Our Verdict
Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze continues the tough-as-nails platforming with new power-ups to help navigate the nastiest obstacles, as we’re treated to the best soundtrack in the series. However, the inconsistent difficulty makes for a less refined game and the bosses are dragged out to the point where fighting them becomes a chore.
It was a different time when Nintendo released Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze on the Switch. Back then, the little hybrid device was taking the world by storm, making up for the past transgressions of the ill-fated Wii U. As a result, Nintendo released Switch ports of its best games to help those who didn’t buy one to catch up. As of now, near the end of the device’s time in the spotlight, is this banana-filled adventure still ripe with potential, or is this slippery port just a relic of its time?
Bananas must be a real commodity in the Donkey Kong Country series, as Kong Island suffers another hostile takeover. This time, as our favorite ape is celebrating his birthday with the rest of the Kongs, arctic invaders known as the Snowmads launch an all-out assault. Their leader, Lord Fredrik, blows a climate-changing horn that freezes Kong Island and launches our simian heroes off the island. They must journey across multiple islands to return home.
DKC: Tropical Freeze continues the tough-as-nails platform game action that defined the series back in the SNES days. The gameplay is, therefore, largely unchanged from Donkey Kong Country Returns, with Diddy Kong returning as both a second player in co-op and a hover powerup for single-player modes. The same gimmicks return too, with sections where you ride a minecart or a flying barrel, and entire levels where the graphics turn into silhouettes, obscuring obstacles along the way.
One additional gameplay mechanic new to DKC: Tropical Freeze is that you can now play as or use the abilities of both Dixie Kong and Cranky Kong. Dixie spins her blonde ponytail to give Donkey Kong a double jump, as well as a propeller to move quickly underwater. Cranky uses his cane as a pogo-stick, which makes the Kongs invulnerable to spike hazards or swiping at enemies while swimming. They’re fun additions and in the right circumstances, there are advantages to switching between Kong family members mid-level where possible.
The ability to play as Funky Kong is new to the Switch version of DKC: Tropical Freeze. He has more overall health, can glide in the air, hop on spikes, and continuously roll on land or spin in the water. I barely spent any time with Funky, mainly because I found his additional moves make the game a little too easy overall, but for younger players it’s ideal.
As for playing as the regular Kongs, this leads me to my biggest gripe with DKC: Tropical Freeze: the consistency of the level design. Overall, each one is well-designed, fun to play, and can, at times, be a fair test of endurance and patience. It’s relatively easy to gain extra lives by collecting 100 bananas or the various balloons scattered throughout, but I’ll admit that there were times when I was frustrated in all the wrong ways. One moment I’d be scratching my head as I waste my 20th life on a particularly grueling gauntlet of obstacles, yet the very next level I breeze through on my first attempt. This issue lasted the entire game, and as such I felt it was more of an ordeal compared to other Donkey Kong Country games, which have a steadier curve.
Levels do have some replay value, in that you still have the KONG letters to collect along with the new jigsaw pieces. Some levels have secret exits which can lead to some of the more conceptually different areas in the game. There are also seven runes that, when gathered together, unlock a secret seventh world full of the most challenging levels in the game.
Bosses are another issue with DKC: Tropical Freeze. While just as imaginative as the previous game regarding their design and the methods of beating them, they go on for far too long with little room for any shortcuts. The first boss is a great example of this in practice, as it took me several minutes to beat it as opposed to the first boss in DKC Returns. I also found the bosses a little less imaginative, with lots of waiting around for the boss’s vulnerability to appear. Compared to DKC Returns’s bosses, where you ride minecarts or climb vines in some cases, the only standout fight was against a giant Pufferfish, and that was because it was entirely underwater.
DKC: Tropical Freeze is, at least, a visually pleasing game. Each island has a theme tying its levels together. Even with the invading wintery enemies that would otherwise be completely out of place, each sweeping camera shot as the Kongs shoot out of barrels or ride minecarts across ever-complex tracks with huge rollercoaster-like drops makes all levels feel all the more inviting to play.
However, the real hero that ties together DKC: Tropical Freeze as a game worth playing is the music composed by David Wise. Just like the SNES soundtrack for the original DKC games on the SNES, each level is accompanied by lively compositions that dynamically change as you proceed through its obstacles, such as the frantic minecart sections or whenever you switch to the new phase of an intense boss fight.
No part of DKC: Tropical Freeze gives a better example of great music than whenever the Kongs need to go for a swim. Diving into every water section in each level leading up to World 4: Sea Breeze Cove will change to a subtle remix of Wise’s best-known track: Aquatic Ambience. By the time a full-blown remake of this musical tour-de-force appears, it feels earned. It doesn’t stop there, as after this point we’re treated to a version of DKC2’s underwater theme in the subsequent level, which is an unexpected treat.
Even with a stunning soundtrack, I was honestly left a little frigid by the end of my time with DKC: Tropical Freeze. It’s well-made with some visual effects that are as spectacular as the Aurora Borealis. However, I was never inspired enough to revisit levels to find every collectible, and it’s all because of just how inconsistent the difficulty of each level’s design can be. Compared to other platformers on the console and even when directly pitched against DKC Returns, it doesn’t match up favorably. However, if you’re a fan of this kind of monkey business, Tropical Freeze is a fine addition to the series.