The following is lifted from a thread I made in the Old Country early last year, with light edits.
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It's fucking Donkey Kong, they cried.
It's fucking ART, says I.
...although I imagine even the most vociferous haters of another DKC by Retro Studios were humbled, once they saw the magnificent artistry on display in Tropical Freeze. This is one handsomely crafted game. :-D
The detail per capita, so to speak, reminds me of Uncharted 4 (a game I've been replaying lately), where each scene is practically bursting at the seams with one-of-a-kind art assets. Literally every level has environmental props that are unique unto itself — imagery that makes each stage fun and memorable.
Also like Uncharted 4, the attention to detail is accompanied by bombastic spectacle, in the form of scripted moments that trigger as you progress through each course. The levels IMPLODE and EXPLODE all around you, reconfiguring their perils and pathways in dynamic fashion. Every other thing that DK sets foot on seems to crumble and collapse.
I suppose DK has the excuse of being an 800-pound gorilla, while Nathan Drake has ancient architecture to blame!
But seriously, some of these stages look delicious enough to eat:
Id also like to appreciate the stellar soundtrack by music god David Wise. The following are some of my favorite tracks in the game but theres enough here to fill several car CDs (they see me rollin dongs expandin):
Amiss Abyss: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WA2WjP6sgrc
Seashore War (EPIC): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Boqy0Q-4c_M
Busted Bayou: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=95HuSMQSUVo
Forest Folly: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=di6VFegOMfk
Mangrove Cove: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wsQq3IDOpbs
Mangrove Cove (Water): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dE1HftNpDAw
Grassland Groove: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ss421nbCAJE
Windmill Hill: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U1vsBsCoK_I
Horn Top Hop (Bavaria!): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IAfo6YI4KGs
Sawmill Thrill: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZcnMB0vLhzI
Rodent Ruckus: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=op5wrzdT3oo
Wing Ding: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kEId-ERa0M0
Classic theme #1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rMudHClToL0
Classic theme #2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=atEVNyWqXjo
Scorch 'N Torch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JFP4wn0dejc
Harvest Hazards: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jwDeXSLQC2k
Big Top Bop: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=301s-GDML5w
Punch Bowl: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dkxrXWokYqQ
The above list is hardly comprehensive What are your favorite themes in the game?
Back to the art: Below is my collection of screens I took while playing Tropical Freeze, taken in 720p using the WiiUs browser upload to abload.de (and then hosted at one of my myriad Flickr accounts). This collection was originally compiled for my own enjoyment, years ago, but recent talk of Tropical Freeze got me thinking people might like it if I shared.
Each screen has something that caught my eye, whether its the composition of elements in the background — stands of pine cresting the hills; a tangle of vines framing the sky — or individual touches like crumbling brickwork in a dilapidated factory, ice-glazed plants in a snowy forest, and so on.
Disclaimer: There is at least one screen that Im not sure I took myself. Reason being it features Diddy by himself, and I generally dont play that way. I wonder if I just liked the shot and saved it at the time? I ran an image search and I saw that GAF member Nocturnowl posted it at one point, so maybe its his?
(Also think there might be a couple screens by Chadboban in here: The shot in Amiss Abyss with the glowing fish, and/or the cheese shot?)
The others should be mine, though. I still remember painstakingly taking them with the WiiUs browser. *shudders* Speaking of image capture, the Switchs capture button would've come in handy... And speaking of the Switch, can you imagine this game displayed on its vibrantly colorful screen? Similar to SNES Rainbow Road in MK8D, I think itd melt minds. [MODERN-DAY EDIT: MIRACLES DO COME TRUE.]
At any rate, check out the screens below, and lets appreciate the artistry of this fine game — one of the best-playing, best-looking, and best-sounding 2D platformers ever made:
Open the quote windows below to see each set of three screenshots!
Oh, and a shoutout to the enemy design in this game. The Snowmads were top-notch additions to the DKC canon, more than making up for the lack of Kremlings.
