Donkey Kong Country Tropical Freeze Review

Donkey Kong Country Returns was one of my favorite games on the Wii and it is easy to see why. The plat forming was fast-paced, the graphics were well-animated and vibrant, and the tough-as-nails difficulty served to remind people that not only could Retro Studios pick up the slack after original developer Rareware left, but they could also continue the series into the modern day. Donkey Kong Tropical Freeze, Retro Studios’ second shot at the franchise, not only serves to improve upon the game mechanics of the last entry, but it shows that lightning can strike twice and Retro Studios has more than what it takes to continue this venerable franchise.

The story begins the same as any other Donkey Kong game, Donkey Kong is enjoying some down time with his friends, when all of a sudden a group of bad guys show up to ruin his day. It’s the same standard formula that has been seen multiple times across the other games in the franchise. One difference is the new villains, the Snowmad tribe, which serve as this game’s replacement for the Kremling clan. While it doesn’t serve to replace the previous villains of the series, they do offer significantly more personality than the previous villains, the Tiki Tribe, who had little to no personality to speak of. There is little to no story to speak of, outside of the intro and ending cutscene and most boss fights begin and end with a brief interlude showcasing some kind of humorous interaction between the Kongs and the bosses. Overall, this minimal approach to story works and doesn’t intrude upon the gameplay.

Gameplay has been improved upon significantly since Donkey Kong Country Returns. Gone are the motion controlled rolls which could easily send you plummeting into a pit and have now been replaced by button presses. This allows for improved precision in the controls and tighter gameplay. The level design also continues the proud tradition of tricky jumps and varied environments. Also back are the underwater levels, absent from the previous game. Unfortunately, they don’t fair as well as the regular levels. While the underwater sections serve to aid in the pacing of the standard levels, the levels that are strictly underwater can often feel sluggish and it can be difficult to maneuver around in them. A returning feature from the previous game is the ability to have another Kong ride on your back while traversing a level. While Diddy Kong makes his return, Dixie Kong makes her playable return since Donkey Kong Country 3 on the SNES and Cranky Kong makes his playable debut. Each of the three Kongs comes with their own unique ability such as Diddy’s jetpack which allows for a steady descent, Dixie’s ponytail which allows for a steady hover, and Cranky’s cane can be used as a pogo stick to cross hazardous terrain. Because of this, each Kong acts as more than just two additional hits and adds a significant amount of depth to the way that each level can be tackled.

The game world consists of a total of six areas and a seventh secret area that can only be accessed once you’ve collected all of the KONG letters in each world, including the two secret levels, as well as completing the hidden temple level which unlocks after having collected all of the KONG letters. The secret levels are often difficult to find and can require one to replay the level multiple times. Also back are the puzzle pieces from DKCR, and once again they serve as a means to unlock extra content such as artwork. Unlockable figurines can now be purchased using in-game currency directly from Funky’s flights which feature both the allies and enemies from throughout the game. Also purchasable include extra lives, Squawks the parrot who can help you find missing puzzle pieces throughout the levels, extra health for vehicles, extra health for the Kongs, a potion that grants a form of pseudo-invincibility, and even barrels of the other Kongs themselves. However, this game does not feature anything like the super guide from the previous so if you want to complete a level, you’ll have to continue going through it until you can complete it.

Finally, the presentation of this game is top-notch. The textures themselves haven’t changed too much from DKCR but thanks to the graphical power of the Wii U, the environments look much more vibrant than before. Furthermore, almost no assets are re-used from the previous game making everything in this game stand out that much more. Each individual level is covered with detail and makes the world pop out that much more. Returning is composer David Wise who originally worked on the classic Donkey Kong Country games. As a result, the music does an excellent job of fitting each world’s theme and setting the atmosphere.

Overall, Doney Kong Country Tropical Freeze is one of the greatest platformers made in recent memory. By improving upon the foundation set by Donkey Kong Country Returns, Donkey Kong Country Tropical Freeze is definitely a game made for fans. Just don’t expect a super guide to save you this time.

