Tidbits from Retro, Kensuke Tanabe about Donkey Kong Country Returns
Retro Studios’ Bryan Walker on Miyamoto’s initial involvement…
“He was very clear from the get-go about his expectations for the ground-pound. It wasn’t just BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM. It had to be [slapping his knee rapidly] buh-BAM, buh-BAM, buh-BAM! He was extremely emphatic about our direction, that we’re making a better DKC.”
Kensuke Tanabe on including family characters…
“There was a direction from Mr. Miyamoto as to what to up point in the series’ legacy to draw from, but I think it will be the most fun for people to play it themselves and see who pops up along the way. I know people certainly have enjoyed them in the past so we are definitely considering those elements of gameplay. But you’ll have to excuse me for keeping this secret for a little while longer.”
Tanabe/Walker on water levels…
Tanabe: “There are no underwater stages this time around.”
Walker: “[The water levels] felt slow… It just wasn’t the kind of gameplay we were looking for.”
Tanabe on a possible King K.Roo return…
“There will be no alligators in this game.
Retro president Michael Kelbaugh on changing from Metroid Prime to Donkey Kong Country…
“Initially we were thinking storyline, storyline. We would constantly re-focus the designers and say, ‘Hey, this isn’t Metroid Prime. This isn’t a long, detailed lore-based historical story.’ This is as simple as ‘Somebody is stealing bananas and I have to get them back.’ We shifted gears from making a very gritty, sci-fi edgy type of environment to such a whimsical character. We constantly have to revisit [questions like] ‘Why would Donkey Kong do this?’ or ‘Why would this environment be like this?’ And then we start thinking: ‘We’re making a game about a gorilla wearing a tie.'”
