The 50 Best Nintendo Games Right Now (Wii U / 3DS)

Best Nintendo Games List – #13 Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze

Developers: Retro Studios, Monster Games

Publisher: Nintendo

Platform: Nintendo Wii U

Release Date: February 21, 2014

The first time Donkey Kong Country makes an HD appearance, Tropical Freeze brought a welcome return to classic side-scrolling platforming while managing to add a few new tricks. Donkey, Diddy, Dixie and Cranky Kong are all playable in this chapter, with a tag-team system that utilizes dynamic pairing to get the ultimate adventuring experience.

This journey takes places on land, under the sea, inside caverns and even on free-ish rails, but more important than the locations is the created environment. The art direction for Tropical Freeze is absolutely gorgeous, with mosaic-like backgrounds full of varying depth and immaculate detail. The soundtrack of David Wise breathes life into the classics while creating new works at the same time, blending the two timelines together. It’s a Donkey Kong Country game, but expanded within a 2.5 (sometimes 3D) space that still maintains its unforgiving, but rewarding difficulty.

Next: #12 Bravely Default