Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze

Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze is a side-scrolling 2.5 platformer video game released for the Wii U. It is the direct sequel to Donkey Kong Country Returns for the Wii. Retaining the same overall gameplay to the previous game, Dixie Kong and Cranky Kong also appear as playable characters, similar to Diddy Kong's role in Donkey Kong Country Returns, while the main antagonists, the Snowmads, are based on stereotypical Vikings, and appear as animals such as penguins, walruses, and owls.
During the game, Donkey Kong and his family are flung away from their home of Donkey Kong Island by the evil Snowmads who proceed to conquer the island as their own. During the adventure, the Kongs must progress through five different Islands under Snowmad control in order to make their way back to their home of Donkey Kong Island and end the Snowmads' reign of terror.
A port of this game for the Nintendo Switch also called Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze was released on May 2018.
==Development==
Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze was announced at Nintendo Direct on June 13, 2013 during E3, where it was being produced by Kensuke Tanabe. He will also be providing the soundtrack for this game as he did for a previous Donkey Kong-related game Diddy Kong Racing. The game was originally slated to be released on November 29, 2013 but was later delayed to December 6, 2013 and finally to February 2014. It can be purchased at retail stores, or digitally from the Nintendo eShop, with the digital version requiring 11.3 GB of memory to be installed.
==Plot==
===Summary===
The Kongs are celebrating Donkey Kong's birthday, but their celebration gets interrupted when Donkey Kong Island is attacked and conquered by the Snowmad's. After being blown away by a harsh icy wind, the Kongs traverse a series of islands and make their way back to their home.
===Opening===
It is Donkey Kong's birthday and the Kongs are celebrating his birthday with many gifts and a banana cake. Suddenly, one of the balloons flies off the Kong house and over the sea, where a fleet of Snowmad ships are stationed. Far away from the island, a Pointy Tuck watches over them, locating the Kong House and relaying info to their mysterious leader, shrouded in a dark silhouette. Upon the leader nodding their approval, the Pointy Tucks bring him a horn which he blows, creating a large amount of wind, as well as an Ice Dragon.
Meanwhile, the Kongs are still celebrating DK's party and just as Donkey Kong is about to blow out his candle, it is blown out by a gust of wind and a and a snowflake blows in and lands on the tip of the candle. DK immediately turns his head outside as he hears the noise coming from the shore. Donkey Kong, Diddy Kong, Dixie Kong, and Cranky Kong all exit their home, they see the Ice Dragon flying directly towards the island creating a massive windstorm too strong for the Kongs to handle, they are immediately blown far far away. The Snowmads then station their Ships around the new Island and the Snowmad Leader's ship flies to the Island's volcano stationing itself there and the Ice Dragon flies around the Island freezing it over and thus the Snowmads have seized full control of Donkey Kong Island.
===Lost Mangroves===
The Kongs all land at different parts of Lost Mangroves, an Island under Snowmad control far away from Donkey Kong Island (which can be seen very far in the distance). Donkey Kong lands in a crashed plane on a tree. Upon landing, DK proceeds to smash his way out of the plane before starting his adventure, DK presses on ahead battling various foes such as savage creatures that live there as well as some Snowmad troops. Donkey Kong eventually discovers Diddy Kong and the two of them continue along the path ahead. They eventually reach a lake where they discover Dixie Kong who also joins them. After making it past some more dangerous fauna, the Kongs reach some canopies filled with thorns, this is where they find Cranky Kong. With all four Kongs reunited, they press on and after making it past a Mine Cart track and some more obstacles, the eventually reach the tent where the Snowmads reign from and come face to face with the Snowmad leader ruling over the Lost Mangroves Island, Pompy the Presumptuous, a large seal wearing a Viking helmet. Several Snowmad troops push the Kongs into the halfpipe arena forcing them to do battle with the giant seal. The Kongs then proceed to stomp Pompy every time he makes a slide towards them, after a battle, the Kongs beat Pompy freeing the Lost Mangroves Island from Snowmad control. After this, the Kongs advanced to the next Island.
===Autumn Heights===
The Kongs then made it to Autumn Heights. An Island with many hills and pine trees, it also has many windmills and other large houses. Unfortunately, this Island too was under Snowmad control, this time, many Hootzes were patrolling the tracks of the Island. The Kongs continued through the Island making their way through many obstacles including various Windmills, traversing leaves being blown amidst the wind, a metal factory, a large cave filled with Cheesy Chesters, and a massive Wing Ding. The Kongs eventually reach the giant Owl Statue atop the tallest Mountain on the Island which is where the Snowmad Leader set his residence. This Snowmad leader was none other than the Hootz head himself, Skowl the Startling. Skowl and the other Hootzes were seen smashing a Banana much to the Kongs' anger. They engaged the colossal Owl in battle. Skowl attacked by launching his feathers and dropping eggs down at the Kongs, the Kongs had to grab the Baby Hootzes and toss them at their leader. After three hits, Skowl would continuously flee higher up the tower until finally, the Kongs cornered him and defeated him bringing his reign over Autumn Heights to an end freeing the Island from Snwomad control. The Kongs then proceeded to move on to the next Island.
