Tendo City

Oh good, mine cart levels (oh sorry, kart). Those are always easy! /sarcasm

Seriously though... OH MY SWEET MONKEY MAGIC! THAT WAS AMAZING! Retro has once again proven themselves! Now let's just hope the sequels don't add unneeded soldiers talking all too much like Prime 3 :D.

Really my only request would be for a few aquatic levels. Yes I know they said it "interrupts the action", but that's kinda why I liked them. They were nice slow-paced calmer levels every now and then between the more frenetic levels, with some of the sweetest music in the series.

Between this, New Super Mario Bros. Wii, and Kirby's Epic Yarn, 2D has really made a solid console comeback.

Wario Land: Shake It! too, don't forget that one. It's also quite good (it's from the team that went on to make Kirby's Epic Yarn). But yeah, between the four of them Nintendo has really had an amazing lineup of 2d/2.5d platformers on the Wii... it's pretty cool to see major console 2d platformers return in such a strong fashion.

Quote:Really my only request would be for a few aquatic levels. Yes I know they said it "interrupts the action", but that's kinda why I liked them. They were nice slow-paced calmer levels every now and then between the more frenetic levels, with some of the sweetest music in the series.

I agree, I loved the water levels too. It was a nice change of pace, too bad they're not in this. Still though, overall it looks amazing.

I'm humming the underwater music from DKC1 right now! Really though, this looks like it'll be an amazing game, and a nice return of DK to classic platforming.

Destructible LEVELS!!! That seems to be the theme here...
OW MY GOD THAT LOOKS SO AWESOME!!!

Is this a Wii title I'm assuming? I didn't think it was possible the Wii could produce something as beautiful as the original.. Which had the advantage of being pre-rendered on a super computer. This being a fully realtime rendered game it's got some major hurtles to overcome.

But from what I've seen that tiny Wii GPU seems up to the task..
Was Rare involved in this project? The development team has really done a good job capturing the essence of the original.

The original may have been prerendered, but it was prerendered on ancient CG machines from the mid-90's, and then dithered down to something that could fit in 4 MB. They're no serious competition to modern game systems. Might as well compare Tron or that "Gotta move that color TV" music video to modern game systems.

Retro, etoven. The makers of Metroid Prime. They were up to the task. :)

Dark Jaguar Wrote:The original may have been prerendered, but it was prerendered on ancient CG machines from the mid-90's, and then dithered down to something that could fit in 4 MB. They're no serious competition to modern game systems. Might as well compare Tron or that "Gotta move that color TV" music video to modern game systems.

I'm just remembering the attempt they made on the N64 with Donkey Kong 64... It looked like a low poly disaster. It looked way better on the SNES.

Donkey Kong 64 wasn't trying to capture the look and feel of DKR though, it was trying to be a Super Mario 64 clone.

And that was the N64, not the Wii.

DK64 was, and always has been, a great game. It's my third favorite 5th gen 3d platformer after Mario 64 and Rayman 2... but yeah, comparing N64 graphics to Wii graphics makes no sense, there's a huge difference in technology there.

DK64 looks just fine for an N64 game. I mean you should know something about the graphical capabilities we're talking about here. DK64 looks on par with the Banjo games, and all of those look better than Mario 64. All considered, that's about the best you can expect from the N64. Even modern DS games look about that level, considering the DS is basically a portable N64.

Comparing it to DKC is comparing apples and oranges, and yes, this game is on a system two generations removed from DK64. There's no way at all it was going to look like it.

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I replayed some DKC2 earlier. I had forgotten just how awesome that game was.

<img src="http://www.brawlinthefamily.com/comics/2010-11-18-293-TheNewGeneration.jpg">

So evidently only player 2 can only play as Diddy, P1 is Donkey only. And yeah the Super Guide is back from NSMBWii. Still though, it looks like a pretty amazing game... it's supposedly more challenging than NSMBWii, too. We'll see how it compares in difficulty to the original DKC and DKL games, though. They definitely were a challenge at times.