Thoughts on NX and Zelda Wii U Delay

Recently, it was revealed in Nintendo's latest financial results that the Wii U's successor, code named the Nintendo NX, is currently scheduled to be released March 2017. Furthermore, it was stated that the previously much-hyped and much-anticipated Zelda Wii U which was scheduled to be Nintendo's killer app for the 2016 holiday season has been pushed back even further. While the official press-release states that it is being done for the purposes of quality, it is no doubt being done so that the title can launch simultaneously for the Wii U and the NX. Furthermore, there are also mentions of production for the Wii U ending in 2018 which ultimately bugs me. 

Nintendo has not done a good job of supporting the Wii U. While early on in the console's lifespan it saw alot of support from third-party developers, most of this was in the form of ports of PS3 and Xbox 360 games with tacked on features to take advantage of the gamepad. As time went on, however, third-party support eased off and now we're lucky if we get any kind of information on a new Wii U game that isn't published by Nintendo and isn't exclusive to the e-shop. First-party support has been just as barren, which is odd given the fact that Nintendo will frequently go to great lengths to differentiate themselves from the competition. Even worse is how few killer app titles are on the console. There is no equivalent to Super Mario Galaxy or Metroid Prime and even what looked to be the best reason for owning a Wii U is going to be ported to the NX. So few big name titles have even been developed for this console it makes me wonder why Nintendo even bothered to put it out on the market. But then when I looked closer, and the answer became simpler. 

Developing for a handheld is not only more cost-efficient, but it also allows for more experimentation with little risk. Hence why there are more original and creative titles on the Nintendo 3DS handheld. But as a result, I feel that many of these titles, while still excellently done, suffer from the lack of power that they could have otherwise benefited from where they on a powerful console. The titles that stand out in particular are Kid Icarus Uprising, which could have benefited from a more fluid control scheme, Fire Emblem Fates which could have featured all three story lines on one disc as opposed to having to spread them across one cartridge and finally Super Smash Bros., which not only could have utilized the development time towards more interesting features, additional characters, improved physics, but also could have added smash run to the console version.

Now don't get me wrong, I love my 2DS (I'm about 15 hours into Pokemon X and I plan to have review up eventually), bu I feel that one of Nintendo's biggest strengths in the past was knowing how to balance portable and console titles. While some may disagree with me, I feel like in past generations, if a year went by without any notable titles on consoles, there would usually be a title on handhelds to keep us occupied. However, it seems that ever since the 3DS and the Wii U have been released, the entire focus has been on making sure that the 3DS has the unique and varied titles with the third-party support, while the Wii U has been left to languish in the dust with barely a mention. 

Overall, this announcement has made me skeptical of Nintendo's plans for the future and I'm hesitant to say whether I'm excited for the new console. All I can say is that Nintendo needs to plan for the future better and they need to have a better outline as to what it is that they're going to be doing if they don't want a repeat of the Wii U or, worse yet, another Virtual Boy.

Berserk Anime Series Review

Having recently played through both Dark Souls and Bloodborne recently, I felt the need to explore the source material which is the Berserk series. Anyone who is familiar with both franchises will immediately spot references left and right coming from the weapons such as the Greatsword, to enemy designs suchas the wheel skeletons and the Capra Demon, to items such as the Behelit being similar in appearance to the ever-popular Red-Eye Orbs which are used for invasions. As such, I chose to jump straight into the series through the most popular method which was the original 1997 anime. 

For those who are unaware, Berserk tells the story of Guts and his journey with the Band of the Hawk as they fight in the 100 year war between the kingdoms of Midland and Tudor. Along the way, there are several twists and turns ultimately culminating in what can easily be described as the single most shocking ending in anime history. Overall though, what really sells the series is the writing and the overall development and relationships that these characters have with one another. As result these characters feel unique and like actual people with genuine flaws. Guts is an unstoppable badass who makes a habit of going through and mowing down any enemy that's in his path but he has trouble connecting with people. It's pointed out at one point that he has spent his whole life fighting that he has no idea how to do anything but fight. Casca is another good example of a deconstruction of a basic character type as while she is painted as the warrior woman, the show isn't afraid to paint her in a more vulnerable light. Finally, there is Griffith, the leader of the Band of the Hawk. While he is portrayed as being calm and collected and a brilliant strategist, he is also shown to be quite a sadist and he will frequently go out of his way to commit rather questionable actions.

