My Top 115 Favorite Video Games (50-46)

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50. Streets of Rage 2 (Genesis)

Streets of Rage 2 is my favorite co-op game of all time. I don’t even have to think about that one; nothing else even comes close. I have countless great memories of playing through Streets 2 over and over again with family and friends over the years, from childhood to adulthood. It's the ultimate chill-out, talk about life, and beat up some thugs kind of game. As far as beat ‘em ups go, they simply don’t come any better. Its stages are huge and detailed, encompassing a wide variety of different sections, and each one seems to flow into one another naturally, forming the kind of progression and silent storytelling that I dig. Tying the whole experience together is the divine soundtrack largely composed by Yuzo Koshiro (with some help from Motohiro Kawashima). The music is so good that it’s the only video game I know of (besides the other two Streets of Rage games) that credits the music composer on the title screen right underneath the Sega copyright.

49. Resident Evil (GameCube)

Originally released for the GameCube in 2002, the Resident Evil remake is a masterpiece of atmosphere. There’s an HD remaster of the game out now, but even the original version still looks great because of its intricately detailed pre-rendered environments. Every frame, every moment, every screen of this game was purposely constructed and fixed to provide a certain mood, and every shot could be a beautifully macabre painting. Candles flickering in the foreground, creepy shadows dancing on the wall, ominous hallways stretching into the darkness…this game has it all. The labyrinthine and looping Spencer Mansion is a master class in level and environmental design and one of my favorite settings in video game history. I have an affinity for relatively small but richly detailed spaces in video games and perhaps nothing encapsulates this principle better than Resident Evil’s residence, which doesn’t look that big when you look at a map of it, but feels like a universe when you are lost in its dark recesses. Countless esoteric riddles, memorable creatures, and weird hidden documents all contribute to an unparalleled interactive horror experience here. Many call the “REmake” the example to follow to do a remake right, and while I think the best approach varies depending on the game, there’s no denying the remarkable achievement the developers pulled off here.

This may sound odd, but there’s also something strangely comforting about this game for me. Maybe it’s all the time I spent watching my brother play the original PS1 version (as well as Resident Evil 2) as a kid, or just something about the atmosphere, but I find myself drawn back to this game again and again. I’ve only played through it twice myself, but I never tire of watching others play it and have found myself watching Let’s Plays, Twitch streams, and friends playing it over the years and am always strangely entranced by this hauntingly hypnotizing experience.

48. Super Mario Galaxy 2 (Wii)

Super Mario Galaxy 2 is a really good Super Mario game. In one sense, it might even be the greatest Super Mario game Nintendo has ever created. Stripped of almost anything that gets in the way of you jumping around through one colorful, imaginative level after the next, Galaxy 2 is pure, unrestrained joy from beginning to end; it is very much the original Super Mario Galaxy streamlined. It overall has a more “fun” vibe that its predecessor; it’s a brighter, more jubilant game in a way, and pretty much does whatever it wants with its levels without worrying too much about strictly adhering to the space theme. That said, Galaxy 2 still has some of those more contemplative, peaceful moments that the first game is full of, and also like the first Galaxy, it’s simply a thrill discovering each new galaxy and launching into them to see what new adventures await. Galaxy 2 really captures a feeling of cosmic adventure as Mario and friends sail through space on a starship shaped like the plumber’s head. Yoshi’s back as well and this game is perhaps the most fun I’ve ever had controlling him; his mechanics feel bouncy and fluid, using pointer controls for his tongue is a smart idea, and there are also a lot of fun Yoshi-centric power-ups to use. Unlike the New Super Mario Bros. games, Yoshi doesn’t just feel thrown in for nostalgia's sake, but instead his inclusion feels inspired and he features heavily throughout the game. Super Mario Galaxy 2 unfortunately broke the trend of each new 3D Super Mario game being a major event and something truly unique and exciting, but this is a game where the immense enjoyableness of the experience seems to overshadow everything else.

47. Super Mario Galaxy (Wii)

Believe it or not, I was a bit disappointed with Super Mario Galaxy at first. It’s hard to articulate why, but I think it comes down to a mix of expectations, a handful of nitpicks, and perhaps simply becoming a little jaded as I got older. Simply put, Galaxy did not initially have as much of an impact on me as it seems to have had on many other people. After the stardust settled, however, I grew to appreciate and respect this game a lot more over time. Besides, it’s not like I didn’t immensely enjoy the game when I first played it even with those feelings of disappointment, and similar to The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, few games capture the joy of Christmas morning as much as Super Mario Galaxy for me. There’s also just something special about this game. I don’t mean that it’s personally particularly special to me in this case, but rather that there’s something inherently special about Galaxy. When I think of Super Mario Galaxy, I think of that tranquil moment early in the game when Mario wakes up on a small planetoid and has to chase some star bunnies around. But I also think of that epic opening that precedes it with Bowser and his army invading Toad Town with their fleet of airships. It’s grandiose set-pieces backed by sweeping orchestrated music like this one mixed with more atmospheric, reflective moments like the former one that give this game a very unique appeal. Unlike its sequel, this game also feels more cohesive and has a stronger identity as it uses the space theme more effectively. Super Mario Galaxy succeeds on many levels: it adds a new dimension to Mario’s familiar platforming, it tastefully calls back to the series’ classic roots by bringing back elements such as Bowser’s airships and the iconic fire flower power-up (a trend that would unfortunately all but become the downfall of the series in my eyes in subsequent years), and it features a narrative with both a sense of weight as well as a surprisingly touching undertone. The character of Rosalina and her Little Prince-esque backstory brings a lot of emotion and personality to this game that the sequel definitely lacks. I said I was initially a bit disappointed with Super Mario Galaxy, but now nearly a decade after its release I long for another Super Mario game in its spirit; not a Galaxy 3, no I actually mean the exact opposite. I mean a truly new Super Mario game (and not, you know, another New Super Mario game either...). With its inspiring orchestrated score, distinct narrative center, and new cosmic setting, Galaxy is to date the most recent Super Mario game that truly felt wholly new in my eyes. I can only hope that whatever Nintendo is cooking up right now for the most famous character in video games, it’s something worth getting excited about again.

46. Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze (Wii U)

By the end of world one, I was impressed. By the end of world two, I was in love. By the end of level one of world three, I was in tears. Tropical Freeze is outstanding. It’s my favorite pure platformer of the last decade plus and a masterwork of the genre. I don’t even know where to begin because this game just wins on so many levels: its imaginative and lushly-realized worlds break away from stale genre clichés, its levels were painstakingly crafted piece by crumbling/growing/burning/spinning/flying piece and every single one of them is memorable, its mechanics are razor sharp, it is a colorful, beautiful-looking game, and its soundtrack, composed by returning master David Wise (with some help), is just sublime; it’s catchy, atmospheric, grand, creative, joyful, wonderful, and is simply one of the best OSTs in gaming period. In addition, the sense of progression and narrative framing is executed wonderfully. The attention to detail in Tropical Freeze is almost alarming: every single platform, every trap, every obstacle has a purpose and a context; platforms don’t just float in the air, they are attached to trees or get carved out and thrown in front of you by gigantic saw blades, they don’t simply move about on their own, but are tilted by falling streams of water in a leaky cavern or are part of an intricate fruit harvesting mechanism in the middle of a dense jungle. This game is alive; it’s dancing, it’s grooving and moving, and it is just gosh darn amazing. Where Donkey Kong Country Returns felt largely chained to the past, Tropical Freeze is more in the spirit of Donkey Kong Country 2 but surpasses that classic with an original adventure that is not afraid to break away and proudly be an experience that evokes nostalgia for a bygone era by not simply recycling or winking and nudging and saying “hey, remember that?”, but instead by simply being an experience every bit as wonderful, special, and imaginative as those classic platformers I fell in love with in the 90s are. Tropical Freeze captured my heart in a way that a game hasn’t in a long time and I have no hesitation in saying it is one of the finest platformers ever created.