ALso, you're absolutley right that the DKC games are amazing. The third one's my favorite actually, the second second, and the first is the last of the three. All three are outstanding, but I like the improvements DLC2 and then 3 each made to the previous title. 3 has the most varied, original level design ideas, with lots of unique challenges such as the lightning stage, the stage where you're chased by a giant saw, etc, etc. DKC1's levels are quite straightforward. It's a simple game in retrospect, compared to the sequels, and while great isn't quite as good. DKC2 was a big improvement, but I think 3 was as well -- even more awesome levels than 2 (which had quite a few as well), better character balance with the big/small dynamic of the original game coming back, and more. It's got the best world map by far too, and more collecting than before. And an improved save system, because you can return to the world map from any area map at any time to save, instead of having to play through the area all the way to the Funky or save areas before the game would finally let you save, as was true in the first two games on SNES; that led to some very challenging parts, where you'd have to beat three or four hard stages sometimes with no continues. DKC3 gets rid of that. It's still a challenging game though, thanks to the many tough levels. But all three DKC games are just brilliant, and the three DKL games are pretty good as well -- I got both DKL2 and GBC DKC recently, and both are great, though there definitely is something to be said for the graphical beauty of the original SNES versions. Still the GB and GBC ones look about as good as is possible on the hardware. It's a great series, and it's pretty awesome to see it sort of return (return but from a new team, that is), and in a form that looks really good too...

And of course, all three games look amazing, among the best on the system. On that I don't know if DKCR has some of the best graphics on the Wii, but it's certainly a very nice looking game, no question about that. :)

Yeah, I have very fond memories of the DKC games. The only thing is, the replay value hasn't been enough for me. I've tried playing through the games again at various time, but I would always eventually quit.

I'll probably get this, though. I haven't bought a game in a while and this looks awesome.

DKC3 is great, but for me the cleverness of level design topped at DKC2. Plus, that music is amazing. I think the music went a little downhill with the third one. It's not bad, but it's the Bramble Scramble theme that ended up remixed in Brawl, for a reason.

I don't mind the whole "guide mode" thing at all myself. It's optional by definition, so it's not anything I could ever rightfully complain about. Simultaneous multiplayer is a great idea. The only thing I care about is that I can still switch who I control in single player.

The Donkey Kong Land games are fine, but the 2nd and 3rd are basically just DKC2 and 3 ported to the Gameboy. Apparently there's some new level designs for 3? DKL1 is the only one that was made to be a truly original title in that series rather than a "retelling" of DKC1. That said, they, for obvious reasons, didn't really compare with the SNES series. I recently played through DKL1. It's a fun game with some creative level designs (and I had forgotten just how hard the game is later on, some of it due to smaller screen to character ratio).

I loved how in DKC2 and 3 they really made clever use of parallax scrolling to give the illusion of fully 3D backgrounds. It was insane and very well done.

Mine cart levels... Those have always been the biggest nightmare levels in the series, and I expect a return to form for this new one from the looks of it.

I'm really looking forward to this game. They're doing a good job of making both impressive innovations like Yarn Kirby and "classic returns" like this one.

It's amusing though... The original DKC was Nintendo handing out a fan favorite property to some outside company with much concern as to how they'd capture the feel of the old DK and DKJr games, and now the same scenario is playing itself out again. From the looks of it Retro really has outdone themselves. All the level designs look very clever and original with little repetition, just like I remember the DKC series level design. The only thing I can say is while Rare took a basic outline from (mainly) Donkey Kong Jr and turned it into something much bigger, Retro is basically just making a brand new DKC game. That's not really a bad thing though.

I still think it's a shame they didn't add a few underwater levels, but if things go as I expect and this sells crazy good, they'll be back later with DKCR2, and that one probably will include some swimming.

Hmm... Actually I wonder if there are going to be any of the ol' kremlings in this game? I mean I'm fine with a new big bad and all, but completely insane K.Rool is a fun guy to fight. It's been a while since we've seen that guy anyway. I don't think a trophy or two in Brawl really do them justice.

