Despite being a) beloved and b) hugely successful, the Donkey Kong Country series feels a little… well… under-rated. Offering a weighty yet fast-paced alternative take on the side-scrolling platformer, it’s always been second fiddle to Nintendo’s flagship Super Mario titles. It’s a surprise that such an overt love letter to Rare’s ape-tastic series has taken so long to arrive; Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair came close, but Kaze and the Wild Masks perhaps goes one better – it's a thrilling, beautifully-designed homage to the SNES Donkey Kong trilogy (with a few elements taken from Tropical Freeze, to boot).
The game makes no secret of its roots, actively inviting comparison with a whole host of features effectively lifted from Donkey Kong Country. For example, there are two well-hidden “bonus barrels” per level in the form of portals leading you to some extremely familiar mini-games; beat all the baddies or collect all the gems. It’s familiar and very polished – rather than dumping you out of the challenge room if you run out of time or take a hit, you’re able to simply press A to restart, reducing repetition and frustration.
Level design is relatively linear, with a focus on forward momentum. Kaze is equipped with ear-based attacks, boasting a sideways spin that acts much like a roll attack from Donkey Kong Country, and you even have the ability to jump out of it if you “spin” off a ledge. You’re also able to ground pound to dig up hidden gems, spin your ears for a slower descent (ala Dixie Kong’s ponytail twirl) and pick up and throw barrels. Sorry, erm, we mean unspecified containers. There are even crossbows that act precisely the same way as barrel cannons.
The “masks” of the title refer to transformations that Kaze can pick up which allow her to take on the abilities of flight, swimming, wall-climbing or running really fast for the game’s take on the series infamous auto-scrolling mine cart stages. The flight is identical to Squawks the Parrot from Donkey Kong Country, all the way to down to the arc of its projectile attack. Swimming is closer to Tropical Freeze, with a full range of movement and a spinning attack that propels you forward. The wall-climbing, air-dashing tiger is more unique, though it calls to mind Mega Man X with its move set. They’re all fun to control and a welcome diversion from the main game’s platforming, as good as it is.
And it is good. Very good indeed. Level design throughout is downright exemplary. The difficulty curve is smooth (with a couple of minor difficulty spikes) and the stages flow excellently. Secrets are craftily hidden and you’ll feel smart every time you find one. The enemies are varied and cleverly used, while checkpoints and extra hits are placed so perfectly that the whole thing feels playtested to oblivion. There's plenty of polish here; clear design chops made by designers who not only love Donkey Kong Country, but also understand exactly what makes it so great.
You could mark the game down for unoriginality, but we think that’s missing the point. It bites Donkey Kong’s style so hard sometimes that obstacles can almost feel directly pasted from the SNES games, but that’s a testament to how good Kaze and the Wild Masks is. And it doesn’t miss a step throughout the lengthy campaign, with no levels outstaying their welcome or lacking in either quality or variety. Like its inspiration, Kaze uses plenty of level gimmicks – gusts of wind, rope-climbing, manic chases – but it does so carefully and in smart, creative ways.
It’s a visual treat, too. Opting to eschew the now-dated pre-rendered look, it’s all clean, attractive and expressive sprites married to clear and easy-to-parse scenery. You’ll never miss a jump because you’re not sure what is or isn’t a platform, and you’ll never fall through a ledge because of any muddy disconnects between visuals and hitboxes. This is especially useful when taking on the challenging boss battles, which are nicely balanced to be testing but not gruellingly overlong. Actually, in a break from the Donkey Kong Country feel, we thought that the bosses here called to mind the original Rayman, though with a much more reasonable level of challenge.
The game is old-school tough but also unerringly respectful of your time – there’s also a casual mode that adds additional checkpoints for those that need it. There’s no lives system, either – you get infinite retries, which can lead to a sense of attrition at times but overall feels like the right decision given how trivial extra lives become in the Donkey Kong Country games. If we could criticise anything at all, it’d be nice if the world map wasn’t quite so linear, but this is in keeping with the source material and we never encountered a stage we disliked enough to want to skip, so it’s a moot point.
Conclusion
An absolute pleasure from start to finish, what Kaze and the Wild Masks lacks in originality it makes up for in the strength of its level design, responsive controls, kinetic move set and attractive visuals. Excellent, action-packed platforming through and through, with great gameplay variety and gimmicks that don’t compromise on what the game is best at – challenging, fast-paced obstacle courses and deviously-hidden secret areas. Easiest sell? Kaze and the Wild Masks is to Donkey Kong Country what Freedom Planet was to Sonic the Hedgehog. Don’t miss this one.
Comments 79
So, basically, it IS DKC.
Not that that’s a bad thing, though...
Like DKC? Sign me up.
Does the soundtrack come anywhere close to a DKC game?
Donkey Kong Country?