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The games continue next time with #45-41!

Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze (Wii U) Review

I want you to do me a favor. Yes, you reading this. Now that Super Smash Bros. is out and you’ll most likely finally be picking up a Wii U, you will soon be in a position to play one of the finest platformers ever created. After you’ve had your initial fill of smashing, go out and pick up Donkey Kong Country:Tropical Freeze. I haven’t heard many people talking about this game, and right now it seems destined to become a criminally overlooked gem for the struggling console. Tropical Freeze is marvelous; a beautiful, rich experience full of detail and some of the most lushly-realized environments I’ve ever seen in a platformer. It’s a joy to play and just to look at and especially to listen to. To think that I was so disappointed by this game’s initial announcement back at E3 2013. I’d like to go back in time and punch my stupid Donkey Kong-bemoaning face into the ground. Tropical Freeze is truly special and one of the most wonderful gaming experiences I’ve ever had.

                I enjoyed Donkey Kong Country Returns a lot, especially after I replayed it last year and gave it my full attention. It’s a brilliant platformer, but it didn’t quite speak to me on a deeply personal level. It mainly channeled the spirit of the original Donkey Kong Country for Super Nintendo, another great game but not my personal favorite. No, my favorite DK game (and one of my favorite games period) is the first SNES sequel to that game, Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy’s Kong-Quest. Tropical Freeze evokes the magic of DKC2 and has provided me with what feels like the true successor to that SNES gem all these years later. Part of the reason I love DKC2 so much in relation to the first DKC is because it felt so much more lively and adventurous and has much more memorable and vibrant environments. I feel that DKC2 has more personality than its predecessor as well as an atmosphere and a feeling that speaks to me more. Tropical Freeze follows this trend with environments that feel more creative and new than the ones in Returns and it appeals to me much more as a result.

                Besides just how damn great the game feels to play, I think there are three things that immediately grab me about Tropical Freeze: the narrative, the environments, and the music.  That narrative is simple but is executed to near-perfection here. The Kong family’s island is conquered by the invading Snowmads, a group of Viking-like arctic animals that bring to mind the Kremlings in all the right ways and have way more personality than the Tikis from Returns (who, for the record, I actually liked). DK Island is literally frozen over courtesy of a giant magical horn (because that’s just how the Snowmads do things I guess) and the four Kongs (Donkey, Diddy, Dixie and Cranky) are blown far out into the far reaches of the neighboring seas. The game’s first level is set up brilliantly: DK lands in a wrecked plane suspended in the tangled branches of a massive mangrove forest. After busting out of the plane, he and his buddies’ adventure begins. I love the way that the frozen DK Island can be seen as a tiny speck far in the background right at the beginning of the first level: this wonderfully communicates a clear goal (get back to your island and take it back) while the distance of the island communicates what a grand adventure awaits. Something I’ve always loved about the DKC games is that the Kongs are never on some selfless quest to save the whole world just for the sake of it, but rather their quest is usually a personal one, with the familial bonds shared between the Kongs often a highlight. In Tropical Freeze, DK and pals are not trying to save the world, but their world, so to speak. One might say I’m spending too much time focusing on the narrative of a Donkey Kong platformer, in which cartoonish apes collect bananas and fight fish-throwing walruses, but everything is just executed so well in TF and the opening and ending cinematics are both gorgeously rendered and so very fitting for their situations and the feelings that they aim to evoke.

The Kongs are in this together

                Something that often irks me about platformers (especially Nintendo-produced platformers) is how they often rely on all the same old environment tropes and stale themes that the Super Mario Bros. series established back in the NES days (particularly in Super Mario Bros. 3), with the worst offender these days of the “grass world,desert world, water world, etc.” pattern being the Mario series itself. Tropical Freeze forgoes the Nintendo trend of copying Mario for some of the richest, most well-fleshed-out and beautiful environments I’ve ever had the pleasure of journeying through in a platformer. Each of the game’s six different islands is alive with its own atmosphere, feeling, and wildlife and each one feels like a game in themselves. The themes here are naturalistic and based on real-world natural biomes (for the most part), and fit Donkey Kong’s world supremely well while also being more creative and lively than your typical themed worlds. This is Retro Studios, so it goes without saying that Tropical Freeze boasts beautiful visuals and art design and incredible detail and depth when it comes to the environments. But saying it this way doesn’t do Retro’s first HD work justice. Small animals in the far background of levels are animated, backgrounds stretch way into the distance and are fully-modeled and detailed with imposing cave-sprinkled mountains, tropical islands, and deep caverns full of torchlight and castles. In just about every level, I want to jump into the background and explore, and each background feels like the world of an entire adventure game in itself. It’s marvelous. Each level in the game is like a new present on Christmas morning, with each new loading screen prior to a level filling me with giddy anticipation for what new sights and experiences awaited. A forgotten mangrove forest in the middle of the ocean full of wrecked planes, submarines and ships is one hell of a memorable opening world, and by the game’s second world, a majestic autumn-time wonderland themed after parts of western and central Europe, I was already in love. If the game had ended there, it would have been enough. Then the first level of the third world had me almost tearing up with its beauty and inventiveness.

                The level designs themselves are fantastic. The minecart levels, despite there being an unfortunately small number of them, are the best in the series. Levels feature unique new designs and themes as well as ones inspired by DKC 1, 2 and 3, although not in a pandering way, but in one that builds and expands on those old ideas (the entire second world in particular and my personal favorite, Autumn Heights, feels in large part like a homage to Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong’s Double Trouble, which I was surprised by given that game’s relative lack of popularity). I plan on making a separate post here listing out some of my favorite levels in the game, so I’ll save the details for later, but for now some of my favorite levels (besides the sublime savannah level I mentioned earlier) include a thrilling log-plume ride through a sawmill during a thunderstorm, a harrowing romp through a scorched wilderness set on fire, and a beautiful Limbo-esque silhouetted climb up an avalanche. 