The supporting cast is all incredibly likable and serves to further enhance the world and give more credibility to the world. The best characters are easily the other members of the Band of the Hawk, all of whom play off of the strengths of the main characters. The villains, meanwhile, are a bit of a weak spot of the series. The generals of the Tudor empire, while entertaining, are fairly one note and while one character in particular who I dare not spoil alludes to bigger things sadly doesn't get enough screentime to really do anything.

Music is another thing the series does incredibly well, especially in terms of setting the tone. The downside is there only about  songs total. The upside is that they are all used to the fullest extent possible. Susumu Hirasawa, the composer for the series, really did an outstanding job with the series as he did not hold back and whether it is the soothing melody of the song "Guts" or the ominous nature of the song, "Behelit", it all fits the mood perfectly. The only complaint I have in terms of music is the opening. While the song itself isn't terrible, it is incredibly ill-fitting Engrish along with images which consist of Guts posing for the camera as if he were on the cover of Vogue. Contrast this to the more somber ending which has images of the main characters going by slowly, as if to foreshadow the fate of the Hawks. 

If there is one downside, it's that the show's animation budget is pretty abysmal. The uses stills and reuses animation cycles as a means to save money and it's pretty obvious to see where the show cut corners wherever it could. In some scenes, however, it actually serves to add significantly to the atmosphere while in certain battle scenes it makes them awkward and disjointed. 

One final issue I have is with characters that were cut which pretty much ended up shooting this adaptation in the foot. In the first episode, Guts ends up saving a young woman from a couple of soldiers. However, in the manga, he ended up saving an elf named Puck who becomes instrumental to the plot of the series. While some might argue that this was purely for stylistic reasons, this also meant that the series could not grow beyond the first 26 episodes that aired. The second character who was cut was an even worse choice was an even worse choice to cut because by removing him it opens up multiple plotholes towards the end of the series.

Ultimately though, despite all of my nitpicks, this a fantastic series that no one should pass up. Currently, the best place to watch it is YouTube, though it's looking to be re-released later this year on Blu-ray in anticipation of the new series which is set to cover the Black Swordsman Arc. Tune in Next week for my next review when I'll hopefully have my review of Donkey Kong Tropical Freeze up.

Update for future posts and the state of the blog

Well, considering that this blog hasn’t really been active in the past three years I’ve finally decided to come around and provide an update as to what’s been going on with my life. Well for starters, I recently got another full-time and I am now living with my girlfriend. As such, I don’t have as much time to really do much of anything as I used to. However, I plan to update this blog more regularly whenever I get the time as well as to provide updates on games that I am playing and anime that I am watching (yes I do anime reviews now, how original). I’ll try to post something new at least once a week, if not at least every two weeks so I can have something going down the pipe on a regular basis. The next update should come out by the end of this Friday so please look forward to it.

Guacamelee Review

Professional wrestling and myself go way back. I still have fond memories of watching big, hairy, sweaty, muscular men jumping on each other and trying their best to show who was the bottom bitch. 

Sure is getting hot in here...

However, I was more partial towards Mexican wrestling, not only due to the lack of overblown dramatics, but also due to the emphasis of the wrestlers themselves being treated as larger than life legends. Queue Guacamelee, a game developed by Drinkbox Studios for the Playstation 3. I'd be lying if I said that the premise alone, that of an everyman becoming a masked luchador to save his kidnapped girlfriend from an evil hellbent on world domination, made me cream my pants if only because the words “masked luchador” were in that sentence. So naturally it must suck, right? Well, if you went into this expecting a deep and complex epic of a tale then of course. But then again, we don't play Mario for the story.

A Shakespearean masterpiece!!

In all seriousness, Guacamelee serves as a fun little mix of old-school arcade brawling mixed together with Metroidvania-style exploration. And you know what, it works suprisingly-well. When it comes to using your moves to explore new areas while simultaneously laying the smackdown on any skeletons, chupacabras or demonic cacti that come your way.

Kinda like this

Honestly, the gameplay works just fine. It never gets frustrating enough to the point were I wanted to ragequit and the areas and environmental puzzles were all designed in such a way that made me want to keep playing to just to see the new environments. Furthermore, the environments were all incredibly well-designed with references to Mexican culture and the use of switching between the land of the living and the land of the dead works excellently to further showcase the variety and creativity of the puzzles.