Quote:The Donkey Kong Land games are fine, but the 2nd and 3rd are basically just DKC2 and 3 ported to the Gameboy. Apparently there's some new level designs for 3? DKL1 is the only one that was made to be a truly original title in that series rather than a "retelling" of DKC1. That said, they, for obvious reasons, didn't really compare with the SNES series. I recently played through DKL1. It's a fun game with some creative level designs (and I had forgotten just how hard the game is later on, some of it due to smaller screen to character ratio).

Actually, only DKL2's story is a straight retelling of the SNES game. DKL3 isn't that, it's a new game; from what I've read it does sound a little closer to the SNES game than DKL is to DKC (those two are completely different), but it's not a GB version of the SNES game like DKL2 is.

As far as DKL2 goes, I've been playing it as I said, and it's actually pretty interesting. While the story is DKC2's unaltered, and every level has the same theme and general concept as it did on SNES, because of system power and screen size issues, they didn't just port over the SNES levels -- they did design new levels, just new levels that are supposed to feel a lot like the SNES ones. So as a result it feels familiar (and thus less interesting than the original title that the first DKL was), but it isn't just a port, it is different as well.

Once I get DKL3 eventually I'll see how that one is, but I do know that the story is new, and at least certainly the levels are new designs. Beyond that I'm not sure.

As for DKL, that's the only one of them I got back in the '90s. I remember liking it well enough, but obviously not enough to buy either sequel for whatever reason. I guess I felt like one of them was enough... I also remember preferring Donkey Kong '94 to DKL. Also some of its simplistic game design elements, like I think I remember that that you can't backtrack (even if you're standing on a screen right above a platform you were just on, I think I remember that you'd die if you fell...), like that there are no other Kongs to visit, to save you have to collect the KONG letters, etc... oh yeah, and on an original GB screen it's hard to make out the enemies from the backgrounds. That's true for all three DKL games. At least the story and themes were new, though, even if it is shorter (I think; at least, it has only four worlds).

I'm also playing DKC GBC as I said, and that's interesting too, mostly to see how well the game works on a GBC. Obviously graphically it's limited, but they really pushed the system; this is probably one of Rare's best GBC games, though admittedly otherwise Rare was a little mixed in quality on the system -- Perfect Dark and the first Mickey racing game aren't the greatest. Conker's alright, but that's GB/GBC (though each game (GB and GBC mode) actually has different level maps and some different design elements, so they are sort of two different games). Anyway, DKC GBC is pretty cool, but isn't exactly essential. I mean, it's an SNES port to GBC, the game's there, but in a lesser form. It is cool to see how well they managed to do it though, and having a version of DKC with autosave after every level is nice... it makes it much easier and less frustrating, not having to constantly restart sets of levels because you died before getting to the save hut in a world. It's also got minigames and stuff added, and DK64-style menus (with DK holding barrels and such). DKC just isn't quite the same without those amazing SNES graphics, but considering what it's running on this is pretty good.

On that note, I wonder what they did to make the game work on the smaller screen, "being able to see where you're going" wise... the levels feel the same, not redone, but I'd bet that they did change some stuff to make jumps visible, because I'm not constantly having to jump and having no idea if there's something in front of me or not. I remember that they did exactly that in the Lost Levels ("Super Mario Bros. For Super Players") part of Mario Bros. Deluxe, in order to make some of the harder parts possible on a screen which doesn't have the same aspect ratio.

Quote:DKC3 is great, but for me the cleverness of level design topped at DKC2. Plus, that music is amazing. I think the music went a little downhill with the third one. It's not bad, but it's the Bramble Scramble theme that ended up remixed in Brawl, for a reason.

