Spike TV’s VGX 2013: Nintendo Announces New Playable Character for Donkey Kong Country

Ryan Smythe ’15 / Emertainment Monthly Staff Writer

There was so much buzz about Nintendo’s announcement leading up to the VGX awards, but Amazon Italy’s premature announcement of Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze ruined the surprise for the fans. Getting to finally play as Cranky Kong in a Donkey Kong game should have been a wonderful and exciting announcement for longtime fans. But, despite Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime’s barely concealed anger at being scooped on his own announcement, the gameplay shown at the VGX awards of the upcoming game looked wonderful.

As expected, players will finally be able to play as Cranky Kong. The grandfather of the current Donkey Kong, Cranky is suspected to be the original Kong from back when the character was Mario’s main adversary. Whether or not that is the case, the gameplay showed off makes it very apparent that he will be a fun character to use.

Cranky can use his cane like a pogo stick, bouncing on top of spiked floors completely unharmed. Not only that, Donkey Kong can jump up on his grandfather’s back to be carried. The possibilities from this kind of combination are very intriguing, and will hopefully make some of the later levels delightfully challenging.

The other mechanic showed off is a sort of super attack that utilized both characters. Once a meter fills up, Donkey and Cranky can activate an attack that clears the entire screen of enemies. It wasn’t made clear how quickly the meter fills up, but this attack could be a lifesaver when the screen is crawling with enemies.

Despite the fact that Nintendo’s big reveal was spoiled by a mistake from a retailer, the gameplay shown easily makes up for it. Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze looks to be one of the most fun games slated for release during the first quarter of 2014.

Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze will be available for the Wii U on February 21, 2014.