===Bright Savannah===
The Kongs then reach another Island under Snowmad control, the African wilds of Bright Savannah. While there are a touch less Snowmads on this Island, there are still several patrolling the area. The Kongs make their way through various obstacles such as some bobbing Giraffe/Zebra Statues, a wild track, after this, the Kongs are hit with several major obstacles such as entering a tornado field with extreme wind chaos, enduring a raging wildfire, traversing a large lake, and more. The Kongs eventually reach the Island's Snowmad lair where they find a Banana Bunch. Just as their about to grab it however, a taunting Baboon in blue grabs the Bananas first and then spins himself revealing his two brothers (clad in red and teal respectively). The three Baboons (named Ba-Boom the Boisterous together) all laugh at the Kongs whilst taunting them. This angers the Kongs enough to engage the Baboons in battle. The Baboons attack the Kongs using the same basic moves as them along with some new ones too. The Kongs attack the Baboons and eventually best them. After two of the Baboons are defeated, the remaning one calls in the spirits of the fallen Baboons, despite these new cohorts, the Kongs still manage to defeat the remaining Baboon thus ending Ba-Boom the Boisterous and freeing the Bright Savannah Island from Snowmad control. Onto the next Island.
===Sea Breeze Cove===
The next Island the Kongs made it to was Sea Breeze Cove. An Island consisting mostly of beaches and underwater corals, this island too was under Snowmad control. Fittingly, most of the Snowmad troops patrolling this Island were apart of the underwater division. The Kongs made their first plunge underwater making their way through several old structures beneath the island swimming past several unfriendly sea creatures such as Finleys, Fritzes, and Mama Saws. The Kongs then progressed through the deep underwater caves battling their way past more sea foes and even having another encounter with Squiddicus from their previous adventure. After making their way through the currents, a stormy beach, and unlocking their way through more ancient underwater ruins, the Kongs finally reached the next Snowmad lair. In an underwater cave, the Kongs met a small Pufferfish. After the Kongs made fun of his size, the Pufferfish (who actually turned out to be the Snowmad leader ruling over the Island) got extremely irate and inflated himself to a horrifyingly large size, Fugu the Frightening was ready for battle. Of course, being underwater, Fugu had more of an advantage and being composed of spikes, the Kongs had to attack his weak spot which was his soft backside. In battle, Fugu would attack by inhaling or exhaling air to increase or decrease his size respectively whist also tossing projectiles at the Kongs. The Kongs had to dodge his attacks which got more devastating as the battle progressed. After scoring enough hits on the colossal Puffer Fish, the Kongs managed to defeat Fugu and knock him far away from the Island thus freeing Sea Breeze Cove from Snowmad control. The Kongs then moved along to the next Island, they were getting pretty close to their home at this point.
===Juicy Jungle===
The next Island was the Juicy Jungle, also under Snowmad control, this Island is the closest to Donkey Kong Island. The Kongs wasted no time traversing the island making it through some fruits and other greenery as well as traversing a Fruit Factory. After this, the Kongs swam through a lake of punch, bounced across some jams and jellies, survived a Beehive, before making it to the Frozen Foods section. The Kongs survived a gauntlet of falling Icy Poles and more whilst battling some Snowmad Underlings patrolling the Island. The Kongs eventually reached a massive funnel slide and went down it. Upon reaching the slide's bottom, they landed on a ice chunk platform thus knocking a Polar Bear's icy pole into the punch to be eaten by the Punch Piranhas in the lake. The Polar Bear (who turned out to be the Snowmad Leader ruling over the Island, Bashmaster the Unbreakable) was extremely furious at the Kongs for knocking his snack into the punch and reached out for his spiked mallet ready for battle. The Kongs managed to dodge Bashmaster's attacks and stomp his head. Each time the Kongs attacked, Bashmaster got even more angry and his attacks got more aggressive and unpredictable. After a long battle, the Kongs managed to finish off Bashmaster thus freeing the Juicy Jungle from Snowmad control. From there, the Kongs made their way back to their home Island.
