Kymani Bell

At a first glance donkey Kong country returns seems to be a more sanitized, safer Nintendo brand take on the super Nintendo classics, with sloppier controls, some hand holding and a pale imitation of what made the originals great. But in reality, is filled with so much attention to detail, in overworld design, music and personality. This game introduces new mechanics like blowing and the cling grass which adds so much. Old mechanics are refined so seamlessly that it's as if it's always how it was meant to function. The hand slap is so fun and is such a natural part of his moveset and making so Diddy Kong has his rocket barrel backpack is genius. Gives greater incentive to keep him rather than just having him a second hit, and doesn't make the core gameplay too easy since it only lasts about a second. In terms of level design, it transcends the classics. Taking cues from donkey Kong country 3, it introduces new mechanics and ideas in almost every single level. Every level is such a standout in terms of gameplay and visuals, it's insane how much variety and milage they got out of a single tropical island setting it does it even better than dkc 1. I worried that being a wii game, it would pull it's punches, but this game at its most challenging was even more difficult than dkc 2. The -K levels were so hard it was exactly what I was looking for. All in all it was an incredible game. After 15 years of silence, donkey kong country truly did Returns. Masterpiece