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The Dismissal of Donkey Kong Tropical Freeze
- Thread starter AquaWateria
- Start date
Astral Dog
Member
DISMISSED!
Also,despute great craftmanship i find the genre unfit for Retro.going from making Metroid theirs for many years to handling DK is a step down imo.
I also dont like how floaty it feels. Donkey Kong is a big aple he shouldn't be jumping enemies like a FEATHER.
There are many ways they could innovate the genre with these characters but instead choose to stay close to a few outdated SNES games :/
Also,despute great craftmanship i find the genre unfit for Retro.going from making Metroid theirs for many years to handling DK is a step down imo.
I also dont like how floaty it feels. Donkey Kong is a big aple he shouldn't be jumping enemies like a FEATHER.
There are many ways they could innovate the genre with these characters but instead choose to stay close to a few outdated SNES games :/
TheGreatMightyPoo
Banned
I have no idea what game you were playing.
Wrong thread???
AquaWateria
Member
DK games have been better than all the Metroid prime games, so it wasnt a step down. At least they moved away from a terrible fanbase.
The problem was the amount of 2D platformers already out for WiiU at the time. We had NSMBU, Rayman Legends, bit trip runner, Kirbys rainbow paintbrush with Yoshis Wooly World announced and on the horizon. I love DKTF, it's one of my all time favourite games. But we didn't need it at the time. Metroid on the other hand could have generated more hype and sales for WiiU.
andthebeatgoeson
Junior Member
By the time it came out, I had already bought NSMB U, and 3D world. I still haven't completed Galaxy 2 and I've been fatigued with platformers. NSMB U had the Luigi dlc and so there was a lot of other platformers i could have given attention to and i did want a Metroid. So i few things took the shine off.
Probably this, it's one of the best Donkey Kong games ever among DK fans and the general opinoon of people that played is that it is a fantastic game.
AquaWateria
Member
If Mario Kart couldn't move any units what makes you think Metroid could.
People forget that Metroid isn't a big seller.
freethoughtbubble
Member
Wrong on all counts but I'm too depressed from lurking that Sonic thread to explain why.
poodaddy
Member
Every piece of this post is correct, and I say this as a lover of Metroid games; DK utterly destroys Metroid games in terms of consistent quality. I didn't even mention David Wise, whose presence alone propels any DKC far above even the best Metroid Prime.
-hadouken
Member
You're missing the point. The first game in the new series was hampered by some of the worst waggle of the Wii era. This killed buzz, and had an impact on the perception of the franchise going forwards. Glad they removed it, tho damage was done.
I don't see why they can't do both. Retro was often called the "new Rare" a few years back and they could juggle platformers and shooters.
ZSaberLink
Media Create Maven
The waggle is totally exaggerated on GAF (it wasn't ideal but it didn't affect the game too much unless you were doing the time trials). TF's sales were hampered by being yet another 2D platformer on the failed Wii U. Kirby's Rainbow Curse didn't sell well, but we don't blame a previous Kirby game for tanking its sales...
The fuck type of revisionist history bullshit is this? The motion controls were fantastic in Returns and the game was extremely well received and sold like 7 million copies. They didn't remove the motion controls in Tropical Freeze either, they actually made a point to demo the game with Wiimote+Nunchuk in trade shows pre-release because it's the best way to play the game.
daTRUballin
Member
Wait, how is being assigned to work on a Metroid game any different than being assigned to DK? Both are Nintendo franchises. Except that now Retro is making DK "theirs", not Metroid. I don't see the difference.....
dead souls
Member
Eh, it was decent I guess. The levels were too long and some of the bosses were really tedious and boring.
TreasureHunterG
Banned
The unnecessary oversecrecy that Nintendo made over Retro's Wii U project really alienated the interest for this game, which was a shame, because it's awesome, but Nintendo really dropped the ball with how they handled it, as it took a major blow into the franchise as well. The best they should do is to remaster it to Switch, which probably will respark the interest for it.
-hadouken
Member
Revisionist history? Hilarious. Waggle to roll was an abomination - anecdotally my siblings and gaming friends found it intolerable. You may have liked it, tho in my view it was simply another case of Nintendo forcing their gimmick of the moment on the fanbase (much like StarFox Zero.)
boiled goose
good with gravy
It's a great game. Simply amazing.