===Donkey Kong Island===
After a long journey, the Kongs had finally made it back to Donkey Kong Island but their adventure wasn't over yet. The Island was still frozen over and the Kongs still had to save their homeland from Snowmad control. The Kongs battled their way through several Snowmad troops patrolling the areas and traversed the mainlands of the Island, (just as they did in their previous adventure when battling the Tiki Tak Tribe) the Jungle, the Beach, the Ruins, the Cave, the Forest, the Cliff, and the Factory, they also traversed two secret areas before finally reaching the Volcano. After escaping the fiery lava caverns, the Kongs finally made it to the central chamber of the Volcano where the leader of the Snowmad army had his throne stationed. The Kongs then saw their leader and what he had done to their island and jumped down to confront Lord Fredrick the Snowmad King. Lord Fredrick engaged the Kongs in battle on a platform above the lava. The Kongs battled the tyrannical Snowmad King in a fateful duel. Lord Fredrick put up a good fight but the Kongs emerged victorious in the end knocking Lord Fredrick who is sent flying out from the roof of the Snowmads' ship, destroying it. The Kongs THEN go out of the ship remains and look to see Lord Fredrik crashing into the remainder of the Snowmad ships out at sea. With the defeat of the Snowmads, Donkey Kong catches Lord Fredrik's horn and blows into it thus releasing a breeze of flowers which carry the Kongs' back to their home at the Island's Jungle thus melting all the snow and ice which had previously engulfed the island thus restoring the Island to it's former tropical glory.
After celebrating their victory, the Kongs discover a present on their lawn and upon opening it, they find a Small Relic which served as their seventh and final key to unlocking the way to a mystical island amidst the sea. The Kongs had previous grabbed six similar relics from the Key Temples on the other Islands they traversed.
===Secret Seclusion===
After obtaining all 7 Relics, the Kongs travel to the hidden island amidst the ocean, the Secret Seclusion. This Island contains challenges much tougher than anything they've experienced thus far in the adventure. The Kongs needed to make their way across various moving/falling platforms, maneuvering across the rails in Mine Carts and Rocket Barrels, as well as navigating across some more platforms and wind gusts. After the Kongs survived the Secret Seclusion, the monkey statue connects the two halves of the relic, and Hard Mode is unlocked.
==Gameplay==
The gameplay of the title is very similar to that of its predecessor, Donkey Kong Country Returns as well as it's 3D port Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D, but features more playable characters, including Dixie Kong who can use her ponytail to go up in midair and glide, and Cranky Kong who can use his cane to destroy some obstacles, such as Spikes. The game also presents ice and underwater levels, which were absent in Donkey Kong Country Returns. The Kong's ability to swim has been restored, though it is much altered from the Mario-styled swimming controls present in the original trilogy. The Kongs are now given limited air while underwater, requiring them to seek out air bubbles to survive. The Kongs retain most of their abilities from the previous game such as the ability to Roll, Jump, Roll Jump, Cling to grass and vines, preform Ground Pounds, as well as using Diddy Kong's Peanut Popgun (or Dixie Kong's Gumball Popgun) to defeat or stun enemies however unlike Donkey Kong Country Returns, the Kongs can no longer Blow (a move that use used to reveal hidden objects and put out fiery enemies) but the Kongs have been granted a new ability to make up for it which involves them being able to Pluck objects from the ground to reveal hidden items or open the path forward.
For the first time in the series, the camera angle can change dynamically in some levels where Rocket Barrels or Minecarts are found, showing more areas and perspectives of the scenery. A new feature in this game is the Kong POW attack, which turns all enemies on-screen into items (Extra Life Balloons for Diddy Kong, Yellow Hearts for Dixie Kong, and Banana Coins for Cranky Kong). This move can only be performed when 100 bananas have been collected, and when there is another character on Donkey Kong's back.
When the player has completed every level in the game, an additional game mode, Hard Mode, is unlocked. In Hard Mode, the player can use Donkey Kong or any of Donkey Kong's partners, but they will only get one heart, and can't use any items. Also, checkpoints are removed, and only one player can play.