No way, in DKC3 a lot of levels have some kind of clever and unique elements to them beyond just running right and hitting things. That' less true in DKC2, you do more straightforward platforming in that game. It's nothing like the first DKC for sure, where that's almost all you do (DKC2 was a huge improvement in level variety!), but DKC3 was another improvement. I do think, though, that the gap between DKC3 and DKC2 is much smaller than that between either of them and DKC1, which is a great game but just doesn't match up in comparison to either sequel.

In addition to the levels I mentioned above (the sawblade stage, the lightning stage near the end), DKC3 also had stuff like that water level with the reversed controls or something, a frustrating waterfall/barrel stage, the challenge of figuring out how to get those Koins (more collectibles!), and more. But yeah DKC2 is certainly also an amazing game.

Oh yeah, I do think that graphically each game improved over the last, but like with the games overall the third is less of an improvement over the second than the second is from the first.

Quote:I still think it's a shame they didn't add a few underwater levels, but if things go as I expect and this sells crazy good, they'll be back later with DKCR2, and that one probably will include some swimming.

It's too bad too, because the DKC games actually have good water levels, a real rarity in gaming...

Quote:Hmm... Actually I wonder if there are going to be any of the ol' kremlings in this game? I mean I'm fine with a new big bad and all, but completely insane K.Rool is a fun guy to fight. It's been a while since we've seen that guy anyway. I don't think a trophy or two in Brawl really do them justice.[/qute]

I haven't heard that there will be any, but yeah I agree that I'd like to see them... oh well.

[quote]I'm really looking forward to this game. They're doing a good job of making both impressive innovations like Yarn Kirby and "classic returns" like this one.

Same here, I really want DKCR. :)

I loved DKC1 the first time I played it, but yeah replays of it aren't as fun as the later two probably because of all the unique stage designs.

DKC3 does have great stage designs, but give credit where it's due. DKC2 has unique stage designs from start to finish. I loved it all, from the "boiling water to cool water" timed stuff in one stage to the roller coaster with the two kinds of barrel gates to the other roller coaster stage with the ghost pirate chasing you with the "add extra time to live" barrels. DKC3 is good though. I played it somewhat recently myself and it is a good game. I guess I just prefer the whole package of the second one, but that's basically coming down to taste. They're both amazing games.

The SNES was just an awesome system. The only weirdness is that somewhat fragile power port in the back and the fact that so many SNES systems around here seem to turn green over time, but only on the top half...

Mine turned a pukish yellow-brown color.

Yeah, SNESes that have that problem turn a yellow color, not green. It's because of the kind of plastic, white (or grey like the SNES) plastic has stuff in it that, in the wrong circumstances (or the wrong mix, or whatever, I don't know) can turn it yellowish. This can happen to just about any white plastic things, but it's more common with some, like some old computers, the SNES, etc. I have heard of other things like some Dreamcasts yellowing too; it's not just a SNES thing as I said. Even some carts (SNES, GB, etc.) can discolor. I've never heard of black plastic having this problem.

Mine's mostly grey, but I think the case has changed color slightly -- the part around the cart port is a different, lighter shade from the rest of the case. But I've seen yellow SNESes, and mine is definitely not that.

Mine is distinctly a greenish color, as are my friends'.

My Dreamcast still looks normal, as do all my other systems. I think that old dissembled NES even still had its grayish color before I threw it out. It was just my SNES that looked like it began to rot.

Same here. It's a rather wide spread issue. Apparently they screwed up with some of the plastic and as a result some parts aren't very well protected against oxygen.

That explains why only ONE component on my SNES is greenish. The other seperate parts are all still the original grey.

A Black Falcon

Dark Jaguar

A Black Falcon

Dark Jaguar

etoven

Dark Jaguar

A Black Falcon

etoven

Great Rumbler

A Black Falcon

Dark Jaguar

A Black Falcon

Dark Jaguar

A Black Falcon

Sacred Jellybean

Dark Jaguar

A Black Falcon

Dark Jaguar

Sacred Jellybean

A Black Falcon

Dark Jaguar

Sacred Jellybean

Dark Jaguar