Current Events > Isn't Donkey Kong Country Returns supposed to be super hard?

(+) Yeah! (+)

I'm playing the 3DS version, but I picked "original mode" which it says is supposed to be the same as the Wii version.

Currently in the mines, which I suppose must be about halfway through.

I've died a lot but almost exclusively by suicide after missing collectables and having to die in order to try to get them again. Though that one tidal wave level killed me legitimately a good fifteen or so times, mostly because I kept running ahead to grab as many bananas as possible before the tidal waves killed them, lol.
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I have both the Wii and 3DS versions. I haven't played either of them in months.
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A lot of gamers are used to scripted set-pieces, handholding, QTE's and generous checkpoints. So yeah DK Returns is hard for them.
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Mines are where it starts to pick up in difficulty. It's not really that hard though imo, outside of some of the K levels.
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Ah ok. I've only played the first mine level so far.
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Wii version was mostly harder due to waggle controls for rolling
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I never finished Returns or Tropical Freeze, partly because of the difficulty
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Have you done any of the K levels?
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No, haven't done any K levels.
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I mean, it can get difficult in some areas, but if you're a skilled gamer with a history of platformers under your belt, it's nothing unmanageable.

Now, there is a hard mode, and that can get insanely hard in some levels.

DevsBro posted...

No, haven't done any K levels.

Those, along with world 9 (which was only one level in the Wii version, but apparently consists of multiple new levels in the 3DS version), are easily the hardest part of the game (except the third one, which is really easy). In terms of difficulty, I'd probably rank them as following (hardest to easiest):
6-K
5-K
4-K
1-K
8-K
7-K
2-K
3-K

World 4 is about where the game's difficulty really starts to spike. I remember dying a lot on one level from that world with a giant bat that followed you around.
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@ImAMarvel posted...

6-K was something else, man. Jesus christ.

5-K was quite bad as well.

5-K's probably the hardest on the first attempt, but it's not so bad once you've memorized it. 6-K's the hardest overall because those damned bugs make everything so erratic.
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I thought it was pretty hard.

Especially 6-k

But it's still a fun game

Ok I laughed so hard at the part where that loop of track breaks off. That was a really fun level overall, tbh. Killed me legitimately a good five or so times.
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yea i beat like half the game too and breezed through it but then i did beat all 3 games on snes when i was a kid. think i was under 10 when i beat all 3.

I despise the caves so much. Nothing but barrel rockets and minekarts every single level except the temple. Even the boss is a damn minekart, though you can actually move.

Other than that world, I love the game. 6-K was the rising lava level right? Hardest level in the game by far.
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I beat DKCR.

It was a fair but challenging platformer. No complaints from me.
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If 6-K is the rising lava level(don't remember well, been years since I last played it), that was the only level that gave me some trouble.

People gave DKCR's Wii version a lot of flak for utilizing motion controls for the basic controls like the roll, and I agree that it's a little frustrating to get used to, but overall the game was pretty easy, and darn fun to boot.
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Also, Tropical Freeze may be pound-for-pound the best 2D platformer ever. I highly recommend it.

Hm, did TF have a 3DS release?

I don't have a Wii U
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It didn't; I don't think the 3DS could handle Tropical Freeze. But yeah, it's an amazing platformer. Much better than Returns imo.
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Yeah the mines have been a little harder. Got my first game over. Fun hard though... with the exception of that last bit of the bat/rocket level, where you don't really have time to dodge. I suppose the idea is just to be out of the way when he spits instead of trying to dodge but you have to keep going up and down and you don't know when he's going to shoot. @_@
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wii version is harder by reason of controls
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That game really is extremely hard.

TC, the reason you aren't having too many troubles yet is, you probably haven't done much, if anything, on time attack. Do a lot of gold and shiny gold medals and tell me it isn't hard. And yeah, the K levels are very hard.
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Except for the K levels, the game isn't really super hard. If you rush levels, sure they will, but most of the time if you take your time to process what's going on it should be fine.
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If you're used to the DKC series, you probably won't find DKCR or its sequel all that difficult. They follow the same general design principles as their predecessors.

They love dumping free lives on you as well.
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Dragonblade01 posted...

If you're used to the DKC series, you probably won't find the DKCR or its sequel all that difficult. They follow the same general design principles as their predecessors.

They love dumping free lives on you as well.

That's what I like about the new ones. I think the levels are more difficult than the SNES games, but overall games are easier because it is not so punishing in terms of lives and game overs
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The main game isn't too hard, but getting all the shiny gold Time Attack medals provides a nice level of challenge (although some of them, like the World 1 boss, are really annoying).
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dkcr is amazing, I'm mad I will likely never play tropical freeze due to exclusivity
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prettyprincess posted...

dkcr is amazing, I'm mad I will likely never play tropical freeze due to exclusivity

This is a reason it needs to be ported to the Switch. Probably packed in with an HD remaster of DKCR with the 3DS version's additions as well.
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Yeah, I did try to time trial the first level. I got silver but gold is just crazy. In fairness, if not for that one part where you have to go back and forth on the ledges, it would be a piece of cake.

Which points out my least favorite thing about the game so far: they seriously overdid it with the roll move. If you roll jump ever, you are going to overshoot not just the platform you were aiming for but the next one too.
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I hope they round out a trilogy on the Switch.
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Dragonblade01 posted...

I hope they round out a trilogy on the Switch.

I won't even mind if Retro ends up doing a third DKC instead of returning to Metroid or some such. Tropical Freeze was that good to me.
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It's hard in the way that levels go on and on forever. It tries your patience hard. And you have to keep repeating the same shit over and over again.

Not as hard as me
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