Tropical Freeze's worlds and levels are superbly designed and rich with beauty

                Besides the original DKC trilogy, Tropical Freeze notably takes inspiration from many great platformers throughout the years such as the Super Mario series, DuckTales, the Sonic the Hedgehog series, and Rayman Origins. Some might call it “ripping off” in some areas, especially when it comes to elements like the way Cranky Kong uses his cane to bounce around a la Scrooge McDuck, but the game uses these ideas in conjunction with its own to create something special with its own unique feel. Actually, Tropical Freeze feels somewhat like a conglomeration of ideas from all the best platformers throughout history mixed with its own original ideas. The result is simply a supremely well-designed game that is absolutely joyous to play and experience. And then there’s that soundtrack…

                That David Wise soundtrack. As one of the composers of DKC1 and DKC3 and the sole composer for the absolutely stellar soundtrack to Donkey Kong Country 2, this was perhaps the element of Tropical Freeze that I was looking forward to the most. Very rarely are my expectations exceeded like they have been with the phenomenal work Wise has done for this game. Perhaps it wouldn’t be right to say he has surpassed DKC2’s score, but he’s certainly equaled it in terms of magic and wonder (only losing out in terms of nostalgia, but that will come with time). Donkey Kong Country Returns, which Wise did not compose for, had mostly straightforward updates of classic tunes from DKC1 that were designed to evoke nostalgia, but for Tropical Freeze Wise chose to compose mainly entirely new tracks, while using remixes and new compositions of old favorites sparingly and often in more creative ways, like hiding samples from classic songs in new tunes. I’m all for this choice, as the overly familiar OST of Returns was just a bit boring to me (as great as those classic songs are). There are only a few straight updates here, a beautiful update to Aquatic Ambiance being one of them, while the rest are all original pieces. The only update to a classic that I really wanted was Stickerbush Symphony, my personal favorite DKC2 track (and I’m sure many others’ as well) and…well, Retro kind of screwed up here. Retro, I love you, but I just have to ask: why didn’t you put the Stickerbush remix with the bramble level you created? Both a Stickerbush Symphony remix and a bramble-themed level are here, but bafflingly are not put together. The remix of Stickerbush Symphony is nice, although in truth I didn’t even recognize it at first; it’s more of a different take on the song like the Super Smash Bros. Brawl remix (although more faithful in feeling than that one) than a straightforward orchestrated update of the original, which is kind of what I was hoping for in this case, but really any version of this song is great, especially a new version from the original composer himself. The really odd thing though is that the remix of SS is used as filler music for the beginning and ending of one rocket barrel stage that has different music for most of the level. Maybe this is some kind of purposeful troll on Retro’s part or simply an oversight. While I know I’m asking for fan-service here, including both a return of the bramble level theme and a Stickerbush remix in the game is already fan-service so why aren’t they paired together? It’s a nitpick, but as such a huge fan of the original bramble levels and music in DKC2, it’s something that stood out to me and was a bit disappointing. But enough of that. I really can’t praise David Wise’s work on this soundtrack enough. The man is a beautiful human being and instead of failing to really describe how much I love this music, just have a listen to Mangrove Cove, Windmill Hills, and Amiss Abyss. Those are three songs that I love, but I have many other favorites. There’s really not a single track that isn’t stellar in its own way.

                You may have noticed that I haven’t really said anything bad about this game (besides the Stickerbush nitpick); in fact, this review has been almost entirely glowing praise so far, hasn’t it? Well, that’s because I really love this game, if you can’t tell, and I really don’t have much bad to say about it. I do have a few issues though, and one of them has to do with the controls. Now, unlike in DKC Returns, Tropical Freeze gives multiple control options, so if you don’t like shaking a stick to roll, now you can use buttons! I thought this would be a great thing, but then I realized that I actually found the Wii remote and nunchuk to be the most comfortable out of all the control schemes, and it was also the one I was used to from Returns, and I even realized that I actually like the motion stuff! Well, kind of. I actually think that the kinetic and active nature of wildly air-drumming with the Wii-chuk combo lends itself well to DK’s ground-pound move as well to pummeling bosses in the face after one of the game’s terrific boss fights. I even like giving the Wii remote one quick shake to do a roll. It just feels good. I enjoyed this in Returns as well and across both games, there were only a few rare occurrences where the motion control led to a screw-up (such as when I want to ground-pound, but haven’t let go of the control stick yet and accidently go rolling off a platform and into a pit, but this is more an issue with two actions being mapped to the same control input than motion control). However, there are a few areas where the motion control seems to fail me. I found dashing with Rambi the rhinoceros, which is required frequently in the levels that involve him, to be an awkward exercise. Shaking the Wii-chuk in short bursts is all well and good, but it gets tiring constantly flailing one’s means of controlling a game for a long period while dashing, while also remembering to press buttons on the instruments of said flailing, make precise jumps, and avoid obstacles. Also, this might not even be an issue with the motion control, but Rambi’s momentum seems incredibly wonky, especially when dashing and jumping, which led to many deaths. All this makes the Rambi levels (which are very few and far between) some of my least favorite in the game, which is a shame because they’re otherwise very thrilling, well-designed, and should by all accounts be some of the funnest levels. I also feel that a precisely-timed Wiimote shake being one’s only means of attacking underwater (sans Cranky Kong’s cane swipe) isn’t ideal and felt a bit janky to me.

                Speaking of swimming, what a great and convenient segue to lead into my only big complaint with Tropical Freeze, and even this one is ultimately trifling when it comes to the experience as a whole. As someone who has always actually enjoyed water-based levels in platformers and the atmosphere that they bring, and with the DKC series being known for its memorable and wondrous water levels, I was actually thrilled that they were bringing back swimming in Tropical Freeze, and had missed it in Returns. Swimming in Tropical Freeze feels fluid and fun, the game’s fully underwater levels are mostly well-designed and backed by beautiful music of course, and in short bursts (such as the levels that involve pools of water but where it’s not the focus), the swimming overall works great. Unfortunately, one irritating design choice puts a serious damper on the levels that take place almost entirely underwater and I’m sure by now you can guess what it is: yep, the air meter. In the classic DKCs, just like in Super Mario games, Donkey Kong and his friends could hold their breath forever, but now Retro decided to go all realistic on us and add a tiny air meter that rapidly empties, leading to a group of apes that is even more water-phobic than Sonic the Hedgehog. What’s worse, in the depths of the abyss, the only way to refill air, which again one must do constantly, is by using air bubbles also similar to Sonic games, and those air bubbles are annoyingly spread fairly thin in some of these levels. Put bluntly, there’s just nothing good about the air meter. One of the central charms of the water levels in classic DKC games, especially the first one, is their peaceful, calming nature. The water levels in Tropical Freeze are beautiful and I want to take my time and explore them and enjoy that sweet, sweet David Wise soundtrack, but I have trouble doing this when every ten seconds or so the annoying air meter starts beeping and completely shatters my immersion. This design mechanic is in stark contrast to the serene music and atmosphere of these levels. Similar to the timer in Super Mario 3D World, the air meter adds nothing to the experience and takes away so much. It might add a minimal amount of challenge, but it mostly just adds irritation and wastes the player’s time when they have to rush backwards in a level to find the last air source that they passed, or otherwise hamper their enjoyment of a level by forcing them to rush forwards through it. Even if one argued that the air meter adds a paltry amount of added challenge and a touch of realism, the sacrifice in atmosphere and enjoyment in these levels just isn’t worth either of these things. The air meter just feels really out of place and I wish it’d never made it into the final game.

