Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze (Switch), our review

Return of the ape!

Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze is a two-dimensional sliding platform within a three-dimensional scenario. The game was originally released in 2014 on the "unfortunate and misunderstood" Nintendo Wii U. Since then, things have changed at Nintendo. A new console, Nintendo Switch, which as reported in the past weeks through publication of financial results, is going very well, many titles available, especially from third parties and a very promising future that has little in common with how flashy with Wii U.

Wii U, aside from poor sales and a questionable marketing campaign, had some of the coolest and funniest exclusives the big N could make. And it is precisely its exclusive park that could make the fortune of Nintendo Switch. In fact, after Mario Kart 8 Deluxe e Bayonetta 1 and 2, here we arrive on the hybrid of the Kyoto house, Donkey Kong Country Tropical Freeze, one of the most beautiful platformers of recent years. The title has already been extensively analyzed in its time, take a look at our review. Here we will deal with analyzing any differences or additions to the Switch version.

A ruined birthday

The narrative plot, perhaps one of the funniest produced by Nintendo in recent years, you see Donkey Kong and family blissfully celebrate the birthday of Donkey when suddenly a snowflake blows out the candle on the cake. What is happening? Our furry protagonist rushes out of the hut and in the distance sees a Viking ship announcing the arrival of the strange and feared Snowshoes. Shortly thereafter, the warm tropical temperatures will be just a memory. In fact, an ice dragon will freeze the island, throwing DK and family on the island, Lost Mangroves, where our hilarious adventure will begin.

Move Tranqi Funky

The game structure revisited on Switch has not undergone any changes whatsoever as it was practically perfect already on Wii U. We will have to face sixty levels, including jumps, pirouettes, clashes and so on and so forth. As mentioned at the beginning of the review, however, some small additions have been introduced. One of the most important news of this porting / remastered is the reinterpretation of the level of difficulty. On Wii U, the difficulty was scaled up, not allowing the player any distraction or misjudgment. On the Switch instead, Nintendo decided to revive the experience by making sure that Tropical Freeze could adapt to every palate.

Indeed, by selecting Funky kong, a rather young and fashionable character, this, in addition to having more hearts (5 to be exact unlike the 3), will bring all the skills of the other Kongs as a dowry. The proposed experience is certainly more "soft" and within everyone's reach, as a Funky Kong, he has a Surfboard that allows him to land comfortably on the spikes without hurting himself (just like Cranky Kong), he can double jump which is definitely an advantage if we find ourselves in trouble, glide for longer , roll without ever feeling dizzy and breathe underwater endlessly. It also has a larger inventory than other characters. With Funky you definitely go faster and think less about what to do. Although less complicated, the proposed experience is not distorted by one iota, resulting in any case solid and engaging.

If the choice does not satisfy you, however, before each level you will be free to change characters and maybe return to good DK. Our protagonist, in addition to the already known Diddy, can also rely on Dixie and Cranky. Each of the three aforementioned characters will offer his particular help. Diddy will allow you to glide after a jump thanks to his comfortable jetpack, Dixie, thanks to his long blonde braid, will increase the jump range and propulsive speed in the water and finally Cranky can bounce on his stick allowing DK to reach higher and eliminate enemies in the water.

Levels for all tastes

The proposed levels are so many. They range from classic tropical levels, to Nordic ones, up to levels set on mine carts and underwater (the latter among the least convincing of the entire package). The level design turns out to be very inspired, perhaps a tad less than the predecessor, that is Country Returns. Each level can be tackled in the company of a Kong, in this Switch version it is also possible to play with a friend, in local cooperative in drop-in / drop-out using the Joy-Con.

Replayability is high, since scattered throughout the game scenarios we have many collectibles (puzzle pieces and KONG letters) and secret areas to be discovered. Of course, if you are not a perfectionist, the game can be enjoyed to the full even without collecting everything that is scattered around the game scenarios.

Switch and Donkey Kong, the perfect combo

The work done to adapt Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze on Switch is nothing short of amazing.

The game comes in great shape. Resolution in dock mode is 1080p versus Wii U's 720p, framerate is firmly anchored at sixty frames per second, and loading times have also been significantly reduced. If we switch to portable mode, it's amazing how fluidity and overall performance are the same, the only exception being the resolution which is 648p. The end result is to have in your hands a title that seems to have been designed specifically for Switch.

Everything is embellished by the splendid work done on the soundtrack. Once again Dave Wise, which he had already worked on Donkey Kong Country in 1994, he made his own, creating memorable pieces to say the least. Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze on Switch is the definitive experience to date as the most loved ape in the gaming world, so fun to keep you glued to the screen.