the background thing is entirely aesthetic, waggle controls are new but not game-changing at all, mechanics evolve throughout a series all the time.
galaxy, sm64, and sunshine are all fundamentally different in some sense, definitely much more so than DKC1-3 and Returns. whereas the mario 3d series has been a constant movement forward in creating fresh new gameplay, DKCR is pretty much a return to form after games like DK64 and whatever those other games were.
--
XS2 is the only good Xenosaga game - Lady Ashe