For me this is more like that Sega Genesis game Kid Chameleon, because every mask gives you a distinct hability
But yeah, i agree in some areas it remembers Donkey Kong
I loved the artwork, i am pretty sure i will love this game
Pre-ordered a physical copy on Playasia, but i think it will take longer than the digital version
I'm intrigued at the very least. Another one to toss on the wishlist for now.
@caiozf
The physical copy has been delayed a few times, it's now slated for a May 25th launch.
I have it pre-ordered from Play-asia as well, but pre-orders exist on Amazon US and UK now for US or EU region copies.
Wow! I'm gonna have to check this out! Sounds right up my alley.
DKC has apes/monkeys versus other animals in jungle environments (plus other biomes). The theming here is rabbit versus vegetables?
@caiozf Hold up, Kid Chameleon? I've wanted a game similar to that for years. That's all I need to pick this game up. It wasn't even on my radar before. My wallet does not thank you sir.
Nice, I had no idea this game existed. Added it to my wishlist.
http://www.switchiconshowdown.com/detail.php?id=5403
Homescreen icon
Well you’ve got my attention. Wishlist +1
Most intriguing!
@Clyde_Radcliffe I feel the same to be honest, was surprised to see NL praise the graphics.
Still, willing to give this game a try. The gameplay looks really solid and I'm in the mood for a new 2D platformer.
Never heard about it but it goes on the wishlist for sure
I enjoyed Impossible Lair so I'll definitely give this one a go at some point.
Definitely a buy to me but still I don't get it. Why is the rabbit killing the carrots? Isn't the rabbit suppose to you know collect the carrots, why is he killing them? That's like if Donkey Kong killing the bananas.
KAZE NI NARE!!! You can only scream this. Even in text form.
Any of us here know what this phrase is from?
Reminds me to Planet Freedom and Sonic ^3^ Will take a look at it, since I love the DKC games o3~*
Kinda reminds me not only of DKC, but also the original Klonoa.
Was hoping for that classic dkc aesthetic, as opposed to the look and feel of the reboots. Looks fun enough tho
Had this on my wishlist for monitoring purposes because it looked promising but didn't realise it'd be this good! Insta-DL
Well awesome. I already preordered the physical. Nice to know it’s worthy of sitting on the shelf.
Gameplay-wise, this looks great and I've pre-ordered it. Graphics-wise, it's bland and generic. I'm a bit puzzled NL praising it's graphics? Is it too hard to use a bit of unique art direction into these type of games instead of copying what's done before.
@Kiz3000 Yes, for me is a mix of Donkey Kong and Kid Chameleon, because each mask gives you a hability...
This game looks very high quality, in my opinion it will be on the Top Tier of platformers on Switch (which includes games like Monster Boy and the cursed Kingdom, Hollow Knight, Fox n' forests, Mega Man 11 and others)
Looks great! I'm playing a few other games right now but I have put this on my wishlist.
As soon as you mentioned DKC i'm all in 100%
Really excited to see this game was graded so high... was on the fence. Might just have to snag!
@nmanifold For me the graphics looks very polished, definitely a high quality pixel art, not even close to generic
I think I'd like to demo this before committing.
@caiozf Nothing about the art I saw in this video screamed high quality, the atmosphere was a far cry from anything in DKC, but I'm downloading it as soon as it's out and am withholding judgement until I'm a ways in.
Inspired by DKC? You got my attention, I'll probably buy this
The review just put this game on my radar and my wishlist.
It's too similar to DKC in most of the wrong ways.
@SpaceboyScreams @caiozf @nmanifold
Honestly looks like something in between.
The sprites themselves look high quality. Very clean.
The overall style however looks very bland.
Like they had an really good artist, but no good idea for how everything together is supposed to look.
@nmanifold couldn't agree more, looks like a mobile game shame they didn't do more to make the art style stand out! that was of course what separated DKC from the pack!
I can't believe people are complaining about the graphics of this beautiful game, a piece of art...
Gamers nowadays...
Why no mention of the soundtrack? If it's being compared to the Donkey Country games then there should be some mention of the soundtrack. I'm guessing it's nothing special if it didn't even get a mention.
Interesting, as the character looks more like a Sonic OC than a Donkey Kong expy. Though my first thought was Klonoa.
I get more Sonic the Hedgehog-vibes from the characters. And not really DKC.
As a DKC enthusiast I'm definitely intrigued!
If it costed 20€, I would preorder it immediately.
The review had a lot of italics. I guess someone really liked this game! I would have not given this a second look, in the general run of things, but now I’m going to have to add it to my wish list of 2D platformers I may get some day. After Iconoclasts, Impossible Lair, Mega Man 11, Sonic Mania, Owlboy, Fox n Forests, Blasphemous, Bloodstained, Monster Boy... not to mention Tropical Freeze, Mario U Deluxe, the original DKCs on Switch Online...
