Forefront 3: Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze

For today's post I'd like to talk about one of my favourite games of recent years - Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze.

I grew up loving the Donkey Kong games on the Super Nintendo and Nintendo 64 - interestingly, the love for these games what was led me to become interested in, and subsequently back, Yooka-Laylee.
The side-scrolling Donkey Kong franchise was always known for about 3 things: It had graphics far surpassing what was normally possible on the system it was played on (Donkey Kong Country used pre-rendered sprites to simulate 2D - I believe it was the first game to do so, and it was absolutely mind-blowing!). Secondly, it had an absolutely brilliant soundtrack, a true evergreen in the gaming world (I'll get back to this point). Thirdly, it was a pixel-perfect platforming experience.

In 2010, at E3, Nintendo unveiled a mystery title - slowly, the Donkey Kong music began increasing, and as it turned out, fabled Retro Studios were handling a new version of the classic Donkey Kong formula, and the game was a critical and financial success. Four years later they released its sequel, Tropical Freeze, on the sequel console, the Wii U, and here we are.
Interesting titbit: David Wise, who worked for Rare during the 90's and who helped score Donkey Kong Country, returned to score Tropical Freeze, which was widely acclaimed for its soundtrack (amongst others). More interesting titbits - some of the people who are now making Yooka-Laylee, which is being scored by Wise, used to work at Rare in those days. There's quite a pattern here!

Back to business: the reason this game is at the forefront of my slice of the industry, is firstly, because it is an extraordinarily brilliant game.

The graphics are amazing, the soundtrack is stellar, and the gameplay and difficulty is taut as ever.
I really love the character design too, and the general art-direction has inspired much of what I like about gaming - colourful, cartoonish style with lots of character.

 

The game received critical acclaim and was a sales success. It was also a new version of an old game, which took an tried-and-true formula and, in many eyes, improved on it, or at least improved on the areas where there could be improved in the first place. 

While Retro Studio is a subsidiary of Nintendo and thus has lots of manpower and funding, it is the kind of game and experience I want to craft, and the art-style has been hugely influencial to me.

I even have some ideas for some graphical features I'd like to try and craft, directly inspired by this game - if I manage, you'll see a blogpost about it.

Till next!

Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze. 2014. Wii U [Game]. Retro Studios, Nintendo.