After all this time, after beating LM2 first, I finally beat this legit(ish). Final boss was surprisingly free compared to the other bosses in this game and the final boss of LM2. Thankfully, this game doesn't place as big an emphasis on combat as LM2, save for the Shrine of the Mother but that's understandable since its the final area. Wasn't a fan of the mantra puzzle, had to brute-force half of it. The scale puzzle tho...super satisfying to figure out.

La-Mulana is a tier of its own when it comes to Metroidvanias.

Feel exactly the same as the majority regarding this game. Platforming levels are fun. Vehicle levels suck. And god are they fucking miserable, with the motorcycle and plane levels especially. Like really ND, it wasn't enough to make the motorcycle handle like a tank? Now we gotta do it in the dark w/ fat UFOs blocking the road and chasms sucking you in for barely clipping their edges? Y'all crying about Abby in 2020, ND been trash since '98 for this nonsense. AND the fact that the secret world (26-30) only consisted of VEHICLE levels (not counting the two secret paths for already-existing levels)? Was so disappointed when I came to that realization, this just might be my least favorite of the trilogy.

Definitely satisfied my itch for a good platformer and then some. Started off not feeling the movement and the difficulty, but the game had answers for both on deck. Mess around enough and you can discover some neat tech to get YL moving fast, and those challenge tonics, especially Less Checkmates and Googly Eyes, were just what this game needed. Big props to the devs for making those two accessible early in the game.

Without question, this game definitely feels like Tropical Freeze 2.0, but its in no way a budget knockoff. Biggest feather in YL:IL's cap is the overworld. It was genuinely fun to run around, solve puzzles, and figure out riddles. Another highlight of this game: the Impossible Lair. The fact that it's available right from the jump and that its realistically doable to beat it without any Bees is godlike. My 1st attempt, I can't get past the first large gap with the flame drones in Section 1. By the end of my playthrough, I'm autopiloting Section 1 with no hits. Love shit like that.

I thought this fact was a gripe initially but after beating it, I don't mind the lack of collectibles here when compared to DK:TF. Quills and T.W.I.T. coins have direct use on the overworld, as opposed to Banana Coins and Balloons being kinda fluff at a certain point. Also don't mind the lack of bosses here; those were never the highlight of the DK Return games. Terms of music, the tracks here are just as catchy and memorable as DK:TF; I can't choose between the two.

While the level design was super solid throughout, I will say there weren't as many standout levels as DK:TF. Everything felt either 'On Par' or 'Good' whereas TF had some bangers like Sawmill Thrill, Grassland Groove, Scorch N' Torch, Beehive Brawl, etc. YL:IF could have used some more level gimmicks/variations IMO (No Kartos Playtonic???). Also would've been nice to see more useful tonics, especially ones that increased the difficulty. Way too many visual gimmick ones.

Without a doubt, if you like Donkey Kong platformers, you need to play this no questions asked.

Pretty middling to mediocre. Level-design was overall basic and uninteresting, with a bunch of flat worlds neatly sectioned with attractions to explore. Nothing unique like Click Clock Wood, Grunty Industries, Clanker's Cavern, etc. In terms of the moves, nothing stood out to me as anything to write home about, but they at least made the High Jump and Glide feel good to use. On the flip side, the flight move damn near invalidated those moves once you got it, and it felt bad to use to boot. That and the Roll move handle like a fucking Cadillac with awful turn radius', and it was a dumb move to map the flight descent with the same input as the camera. Saving grace for this game was the lack of invisible walls and the sequence breaking you could get away with as a result.

Didn't come away all that impressed with the character design or writing either. I'm not a kid anymore so its hard to be too critical on this, but I doubt anyone's going to think as fondly of Yooka or Laylee as opposed to Banjo & Kazooie. Shit, I'll take the Kongs over YL. They should've switched it up and given YL different personalities, instead of just making them B&K clones. They just pale in comparison that much more because of it. Laylee's not THAT much of a downgrade to Kazooie, but Yooka is super boring; Banjo played the straight man role too but he was also lazy and had those funny idle animations w/ Kazooie. Those 4 little whatever taunts YL had don't cut it. I did get a chuckle out of some of Capital B's quips, but I'm a cubicle monkey so it hits different.

Music overall was bland, save for the Kartos themes. Were those the only ones composed by David Wise? Bosses weren't complete pushovers and the World 4 boss was a genuine surprise that paid off since the minecart sections were highlights. The arcade games were take-it-or-leave-it w/ me, most of the transformations felt undercooked, and I basically ignored 90% of the tonics as they were uninteresting gimmicks. The pirate tokens were hidden well, though I wish the reward you got was actually something worthwhile.

I'll give the next YL game a shot since its a different genre entirely, and I'd be willing to check out another 3D platformer from Playtonic, but this game just wasn't it. Do something creative with these levels, cook up some interesting movesets next time, and give Yooka some damn personality.

Super enjoyable and rewarding grid-based SRPG/roguelite. The game's biggest strength is how it allows you to problem-solve your way out of seemingly impossible situations. Those moments where you pull off a crazy strat and get away with no building damage are too godlike. Top that off with another dope OST from Ben Prunty, rougelite mechanics of earning random pilots and weapons throughout a run, and a slew of achievements worth going for, it all makes another super solid game from Subset Games.

Unfortunately, the variety doesn't seem to hold up as much as other rougelites so I can't place this anywhere near FTL or Enter the Gungeon. Certain pilots are clearly better than others, but ultimately, it comes down to the random skills they acquire along the way. +1 Mech Reactor is universally desired (and kinda ruins the Post-Mission shops IMO), and +3 Grid Defense is conversely a death sentence to any pilot and grounds for selling them for Rep. Basically, its the same loop everytime since Mech Reactors are so useful and everything else is either situational or outright bad. The final mission is also a letdown. You can damn near faceroll the 2nd half if you come in w/ enough Grid points.

A step down from DKC2 but not that much of a downgrade. The pirate theme of DKC2 was cute and well implemented and I can't say the same for this game's 'river-rafting/camping?' motif. Music's a huge miss this time around, which is probably the most obvious flaw people point out about this game. I enjoyed the new animal buddies and the mechanics that came with them. I also like that they implemented a secret world like DKC2 that had more challenging levels to tackle.

Outside of the music and goofy setting, its hard to see anyone disliking this that liked DKC2. Its really just more of a good thing.

In terms of 2D platformer series, DKC reigns supreme for me, and among this series, DKC2 is easily the series' peak. It kept everything great about DKC1 and improved on all its shortcomings. Unique and challenging bonus levels as opposed to the uniform ones we got in DKC1. Speaking of challenge, DKC2 is much more challenging than DKC1 and that's not strictly accounting for the Lost World. They also did a great job of incorporating more of the animal buddies and their unique mechanics into more levels; felt like only Enguarde was a required mechanic to master in the 1st game.

Awesome game through and through. I wish I had experienced it as a kid, but glad I eventually got around to playing it now.