $60 for this.
Well, at least they got a Wii game to run at 1080p 60 fps instead of pulling a Paper Mario TTYD & cutting a Gamecube game down to 30 fps.
Btw, the Wii was basically a suped up GC. I'm still pissed TTYD got cut down to 30 fps when it definitely didn't NEED to. Nintendo managed to get freaking Skyward Sword to double its original frame rate on Switch, and that's a much more demanding game than Paper Mario.
Then again, people will excuse everything because "it's a rEmAkE!" as if the graphics are a UE5 game like Hellblade 2 trying to run on Switch.
The actually did implement some pretty heavy lighting tech in the ttyd remake, I don't like that its 30fps either but its rendering is a lot more complex than the gc version.
Paper Mario TTY looks absolutely gorgeous on the switch, way better than the original and the 30fps do not affect the enjoyment, I was actually quite impressed of how good the remaster was in almost everything.
It was already ridiculous that they were asking $60 for a basic port of a 15 year old game, but now that we know that it's also a sloppy port on top of that, it's downright unforgivable
Sucks how we're in the 4K era and it takes Nintendo this long to put out just basic HD versions of their games. If only they weren't propped up by marketing talking points that date back to 90's retailer training manuals, and the aggressive copyright strike era that lead to the forced positivity Nintendo Partner era on youtube. Then maybe they'd be forced to have competitive hardware again and compete for sales with the entire third party industry within their own ecosystem.
@@SotNist Compete with sales? The Switch is the second highest selling home console. AAA games barely sell and take forever to make based on new hardware capabilities. Even a simple fun game like Astro Bot will only sell 1.5M copies in 2 months while LM2HD sells that much in one week. 4K has nothing to do with the quality and design choices that Nintendo makes. You know this game took barely any time to remaster. Stop pretending like it actually took 8 years
@@gamerrrdude4405 I'm talking about competing for software sales within their own ecosystem against the entire combined, contemporary output of the gaming industry's third party publishers and developers. You know, what literally every other platform and ecosystem does.
Every game you put out is going to be a best seller if there's hardly anything else on the platform to play. Duh?
@ What’s wrong with that? They are still competing and they didn’t get 140M+ console sales from having the exact same library as everyone else. Third party support is great and I want that on the Switch 2 as well, but the reason people buy a console is for the exclusives. They would have sold that much even if there were more third party support because that’s what this fanbase wants. If they were buying those games because “there is just nothing else to play”, then most people just wouldn’t play anything on the console.
@ "third party support is great and I want that"
@@SotNist Yes. I wouldn’t buy a console for that, but it’s a nice bonus. Get your priorities straight. There is no competition in the AAA industry whatsoever. That’s how Nintendo continues to dominate it with more sales. Stop pretending like you know what you’re talking about. Why would I buy a console with games I can play anywhere else already?
I realize this is a technical review, but my biggest issue is Nintendo pricing this game not only at a full retail price of a brand new game, but even higher than its original release price point. I hope the sales of this game give Nintendo a wake-up call that they need to reign in their pricing ego a bit.
Donkey Kong january on DF while dunkey slacked on the december
Died 2021, Born 2025
Welcome back Sonic Colors Ultimate!
Let’s hope the producers at Nintendo hold the folks doing the Samus Returns port to a higher standard. In Paper Mario on Switch, with its screen space reflections that use a lot of frame time, at least it’s teed up to be great on the new Switch hardware and gives an “easy” look upgrade to bring it in line with modern expectations.
I don't even care about most of the "flaws" here except the framerate issues.... but honestly I would not buy the game because the game itself is just meh.
Back when it came out originally on Wii I was so disappointed, ESPECIALLY in the music. David Wise was an absolute wizard back on the OG Donkey Kong Country trilogy, and it's a war crime to give a game with "Donkey Kong Country" in the title bland music.
I think you were a bit harsh on this game John, I agree with you that it's not as strong as Tropical Freeze, the first levels at least, but in my opinion, the last couple of worlds of Returns are simply fantastic! With some very creative and fun level design and incredible music and arrangements!
The first couple of worlds are a bit basic I admit but the game really picks it up in the second half for me
Suggesting that Yukalaylee is a better game than this is a bold claim.
yeah that's just low quality bait
How so? Yooka Laylee and the Impossible Lair got huge plaudits on release. It's far better than this game as is Tropical Freeze
Yooka Laylee and the impossible lair is a different game from the original Yooka Laylee
I think it's an outrageous claim.
@ I would imagine they are comparing the impossible lair giving the original Yooka was a 3d platformer and completely different style of game
Gosh, why didn't they just use the Tropical Freeze engine and assets? It's literally already there.
Wonder how this release compares to the Wii version emulated with a HD texture pack.
Really really worst . I prefer 4K dolphin even without 4K textures injected on the emulator
John Linneman said Yooka-laylee impossible lair is a ''much better game'' than DK Country Returns? Yeah, something's not quite right indeed.