All that being said, the game has one major flaw that I feel goes unaddressed by just about anyone who's played it, and that would be this game's goddamn obsession with internet memes. Mentlegen, o rly, and grumpy cat are all given mention whether they're given context or not. It's all rather jarring and screams of a lack of any good jokes, whether this was intentional or not. References to Cantinflas would have made more damn sense.

Seriously, you had access to THIS and memes were the best you could come up with?

I'm really just nitpicking at this point. In an age where brown and grey have become the industry standard and linearity has become an industry standard, I'm not ashamed to say that I had a lot of fun with Guacamelee. The game works and with a vibrant atmosphere and memorable soundtrack it makes for a fun and cheap experience. Seriously, why the fuck are you reading this. Go out and buy this now.

Just give us less references to THIS!

Humor in Video Games (and why it sucks)...

Video Game Humor (And why it sucks)

This has been a subject that I've been thinking about covering for some time now. I was originally planning on saving it until after my Guacamelee review, but after having played Scott Pilgrim extensively, I could hold it in no longer. Video game humor is in a bad place right now, and as long as writers keep relying on references as opposed to using their actual fucking brains, I don't foresee there being much more of a future in this damn industry.

Seriously, enough of this shit.

I first noticed this while I was playing Banjo-Tooie which I had just so happened to have finished at around the same time as Guacamelee, and while it did feature endless shout-outs to other Rare games, it was never done in a way that seemed pandering or idiotic. They served merely as cute little asides, as opposed to signs that the writers are a bunch of internet obsessed retards that wouldn't know funny if it rubbed its balls in their face.

Going back to Guacamelee, when I first heard about this game, I was initially excited because I couldn't wait to see what they would do with the endless possibilities in the humor that could come as a result of the setting and it's history, even if most of it would be tacos and wrestling.

Maybe that's going a bit far, but it's a start.

Instead, we got an endless supply of internet memes. When grumpy cat in a sombrero is the best you can do in terms of a joke, that's when problems start to rise. After awhile, seeing refrences to Megaman, Legend of Zelda, Castle Crashers, and the O RLY owl, I was beginning to wonder whether these were sincere shout-outs or no one at Drinkbox Studios can come up with any jokes. As a result, I began to wonder which of the humor was genuine and which of it was capable of falling under plagiarism. Other games do this as well: Scott Pilgrim vs the World; Borderlands; Duke Nukem Forever; Jetpack Joyride; just to name a few. It's gotten to the point where it's not even cute anymore and makes me feel like all of the creators are a bunch of monkeys that browse 4chan in hopes of finding funny images.

A hive of scum and villainy

As a result, it all feels dated and out of place, lacking any form of cohesion to the overall setting and narrative.

This made me take a look at other games, I thought were funny or at the very least funnier than what I mentioned. What I came up with, were a variety of games that used different techniques to get their jokes across. One of the best examples was Portal 2, and the “cake is a lie” is not one of these. In all honesty, most of the humor of the game comes from being trapped with a psychotic individual that wants you dead all the while passively aggressively threatening you.

Funny and Dangerous

Another excellent example is Paper Mario 2, a simpler title that instead relied on the ridiculousness of the situations you were placed under and exaggerated the character's dialogue and actions based around it.

Then there's this idiot

As pictured above, Lord Crump is an excellent example of this game's humor. In all essence, he's an incompetent jackass with little to no understanding of the depth of the situation and has a tendency to make things worse. It doesn't make him any less threatening, however, as he proves constantly that he is a major danger to Mario and his allies by stealing away the Crystal Stars and standing up to Bowser of all people. Yet his ridiculous appearance and manner of speaking create someone that is hard to be taken seriously, adding to the games humor.

Finally, the one game I feel did humor perfectly on all accounts was Psychonauts. What I love the most about this little title is that it uses the same humor as shows like The Amazing World of Gumball and Regular Show: taking abnormal characters and placing them in normal situations, in this case being a summer camp for psychics. You get characters with recognizable traits (foreign-exchange kid, preppy kid, the bully, bully's sidekick, etc.) but they're all given even more varied quirks with the addition of the setting and overall wackiness of the plot.