I love this level; I just wish I didn't have to worry about that tiny blue bar in the upper left corner

                But in the grand scheme of the experience, my complaints with controls and the air meter are ultimately trivial. Even though I feel as though the developers chiefly had the Wii remote and nunchuk in mind when designing the game, several other controller options are available and you might like them better than I. I simply wish that the moves delegated to motion control could have been mapped to either the C-button on the nunchuk or the Z-trigger on the Wii remote as both of these buttons are used for the same action (grabbing) and thus one of them could have easily been used for the actions that require shaking (with the other one still being for grabbing). Perhaps ground-pounding could still have been mapped to shaking the Wii-chuk, and rolling, dashing with Rambi, and the swimming attack could have been delegated to one of these two buttons. This easily possible set-up would create the ideal control scheme for the game in my opinion. As for swimming, there’s only a handful of fully underwater levels in the game and all of them are contained in the same world, so their grievances were quickly forgotten when I was hopping and bopping back on dry land again. Not only this, but upon revisiting the underwater levels, I found that once I was familiar with their layouts, the air meter mechanic became more manageable (but still annoying) and I was able to enjoy them more. The levels of course should be enjoyable on one’s first run-through and this in no way pardons the air meter, but it’s worth mentioning.

                Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze is a stellar experience. Not only is it a fantastic adventure in its own right, but it subtly improves on just about everything from its predecessor, Donkey Kong Country Returns. The additions of Dixie Kong and Cranky Kong alongside the returning Diddy Kong are great and all of these partners for Donkey Kong bring useful and fun abilities to the table in the single-player mode (to say nothing of the added variety that they bring to the co-operative multiplayer mode, which I have not tried myself, either in Returns or in Tropical Freeze); having secret exits hidden in levels Super Mario Bros.-style is way more exciting than simply buying a key in a shop to unlock a bonus level (not to mention, spoiler alert, TF has a slightly more substantial secret world than just one level like Returns had); the already mentioned several different control options; and to my utter surprise, no Super Guide. I had to look this up while writing this review to make sure, but sure enough, Tropical Freeze completely nixes the crutch that Nintendo has usually been adamant about putting in most of their modern platformers. Now let me clarify, I actually don’t have much of an issue with the concept of Super Guide itself. While I do think even having the option takes away from the experience a bit and I always prefer just old-fashioned good game design to unsubtle hand-holding elements, I respect the fact that there’s an option for less-skilled players to skip a level that they are frustrated with or learn how to conquer it, especially in a challenging game like Tropical Freeze. What I don’t like, as someone who never touches the Super Guide, is that obnoxious, horrible, immensely nerve-grating, beeping, flag-waving pig from Returns that would appear at a checkpoint after just a small number of deaths and every single subsequent time that I screwed up, reminding me that, “HEY! YOU CAN USE THE SUPER GUIDE!!!”. “THANKS, PIG! I KNOW! AND I DON’T WANT TO! NOT NOW, AND NOT EVER!!!” This was especially awful on the incredibly challenging bonus levels in Returns. Seeing and listening to that pig over and over and over again tripled the frustration, at least. All I ask for when it comes to Super Guide is an option to stop it from ever appearing at all, but I’ll also accept just not having it in the game period (although that pig still hangs around at checkpoints and peeks around corners to give the occasional button prompt, but as long as it's not waving a flag in my face, I'm cool with it).

Tropical Freeze has, what I feel, is the perfect challenge level for a platformer like this. It feels very fair, and with the exception of the fully underwater levels, was never frustrating for me. My failures were almost always my own fault, and cheap deaths were rare during my playthrough. There were a few trial and error situations in the normal levels, but not many, and less than in Returns from what I remember. I didn’t find the difficulty in Returns to be as harrowing as some, but it did certainly get very brutal at times (and thanks to that pig, quite frustrating). I found Tropical Freeze to be much more manageable, while also still providing plenty of challenge. The hidden temple levels from Returns return in Tropical Freeze, and while they are still a great challenge and involve a few more moments of trial and error than standard levels, are far more manageable than the ones in Returns and far less frustrating. Also, mine-cart and rocket barrel levels are no longer a one-hit kill scenario in Tropical Freeze like they were in Returns, giving the player two hits this time before they go down, and this too is a smart improvement (and there’s always the unlockable hard mode if you still want that unforgiving challenge). And even though there is no Super Guide, there is still plenty of help in Funky Kong’s shop if players need it; for just a few banana coins (which are plentifully available in each level), players can purchase a heart that adds an extra hit-point, a balloon that will rescue them from a pit, and much more. One can even collect figurines of every friend and foe in the game (but I just have to ask: what the heck is up with Funky Kong’s “voice” in this game?). If one aims for all the game’s collectibles (which are worth it just for the thrill of the hunt and also to see the game’s gorgeous concept artwork, which contains a lot of unused ideas that I would have loved to have seen in the game; perhaps they’ll influence a sequel?), there’s a lot of trial and error in Tropical Freeze, but this mainly comes from going for all of the game’s well-hidden puzzle pieces (as opposed to the collectible K-O-N-G letters, which are often easier to nab). Finding and acquiring everything certainly takes patience and while I don’t mind this kind of thing, I respect that others don’t have that kind of patience. The reason I don’t mind is because I was thrilled to have an excuse to go back and replay levels over and over again thanks to their excellent design and music, and just how damn wonderful the game feels to play. The game is really as difficult as one makes it: if you just want to get to the end of the game, it’s a very fair challenge; if you want to collect all of the K-O-N-G letters to see all of the hidden levels, it’s difficult but very manageable; and finally if you want to go for all of the puzzles pieces to unlock hidden artwork, it will take time, but it’s a rewarding journey (and Squawks the parrot is there to help you out if you need their help as an item that can be purchased in the shop). A level’s K-O-N-G letters have to all be grabbed in one go and are usually easy to spot but sometimes tricky to acquire (and then make it back in one piece), whereas the puzzle pieces can be acquired one by one and are usually more well-hidden. I think that this duel system of collectibles is genius. And even beyond these main collectibles, Tropical Freeze is a game that rewards the player at every corner. Pulling an object out of the ground here and doing a ground-pound there, grabbing every banana clustered together in a certain part of a level, investigating a suspicious piece of scenery…players are almost always rewarded for their curiosity with a banana coin, an extra life, a puzzle piece, or something else.

I’ll say it once again, Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze is marvelous. There’s just not much more to be said now than if you’re in a position to play it (that is, if you own a Wii U), you should play it, especially if you’re a fan of platformers. Tropical Freeze evokes the magic of Donkey Kong Country 2 while also being entirely its own experience and creating its own brand of wonder. Donkey Kong Country Returns is a fantastic game but it felt like it was largely concerned with paying homage to the first DKC game. Tropical Freeze feels more like its own, original game and similarly to DKC2, it branches out into creative new worlds and feels like a real adventure as DK and friends travel to places beyond DK Island. The only thing that seems to be missing is the other animal buddies besides just Rambi, and while I’ll admit that leaving them out does take away a big aspect of the old DKC trilogy’s identity, when the platforming is this well-constructed, I just find it easy to overlook this. The Retro Studios DKC games are simply a different beast, and when they’re as damn good as they are, that’s totally fine with me. Retro, I’m sorry I was ever disappointed by you in any way. If you choose to make a third DKC game, or if you are already working on it, I will eagerly anticipate it when it’s announced.

