- Global Top Rank allows you to to view top records from around the world
- Global Player Rank shows records surrounding your current rank
- Friends Top Rank lists the rankings of those on your friend list
- post one replay video per level
- you can update this video only when you beat your best time on a level
- ranking screen shows a medal, which is awarded based on your time
- camera icon indicates whether a viewable replay is available
- heart icon shows that the stage was cleared without taking damage
- Kong buddy icon tells you which buddy was used in a course
- Diddy can still hover with his jetpack
- Dixie's hair spin allows you to gain a little bit of altitude
- Diddy can use his jetpack underwater for a burst of speed
- Dixie uses her hair underwater as a propeller
- Cranky swings his cane underwater to take out enemies
- Rambi is the only animal buddy to appear in the game
- navigate platforms spinning on windmills in Windmill Hill
- Grassland Grove has dancing trees you have to jump around/on
- Twilight Terror has you dodging fishing nets and giant sharks while riding a rocket barrel
- on average, levels take about 4 minutes each
- Irate Eight has you being chased by a giant octopus that destroys the scenery as you progress
- he'll grab at you with his arms and even attack with ink squirts
- Sawmill Thrill takes you through a sawmill where live saws carve out a path for your minecart
- this level transitions to a log-flume level before changing back to a minecart portion where a giant saw blade chases you
- Frantic Field has you dealing with tornadoes that toss you all over the place
- eventually you'll enter a big tornado and have to travel via lad masses ripped from the ground, now floating in the air
- Funky Kong mans the Fly and Buy item shop for items, one-ups and more
- you can also use the Capsule Toy Machine to get collectible in-game figurines of enemies and characters you've come across
- you can then view these figurines as 3D models
- some levels feature alternate exists that take you to secret levels
- time attack records your best time and the character you played as for the online leaderboard
- you can also upload videos of your best runs for others to see
- hard mode included, but it will differ from hard mode in the last game
- levels and set-pieces encountered in the first 4 worlds include mangrove forests, alpine highlands, african savannahs, and deep seas
- secrets include puzzle pieces, collectible letters, bonus rooms, concealed coins, alternate exits, and scores of bananas
- hidden in the game is a rendering of Samus Aran’s Gunship
- one silhouette stage will temporarily hide your view of Donkey Kong due to foliage in the foreground
- at one point in this stage, you can line up the foliage to form a star shape, which rewards you with a bonus
- music includes Lion King-inspired choral songs over the savannah to Teutonic horns integrated into the Germanic Autumn Heights area
- zipline stages are similar in mechanics to minecart stages
- one boss battle includes a giant anthropomorphic viking seal sliding on his belly
- another boss battle has you taking on a sorcerous owl
- the owl has seven unique attacks, which he'll dish out over three arenas
- most levels take around 10 minutes to complete on your first attempt
- Stage 3-3 Frantic Field is set against a hurricane, with small tornadoes, and lightning as obstacles. Eventually you reach the eye of the storm.
- The stage after is set in a forest, with sections on fire due to the previous level's lightning. You need to use watery fruit to put out vine fires in order to progress.
- tag barrels ala Donkey Kong 64
- multiple routes to take in levels
- three secret levels per world
- Time Attack returns, but you can select which character's DK barrels will appear
- upload times and full replays to show friends
- more emphasis on the background, which is constantly moving
- the background will sometimes provides hints to what you're going to encounter next
- the team wishes they could have done more with the animal buddies.
- Kelbaugh mentions that there was something from A Link to the Past that the team wanted to do, but couldn't, and used it in Link's Awakening instead. This was the ending of LA when the egg opens
- 6-6 Cliffside Slide, "like jumping right into the middle of an action movie", is a silhouette level
- 4-4 Irate Eight, an underwater level which sounds like the giant octopus from DKCR is back
- 3-3 Frantic Field has a bit of comedy.
- World 4 is made of only underwater levels
- 4-4 and 3-6 Cannon Canyon feature dynamic 3D camera movement.
- animation quality is improved over DKCR
- difficulty of TF hasn't been lowered, but there are added features that will give casual players an easier time
- Miyamoto told Retro, when first working on DKCR: "This is my baby. Don't mess it up."
- Kelbaugh and Tanabe both worked on DKC, with Tanabe on the Japanese localization, but never met.
- Ten years later Tanabe met Kelbaugh, when he became president of Retro. He saw that Kelbaugh had a DKC jacket, and they learned that they both worked on DKC.
- when they both started on DKCR, Michael gave DKCR the codename F8 - fate.
