Fun fact:  about 50% of games are released during Christmas. One of the games I got was Donkey Kong Country Returns. So far I’m at world 7. I haven’t seen anything I would change. The only thing I could complain about is one level having a sun set and all the objects in the level cast a shadow in the screen.

The story is original for a novelty game. What happens is the volcano on top the island erupts. The eruption releases a tiki monster and his minions who invade the jungle surrounding the jungle. The tikis have the power to hypnotically control minds. They control the animals in the jungle and use them to steal the Kong family’s massive collection of bananas. Diddy sees what’s happening and goes to stop it. A tiki goes into DK’s house to take his mind. Donkey Kong has no mind to control so he beats the living life out of him and then it cuts to showing the outside of his house  and tells you to shake the wiimote to punch the tiki over and over until it goes flying away. Then Donkey Kong jumps out of his house and into the first level, starting the game.

If you look around you’ll probably find a copy at a game stop. Many things make a comeback in this game from the first donkey Kong countries on the super Nintendo. For example, cranky Kong has shops all over the island, the tactical nuke that is the rhino is given in levels for a few levels, Squawks helps find hidden areas, and an entire world of cart levels. Overall, it’s a really great game that makes you feel like you’ve gone back to the golden age of gaming, the same way new super Mario bros. did. The best apart about it, no more bongos.