But seriously, that David Wise soundtrack though.

Donkey Kong Country Returns (Wii) Review

If you followed my E3 2013 impressions, you'd know that I was extremely disappointed with Metroid Prime developer Retro Studios' new game, which is a sequel to the studio's 2010 Wii game, Donkey Kong Country Returns. I've never been a super huge Donkey Kong fan (though I have played and enjoyed all the Country games) and I wanted something bold and ambitious from the studio out of their first Wii U project, rather than another platformer, which Nintendo already has plenty of coming to their console.

After my initial disappoint began to cool and I rewatched the trailer for Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze and listened to the developers talk about the game, I tried to warm up to the game. I have a lot of respect for Retro and it sounds like this is the game that they wanted to do. I want to support them and understand why I should care about a new Donkey Kong game. To this end, I was suddenly struck by the desire to replay Donkey Kong Country Returns. You see, I played DKCR shortly after it was released, but I played it more because it was just another game in my collection that I needed to get out of the way than out of a real desire to play it. I sort of rushed through the game, enjoying it, but not really "getting into" it. I felt a genuine interest in playing the game this time and I wanted to really sink my teeth into it and give it my full attention.

With this in mind, I booted the game up on my Wii U at around 2AM about two weeks ago. I still wasn't even sure I'd actually go through with fully completing the game, I just...wanted to play it. A couple of hours later, I was immensely enjoying myself. As I said, I sort of rushed through the game the first time and I really didn't remember much of it, so playing it again felt a fresh new experience. For the rest of the week, I played the game every night, clearing a world each time and each time feeling a sense of joy I haven't felt while playing a game in a very long time. DKCR is the kind of whimsical, imaginative platformer that I feel like I haven't really experienced since the days when all I played were platformers; games like Super Mario Land 2, Sonic 3 and Knuckles, and even Crash Bandicoot (a game I played, but never owned and fully played through myself). These games inspired my imagination and instilled a sense of wonder and joy in me that games like New Super Mario Bros. just don't do for me.

Part of this joy comes from the unique level designs within DKCR. Just about every level introduces some kind of new element or set-piece, ranging from a harrowing journey across a stormy shoreline as a massive octopus stalks your every move, a level where Donkey and Diddy barrel blast from pirate ship to pirate ship as they dodge falling cannonballs, and a rocket ride through a cave as a gigantic bat chases you down. Almost no level in the game bores me, both in terms of gameplay design and visual design.



One of my favorite levels

That visual design is a key element of what makes DKCR such an enjoyable experience. Retro Studios proved its immense talent for creating beautiful, immersive worlds in the Metroid Prime games and the art direction in DKCR is similarly phenomenal. If you don't take the time to lean in and notice the jaggies and rough edges in the game, DKCR could easily be mistaken as a modern, HD experience. It certainly blows even the more recent HD New Super Mario Bros. U out of the water. The environments pop with a level of detail both in the background and foreground (which players often travel between) that creates a stunning world to experience complete with jungle ruins overgrown with amazonic plant-life, sparkling, ambient caves full of mole miners, sunny beaches with goofy leaping sharks, and fossil-filled, prehistoric cliffsides. The artists do so many creative and wonderful things, it's hard to even give a taste of it here. There are some levels where everything, Donkey and Diddy Kong included, appear as a jet-black silhouette (sort of like Limbo, except with more color), there is a level where gigantic mountains crumble all around the player both in the background and underneath their feet, and there are the factory environments, which have a retro red and black color scheme (as well as zig-zag-patterned girders) that echoes the original arcade Donkey Kong's classic construction site. A lot of the world themes in the game are familiar and clearly inspired by the original Donkey Kong Country on SNES (though the pirate ship-themed stages bring DKC2 to mind), but since the game is designed to be a retro reboot, and because the artists and designers do so many creative and new things with these themes, this aspect really doesn't bother me in the way a game like Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 1 does, in which level themes are straight-up ripped off and add little new. It's very hard to find things to complain about when the level designs are this engaging (although the final world in the game is a stereotypical lava world complete with sinking stone platforms and a rising-lava-chase level, but at least a volcano stage makes sense in the context of the tropical island setting).

Donkey Kong Limbo

The whole game is filled with personality and a goofy sense of humor. The villains are wooden Tiki creatures (wooden creatures who are birthed from a fiery volcano) whose designs are based on instruments. These critters go around DK Island and play a catchy tune (seriously, I love that tune) that hypnotises all of the animals and creatures of the island. Using these pawns, the Tikis steal DK's banana hoard for a ridiculous purpose revealed later on in this complex plot. Donkey Kong (and presumably Diddy) is unaffected by this hypnosis (is he just too dumb?) and it's off to save the bananas and I guess the island! The cutscenes in the game are superbly animated and most plot points are hilariously absurd, and I mean this in the best way possible. A lot of people complained about the Tikis replacing the classic Kremling villians, but I don't mind having something new. The Tikis aren't exactly overflowing with personality, but they fit the setting nicely and I like their instrument-focused designs. I also think it's kind of interesting for a Donkey Kong game to have a rather physically weak set of villains who control other creatures to do their bidding. The boss creatures the Tikis control are definitely more interesting than any of the bosses in the first DKC game. It's also very satisfying to pummel the wooden baddies by waggling the Wii Remote and Nunchuck with embarrassing vigor at the end of each boss fight. My only complaint about these villains is the final boss, who without outright spoiling it, is probably the most overused and generic design Retro could come up with. If you've been playing video games for a while, and particularly Nintendo games, it's a safe bet you've already fought a boss like this at least five times. Although the fight itself is fun and I love the music track that plays during it.

The Tikis

In addition to the fantastic art direction and the absurd narrative, the sound design is something else that stands out about the game. The sound effects are so satisfying in this game and that's the best way I can describe it. When Donkey Kong picks up a banana, a banana bunch, or a banana coin and when he bounces off an enemy's noggin, each action is accompanied by a 'click!' or a 'bloopadoop!' or a 'cachuck!' I never get tired of hearing. These kinds of little details are important in a collecty platformer like this, and every sound effect and noise in the game just jives so well. This is an area the SNES original excelled in as well, and DKCR follows suit and is even more pleasant to listen to in this regard.

The music in the game, while good, isn't extremely memorable though. The best tracks in the game are probably the remixes of ones from DKC1 (some of which are great, like the factory theme, others not so much, like Returns' take on Aquatic Ambience, which is far inferior to the beautiful original) but this lack of notable new tunes (with some exceptions) makes the soundtrack live in the shadow of the original's in a way. A lot of the music is ambient and environmental, which stays true to the original SNES game's atmospheric soundtrack, and all of the music does suit the game's environments and trials perfectly. The soundtrack just isn't quite DKC2-level quality.

