Summary
Donkey Kong finally makes his return on the Nintendo Switch once again inDonkey Kong Country Returns HDto challenge you in some of thebest 2D platforming on the console. This entry in the beloved Donkey Kong Country series is back with a banana bunch of improvements while bringing all content from both the Wii original and the 3DS port.
All the Donkey Kong Country games are well-known for their tough as nails level design and DKC Returns is one of the hardest of them all. It will test you to jump, swing, and roll to the best of your ability through beautifully creative levels with fun gimmicks. Some of these levels get brutally difficult, so you best stock up on Life Balloons if you want to survive them.
10World 6-2: Prehistoric Path
A Blast From The Past
A classic from the first DKC game is the mine cart levels. These auto-scroller like levels see Donkey Kong hitching a ride on a mine cart to automatically move forward. This leaves you with just one job; jumping. In Returns, many of the mine cart levels are a fun change of pace from the usual platforming, but they often come at the cost of being quite tedious to complete.
In Prehistoric Path, you not only have to deal with the difficult jumps between rails, but also the fact that some of the platforms will sink into the tar below as you ride on the rails, giving you extra stress and pressure to think five steps ahead for every action. Some sections even require you to bounce off multiple small enemies in a row unless you want to plummet into the tar.
9World 1-K: Platform Panic
Platform Quick Or Fall Quick
This bonus level will be your first taster into how tough this game can get. Platform Panic is the very first K level, which is a type of level that requires you to collect all the K-O-N-G letters in every level of a world and are usually the most challenging levels. You will immediately fear the rest of the K levels due to the terrifically tricky level design here.
This level has you platforming on pillars and platforms that rise and fall periodically right from under your feet. This gets difficult when it’s combined with tons of enemies and spikes that can easily mess you up as you rush from platform to platform. You already have to be constantly moving to stay alive, but mix this with a number of obstacles that slow you down, and it’s the recipe for a mean first world level.
8World 8-4: Smokey Peak
A Shadowy Send-Off
One of the many highlights of DKC Returns are thestunningly stylized silhouette levelsthat turn everything around you into art with the foreground being completely black while the background gives the scene a bright popping color. Smokey Peak is the final silhouette level, and it makes sure that you remember it and its sibling levels.
The entire level takes place on Rambi, and has a whole host of lava droplets to avoid, which instantly kill you. This wouldn’t be so bad, but certain platforms will begin to break and fall when stepped on, meaning that you have to speed along almost every platform as you will have no idea which will crumble before jumping on them.
7World 8-K: Five Monkey Trial
Five Tricky Challenges
Besides the secret world levels, there is one last bonus level before the final boss, you will need to bring every bit of skill you have built for this gauntlet of trials. The Five Monkey Trial is a test of platforming that tasks you with five short challenges that each reward you with a Puzzle Piece.
The five trials involve leaping around tight platforms, and dodging enemies to grab enough Banana Coins to progress to the next part. Each section changes what you have to work with and some of the combinations are pretty evil. If you die, then you will have to start from the beginning again, which is not fun, especially when you are one Banana Coin short from beating the fifth trial.
6World 4-3: Bombs Away
Dodging And Weaving In The Mines
The dreaded mine cart levels are always some of the hardest levels of any DKC game due to their limited options and the constant fear brought on by riding in a moving object over a bottomless pit. In Bombs Away, not only is the entire level nothing but rail riding, but it also throws an awful number of distracting obstacles that keep you on your toes for every moment.
Unfortunately, since this level is on a mine cart, you have little to no way of moving around. There is so much going on at all times, from a Mole Guard throwing bombs and blowing up the track ahead of you to giant crystals which are instant death if touched. You will find that, while you are trying to dodge one obstacle, another has already killed you before you can react.
5World 4-5: Crowded Cavern
Rocket Barrel Away From This Level
This level jumps out mid-way through world four with the shock of a Rocket Barrel level that you won’t forget. Being a Rocket Barrel level instantly makes this quite tricky just due to the fact that these levels tend to be quite awkward with the controls. What could possibly make this worse? Having to do a mini-boss at the same time!
After jumping on the Rocket Barrel, you awake a group of bats and their leader, the Mega Squeekly who will chase you and fire unpredictable sonic waves at you. This can be super unfair, as these can one-shot kill you. What’s worse is that both the final K-O-N-G Letter and Puzzle Piece are found during this part. Leading to this level being quite frustrating, as you will either die or miss the collectibles.
4World 9-8: Lavawheel Volcano
Being the second to last level in the game means that difficulty has to be at near maximum to provide a decent level for those who have made it past every obstacle so far. Lavawheel Volcano definitely deserves to be the second to last level of the game.
Most of the lava-themed levels are naturally hard due to the one-shot filled level mechanics that go along with them, and in Lavawheel Volcano there is no shortage of these, as you will always be fearing your impending doom. Timing is key here as you will also need to avoid volcanic debris falling from above while also not getting stuck between two platforms that are about to roll into the lava.
3World 8-2: Hot Rocket
Rocket Barrel Riding Through The Flames
This level will get you feeling heated with its unreasonable design, which will make you despise the Rocket Barrel. Hot Rocket is a Rocket Barrel level that combines everything that would make one a nightmare and goes steps further to make things worse.
Unlike the other Rocket Barrel levels, this one is much more demanding as it is littered with tight spaces and corridors, make one slight wrong move, and you will go straight back to a checkpoint. There are also sections with a ton of Fire Snakes that are tricky to dodge on their own, but with over five back to back, it becomes ridiculously tough to get past on the slippery barrel.
2World 9-9: Golden Temple
The Final Bountiful Level
Golden Temple is the ultimate challenge level in world nine that you unlock after collecting all the K-O-N-G Letters in every level in the game and completing every special K level. This is the final test tasking you with jumping through a giant fruit heaven. You will leap from giant bananas to tiny strawberries all while avoiding the toughest foes to make super precise jumps.
Beating this level for the first time gives you access to the Mirror mode, which features a flipped harder version of the game that will make any level a difficult task. It strips you of yourbest buddy Diddy Kongand you must beat the entire game with only one heart.
1World 6-K: Perilous Passage
Perilous Pain From Start To Finish
The notorious K stages are designed to be some of the hardest in the game. Being a world themed around cliffs and caves, this level brings the heat with a touch of lava. You will have to rush around and platform with perfect precision to climb up away from the rapidly rising lava.
The combination of what feels like hundreds of enemies alongside the lava makes this a ridiculous level to complete. Not only is the platforming tight, but some of the enemies also drop lava behind them, making the stressful level even rougher. We recommend practicing trying to clear the level once and then going back get the collectibles as they are in evil spots that can mess you up.
