Tropical Freeze; where DK is relevant again

WARNING; this WILL contain spoilers! Tread carefully!

So last Monday I went out to buy a Wii U. Earlier, on Saturday, I had purchased Donkey Kong Country Tropical Freeze, my most anticipated game of this year.

A reason I love Tropical Freeze is because it fits in perfectly with other DKC games. Returns did too, but it fell flat on some points. And even then, Returns was amazing. We all thought it couldn't get better than Returns. Except, guess what? It did get better than Returns. Who would'a thought that?

More Tropical Freeze rambling

Donkey Kong Country; Tropical Freeze is, undoubtedly, the biggest, most exciting Donkey Kong release since the game that came before it. Not only is it a sequel to Donkey Kong Country Returns, a game that baffled everyone upon release for the sheer unbelievability that Donkey Kong was having another game where he is the star as opposed to having a silly little side-role as a toothy-grinned maniac, it fixes everything the previous game did wrong -- ahem, didn't do.

For one, there's the return of Dixie Kong as a playable character alongside Diddy, after she hadn't been up and at it in a main game for over ten years -- not counting ports. There's also Cranky, who, against all odds, teams up with the young 'uns to finally do some platforming himself. While thinking of his boasts in the original game as being ironic was part of the fun of his character, it is amazing to finally see him prove himself. The bad guys, the Snowmads, are characteristic Viking-themed animals that have a lot more charm than the Tiki Tak Tribe could ever think of having. And of course, David Wise returns, and this time, he's in charge of the entire soundtrack -- much like he did in Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest. I have heard bits of pieces of the new soundtrack and it brought tears to my eyes. It's so wonderful and perfect.

Also, the savanna level?

I called it. I freakin' called it.

Donkey Kong is on the go, and brought some friends along!

I don't have much to say about this other than the fact it's the best thing I've seen all day, all week. A sharp contrast to a disappointing recent episode of my favourite modern cartoon.

Things that I found interesting and awesome to note;

• DIXIE KONG! She actually returns and is playable, for the first time in about five years.
• DK Isle appears to be overrun with Vikings based on arctic animals. Vikings are technically pirates, so maybe they are indeed kind of going for a theme similar to Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest? (This could also mean K. Rool might appear as well!)
• The gorgeous graphics. Seriously, the graphics. I affectionately called Donkey Kong Country Returns 'Scenery Porn; The Game', and I might just as well call this one 'Scenery Porn; The Game; The Sequel'.
• The archetypes. They seem to deriver slightly from the archetypes of the original DKC 2, which is of course a good thing.

The game is called Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze and will appear on the Wii U. ...I suddenly realized I need a Wii U now, more than everything.

Also useful to note - the next installment in the Smash Bros. franchise has finally been announced, and our beloved Donkey Kong has already managed to gather enough popularity to appear on the official site - and on a buttload of Tumblr pages.

I honestly can't really blame anyone.

(Also, I classified the Donkey Kong games in categories in the same vein people classify animated movies. The Silent Age of DK will be used to refer to the Arcade games. The Golden Age of DK will refer to Donkey Kong Country and its sequels, as well as Donkey Kong 64. The Dark Age of DK will refer to what happened to DK post-buyout, while the Renaissance Age of DK refers to Retro's recent and immensely awesome involvement with the big guy. Let's hope it lasts!)