Welcome to a new edition of Retro Corner as Nintendo plans to re-release Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze for the Switch. Every gamer probably knows by now that before Rare grasped the reins of Donkey Kong in 1994. The series started out in 1980 for the arcades in an era when Nintendo had yet to release the NES. Back then Nintendo was a third-party company that produced games for the arcade and for their Game and Watch portables. The first entry got released in the arcade in 1980 where the game had Mario (who was known as Jump Man at the time) climb a construction site to stop Donkey Kong. The goal was to try and save Paulina from Donkey Kong, an aggressive guerrilla who kidnapped her and Mario must go through four levels to save the maiden. The game would become an instant hit getting released on the ColecoVision and eventually to the NES years later. Before Rare came in to develop the series, Nintendo already released a new DK title. It came out in July 1994 for the Game Boy months before Country for the Super NES hit stores. Technically, you could say it's a remake of the arcade classic as Nintendo turned this into a platformer. Gameplay You are probably thinking a game based off the original arcade title will have same style levels as the first entry. Actually, that's not the case as Nintendo turned this into a complete platformer of puzzle solving. The game starts out like the original where Mario tries to save Paulina from DK through four levels from the classic. However, after Mario saves her, DK gets up and kidnaps Paulina once again as Mario chases him across many places. It immediately shifts from the classic gameplay to a stage that has the player solve the level's puzzle. The objective is to get the key placed around the stage and use it to exit the level. Both old and new enemies will get in the way as this offered a brand new challenge. To combat these challenges, the gameplay got updated as fresh mechanics are now added. The new level design was a dignified way to revive the retro experience. One of these features now won't have Mario die from a small fall; however, he will lose a live if he drops from a tall distance. Another great gameplay mechanic would be picking up and throwing stuff as both a tool and a weapon. Mario is also capable of flipping on his hands to do a bigger jump to another platform. While on both hands he can allow his legs to toss fallen barrels to the side as they fall from a higher platform. It makes me wonder why didn't Nintendo create these mechanics in the arcade original or for the sequels. The flips helped in many spots I found myself in whether it was trying to avoid an enemy or dealing with DK. Of course, we can't forget the famous mallet that destroys enemies and the rolling barrels. It was even given an update as you can throw it to a different part of a level or smash your way through brick walls. The puzzles in the levels would make you think and use creative way to reach the key. Nintendo developing each stage into a puzzle was an original idea for this old concept to use and didn't have to rehash the gameplay. Presumably, the best part of challenge was still trying to overcome obstacles like the elemental effects. In the plane stages, wind would push Mario while a level with water had the player navigate and avoid enemies by swimming. The puzzles of working covey belts, activating panels for ladders, floors and springs in a P-Switch manner truly made this engaging. There were even instances where I had to time using these to get the key to the locked door. It would've been repetitive to build the game using the same structure from the Mario series. Of course, this makes the difficulty quite balanced as you avoided or stopped enemies while trying to get the key. Every three stages have the player face DK in a battle level that had the player either reach Paulina or throw barrels at him. It keeps the original formula while at the same time acts like a boss stage. I also love how the first four levels was a nice throw back to the first game. I mean Nintendo has always been good at placing references even in the form of stages from older games. Rating: 8.5/10 Graphics/Presentation The game certainly doesn't take advantage of the handheld's power as by 1994 many games have gotten designed with great graphics. I mean Super Mario Land 2 and Zelda: Link's Awakening are truly impressive examples for the Game Boy. That still doesn't take away from this game achieving good things in the graphics department. The art style got updated as its using Mario 90s look instead of his early 80s appearance. I also see a little of this from the enemy designs as the creatures like the dog and fish enemies look like they would come from the Mario series. Of course, the enemies from the early entries makes a return, and they have their old designs. The environments for each area had their usual diverse landscape including a city, plane, desert, forest and a mountain. The backgrounds added to these places and matched to the theme of each area. Another good feature is those classic sound effects from the arcade title. Once again, Nintendo knows how to place throw backs element in their newer games and they even can accomplish this with sound effects. The soundtrack did come off a little generic and its one of my few complaints. The music just comes off dull and doesn't really engage me like it was in the Mario series. I also love the cut scenes that played out every time a boss level and overworld became cleared. These scenes reminded me of Mario destroying the Koopa's castle from World, and it always offered something amusing. Another bonus is how this is a Super Game Boy game and it takes advantage of the software. The Super Game Boy was an adapter that took the Game Boy's hardware and put it into a Super NES cartridge. The adapter allowed you to play games on the TV now with four shades of colors. That truly gave some life to the already monochrome graphics. There are even some parts of the game like the title screen and the overworld maps that have full coloring. DK also has an exclusive boarder of the original arcade cabinet as another throw back. That's one thing the Super Game Boy always had and it's the boarders that get put around the screen. These types of Game Boy carts would have their own boarders depicting the game's theme. The defaults were also a good choice for this game especially the theater one which is my favorite. Rating: 8.7/10 Features/Content For a title based on the first game sure has a decent amount of content to play through. Nintendo literally designed a 101 levels for this title alone and it really took the content far beyond the early entries. I also love the save feature as there would be no way for the player to finish this in one sitting. It would let you record your progress every time you completed a DK battle stage and an overworld. Of course, the Super Game Boy does breath some life into the levels as it gives four more shades of colors. The adapter even gives full color to the title screen, during the cut scenes, and across the overworld maps. As mentioned already, an exclusive boarder representing the cabinet design was an excellent choice. It generated a sense of playing on the old machine and a great look back on the famous ape. However, the only complaint I have is from collecting Paulina's belongings spread across the levels. Paulina's stuff includes a parasol, purse, and hat and once all of these get collected; a mini game becomes available after a stage. That's all these items do and there should still be more reasons to get them instead of being used solely for racking up lives. In Super Mario World, the player can collect dragon coins which acted as a challenge. They could've proposed a similar concept considering you had to put effort into retrieving these items. Rating: 8.2/10 Final Rating For a non-Rare Donkey Kong title, it had a great effort placed in its overall package. The gameplay saw several improvements over the earlier titles and offered different gameplay mechanics. The level design had puzzling solving built around the stages and gave us a unique way of playing with this formula. It's true that some gameplay features from the Mario series did get implemented. It still provided a new way that came off original then simply rehashing from another series. The graphics retained diverse elements as seen along the levels between the many different environments. The Super Game Boy enhancements provided an exclusive arcade cabinet boarder and full color in some areas. Nintendo even placed in the old sound effects as a nice taste of where it all began. The content included over 100 levels, a save feature, and two 1up mini games. The only issue I found was with collecting Paulina's stuff which gives the player a chance to get lives. The studio should've intended this as a challenge similar to the dragon coins from Super Mario World. DK for the Game Boy would be the last game in the series to star the father (Cranky) before Donkey Kong Junior became the main character. Gameplay: 8.5/10 Graphics/Presentation: 8.7/10 Features/Content: 8.2/10 Final Rating: 8.5/10 Great
0 Comments
|
Retro Gamer has over 25 years of gaming experience and played many classics since the Golden Age. She has been an avid fan since the day the NES graced her life and changed it forever.
ArchivesCategoriesThe social media icon images and Vector Designs by Vecteezy, Medium and Onextrapixel
For More Please Click Below |