Donkey Kong Nation Returns HD is the most recent in a sequence of comebacks for DK, bringing the unique Wii-era journey again for the Nintendo Swap because the platform sails into the sundown. It is an attention-grabbing mission too, as Nintendo handed the reigns to Ceaselessly Leisure, who then rebuilt the entire thing to run within the Unity Engine.
The Return of Kong Returns is a actually a selection however there’s some logic right here – the extra fulfilling DKC Tropical Freeze already exists on Swap, so bringing over the Wii sport means you possibly can expertise each of Retro Studios’ Kong adventures in a single place.
This was their first non-Metroid Prime sport, launched again in 2010, and was fairly a pivot given the distinction in genres. I personally loved the sport again then, however its controls felt a bit missing in comparison with the Tremendous NES titles and the soundtrack felt like a little bit of an affordable imitation of the originals. Three years later, the sport was ported to Nintendo 3DS, necessitating a change from 60fps to 30fps gameplay, with the port dealt with by Excite Truck developer Monster Video games.
For the present port to Swap, I used to be a bit nervous in regards to the sport’s prospects given Ceaselessly’s monitor report, which incorporates barely sub-par remakes of Panzer Dragoon and The Home of the Lifeless. Nonetheless, I should not have fearful – that is essentially the most effective work to return out of Ceaselessly Leisure so far.
The remastering is tastefully finished, the brand new textures usually look glorious and it feels genuine to the unique. Moreover, as a Unity sport on Swap, the decision and frame-rate are surprisingly stable, particularly given how poorly Ceaselessly’s earlier Swap video games carried out, however there are some surprising flaws as effectively.
Let’s begin with the opening FMV. This has been massively improved and may even have been fully remade if the unique belongings nonetheless existed. This may increasingly appear to be a minor factor, however the dealing with of video belongings normally reveals rather a lot in regards to the high quality of a conversion. When little consideration is paid to FMV high quality, it normally signifies that corners have been minimize, a minimum of in my expertise. Fortunately, that is not the case right here.
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In-game first impressions are additionally optimistic, with the remaster remaining true to the unique visible design. The main focus right here is on new textures, modified results and up to date character fashions, with the underlying scene geometry remaining largely unchanged. The brand new textures are a lot sharper, holding up effectively on the increased decision – 1080p in docked mode and 720p in moveable mode – and picture high quality is affordable. I like the brand new sky textures right here and I am glad they sharpened up the background surroundings to keep away from a low-res look. Rain and water rendering are additionally improved considerably.
The nearer you look although, the extra you begin to spot some oddities. Visible results that had been lacking within the authentic trailer have been applied and improved, however there are nonetheless small hiccups – the mud clouds kicked up whereas pounding the DK image are diminished, and the animation of the barrel breaking as DK shoots out of it’s a bit sloppy.
You won’t discover stuff like this whereas simply enjoying by means of, however you most likely would discover the lacking sundown in stage three, the much less glowy floating KONG letters, and simplified shadows on the intro to the primary boss struggle. These kinds of nips and tucks are all through, and whereas these are minor adjustments, it nonetheless feels bizarre to see a sport launched on a vastly extra highly effective system with fewer results and particulars.
If this was the extent of the adjustments, I would be extra prone to shrug and simply roll with it as the top end result continues to be fairly good, however there are two different points. First, loading occasions. These aren’t too unhealthy, however they’re almost twice so long as they had been on the Wii model working from a disc. Certain, asset sizes have elevated, however this nonetheless seems like a giant step again.
Second is the frame-rate. It is necessary to notice that we have seen Unity video games working at 1080p 60fps on Swap – together with Yooka-Laylee and the Not possible Lair with higher visuals – however most Unity releases are inclined to run with efficiency hiccups or at decrease resolutions, so 1080p 60fps continues to be price celebrating. However the Wii model of this sport mainly runs flawlessly, so the few areas of slowdown stick out. The truth that this sport runs worse than its extra technically superior sequel does not sit proper with me.
That is what makes this sport so difficult to debate. On the floor, Ceaselessly did a greater job right here than anything of their again catalogue, but it surely nonetheless falls wanting what Retro Studios did with their Swap ports, and at this worth, compromise should not be required.
On high of all that, whereas the sport is completely advantageous, I believe it is the least attention-grabbing sport Retro Studios has made so far. It’s extremely by-the-numbers; the controls and trajectory feels rather a lot much less satisfying than basic DKC video games and the extent design is repetitive in comparison with Tropical Freeze. The most important sin needs to be the music although, which frankly I didn’t get pleasure from due to some pretty sedate tunes and poor instrumentation in a few of the remastered tracks.
So what is the takeaway right here? The fact is that this launch is each good and disappointing on the similar time. The remastering efforts are largely profitable, however the areas the place it falls quick really feel much less acceptable when contemplating the age of the unique. When you think about the technical precision one expects from a correct Retro Studios sport, it is arguably much more disappointing.
Should you starvation for DKC Returns and have not performed it but, it is a good model of the sport and one that permits you to play with out the controller shaking antics of the Wii model. Should you’re already au fait with the title, there are extra thrilling retro remakes to spend your time with.