....with his Brain.
I want to play with monkey, not a dumb lizard.
Yeah he shilling and yeah.
That's actually a good game as well but that statement is still a bit... Brave to say the least.
he's not allowed his opinion?
This has got to be the worst review I've ever seen on Digital Foundry.
The commentary is like "yeah, the game runs OKAY, with flawless framerate and better graphics, good thing that the studio is improving since they did so bad on their previous titles, and I have to say, I really don't like this game and find it uninteresting and boring, but you could say that it is good, if you are into that sort of thing"
So full of backhanded compliments, it's kinda hilarious.
I like John but I have to agree
Have we seen the same video?
The framerate is anything, but not flawless. And you don't even need a framegraph to see that
Some people love to downplay this game, and put Tropical Freeze on a pedestal for some reason. They're not that different. I always enjoyed this game just as much.
@@shadowfired Agreed, Returns and Tropical Freeze are way more comparable than people make them out to be. I feel like its that some fans that don't like that David Wise didn't make the soundtrack and drag down the whole game with it. I also think people put the original trilogy on a pedestal too. I don't think they play nearly as good as the Retro Studios duo.
My problem with DF reviews are how inconsistent the format is between different videos. I sometimes get whiplash at their segues and the topics they choose to focus on.
Ok but when are you reviewing Infinity Nikki
DKC Tropical Freeze is my favorite video game soundtrack of all time. Nintendo could never be bothered to release it on CD.
This should've been bundled with Tropical Freeze for 80 USD.
60*
@charizardoreo yeah, you're probably right. Tropical Freeze is also a re-release.
John, you rock. Thanks for being you. You’re my spirit animal!
"Yes, but with a question mark"?
I want caveats damn it!
For the first in the series of modern DK games it's a masterpiece. After all these years, it least remains an excellent game.
For me it's a bit strange that the colour of DK is different in the Intro CGI and in the game itself.
One third of the video is spent on talking about how much John dislikes this game. I think this is way too much and unprofessional tbh. I like this game almost as much as tropical freeze but I wouldn't praise this game for 5 minutes in a 15 minutes video.
I find zero issues with it. As always John is on point.
@deepblue8143 Well just shows how you don't have standards I guess.
4:28 I bet if you matched Wii version's resolution to that of the Switch version, the games would look very similar indeed.
I found it amazing how the original SNES still looks , in my opinion, much better. Also the music much complex while systems where more limited.
Tropical Freeze's music sounds like Metroid music with more drums added
O really liked the final result, but I was expecting for a brand new entry for DK. However, I’m gonna play Returns!!!
This video is just a secret love letter to David Wise.
I am really a gamer that doesnt care much about Graphics and even performance is of less importance as long as games are still fun I can forgive everything. Still I really enjoy Digital Foundry Videos, also the ones about High End Graphics Games, but mostly I enjoy the Retrogame and Nintendo Videos from John. Even though they are usually seen as Graphics Analysis Videos, I still think that John does some of the best reviews in the entire Industry, because he notices and appreciates even the smallest Details. Watching a Review from him, makes me often enjoy those games more. Its really incredible work in my opinion. But about this game I have a completely different opinion. For me its not average, it is one of the best platformers ever. Maybe not as good as Tropical Freeze, but its very close and its so much fun. I wasnt a DK fan when I bought it on Launch Day for the Wii, but it became my favourite Game for the Wii and it made me reappreciate 2d Platformers. I played it 100percent both on Wii and 3DS and I cant help myself and buy and finish it again. If you have never played it, I can only recommend it.
Did John take an ambien before recording?
A throwback that’s a glowback.
Tantalus Media was known for serving up complete crap including the horrible South Park Rally before remastering Twilight Princess on the Wii U and Skyward Sword on the Switch so I can see how Nintendo was able to help Forever Entertainment get on the right track in order to deliver upon doing this port justice. They are pros at offering the proper guiderails to outside developers and bringing out the best in them.
There are MANY "minor" graphical issues throughout the game, colour, lighting, shadows and water surfaces are notably different from the original presentation... it's more like they just didn't care about the original work, it was just a job and they got it done.
I saw the complaints. They probably did just "phone it in" but I want a version of this game that isn't crippled by substandard controls for such a difficult game or a choppy frame rate such as on the 3DS.
I wonder how less people would have noticed those minor graphical changes by themselves if it wasn't for comparison videos...having the whole game in sharp HD on a modern big TV is a big improvement to the now muddy SD visuals of the original...but sure, a changed barrel animation that you only see properly in slow-motion (and other similar minor things) are a problem worth moaning about lol. I get the price criticism, but the game never looked better.
TF was waaay better but they still don't top the classics. You just get beat the charm, music and gsmeplay of the original trilogy. Not to mention..... Kremlings are just cooler baddies