It's not just the lead characters, either. The animations are classic DKC – the movements of the dynamic duo are really faithful to the original games, with just the right sense of weight, but also plenty of more comical touches. The entire thing has been built in 3D, instead of the pre-rendered 3D approach of the originals, and this has allowed the team to really play with depth, and have some fun with the world.ĭoes DK wear a tie because he's into auto-erotic asphyxiation? What other reason is there? See it in action, however, and this really is a vibrant-looking game that jumps off the screen thanks to the bright colours and amount going on. DKC Returns isn't going to have the same impact, but it does look good – more so in motion than in stills, where the basic textures and modeling, and standard definition resolution don't do it any favours. The game's characters looked significantly better than most of the sprites of the time, while the game's lush jungle setting was also richly detailed for 1994. It came at a time when people thought they knew what SNES games looked like, and weren't expecting to see such detailed pre-rendered 3D graphics. Visual Design Probably the biggest 'wow' factor of the original DKC game was its graphics. Fingers crossed Retro makes them more interesting this time around. Presumably not given the emphasis on co-op play. One notable absence in the game will be underwater levels, and we also don't know whether any of the rideable creatures will return. Less significant, but important, moves are back too, such as the ability to forward roll out over a gap for an item in space, then jump to safety. Plenty of fan favourite DKC elements return too, such as mine cart rides, vine swinging and being shot from barrel to barrel. Much like New Super Mario Bros., if one player dies the remaining player can simply shake the Wimote to make them re-appear in a barrel suspended from a balloon that the other player can pop them out of. We'll have to wait and see how this idea is fleshed out. Jumping between the foreground and a path in the background seems to be a regular occurrence in Donkey Kong Country Returns, and not only is it a nifty effect, but we can imagine a few ways it could be implemented into gameplay, particularly movement puzzles or boss fights that jump players back and forth. After they've submerged off screen, a new path in the background pops up, which players can be shot to, via a handy barrel cannon. The coolest use of the ground pound we've seen so far is to pound a big peg platform into the ground, which creates massive earth tremors, reducing the trees and other background scenery to rubble. Then there's the ground pound (now available to both characters and executed by moving the Wiimote and Nunchuk up and down), which can be used for a few different things, including flipping panels in the ground to drop down to hidden rooms beneath and to interact with plants and other elements in the environments. Both also have a crouch and blow move, which is used to unearth items. That crazy chimp!Īs for other moves, both DK and Diddy can grip grass surfaces, so can climb certain walls and clamber across certain ceilings. It's hard to see but Diddy is basically doing Russian dancing atop DK. Diddy doesn't have to just sit there, either, he can shoot peanuts at enemies to help clear the path ahead. Say you're playing with someone a little less experienced than you, and they're having trouble with a section - just get them to hop on DK's back and you can get both characters through the area.
These team-up moves extend to co-op as well.
This allows DK to take advantage of his jetpack when jumping, and leads to some hilarious animations – rolling along in a ball as DK sees Diddy running above him like a person on a barrel. In fact, when there's only one player, Diddy sits on DK's back as he runs and jumps. Donkey Kong, on the other hand, has his normal large - but lumbering - jump, so the timing for long leaps is a little more demanding. It doesn't get him any additional height, but it does let him glide along, leaving curls of black smoke in his wake. In terms of moves, Diddy Kong now has a jetpack on his back, which allows him to hover during a jump. Each character has his own feel, and fans of the old games will immediately notice that DK has a very familiar weight to his movement. Evolving the Gameplay As you'd expect, the dynamic duo of Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong are back for DKC Returns, but the most immediately significant difference between this title and the older ones is that it's no longer one player tagging between the two, but a simultaneous two player co-op experience.