But.
Wiiu had tons of platformers when it came out. It didn't have action adventure games like Metroid.
People wanted gaming experiences with more meat.
But.
Wiiu had tons of platformers when it came out. It didn't have action adventure games like Metroid.
People wanted gaming experiences with more meat.
BruceLeeRoy
Banned
Haha yup me too.
Personally i love all the DKC games with the exception of DKC3. But still i have a really hard time placing Tropical Freeze above the first game DKCR even if it did make improvements in its music and you no longer needed motion controls to roll. The level design was much inferior in this game and as a result it never clicked with me as much as the first game. It could be because both games were directed by different people but something felt off about the level design while good it was nowhere near as tight.There were also only six worlds this time around and the excitement of having a new DKC game after fourteen years was not there.
I think it would have moved more than yet another 2D platformer. It wouldn't have saved the WiiU but variety is the spice of life.
Opinions and all, but from where I'm standing, Tropical Freeeze played and looked as good, if not better, than Returns.
But both games are masterpieces. Pretty amazing to me that Retro nails it out of the park during their first crack at the bat. Then they nail another home run on the second swing.
Golgo 13
The Man With The Golden Dong
I think there's a few things at play here -- first, it's obvious people would've rather seen the first high definition Metroid game from this studio at a time when Nintendo fans in general were feeling down in the dumps about the Wii U than a new Donkey Kong.
Secondly, DKCTF was a well-made game but really only a serviceable one. It wasn't particularly joyous to play, but it did have great visuals and a cool soundtrack. It lacked the gradual difficulty curve and fresh feel of Donkey Kong Country Returns. I personally remember feeling EXTREMELY disappointed by Tropical Freeze and honestly forced myself to finish it -- I found it a fairly joyless affair -- and this is coming from someone who found DKCR one of the best games of 2010. And yeah, it was just too hard to be really fun. That's all there is to it. In this day and age I don't think there's a big market for brutally punishing platform games with cute, kiddo-friendly exteriors. My girlfriend at the time was kind of playing it along with me (many times we'd trade off levels) and even though she's great at platformers, she was consistently frustrated and annoyed by the game.
I remember a making-of-video of God Of War 3 where Stig Asmusen said "Yeah, let's fix the harpy section. People are going to try that twice, get frustrated, turn off the game, and never play it again", referring to the difficulty of that section of the game. Donkey Kong Country Tropical freeze probably would've benefited from those kind of development priorities.
Secondly, DKCTF was a well-made game but really only a serviceable one. It wasn't particularly joyous to play, but it did have great visuals and a cool soundtrack. It lacked the gradual difficulty curve and fresh feel of Donkey Kong Country Returns. I personally remember feeling EXTREMELY disappointed by Tropical Freeze and honestly forced myself to finish it -- I found it a fairly joyless affair -- and this is coming from someone who found DKCR one of the best games of 2010. And yeah, it was just too hard to be really fun. That's all there is to it. In this day and age I don't think there's a big market for brutally punishing platform games with cute, kiddo-friendly exteriors. My girlfriend at the time was kind of playing it along with me (many times we'd trade off levels) and even though she's great at platformers, she was consistently frustrated and annoyed by the game.
I remember a making-of-video of God Of War 3 where Stig Asmusen said "Yeah, let's fix the harpy section. People are going to try that twice, get frustrated, turn off the game, and never play it again", referring to the difficulty of that section of the game. Donkey Kong Country Tropical freeze probably would've benefited from those kind of development priorities.
Every system needs all the 2D and 3D platformers, can't get enough of them.
But I didn't think TF was anything special, the music was cool but the look of the game didn't click with me at all, and I thought the gameplay just didn't feel as good as DKC.
NSMBU is the real underrated 2D platformer on Wii U.
It wasn't Metroid (per se) it was 2D platformers. 2D platformers have been pretty much perfected in the eighties or early nineties and new iterations are usually seen as shallow upgrades to the template. After being pretty much dead for over a decade, Nintendo successfully revived it with New Super Mario Bros.
