Something and everything about this feels off. Why'd they get rid of the run button? Why am I constantly given a choice between all three sidekicks mid-stage, slowing down gameplay? Since buying this I started playing DKC Returns 3D again and it's definitely the much better game.

In short, characters fight on their own in a flurry of on screen damage stats and "hi-ya!!" voice clips, while you're constantly presented with tutorials to explain what is going on in said battle system and the extent to which you're even able to interact with it. The pinnings of a classic, these are not.

It's like some tortured dating sim, with a calendar system and everything. There is no shortage of instances where a player would tune out before getting to the next battle, with lectures being the absolute low point. Even the battles themselves, when I did finally got to experience them, seemed wholly unremarkable, especially after disabling battle animations.

First 3D Mario I've ever beaten. GREAT GAME. (And made better with button remapping, as it lets you use ZR to jump/swim, the way God intended.) Every inch of each kingdom was made to be as busy as possible, brimming with moons to discover, with many of them being hidden in a way that is inventive or playful.