Switch has got a pretty good library after four years, hasn’t it?
It’s missing some visual panache that both Rayman and DKC had in their own right.
Has a sonic gba feel to it. Or that flash internet sonic game
Maybe the developers will hop in here, but why is there DLC listed for it on the eShop when the game hasn't even released yet?
From what I'm seeing, it says, "Contains 12 skins" and nothing else in the DLC?
Is the DLC free? Or, is it paid?
Sounds great! Whats the average playtime to finish a casual playthrough?
@SpeedRunRocks
This phrase specifically? No. But it reminds me of the line from the anime GaoGaiGar, "Hikari ni nare!", which Gai shouts when using the Goldion Hammer finisher. It's translated as "Transform into light!".
I've pre-orded based on this review. Looking forward to it
A new DKC without the DKC? Sign me up!
Haha, did we get a Minoru Suzuki reference in this review?
@Rockman55 It's the theme song of professional wrestler Minoru Suzuki, the most miserable old man in all the earth.
@James1010uk I checked out some gameplay footage of this game and I wasn't impressed, especially considering the 9/10 this game got here. It didn't look that great in action and the music is fairly generic. The graphics and level design isn't anything special either. It definitely feels like a knock-off attempt at a DKC game, sorta like it definitely takes inspiration from that series but it seems to lack everything that made those games so special.
The protagonist looks suspiciously like Klonoa
I love the Donkey Kong Country games, if Kaze and the Wild Masks plays in a similar fashion, then I'm sure it's a game I'll enjoy playing as well.
I got tiny toon adventures vibes
Sounds fantastic...saw this game on the preorder list at Best Buy before, but needed to know more about it. Well, order placed! Shame the physical release doesn't come until May though.
@caiozf mannn I replayed Kid Chameleon recently and it was so bad. My childhood memory was that it was awesome. It really doesn’t hold up at all at all:/ have you tried it recently!? I was bummed.
Casual Mode, woohoo! The only thing I have against the Donkey Kong Country games is how frustratingly difficult they are (while Cranky Kong in "Tropical Freeze" sounds like he makes the game too easy). Add to future Wishlist...
This sounds too much of a rip off for me to be bothered with.
@Kirgo exactly. The sprites and graphics are great on a technical level, but on a design level they look like every other generic platform game. Grass level, ice level, etc.. It reminds me of that old game Superfrog, another blandly designed game. Look at the first underwater screenshot in the review to prove my point.
Reads more like a reminiscence of DKC than a review of Kaze. Well, I do like DKC and loved Impossible Lair, so I may give this a shot anyway.
@AllieKitsune was thinking the exact same thing, now his (awesome) theme is stuck in my head.
@SpeedRunRocks from the most dangerous man to walk God's green earth.
Holy crap this has a physical edition. Sign me up!
It doesnt't look interesting like DKC 1, 2 and 3 though. And is the music as good? I've come to the conclusion that the music is the primary reason why loved DKC and why I keep returning, and the levels and maps are enticing to walk through as well. Freeze had really irritating sounds that break the spell of the world you are in, which is why I abandoned it. It also lacked interesting graphics and maps. There is just sense of personality lacking in Freeze, and from my first impression it is also lacking in this game.
@Mortenb I was never really a fan of Retro's DKC games either, they were definitely better made than this for obvious reasons but they also lacked that feel that the Rare games had. Totally with you on the music, it's gotta be the main reason I like to revisit those classic games as well, gives it sort of a relaxing vibe for a platformer. They also did a great job with coming up with some unique level designs, something that seems to be lacking here.
What a nice surprise!
Cute, and good too!
@SpeedRunRocks SUZUKIGUN ICHIBAAAAAN!
@SmaggTheSmug @LXP8 @eatdogs Thank you for mentioning Klonoa! That really should be the first comparison in terms of the character, so I'm guessing the writer of this review has not played Klonoa... Just looking at just the box art, many things stand out as Klonoa inspired: Long ears, ring, spirit companion, name font, and even the name itself shows a straight homage to "Kaze no Kuronoa" aka "Klonoa of the Wind" - it's not even subtle Granted, the comparison probably ends in the character itself, while the gameplay likely is more comparable to DKC as mentioned. Still, the Klonoa origin is very much there!
How is the music in the game though? I didn't see any mention of it in the article and the music of Donkey Kong Country is half the enjoyment for me.
Better than the Impossible Lair? Let's not get too wild
No demo is there? Interested.
Purchased. Looks graphicly pleasing.
@Ghost_of_Hasashi good point. Lol
@caiozf I agree, pre-ordered my physical copy from Amazon, get on 5/27 and I cannot wait.
@TekSone Already has shipped, i am waiting to arrive
@caiozf Nice, hope you enjoy!
Kaze is currently on sale in the US eShop for $9.99 until 12/4/22.
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