However, then in the course of not even three years they released New Super Mario Bros Wii, NSMB2, DKCR, NSMBU, NSLBU, Yoshi New Island and Kirby Triple Deluxe (and others Rayman Legends, Rayman Origins and in the mobile scene a slew of endless runners). Most importantly, Nintendo released practically nothing else of note during this time. So by the time Retro was ready to announce a new game, everyone was hoping the studio geographically furthest away from Nintendo of Japan, would save us from Nintendo's boneheaded monomania for a dead genre. But nope, it was fucking Donkey Kong.
However, then in the course of not even three years they released New Super Mario Bros Wii, NSMB2, DKCR, NSMBU, NSLBU, Yoshi New Island and Kirby Triple Deluxe (and others Rayman Legends, Rayman Origins and in the mobile scene a slew of endless runners). Most importantly, Nintendo released practically nothing else of note during this time. So by the time Retro was ready to announce a new game, everyone was hoping the studio geographically furthest away from Nintendo of Japan, would save us from Nintendo's boneheaded monomania for a dead genre. But nope, it was fucking Donkey Kong.
I remember one guy on a forum I was on when the game was announced was so pissed that Retro was making a fucking Donkey Kong game instead of Metroid that he basicly denounced Retro has a game studio and would take every chance to shit on Tropical Freeze. When the game came out, he was complaining how he had to buy it for his kids and then went into great detail about what his kids found wrong with it.
As a irrational Nintendo fan, I have to say, irrational Nintendo fans are funny.
As a irrational Nintendo fan, I have to say, irrational Nintendo fans are funny.
I thought the difficulty curve in Tropical Freeze was perfect. I actually took to Tropical Freeze more quickly and joyously than I did Returns. I'm not sure what it is, but something about the first level felt smoother to play.
Your perspective might've been colored a bit by trading off levels with someone, so that neither of you got the full progression. Also, her frustrations (merited or not) might've added to your own.
It's a game that perhaps you'd enjoy more if you revisited it someday. Theres's so much good stuff in Tropical Freeze.
Boss Doggie
all my loli wolf companions are so moe
what if the next game is a metroid x donkey kong cross over
Still waiting on Paul Gale's Metroid x Star Fox.
Oh crap your right! :-o
But yeah, I dunno if retro are ever gonna make another metroid. I see it changing developers.
Hope fer the best, I guess.
boiled goose
good with gravy
Yup
The Spoony Hou
Member
DK Tropical Freeze is probably the best 2D platform sidescroller EVER (behind only to Jungle Beat
I was under the impression that Jungle Beat is a 3D platformer
.Linkstrikesback
Member
I was under the impression that Jungle Beat is a 3D platformer
A 3d platformer controlled with only the DK bongos would have been ... It would have been something alright
Laurel_McFang
Member
I am not so sure the video really caught the major problem Tropical Freeze is the best 2D platformer Retro has ever made and is the best game in the Donkey Kong series, but I am not convinced the marketing really was the issue, neither the reviews. The real issue is similar to say what made nes diamond tier games like Metal Storm fail: it was just released at the wrong time. Add in to this Tropical Freeze entered a game environment along side genre defining games like Destiny, Middle Earth: Shadow of Morder, Dragon Age: Inquistion, Titanfall, Wolfenstein, Goat Simulator, Alien: Isolation, etc. and overlooking a single gem becomes easy. Everyone knew Metal Storm was good it just happened to have launched on nes after snes and genesis were released. Tropical Freeze is the cream of the platformer crop however its hard to budget time towards a perfection of an age old genere when Middle Earth was redefining procedural video game storylines, destiny was merging single and multiplayer gameplay, Titanfall was providing some needed fps innovation, and Alien: Isolation was applying frictional's horror template and promising nextgen A.I. Then add to this that last years games were strong. It launched really in that mid-period where ps4 and xbone were new and engaging. Anyways hold on your boxed copies will be worth 10x retail value for collectors in the future.
Touch fuzZy. get BizZay
Member
Masterpiece-tier platformer. Gameplay-wise...graphically...musically...I adore it.
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