Donkey Kong Country Returns HD
(Completed on 6 Feb 2025)

Once again, never played the original non-HD version; this was my first time through what now amounts to a “classic” game
It is…. fine, but they almost shouldn’t call these “Donky Kong Country” games. There are several hallmarks of all 3 DKC games which are missing. The worlds do not feel expansive or covered in secrets at all, the way DKC2 and DKC 3 do. Everything you could possibly have to do is all laid out in front of you. There’s no Krematoa-equivalent.
There is a final, secret world, but unlocking it is all-or-nothing; you can’t partially visit or come in through a bunch of little side doors scattered all over the place.
Also no animal friends besides Rambi
Even the soundtrack doesn’t really have the juice. There are good arrangements of good songs but nothing can really match a SNES sound chip cranking out those David Wise originals
Even though I don’t think it’s a real Donkey Kong Country game, it still is not bad. The level designs are fun and the difficulty curve is fair, to maybe leaning a LITTLE on the easy side.
I also could not see anywhere that the HD upgrade went clearly and severely wrong. The game looks good and you don’t have any weird artifacts that you sometimes see on “HD upgrades” like texture resolution mismatches
Overall, probably worth it if you didn’t play this game in its’ day, but if you did, I don’t see what would be the point.

画廊 IMAGE STREAM

画廊 IMAGE STREAM

サーフィン WEB SURFIN

The Old Robot's Web Site →

サーフィン CLASSIC VIDYA REVIEW

The PS2 original is the “canonical version” of this game, considering all the remakes and ports that came out over the years
It’s a fun, low-stress adventure game which doesn’t demand very much of you
Gameplay-wise, it’s not demanding much of you, but the visuals and characters and music and settings are all so good that you’re sort of willing to go along with it
I had forgotten how much unlockable content that developers used to put in these games. While I did not do “100% completion” and get all of Lara’s little outfits and such, I can see myself going back to the game for those things. It is fun and a little jarring to see how developers used to give the fans what they want; today all that stuff would be DLC.
The game is short (even, I think, for the time) but in its’ small package, it accomplishes what it’s trying to do. The settings are very memorable and the story (which no one even really needs in a Tomb Raider game IWABH) is coherent and interesting.
Not all games reviewed on this site are very accessible to moderns, but I think this one is, and I can recommend it as long as you don’t come in looking for something too hardcore

画廊 IMAGE STREAM

画廊 IMAGE STREAM

サーフィン CLASSIC VIDYA REVIEW

Overall did not have as much fun with this as with FF1, but somehow I do think it has more replay value
Because of the leveling system (no experience; you gain levels based on what skills and weapons the character actively uses) it is really easy to get yourself into a bad position and hit a wall where everything is killing you instantly. You can grind out of this but it is a SLOG
However, once you get what the system is and know what to expect, you can see how it was possible to much better prepare yourself early in the game, for things that will be happening to you later in the game. This is the thing that makes you want to replay it; the knowing how much easier you could have made it on yourself.
As with FF1, I think the Origins version is a great way to play the game. I did it on desktop but it would also be great with one of those “retro emulator” handhelds
Completion time of this (~20-30hrs) is probably the most I have to give. I am too old to play RPGs which are any larger than that.

画廊 IMAGE STREAM