The controls, however, are smooth as a creamy banana sundae. The SNES trio all had great controls as well, and DKCR probably surpasses them simply in terms of how the game feels. In single-player mode, we only get to play as Donkey Kong this time. Diddy Kong rides on Donkey's back and provides a jet-pack-powered hover ability and extra health. Initially, I was disappointed with this because I always thought that Diddy controlled more smoothly in DKC1 (just one part of why his star game DKC2 is my favorite in the series), but upon playing DKCR this worry quickly disappeared because Donkey Kong feels fantastic to control and there's really no need to switch between the two characters anymore. Perhaps something is lost with the omission of the tag-team mechanic from the SNES games, but ultimately I don't mind having just one great-controlling Kong to deal with. While the controls and gameplay are almost perfect, and truly some of the best I've ever experienced in a platformer, they are marred by a few annoying flaws. Mainly, the obnoxious forced motion control Retro decided to implement in the game. In order to ground-pound and blow a puff of air to uncover secrets, the player must shake the Wii Remote and Nunchuck (or just the Wii Remote if they use that control scheme). While unnecessary, this isn't too bad, and ground-pounding this way is actually satisfying as is pummeling the Tiki bad guys like I mentioned before.The main problem is that rolling, which can be essential to precision platforming in the game, is also mapped to the shaking of the controller, and this action (or any of the others) can't be mapped to a traditional button. The reality here is that this isn't a game-breaker and it mostly works just fine, but it's incredibly frivolous and adds nothing to the experience. The only thing it might add every now and then is frustration when I go to itch myself and accidentally move my controller too much and Donkey Kong suddenly rolls against my will. It's very easy to do this and fly off a cliff, at no fault of the player. Even if this has a very infrequent chance of happening, it is still inexcusable design and Retro is a better developer than this so it baffles me why this is in the game, or at least why we aren't given the option to map the roll action (and any actions) to a traditional button. One other minor hiccup with the control is that high-bouncing off of enemies doesn't feel quite as intuitive as in the originals. In DKC1, I feel like I can just hold down the jump button and bounce off Kremling after Kremling, while in DKCR, I have to be a little more conscious and hit the A button at exactly the right time to bounce off a critter, and simply holding the button down afterwards won't continue my bouncy flow and I must press the button again right before landing on the next baddie. This action is crucial at many points in the game, so while not unforgivably flawed by any means, it's still something worth noting.

The whimsical world of DK

Precise controls are a must in this game because it's a hefty challenge. A lot of this challenge comes from trial and error scenarios, mainly in the mine-cart and rocket-barrel stages. In the rocket-barrel stages, Donkey Kong rides inside, well, a rocket-propelled barrel this is controlled by soley the A button. Hold A to ascend, let go to descend as you avoid obstacles. It's a very simple idea and it's a testament to Retro's abilities that they were able to create such engaging levels around this concept. These levels can be frustrating as hell though when it becomes tough to pay attention to the massive amount of information on screen that the player needs to take into account and react to. I also feel like the collision detection is a little wonky in these levels (I'd often be surprised when I suddenly exploded and think, "Um, what just hit me?" or "How did I just die?"), or maybe it's just that Donkey Kong is sometimes just too big and awkward a target to always navigate the narrow traps that he must avoid with finesse, and perhaps the levels could have been designed a little more leniently with this in mind.

The rocket-barrel (and a balloon-equipped mole miner)

There are two kinds of mine-cart levels. The first type is the standard one, where Donkey Kong rides in a mine-cart and never leaves it, where the cart jumps with him. The other, and more troubling type of mine-cart stage, is where Donkey stands on top of a cart and when the player jumps, the cart doesn't jump with them. These levels require the player to use several mine-carts, instead of staying in just one the whole time. These stages can be a little tricky because the player needs to worry about controlling Donkey's forward momentum as well as jumping at the right time when jumping from mine-cart to mine-cart, as these stages require the player to continuously do (when not jumping forward to the next cart, Donkey will always land on the cart he is currently riding when jumping straight up). Due to this, I suffered a few deaths when I didn't jump at the right time or over-jumped a mine-cart that I was supposed to land on. The standard mine-cart stages and rocket-barrel stages, despite being packed with ridiculous obstacles and requiring perfect timing from the payer, mostly work well because the player only needs to worry about one button. That's the problem with this second type of minecart stage, because the player has to worry about controlling their jumps and Donkey's momentum at certain points in addition to avoiding all of the obstacles. Another aspect of both the rocket-barrel and mine-cart levels that makes them a little unnecessarily unforgiving is that if you get hit, even by a small enemy, your cart/barrel explodes and you instantly die, no matter how much health you have. It wasn't this way in the SNES games on their mine-cart stages, which were a good enough challenge already, and these levels in Returns are already tough enough as well without this aspect, so I do question this design as it comes across as artificial difficulty; just a cheap way to lengthen gameplay time as you will certainly die a lot in this levels. On the other hand, this added challenge certainly does raise the stakes and makes these levels even more intense and therefore more satisfying to complete. I also question that there's an entire world in the game filled solely with mine-cart and rocket-barrel levels. If you're not a fan of these kinds of fast-reflex levels, this lack of variety might frustrate you. Also, since this world is the cave-themed world, I would have liked some traditional, atmospheric cave-themed platforming levels as well, as those have traditionally been a staple in DKC, and Retro's fantastic art direction would only add to their appeal. All this said, both the rocket-barrel and all of the mine-cart stages, while they can certainly become frustrating, are consistently engaging and once I got into the groove of the levels, were actually some of my favorite challenges in the game.

These mine-cart levels get seriously ridiculous (and yes, I realize that's an oxymoron) 

Each of DKCR's levels are incredibly detailed and packed with secrets. Finding all of the puzzle pieces, which are used to unlock art galleries in the game, takes a lot of imagination to find as many of them are deviously well-hidden, but never in a way that I found to be too cryptic. Finding all of the KONG letters in each level takes a certain measure of skill as well. Searching for these goodies requires the player to comb every inch of every level, but the levels are so much fun to replay, I found it very satisfying to discover every secret on my own and 101% complete the game.

As I said, a lot of the difficulty in the game is trial and error (but certainly not all of it). The gameplay and level design are so engaging though, that I never got too discouraged by this. I always jumped right back into the fray and was ready for more. Again, the gameplay is so tight and the levels so intricately crafted that I rarely felt like the situation was out of my control. I always knew I was capable of overcoming any obstacle; I just had to keep trying. This trial and error element is never more apparent than in the hidden temple levels, which are only unlocked after collecting all the KONG letters in each world. I completely missed these secret levels on my first play-through and they are easily the most difficult and insane levels in the game. We're talking Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels degrees of difficult at times (although better-designed and with tighter control than that game). They're all about learning and memorizing every single obstacle and continously dying and trying again, each time getting (hopefully) a little farther into the level. They also have no check-points, so you have to do the whole thing in one go. I did find the difficulty to be a bit unbalanced with these levels as some earlier ones are incredibly difficult, the hardest one is probably found in world 6, and I found the ones in the last two worlds to be among the easiest. All of these levels are very satisfying to conquer though.