I especially like Harold:
### ### ###
It's fucking Donkey Kong, they cried.
It's fucking ART, says I.
...although I imagine even the most vociferous haters of another DKC by Retro Studios were humbled, once they saw the magnificent artistry on display in Tropical Freeze. This is one handsomely crafted game. :-D
The detail per capita, so to speak, reminds me of Uncharted 4 (a game I've been replaying lately), where each scene is practically bursting at the seams with one-of-a-kind art assets. Literally every level has environmental props that are unique unto itself — imagery that makes each stage fun and memorable.
Also like Uncharted 4, the attention to detail is accompanied by bombastic spectacle, in the form of scripted moments that trigger as you progress through each course. The levels IMPLODE and EXPLODE all around you, reconfiguring their perils and pathways in dynamic fashion. Every other thing that DK sets foot on seems to crumble and collapse.
I suppose DK has the excuse of being an 800-pound gorilla, while Nathan Drake has ancient architecture to blame!
But seriously, some of these stages look delicious enough to eat:
Id also like to appreciate the stellar soundtrack by music god David Wise. The following are some of my favorite tracks in the game but theres enough here to fill several car CDs (they see me rollin dongs expandin):
Amiss Abyss: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WA2WjP6sgrc
Seashore War (EPIC): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Boqy0Q-4c_M
Busted Bayou: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=95HuSMQSUVo
Forest Folly: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=di6VFegOMfk
Mangrove Cove: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wsQq3IDOpbs
Mangrove Cove (Water): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dE1HftNpDAw
Grassland Groove: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ss421nbCAJE
Windmill Hill: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U1vsBsCoK_I
Horn Top Hop (Bavaria!): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IAfo6YI4KGs
Sawmill Thrill: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZcnMB0vLhzI
Rodent Ruckus: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=op5wrzdT3oo
Wing Ding: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kEId-ERa0M0
Classic theme #1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rMudHClToL0
Classic theme #2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=atEVNyWqXjo
Scorch 'N Torch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JFP4wn0dejc
Harvest Hazards: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jwDeXSLQC2k
Big Top Bop: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=301s-GDML5w
Punch Bowl: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dkxrXWokYqQ
The above list is hardly comprehensive What are your favorite themes in the game?
Back to the art: Below is my collection of screens I took while playing Tropical Freeze, taken in 720p using the WiiUs browser upload to abload.de (and then hosted at one of my myriad Flickr accounts). This collection was originally compiled for my own enjoyment, years ago, but recent talk of Tropical Freeze got me thinking people might like it if I shared.
Each screen has something that caught my eye, whether its the composition of elements in the background — stands of pine cresting the hills; a tangle of vines framing the sky — or individual touches like crumbling brickwork in a dilapidated factory, ice-glazed plants in a snowy forest, and so on.
Disclaimer: There is at least one screen that Im not sure I took myself. Reason being it features Diddy by himself, and I generally dont play that way. I wonder if I just liked the shot and saved it at the time? I ran an image search and I saw that GAF member Nocturnowl posted it at one point, so maybe its his?
(Also think there might be a couple screens by Chadboban in here: The shot in Amiss Abyss with the glowing fish, and/or the cheese shot?)
The others should be mine, though. I still remember painstakingly taking them with the WiiUs browser. *shudders* Speaking of image capture, the Switchs capture button would've come in handy... And speaking of the Switch, can you imagine this game displayed on its vibrantly colorful screen? Similar to SNES Rainbow Road in MK8D, I think itd melt minds. [MODERN-DAY EDIT: MIRACLES DO COME TRUE.]
At any rate, check out the screens below, and lets appreciate the artistry of this fine game — one of the best-playing, best-looking, and best-sounding 2D platformers ever made:
Open the quote windows below to see each set of three screenshots!
Oh, and a shoutout to the enemy design in this game. The Snowmads were top-notch additions to the DKC canon, more than making up for the lack of Kremlings.
I especially like Harold:
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