DKC Atlas Forum

Donkey Kong Country Returns was widely considered a very difficult game; some gamers loved the challenge, some found it a little overwhelming, and of course... some DKC veterans didn't seem to find it hard at all.

Personally, I found it to be an excellent balance — not too easy, not too hard — and I've yet to become so good at it that I can auto-pilot my way through levels (which I can typically do in previous DKC games).

I've recently read that Tropical Freeze is promising to be even tougher than its predecessor; here's the quote:

Joey Davidson of TechnoBuffalo wrote:Okay, so, Donkey Kong Country Returns, the title that dropped originally for the Wii and then the Nintendo 3DS, is notoriously difficult. So difficult, in fact, that one of the 3DS port’s features was less difficulty.

Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze, the Wii U exclusive follow-up to 'Returns, will be harder. I know this because the Nintendo of America rep running my demo here at New York Comic Con told me so. There are entire levels that will out and out challenge you as a gamer. He compared the precision requirements to Super Meat Boy, which, folks, is scary. [link]

Now, this all sounds good to me — I love a challenge — but I know it's not everyone's cup of tea.

What do you guys think? Is it a mistake for Retro to make Tropical Freeze an even harder game than 'Returns, or do you think this kind of challenge is exactly what the game needs?

Take the poll, and share your thoughts!

Returns was hard? The only difficulties I had with that game were the Mirror Mode Temple levels. You know, the ones that didn't have any checkpoints and threw obstacles at you like crazy. I'm a bit wary of the "precision requirements" Mr. Davidson describes, but I assume Super Meat Boy (totally original name, by the way) isn't a Kaizo game, so the increased difficulty in Tropical Freeze shouldn't be near-impossible. Every level will just be as frustrating and nerve-wracking as Platform Perils. One last note, I hope the commercial for DKC: TF is similar to this one:


BRING IT ON!

The harder the better, I say.

I love, love, love games that challenge me as a gamer. It makes victory so satisfying.

Bring it on.

I say BRING IT ON!

It's been a while since I have gotten a recently released game that actually challenged me (I believe the most recent challenging game for me is Mega Man 9, which was released in 2008!)

So geno, are you one of the elite platform gamers that didn't find DKCR challenging?

I have to admit I've lost a few lives playing 'Returns, but I'm certainly happy to have my skills put to an even tougher test with Tropical Freeze.

Well, sort of.

After having to beat several difficult games, like DKC2 on hard mode, Super Mario Bros. The Lost Levels, Mega Man: Dr. Wily's Revenge, and Mega Man 9, I didn't find Returns very hard.

Heck, World D-1 in Lost Levels probably took me a whole week to beat. (And we all know about Animal Antics...)


Although the weird way DK handles (You know, how it's VERY different from the SNES DKCs) threw me off. Heck, IT STILL throws me off!


I never said I never found it challenging, I just said it wasn't as challenging as other games I've played.

NO challenge since Super Mario sluggers 2008 (trying to find every character)

BRING IT ON

How hard are we talking here?

Donkey Kong Country Returns is the hardest Donkey Kong game that I've played. Before the game existed, I used to think that Animal Antics, Toxic Tower, Swoopy Salvo, Sky High Caper, and especially Platform Perils were the hardest levels in the series. However, several levels in DKCR were harder than any of these that I mentioned, mainly the temple levels and the levels in the volcano. Golden Temple is, in my opinion, the hardest level in the series, and Five Monkey Trial was almost as difficult. Perilous Passage was another difficult one, and that's only three of them. So, to hear that DKC:TF is harder... wow. I know I'll like the challenge in a lot of parts, but I hope I don't see a level harder than the Golden Temple. But it will probably happen...

Now, I wonder if this game is going to rival Battletoads (especially the English version) in difficulty...