- Retro was working on Mario Kart 7 and TF at the same time
- Tanabe and his team at SPD is Retro's primary contact at Nintendo
- If they found themselves on Kong Island Kelbaugh would team up with Diddy, and Tanabe with Donkey Kong, so that he could be carried around
- lush tropical rainforest
- expect vine grabbing and zip-lining
World 2: Autumn Heights
- Bavarian-like mountain isle full of mine carts, hot-air balloons, and giant owls
- avoid sheer edges of jagged cliff faces
World 3: Bright Savannah
- features tall grass and a spectrum of oranges and browns
- avoid brush fires and angry penguins
World 4: Sea Breeze Cove
- full of blue harbors and sandy inlets
- features a lot of swimming levels
- dodge electric seaweed
World 5: Juicy Jungle
- tropical forest featuring trees that produce a rare fruit
- a processing plant has been built here to process the juice
- bounce off the jellies this plant produces
- Diddy can hover
- Dixie can use her hair for a double jump
- Cranky can hop on his cane which keeps him from being hurt by spikes/thorns
- use this to take out spiked enemies as well
- activate each can bounce individually, rather than just holding down the button
- switch characters using the DK barrels
- some stages have barrels locked to a single character
- when in co-op, you're locked to the character you originally choose
- in co-op, one person always has to be Donkey Kong
- Jelly Jamoboree has you bouncing across jelly platforms
- green jelly helps you bounce, blue ones are switches
- a penguin in the background of this level will bounce on a switch jelly to shift platforms where you're playing
- 3-4 is Scorch and Torch, which has the entire level on fire
- throw water-filled fruit to put out fires
- 6-1 is Homecoming Hijinx, which is frozen over
- 4-2 is High-Tide Ride, a minecart level, which shows off the dynamic camera
- you can also switch between tracks on either side in this level
- item shop does return with Funky helming it
- each character has unique animations
- Cranky climbs vines one-handed, due to holding his cane in the other hand
- supports Wiimote/Nunchuk, Pro Controller and GamePad
- can bounce on his cane
- also has a long-ranged attack that involves dentures
- use his cane to swipe away enemies
- moves around just as well as other characters
The following comments and info come from project development Todd Buechele...
"He's been in the series since the very beginning. We've alluded with the way he interacts with DK: 'I'm the best. You youngsters don't know how to do things.' We thought the natural progression was to go ahead and get him in there. He is a fan favorite. When we started to actually create him, it just took on a life of its own. I don't want to say [Cranky Kong] ups the difficulty, but it does make it feel like more of a traditional Donkey Kong Country game."
- levels are "balanced" for players to get through with any buddy
- certain buddies will allow players to open up new path
- one example includes a puzzle piece that only Cranky can reach by bouncing on spikes
- Snowmads are made up of penguins, owls, rabbits, sea lions, and walruses
- Diddy Kong’s cartwheel attack useful for close attacks
- Use Kong Pow with Diddy to turn all enemies on the screen into extra balloons
- As previously mentioned, Dixie’s Kong Pow turns onscreen enemies into gold hearts
- Dixie’s ponytail is like a propeller underwater for extra speed
- Enemies will get tougher as you progress
- Tucks (penguin-like enemies) start out with Donkey Kong being able to take them out by jumping on their heads or rolling into them
- Later, they’ll have spears and helmets at their disposal, so you can only attack them from behind
- Tucks will then come with double-sided spears and spiked helmets, so they must be stunned first before you can attack
- 6 islands
- 6-7 levels per island
- Boss stage and a bonus level as well
- Bonus level unlocks after collecting all KONG letters in each level
- World 1: Lost Mangroves (rainforest, vine grabbing, zip-lining)
- World 2: Autumn Heights (Bavarian-like mountain, mine carts, hot-air balloons, giant owls, jagged cliff faces)
- World 3: Bright Savannah (tall grass, orange/brown colors, like an African safari, dodge brush fire and penguins with spears)
- World 4: Sea Breeze Cove (blue harbors, sandy inlets, lots of swimming, dodge electric seaweed and manage air supply)
- World 5: Juicy Jungle (tropical forest that produces a rare fruit, home to an elaborate processing plant, jump off jellies to reach new heights)
- World 6: DK Island (Donkey Kong’s tree house has been frosted over, has homages to levels from Donkey Kong Country Returns)
- Will always control Donkey Kong in single-player
- Side characters add to Donkey Kong’s abilities
- Subtle differences between the side characters
- Can switch between side characters by breaking barrels in the levels
- Icons on the barrels rotate slowly so that you can pick your partner
- Offers challenging gameplay
It's the information we all knew a few days ago, as long as you saw the boxart we shared. Reggie just confirmed that Cranky Kong as a playable character in Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze. He has a cane-style jump that lets him bounce, just like Scrooge McDuck in DuckTales. The title has been dated for Feb. 21st.
