Retro did the impossible with DKC returns. They not only managed to revive a 2D platforming franchise, but they also made DK fun to play as. With tropical freeze retro did the impossible again. They managed to fine tune the new DKC formula and gameplay to the point of tropical freeze becoming one of the best 2D platformers of all time.

I love Tropical freeze. Between the original Wii U release and the switch port, it's one of the 2D platformers I've put the most time into. I've 100% this game too many times to count, I know where every puzzle piece is, I've 100% the game on the unlockable hard mode with every kong and I like the game enough to have gotten the max rank on the time trials for each level and even briefly having a world record (or at least number 1 on the online leader board) for an individual level for a very brief time. This is one of my favorite 2D platformers.

The returns style gameplay is back and more fine tuned to make for an even better experience. DK has a nice feeling of weight to him and it feels really good to keep a fast momentum throughout the stages. The SFX also contribute to this feeling. It just feels really good bouncing off enemies or rolling through a line of snowmads.

The stages are all amazing. These are some of the most well designed and creative stages in any 2D platformer. The stages play around with the foreground and background in new and creative ways compared to returns as well. The OST is great as well with a nice mix of amazing new tracks and remixes of classic DKC tracks. The enemies are also a step up from returns. They're more expressive and integrated into the stage layouts in more creative ways than the tikis were in returns. They're still not as memorable as the kremlings in the original series, but they're still a big improvement over the last games'.

I'm very happy that some of the previous kongs have been reintroduced to the series and each of them provides a nice difference in gameplay. Dixie is still great with her helicopter twirl, cranky is great for blasting through levels since his pogo conserves momentum, and diddy is just kind there to help you keep an even height with a short hover. I do wish that diddy had more unique style since he is consistently my least used kong in each playthrough. I only really find him useful for lining up hits on the final boss and I actively skip his barrels in levels if I have another kong with me.

I don't think the game is perfect, and there are a few small things that hold it back from being my favorite DKC game. The bosses can go on a little too long at times (although none of them are anywhere near as long as the endurance tests that were returns' bosses). I still like most of them and a lot of the bosses I didn't initially like have grown on me since they have fun time trial strats, but none of the bosses are as good as the best bosses from DKC 2 or 3 in my opinion. The final boss in particular is also really underwhelming and kind of mediocre. All the other bosses have a better sense of increasing stakes with new attack patterns as they go on, but the final boss just kind does most of the same initial moves with a few new easy to dodge attacks.

Some of the puzzle pieces can be very cryptic for a first time player as well. Generally speaking, I don't think going for 100% is too daunting and you'll get most of the puzzle pieces on your first run through a level as long as you're collecting suspicious looking groups of bananas. There are a few were you have to line up with something in the foreground or background which isn't super intuitive for a first time player or if you haven't 100% returns.

I also wish there was more variety to the bonus rooms. They're all some version of "collect all the bananas within the time limit" which isn't bad and there is a nice variety of different stages, but the original trilogy had multiple different type of mini games for the bonus rooms and this lack of variety is felt a bit towards the end of a 100% route. It's nowhere near burnout inducing, but it's something that could be added to a future game.

I also really wish retro would utilize more of the animal buddies. I love Rambi, but he's still the only buddy to return (besides Squawks but he's not playable). With the return of underwater levels, I wish Enguarde would return and I think retro could design some good Rattly or Winky stages since they play with verticality in a few of tropical freeze's stages (or even adding a Sqidder section to a bee stage would be fun).

The absence of a memorable big bad guy is also felt towards the end. K Rool was just so weird and memorable in the original rare games and his final bosses were highlights of those games. I hope that retro will either bring the Kremlings back or make the big bad of the next DKC game more engaging.

I'm hopeful that these small issues will be fixed in a previous game. The changes to the formula between tropical freeze and returns show that retro really loves the DKC series and is willing to celebrate and integrate what worked well in those games into their new series while still keeping the core returns formula. I'm confidant that they have what it takes to make the perfect DKC game if given the chance.

The small issues I have with the game are enough to keep me from giving it a full 5 stars, but tropical freeze is by far the highest 4.5/5 I can give to a game and a serious contender for one of the best platformers of all time.