Over 100 Kongs died to bring you this review. But it was not in vain, because beating Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze earned me some serious platformer bragging rights. This is a tough platformer, seemingly intentionally designed to make you go ape at times. Some stages quickly pulled the ground out from under me, others challenged me to make precise jumps using springboards, vines, and other kooky contraptions to move forward.

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But developer Retro has departed from the slavish series rebirth called Donkey Kong Country Returns and created something special here. Retro’s Wii revival had the unenviable task of reviving a classic series from the Super Nintendo era, so it constantly beat you over the head as if to constantly say, “Hey, remember this?” As a sequel, Tropical Freeze blazes its own trail by adding two character with useful abilities and unique ideas for challenging levels across six islands.Tropical Freeze gives us 13 hours’ worth of lush jungles and exotic islands to explore, and DK and his friends have never looked better. Their furry pelts look great on the TV or the GamePad, and some of the character models have lots of tiny details -- right down to the age lines around Cranky Kong’s mouth and his perfect teeth.The different abilities of the smaller Kongs often helped keep me alive, and they also empowered me to discover some well-placed secrets. I often preferred Dixie Kong for her handy helicopter spin, since it helped me reach higher platforms and correct any mistimed jumps. One the other hand, Cranky’s cane bounce -- which safely allowed me to travel over spiky thorn pits and other enemies -- was a useful tool that also came in handy. I used Diddy Kong’s familiar jet pack less than the other two, but that shouldn’t dismiss his useful qualities: Thanks to Diddy’s hover ability, I could safely sail over small pits and keep going. In the end, the Kong you choose to tag along is an important decision, and I enjoyed having the power to choose because it allowed me to approach each stage in a different way.I found the world of Tropical Freeze equally impressive. Each level delivers a sense of scale that feels bigger than most two-dimensional games, and the visual variety adds to the sense of a much larger journey. I raced through a chaotic savannah as it was wrecked by a tornado that tossed enemies and platforms alike into the air, and a short time later a friend and I swam in search of safety as an enormous octopus tried to poke us with oversized tentacles. I bounced on giant hot-air balloons in the alps, and survived a chase by a deadly buzzsaw in one of those rollercoaster-like minecart stages. The constant switchups and level variety made sure I was rarely doing the same thing for very long.The inspired level designs and stiff platforming challenges help Tropical Freeze hit rewarding high points that feel great after you’ve conquered a tough area. Take my advice: Jumping into Tropical Freeze with a boastful attitude that you've done it all in 2D platformers can lead to disastrous results. DK and the rest of this furry cast handle much differently than Mario and company. These characters genuinely feel heavier, and that emphasis on weight and momentum affects how you jump. I liked the distinct feel, and how it distinguished Tropical Freeze from a lot of platformers in the genre.Tropical Freeze’s six islands contain some tense challenges and lots of unique level ideas. Occasionally it’ll make you want to stop to take in these beautifully crafted stages, but sometimes it used these opportunities to show off wonderfully detailed animated transitions, like when DK pulls a stub out of the ground that sprouts into a giant tree. Other times the camera would swing and move to highlight just to point out how beautiful these settings could be.Secrets in Tropical Freeze are carefully hidden, often in plain sight. It's the kind of platformer where I felt like I’d pounded and prodded every surface in an attempt to uncover them all, yet some still elude me.The difficulty slowly rises as you progress, and the challenge can feel impossible times, but I found myself getting better at Tropical Freeze the more I played. The average stage is long but fun, and each one always felt achievable. To help welcome novice players, there’s a helpful item shop in each stage where you can purchase potions, balloons, and shields that will keep you alive longer. These items help alot, but I made a conscious effort not to use them. I challenged myself to finish Tropical Freeze on my own terms.The lengthy boss fights and multitude of well-placed secrets and collectibles stand out as some of the best parts of Tropical Freeze. Boss encounters unfold over multiple phases, and in each one they adopt a new tell or move that requires careful attention. An Owl Boss in the third stage started with simple pattern of three eggs dropping from the sky, but by the third phase it turns into a Galaga-like pattern of multiple enemies that could crush an unaware Kong quickly.Partner Kongs play a helpful role in keeping me alive, and losing them in these encounters often left me in tight situations that demanded precise movement. But there’s a cool payoff when you defeat a boss. These satisfying encounters end with a button-mashing segment – an homage to the GameCube’s unique bongo-driven platformer, Donkey Kong Jungle Beat. It puts a hilarious exclamation mark on the end of a tough battle.Couch multiplayer is a fun feature for a lot of Wii U games. Multiplayer mode is fun if you’re up to the challenge, but it demands careful and coordinated play, which is great if you have the right teammate. However, for a game built around unique character abilities, Tropical Freeze’s co-op multiplayer lacks an option for the second player to swap between Dixie, Diddy, and Cranky quickly without having to drop out completely and rejoin.Tropical Freeze also does nothing unique with the GamePad outside of Off-TV play, which is slightly disappointing. The screen goes blank if you’re using the TV as the primary viewer once you start a level.