Now available on the Switch, Donkey Kong Tropical Freeze is back to cause a lot of chaos and fun among friends. Retro Studios originally released this game on the Wii U back in 2014, but there seems to be a clear winner when it comes to which system people prefer. With a long lineage, this side scrolling platformer is just as fun as the other games in the series.
Donkey Kong: Tropical Freeze still has maintained its tough bosses and challenging levels from the first release on the Wii U. This time around however, the biggest addition, and possibly the only change, is the fun Funky Mode. This mode is great for anyone that may want to take a break from the difficult levels later in the game. While still challenging and full of precision jumps, this mode isn’t for the faint of heart. In this mode, you can play as either Donkey Kong or the very popular Funky Kong with his bandana and fancy sunglasses. When playing as Funky Kong, you don’t need the extra help and Funky’s surfboard helps with the jumps too. Even better too, Funky’s surfboard also protects him from spike damage for a limited amount of time. So, he’s a bit easier to use in Funky Mode since his abilities help take the edge off of everything else you would normally face.
Visually everything looks great. Playing is fluid even when switching back and forth from handheld to being docked. There are times when the screen becomes overloaded with the chaos that’s going on so sometimes it’s necessary to get closer to the screen and the action. As the game gets harder and the inevitable screams of agony start to arise, you might want to reconsider playing in public to avoid everyone staring.
For the most part, the gameplay is easy to handle. The jumps are still tight, and the levels increasingly become challenging and almost insufferable at some points. When picking up barrels to through the Joy Cons become complicated to use because the shoulder buttons are necessary. Otherwise picking up random objects gets frustrating. Using a Pro Controller can help to ease this pain a bit but it won’t solve all of your problems in the game. You will die a lot. Completionists will have a problem with this game because some areas get tight and tedious. Kudos to you if you can navigate all of the little traps and collect everything because I just don’t see it happening for me, ever.
With all of the challenges that Donkey Kong: Tropical Freeze provides, the game is harsh but fair. There isn’t a time where the game feels cheesy and simple. The plot never gets away from what it needs to be. Since they added Funky to the mix as well, this seems to round out the game very nicely and provide a balance to all the otherwise hard tasks.
So, here’s the verdict; The addition of Funky Mode really made the game more accessible without taking away the difficulty that is lovable. This addition balances out the game so that the challenge remains without making everything easy and cheap. Putting everything on the Switch as well made a world of difference in the controls and I think this is a game that everyone will love for a long time.
8/10
Donkey Kong: Tropical Freeze is available now on The Nintendo Switch
