GAME REVIEW | Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze

It’s been almost exactly 5 whole years since the release of Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze on the Wii U. I know, not many remember it because, well, the Wii U. But I’m sure you know of it now if you own a Switch. Because in May of last year, it was re-released on Nintendo’s new hotness. Now, I can get into a huge side track here, going into the remaster debate. But I’ll save that for another post (hint hint, I’m all for them). For now, just know that I was who Nintendo had in mind when they put it out again. I have been a huge fan of Donkey Kong Country games ever since the first one on the SNES. It was one of those games that you put on and you play over and over so much that you know where everything is and how it moves so you’re just speed running it for yourself. Like the mine cart levels, remember those?! How can you not, this screen will probably give you PTSD.

But for some reason unbeknownst to me because I’m sure it has nothing to do with time or age or anything, but I find DKC games are just so damn hard! I tried playing DKC Returns and I quit without beating the first area. I was so happy to find that I wasn’t alone. I felt as if I let my younger self down, as he looked at me with shame that I couldn’t hang with our favorite primate anymore.

Well, Tropical Freeze is no different. This game is straight bananas (I’m not apologizing for that). I skipped it on the Wii U because I heard about the difficulty and I was very easy to give it a nice big stamp of “NOPE” whenever I saw it on a shelf. I enjoyed making fun of myself on Twitter a few times (here, here, and here), posting videos of the game having no mercy on me. But the Switch version has something that the Wii U didn’t. And no, I’m not talking about success.

I’m talking about FUNKY KONG! Oh man, in complete honesty, this game should have just been Funky through and through. Like, I’m sorry DK, we all have that crazy uncle that is the life of the party and who makes everyone forget you exist. Is he he’s uncle? Brother? Whatever, the analogy still works. Point is, there’s a reason he’s on the alternate box art. He just dominates the levels. Never drowns, has extra hearts, doesn’t get hurt by spikes, floats down on his magical surfboard that’s powered by awesomeness. I tried playing the game with DK because you know, nostalgia is a biiiiiiiiit-childish of a thing that is hard to let go of, but I couldn’t last. I managed to beat the first area but got stuck and it became instantly no fun for me. I was ready to quit and take the game out and move on with my life. But here comes the FUNK! He turned my frown upside down and I’m so happy he did.

If there was one driving force that kept me hooked through the game, it was the platforming. If you love you some platforming, you’ll have a bunch of fun in Tropical Freeze. I had a blast even in the parts where I would’ve felt better if I could just, I dunno, pull my hair out from the roots and dunk my head in a bucket full of rubbing alcohol.

There was just something about it that had me questioning if I was a sociopath or just really enjoyed the rush of passing a section that was giving me trouble. And it was a great rush! You felt pretty good about yourself if you beat a part that you spent a good 20 lives on. Speaking of which, after losing so many lives on one level, you’re given the option to skip it! Which I utilized only once, thank you very much. I came close to taking the easy road on two other occasions, but I refrained and pushed through. I’m glad I didn’t too because every time I almost did it, I was actually right at the end of the stage, so it would’ve been a waste.

Something interesting though. If you know me, I’m a collector at heart. And that doesn’t stop in real life. I try my best to get everything I can as far as collectibles go in a game. Especially platformers. With that said, I didn’t look at ANYTHING dangling or floating or shining on the screen. I started to collect stuff, but when I was struggling with DK I was already so defeated that I was just trying to beat the levels and get to the end. When I discovered Funky, my desire to push on and not worry about anything remained because I knew I was already teetering on the line of enjoying and rage quitting. I don’t think I missed out on anything substantial, and still enjoyed what I experienced.

Which is what this all boils down to. DK has a bad rap because of its difficulty. The majority of people that I know who have tried it say it wasn’t enjoyable because they got their bananas handed to them. I was almost there. This would’ve been a different tune I was singing if it wasn’t for Funky Kong. His superpowers compared to Donkey Kong were a game changer and I’m happy I discovered his mode when I did. It brought me back to the platforming I loved growing up and reminded me of where I came from with gaming. The music, some of the levels like the mine carts for example, the on-rail enemies who you would think you’re too smart for that wind up killing you a dozen times in a row, it all comes together beautifully. And it’s topped off with a Funky Kong shaped bow and ready for you to dig into.