Completing the hidden temple stages requires a mastery of patience

The reward for beating these special stages in a final secret stage that, while interesting, is just a single level that's almost as difficult as the levels you had to complete to get there, and your ultimate reward for solving this final hidden area is pretty underwhelming. I suppose the journey itself is the reward, but a full hidden world would have been nice (although I suppose one could consider all the eight temple levels plus the final secret stage a bonus world when added together). Based on one of the art galleries you can unlock in the game, it looks like the developers might have had a full world based around this final level planned too, but perhaps it was scrapped due to time constraints. That's a shame, because based on the artwork, it looks like Retro had some wonderful ideas for this hidden world and it would have been a really awesome reward for completing all of the brutal temple stages. I know that the recent 3DS port contains an extra world, but I'm fairly certain that it is something brand new created by Monster Games, the studio that ported the game, and not Retro's original vision for the bonus ninth world.

Before I conclude, I just want to take this opportunity to say how much I hate Super Guide. If you don't know, Super Guide is the option that Nintendo likes to put in all of its games these days (mostly platformers) where the player has the ability, after dying a certain number of times in a level, to ask a guide to beat the level for them. Super Guide is optional, yes, but it becomes incredibly annoying when, after dying a few times (and you will die a lot), an obnoxious pig appears and starts waving a flag at you and making an irritating blinking sound. Even if actually implementing the Super Guide is optional, can I at least have the option to disable it completely so this annoying, condescending pig will never appear in my game and piss me off even further as I constantly fail at a particularly frustrating challenge? Super Guide will even appear if you die a lot when replaying a level. Why? If I'm replaying a level, obviously it is already complete so I'm replaying it either to enjoy the level again myself, complete it legitimately if I did use Super Guide (which trust me, I never did, nor will I ever do), or most likely I'm looking for secrets in the level, which if it's for the latter I'm going to die even more than usual because I'm experimenting and exploring. Why would I ever be interested in something completing an already-finished level for me if my purpose for being in the level is not to simply get past it, which, I remind you, would always be the case when replaying a level in the game? Please, just give me the option to disable Super Guide completely. Options, options, options. I should have the option to stop Super Guide from appearing at all if I wish, and I should have the option to use traditional buttons for actions instead of shoehorned motion control if I wish.

You will hate him

So, that rant aside, after truly immersing myself in Retro's take on Donkey Kong Country over the past couple weeks, I can safely say that it's a fantastic platformer. It's incredibly satisfying to play, its levels are imaginative, varied, and gorgeously crafted. It beats the hell out of any New Super Mario Bros. game in terms of basically everything, that's for sure. So while I still can't say I'm not disappointed by Retro's next project, I can say that I'm definitely looking forward to playing it now. In fact, it's now one of my most-anticipated games for Wii U. Maybe this sort of thing is said a lot, but Donkey Kong Country Returns is a video game that takes me back to my childhood. It's a video game that isn't afraid to be a video game in the classical sense, which is an immensely entertaining piece of imaginative software that I looked forward to playing every day, especially after a long work-day. DKCR makes me nostalgic for the simple, imaginative joys of my favorite childhood gaming experiences, but it doesn't accomplish this by simply rehashing retro elements and by making shallow references, but does so with its beautiful, varied, joyous level designs.

E3 2013 Wrap-up

 

E3 2013 has come and gone and I’m experiencing that post-E3 blues, which is kind of like the day after Christmas, except instead of having all your new toys to play with, you need to wait several months or years to play all those sweet new video games. Overall, I was impressed this year, certainly much more than last year. In addition to the exciting battle royale between Microsoft and Sony’s next gen machines, I just saw a lot of great-looking games this year that I genuinely want to play.

Between Sony’s ultra knock-out Monday night, to the unveiling of the new Super Smash Bros., to exciting next gen games like Metal Gear Solid V, Watch Dogs, The Division, and The Witcher 3, this was an E3 to remember. This post is basically my “best in show” awards. There were several games that stood out to me, and my wishlist is now bursting at the seam with shiny upcoming titles, so I’d like to honor some of these and talk about what excited me, disappointed me, and overall impressed me the most.

Best Press Conference: Sony

This is the easiest pick on this list. Microsoft set Sony’s victory up with its poorly received initial Xbox One unveiling, mixed messaging about the console’s restrictions after the unveiling, and its failure to address these concerns at its E3 press conference as well as finally unveiling the price of the console to be $499. Sony absorbed all this information and went straight for Microsoft’s throat. It’s a little strange when the most exciting part of Sony’s press conference is when Jack Tretton took the stage to basically tell us that the PS4 was going to do everything the PS3 did, and not have any additional hang-ups or restrictions. But it was the precedent that Microsoft set and the controversy that they sparked that made these assurances necessary. I respect Sony because they addressed the concerns on everyone's minds directly and up-front on-stage, instead of sending out mixed messages before finally sending out a press release. Sony revealing that its new machine would cost $100 less than Microsoft’s was just the final twist of the knife in their competitor’s side.

I wouldn’t have been so impressed with Sony if they’d just addressed these concerns and had great messaging, but they also just showed a constant stream of great games and even had some exciting surprises. Sony’s ardent support of indie developers is something I’ve always admired about them, and they passionately pushed this support by having a parade of indie developers take to the stage and demonstrate unique game after game, many of which looked like something I’d want to play. Sony also didn’t ignore its current hardware and made a point to push PS3’s great lineup this year. They showed interesting new IPs like Rain and The Order: 1886. They surpruised us all by rebranding the long-lost Final Fantasy Versus XIII as Final Fantasy XV, immediately followed by the long-awaited announcement of Kingdom Hearts III. They demonstrated the PS4’s processing power with Quantic Dream’s Dark Sorcerer tech demo. They showed fantastic-looking (if a little buggy) gameplay of popular upcoming titles like Assassin’s Creed IV and Watch Dogs, as well as finally unveiling gameplay of Bungie’s new, greatly-anticipated title, Destiny. It was just a great show and got me excited about the PS4, which is something that Microsoft has failed to do with Xbox One and even Nintendo has partly failed to do with their incredibly safe-looking line-up of games for the Wii U. This was Sony’s show and they nailed it. I still don't feel the need to pre-order a PS4 and get it day one; at this point Sony is simply selling the better story. I think in the long run, Xbox One isn’t going to be as evil as everyone thinks and everything might even out. For now though, Sony is the leading brand with great messaging and a solid, varied line-up.

Best Trailer: Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain

I already wrote a lot about it in my E3 Day 2 Impressions post, so I’m not going to dwell on it much here, but the extended trailer for MGSV is beautiful-looking, disturbing, thrilling, and most of all gets me interested and excited about the game. It’s just a very-well put together window into the game and makes me want to go back and play MGS3 and Peace Walker to prepare for the new release.

Runners-up: Super Smash Bros. for Wii U and Nintendo 3DS, X

Biggest Surprise: Mega Man in Super Smash Bros.