Humor is not an easy thing to write. My attempts at humor have been lukewarm in the past and I commend anyone that can successfully write humor of any kind. That being said, please developers, put some actual fucking effort into your writing. I know that making obscure references to popular culture is both easy and entertaining, but it's not what keeps a game's humor lasting and appealing. Just remember that with wit, you'll keep us laughing forever, but with references, it'll get old after five minutes.

Think the difference between this,

And this shit...

Banjo-Tooie review

Banjo-Tooie review

If my Uncharted review taught me anything, it's that bashing a game that is considered a classic or perfect in every way shape or form by the masses will always earn you an uncharacteristically large amount of hate. At least that's how I felt while I was in the middle of playing of Banjo-Tooie. I never had a chance to play either one of them growing up because it was at a time when we were relying on chump change to feed a family of four, but I did finally come around to playing them in more recent years. Banjo-kazooie still holds up incredibly well today, even despite the graphics which haven't really aged all that well. The controls are tight and intuitive, the puzzles are fiendishly clever, and the writing is actually pretty funny giving us actual wit and depth as opposed to tired internet memes and pop culture references.

Plus one of the best damn villains evah!!!

So naturally this was a hit, coming out in a day and age where companies could afford to produce games relying on simple creativity and humor as opposed to some bombastic set pieces that didn't really amaze you much. Thus, a sequel followed, with the only question being, was it any good. Short answer: yes. Long anwser: it's still beaten by the original in every aspect.

Now, before you get your knickers in a bunch about how some fat guy on the internet is telling you that your childhood was a lie, let me remind you that the gameplay, writing, and creativity are all still here, if not better executed. However, there is one major problem with this game and that's a little something called “scale”. Or simply put, bigger is NOT always better!

Here's your proof, now shut up.

Now to be fair, the first notable difference should be that everything is bigger. However, the whole game world has had to accomodate to the new design style and as a result, it's much less focused. The first game had you in an enclosed area with a deranged lunatic constantly threatening both you and your advancement as you progress. Banjo-Tooie, on the other hand, has none of that. It still has the foreboding music that you hear as you progress from area to area in the hub world, but some of the fun of hearing Gruntilda's taunts are sorely missed.

This is offset by the new gameplay features giving you different ways to go about the levels themselves which drastically went from a more structured design to one that can best be described as “Metroidvania without a map”. The levels are interconnected, placing more emphasis on your learnt abilities as opposed to the constant collectibles from the first game, though it unfortunately doesn't alleviate the same fucking late game fetch quest problem the first game had. As a result though, it can get quite frustrating when your not sure if you should focus on trying to get a new ability or trying to get that jiggie that you can't pick up until after you've beaten the penultimate level. This never ended up being a buzzkill for me and I would often just want to keep going as a result and find myself having spent several hours just playing the game to see what new piece of batshit would come in. Speaking of which, the transformation mechanic returns from the first game though one in particular made me wonder if the ideas bucket was running so low that the developers started looking outside for inspiration.

Finally, there are the mini-games and the bosses. With the exception of the last one, most of the bosses in the game are pushovers and don't really take much effort to defeat. Not only that, but most of them are pretty forgettable.

Could put up a better fight.

Then there are the mini-games. Oh my fucking god, the mini-games. This is probably the weirdest part of the new additions, since the previous Banjo-Kazooie relied more on smart environmental puzzles and brilliant platforming. Here, the mini-games seem kinda random with little to do with the actual overall skills of the player.

Not to mention it gave us this bitch.

Furthermore, the inclusion of first-person shooter sections styled after Goldeneye seem really out of place. Granted they conrol well, but one has to ask why they felt the need to include them at all. They feel out of place, like if Red Dead Redemption added in platforming sections with a colorful cartoon backdrop.

Despite the past couple of paragraphs, I enjoyed Banjo-Tooie. The exploration, platforming, and charm all offer something you just don't get in games these days. My only question is why they felt the need to add in so many unnecessary additions to the point where it doesn't even feel like a Banjo-kazooie game.

On the left: Banjo-Tooie. On the right: Banjo-kazooie