Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze allows for local cooperative play, but the game doesn’t offer an online option. Speaking with GameSpot, Retro Studios CEO Michael Kelbaugh said the team did not wish to “shoehorn” the functionality in.
He said:
“If we’re going to create an online component for Donkey Kong, we really need to do it right and not shoehorn in, ‘Oh, let’s play Dixie remotely.’ That just wasn’t an objective for Tropical Freeze. So if we were really go back and create an online environment, I think we owe it to the fans to do it better than just making online co-op. We really need to put some thought and resources into doing it the right way.
“If we were to make a full online experience, I’d want to spend time to do it and make sure that we stay true to the franchise and incorporate this new feature in the right way. And I’m not sure that this game is the right way to start Donkey Kong Country Online [laughs]. I’m really a purist at heart, especially when it comes to Donkey Kong Country, and I’d want to approach it the right way.”
Along with today’s screenshot, Sakurai passed along the following message on Miiverse:
The Bumper is back with a detailed new design. This also means there will be no Flippers.
This week’s Famitsu review scores are as follows:
Dark Souls II (PS3/360) – 9/10/9/9
Kumamon Bomber: Puzzle de Kumamon Gymnastics (3DS) – 7/7/7/7
This week’s European Nintendo Downloads are as follows:
Wii U Retail Download
– Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures (Namco Bandai, €44.99 / £36.99)
Wii U Virtual Console
– Renegade (Arc System Works, €4.99 / £3.49)
“Luigi” Special Offers
– New Super Luigi U (Nintendo, €14.99 / £13.49 until 13th March, normally €19.99 / £17.99)
– Super Mario Bros. (Nintendo, €2.49 / £1.74 until 13th March, normally €4.99 / £3.49)
– Mario & Luigi: Dream Team Bros. (Nintendo, €31.99 / £27.99 until 13th March, normally €39.99 / £34.99)
– Super Mario Bros. (Nintendo, €2.49 / £1.74 until 13th March, normally €4.99 / £4.49)
3DS Downloads
– Tappingo (Goodbye Galaxy Games, $2.99)
– Vacation Adventures: Park Ranger (Microvalue, €4.99 / £4.49)
3DS Retail Download
– Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures (Namco Bandai, €34.99 / £28.49)
– Life With Horses 3D (Treva Entertainment, €29.99 / £24.99)
3DS eShop Temporary Discount
– The Denpa Men 2: Beyond the Waves (Genius Sonority, €6.99 / £6.29 until 13th March, normally €9.99 / £8.99)
– Football Up 3D (EnjoyUp Games, €3.49 / £2.99 until 3rd April, normally €6.99 / £5.99)
– SpeedX 3D (Gamelion, €2.10 / £1.89 until 1st May, normally €2.99 / £2.69)
– Monster Shooter (Gamelion, €2.10 / £1.99 until 3rd April, normally €6.99 / £6.29)
– 3D Game Collection (Joindots, €5.99 / £5.99 until 27th March, normally €13.99 / £11.99)
– Funfair Party Games (Joindots, €6.99 / £6.99 until 27th March, normally €19.99 / £17.99)
– Gardenscapes (Joindots, €5.99 / £5.99) until 27th March, normally €14.99 / £14.99)
– 3D Mahjongg (Joindots, €3.99 / £3.29 until 27th March, normally €4.99 / £4.49)
– Jewel Match 3 (Joindots, €5.99 / £4.99 until 27th March, normally €6.99 / £5.99)
– Murder on the Titanic (Joindots, €5.99 / £4.99 until 27th March, normally €14.99 / £14.99)
– Secret Agent Files: Miami (Joindots, €6.99 / £5.79 until 27th March, normally €7.99 / £6.99)
3DS eShop Permanent Discounts
– Harvest Moon 3D: The Tale of Two Towns (Rising Star Games, €19.99 / £17.99, was €29.99 / £24.99)
– Beyblade: Evolution (Rising Star Games, €19.99 / £19.99, was €29.99 / £29.99)
– Girls’ Fashion Shoot (Rising Star Games, €19.99 / £19.99, was €29.99 / £29.99)
– Crazy Kangaroo (Gamelion, €1.99 / £1.89, was €2.99 / £2.69)
DSiWare
– Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords (1st Playable Productions, 800 Nintendo Points)
The full North American Yoshi’s New Island website is now live here. We’ve rounded up footage from the site above.
Indie developer Casual Bit Games is now a Wii U developer, and intends to support the eShop with at least two titles.
#InsantysBlade soon to be released on the #WiiU! We are now a Nintendo approved developer! pic.twitter.com/6sZbxUGhyh
— Causal Bit Games (@CausalBitGames) March 3, 2014
First up is Insanity’s Blade. The game offers action, platforming, and RPG elements with an 8-bit style. A total of 18 stages are included which has players scaling buildings and caves.
Casual Bit Games’ Chris Obritsch tells Nintendo Enthusiast that a second Wii U title is also planned. This will be “A two player co-op with split screen bubble bobble/snow brothers style game with 100 stages. 10 of which are completed with a boss fight already.”
At the American International Toy Fair held last month, USAopoly announced – among quite a number of other products – Monopoly: The Legend of Zelda and Monopoly: Pokemon. Both are due out this September for $45. Most details are being kept in the dark for now, though the version will carry the Kanto region theme.
Additionally, USAopology will be bringing out Connect 4: Super Mario this spring. Below is an official description of that product:
Power up with Super Mario Connect 4! Mario and Luigi go head to head when players race to drop their custom checkers in the grid to try and make a line upwards, sideways or diagonal. With three ways to play, this Super Mario version of the classic Connect 4 game will provide a fun tabletop game experience for Mario fans. For ages 6+. MSRP: $24.95 Available Spring 2014.
Moon Chronicles could eventually make its way to the Wii U, depending on how successful the 3DS version is.
Renegade Kid co-founder Jools Watsham told NintendoWorldReport that the studio has considered the shooter for Nintendo’s hardware, but it “would only happen if the 3DS version is a runaway hit”. The company would need to be able to “afford to invest in a complete visual upgrade to take advantage of the increased graphical power offered by the Wii U.”
Watsham’s comments in full:
Our thoughts have always been primarily on the 3DS version, but we have discussed a Wii U version. That is something that would only happen if the 3DS version is a runaway hit so we could afford to invest in a complete visual upgrade to take advantage of the increased graphical power offered by the Wii U.