I was hoping for a big surprise during the Nintendo Direct Tuesday morning (HD Metroid please?) and while Nintendo’s announcements did surprise me in some not-entirely positive ways, their biggest surprise came from Super Smash Bros. We knew Super Smash Bros. was going to make an appearance, but not only was I pleasantly surpised by how far along the game looks and how much information and footage of it we got, the biggest surprise came when Mega Man joined the battle at the tail-end of the game’s trailer. Nintendo often forgets that it has in the past mastered the art of delivering a “megaton” Christmas-morning surprise at E3 with moments like the Twilight Princess reveal and the Super Smash Bros. Brawl reveal so it was exciting to see the company once again catch me off-guard and get my heart pumping in a mostly-otherwise tame E3 presence.

Runners-up: Microsoft opening its press conference with Metal Gear Solid V, Kingdom Hearts III announcement

Biggest Disappointment: Retro Studios’ Mystery Project is Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze

Many people are saying how great the new Donkey Kong Country game looks and don’t understand the disappoint many fans are feeling around it. Yes, I’m sure Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze will be another great platformer, but what these people must understand is the hype that was surrounding Retro Studios’ next project. For over two years now, the developer of the Metroid Prime series and Donkey Kong Country Returns has had a supposedly ambitious, mysterious Wii U project in the works. They hired talent from Naughty Dog, id Software, and Vigil games. I had also heard that Retro said that it was “a project everyone wants us to do”, as well as received an assurance from Reggie Fils-Aime that Retro was working on a "fantastic project". Speculation ran wild. Rumors flew around about Retro working on Zelda, about a new Star Fox, about a return to Metroid, and even about a crossover of those two. Or would it be a new IP from the studio? The fact that Nintendo kept this project so mysterious and hidden only built the excitement.

To find out that this project is just a sequel to Donkey Kong Country Returns (and make no mistake, this is the only game Retro is currently working on) is incredibly underwhelming. Far from the ambitious, exciting game that the Wii U sorely needs right now, this new game is just another playing-it-safe platformer under Nintendo’s belt. I’m glad Retro is doing what they want, I just wish this project wasn't hyped up so much. Does that make it the current internet culture's and my own fault for being disappointed? I suppose, but the damage is done and knowing that doesn't make this news any less of a let-down.

Runners-up: Nintendo replacing its press conference with a laggy, terrible-quality Nintendo Direct stream, still no The Last Guardian

Best-Looking Game (Graphically): Tom Clancy’s The Division

I wasn’t really convinced that the games I was seeing were truly “next gen” until I saw Ubisoft’s ambitious new title The Division. Set in a dying, sprawling modern day city, The Division’s gritty environment truly comes to life in a detailed, life-like ecosystem built with the newest technology developers have at their disposal. Seeing the game is action is really something else and taking into account the fact that the game is boasting a massive, seamless online RPG environment hits the message that this game can only be done on next gen hardware home.

Runners-up: The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain

Most Ambitious Game: The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

In addition to being a gorgeous-looking game, The Witcher 3 sounds like the most ambitious next gen offering out there. Featuring a multi-region open world that is supposed to be 35 times the size of The Witcher 2’s world (I've never played The Witcher 2, but that's gotta be pretty big) and that features living, breathing communities with NPCs going about their daily lives, a dynamic night/day and weather system where the player can die if they take a boat out onto stormy seas, and vibrant, beautiful visuals, The Witcher 3 truly feels like a project that is the poster boy the next generation of interactive worlds. The game will also have a morality system that isn’t completely black and white and one where actions can have consequences that aren’t felt unil much later in the game. I can’t wait to see what can be accomplished in the video game medium in the coming years and The Witcher 3 sounds like an exciting step in the furthering of interactive narratives and universes.

Runners-up: Tom Clancy’s The Division, Watch Dogs

Most Unique Game: Octodad: Dadliest Catch

Ok, so I recently found out that Octodad: Dadliest Catch is actually a sequel, but whatever, the concept of this game is so ridiculous and original, I can’t not pick it. You play as an octopus who is pretending to be a human and your goal is to keep your family from finding out what you really are. Gameplay involves controlling Octodad like a marionette as he fumbles around and struggles to use his tentacles to carry about normal, everyday human tasks. The more awkward and clumsy Octodad becomes, the more suspicious the humans become of what he really is. Quirky and funny, Octodad is a game I’d just really like to try for myself.

Runners-up: Rain, Murdered: Soul Suspect

Game That I’m Most Excited About: Super Smash Bros. for Wii U and Nintendo 3DS

Much of Nintendo’s line-up, while full of fun-looking and solid games, is very safe. Smash Bros. isn’t particularly an exception since its gameplay looks very similar to past games, but Super Smash Bros. games are always a massive event and garner lots of hype surrounding them. Super Smash Bros. Brawl was one of the hypiest games of all time thanks to the Super Smash Bros. Dojo website that revealed a new feature from the game every single day leading up to the game’s release. Super Smash Bros. for Wii U and 3DS is looking to continue this trend of hype and I’m already much more excited for the game than I thought I’d be. The inclusion of Mega Man, the upgraded, beautiful HD graphics, and the promise of another feature-rich, expansive game have me full of anticipation and I just can’t wait to see how the game will turn out and what the team behind it is planning on adding to the Smash Bros. universe.

Runners-up: The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain

Game of the Show: The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

Even though only select journalists got to see the game running behind closed doors at E3, from the way they describe the game, The Witcher 3 has my imagination on fire more than any other game I’ve seen at E3 this year. Described as having a beautiful, massive open world to explore, both horseback and boat exploration, lively NPCs with their own routines, a story with deep moral consequences, dynamic weather and day/night cycles, and engaging combat, The Witcher 3 sounds like the Zelda game I might never get. I’ve never played a Witcher game before, so I can only hope I won’t be lost if I try to play this one. In any case, the game sounds ambitious and engaging and if it can live up to half its promises, it still seems like it’s going to be something really special.

It’s clear which games stood out to me the most this year, but there are also many more that I’m looking forward to. The more I see of and think about Nintendo’s line-up, the more excited I become about their games even though it still seems like an incredibly safe roster of popular franchise iterations with a couple of new gimmicks added in and not the ambitious reinventions I expect from Nintendo. I will say that HD graphics had given Nintendo’s old games new life in a sense, and the brand’s colorful worlds really pop in games like Super Mario 3D World, Mario Kart 8, Pikmin 3, and Super Smash Bros. for Wii U. These games almost can compete with the other developers’ hyper-realisitc next-gen offerings because Nintendo’s virbrant, whimsical aesthetics don’t need to have photo-realism to look pretty (and we’ve also never seen Mario and Link in HD before now). There are also other games like Beyond: Two Souls and The Witness that I’m keeping my eye on.

All in all, this year was a great show. It wasn’t the best E3 I’ve ever seen, but it had far more memorable moments than last year, and its line-up of games also offered more variety than just a slew of shooters and bloody neck-stabbers (although those games were still present). I’m excited to see what the next generation will bring and how video games will continue to evolve on their road to unlocking their true potential. There are tons of brilliant games coming this year and into next year, and I for one am excited and optimistic for the gaming future.

The long wait for next year’s E3 begins and the dates are already set. See you Tuesday June 10 through Thursday June 12, 2014, my favorite, hypest week of the year.