==Characters==
===Playable Characters===
*Donkey Kong
*Diddy Kong
*Dixie Kong
*Cranky Kong
===Supporting Characters===
*Funky Kong
*Professor Chops
*Tutorial Pigs
*Rambi the Rhinoceros
*Squawks the Parrot
===Other Characters===
*Giant Catfish
*Snippys
*Mugly
*Sklitters
*Giant Squeekly
==Enemies==
===Snowmads===
*Tucks
**Archies
**Big Sphens
**Boom Birds
**Fire Archies
**Painguin Tucks
**Papa Painguins
**Pointy Tucks
**Soaries
**Speedy Tucks
**Tenacious Tucks
**Trench Tucks
**Tuff Tucks
*Fluffs
**Hareys
**Harolds
**Tuff Fluffs
*Hootz
**Blue Hootz
**Hot Hootz
**Baby Hootz
**Pufftons
**Tufftons
*Waldoughs
**Chum Chucker Charlies
**Fish Poker Pops
**Walbricks
**Walnuts
*Lemmingtons
*Ice Dragons
*Snowmad Vehicle
===Lost Mangroves Enemies===
*Dozies
*Large Mimics
*Mimics
*Monocle Monicas
*Punchy Paddies
*Sour Dodos
*Thug Slugs
*Venus Trap Platforms
*Wild Wendells
===Autumn Heights Enemies===
*Cheesy Chesters
*Schnautzels
===Bright Savannah Enemies===
*Buffaloafers
*Chompettes
*Flaming Screaming Pillars
*Giant Spiked Nuts
*Hanging TNTs
*Porcupals
*Screaming Pillars
*Spiked Nuts
*Swooper Doopers
*Tornados
===Sea Breeze Cove Enemies===
*Electrified Anemones
*Fritz
*Green Fish
*Jellyfish
*Mama Saws
*Proximity Mines
*Pufftups
*Sea Urchins
*Sting Tentacles
*Squiddicus
===Juicy Jungle Enemies===
*Bouncelisks
*Buckies
*Buzzies
*Chompasauruses
*Punch Piranhas
*Toucan'ts
===Donkey Kong Island Enemies===
*Electroids
*Snowballs
*Snowflakes
===Underwater Enemies===
*Blue Finleys
*Gordos
*Horror Gills
*Green Finleys
*Red Finleys
*Snaggles
*Super Snaggles
===Bosses===
*Pompy, the Presumptuous (Lost Mangroves)
*Skowl, the Startling (Autumn Heights)
*Ba-Boom, the Boisterous (Bright Savannah)
*Fugu, the Frightening (Sea Breeze Cove)
*Bashmaster, the Unbreakable (Juicy Jungle)
*Lord Fredrik, the Snowmad King (Donkey Kong Island)
==Levels==
The game has seven total islands, consisting of six "main" islands and one secret island (Secret Seclusion), which serve as the game's worlds. Though the course of each world, the Kongs can visit Funky's Fly 'n' Buy item shop, where Funky Kong sells life balloons and other balloons, portable partner barrels, banana juice, hearts, crash guards, and figurines of characters in the game that a player can get at random through a capsule toy machine.
===Lost Mangroves===
*1-1: Mangrove Cove 
*1-2: Shipwreck Shore
*1-3: Canopy Chaos
*1-4: Trunk Twister
*1-Boss: Big Top Bop
*1-A: Zip-Line Shrine
*1-B: Busted Bayou
*1-K: Swinger Flinger
;Autumn Heights
*2-1: Windmill Hills
*2-2: Mountain Mania
*2-3: Horn Top Hop
*2-4: Sawmill Thrill
*2-5: Alpine Incline
*2-6: Wing Ding
*2-Boss: Mountaintop Tussle
*2-A: Crumble Cavern
*2-B: Rodent Ruckus
*2-K: Bopopolis 
;Bright Savannah
*3-1: Grassland Groove
*3-2: Baobab Bonanza
*3-3: Frantic Fields 
*3-4: Scorch 'N' Torch
*3-5: Twilight Terror 
*3-6: Cannon Canyon 
*3-Boss: Triple Trouble 
*3-A: Rickety Rafters
*3-B: Bramble Scramble
*3-K: Precarious Pendulums 
;Sea Breeze Cove
*4-1: Deep Keep
*4-2: High Tide Ride
*4-3: Amiss Abyss
*4-4: Irate Eight
*4-5: Sea Stack Attack
*4-6: Current Capers
*4-Boss: Fugu Face-Off 
*4-A: Rockin' Relics
*4-B: Shoal Atoll
*4-K: Spinning Spines 
;Juicy Jungle
*5-1: Harvest Hazards
*5-2: Reckless Ride
*5-3: Fruity Factory
*5-4: Panicky Paddles
*5-5: Jelly Jamboree 
*5-6: Frosty Fruits
*5-Boss: Punch Bowl 
*5-A: Beehive Brawl
*5-B: Jammin' Jams
*5-K: Platform Problems 
;Donkey Kong Island
*6-1: Homecoming Hijinks 
*6-2: Seashore War 
*6-3: Aqueduct Assault 
*6-4: Blurry Flurry 
*6-5: Forest Folly 
*6-6: Cliffside Slide 
*6-7: Frozen Frenzy 
*6-8: Meltdown Mayhem 
*6-Boss: Volcano Dome 
*6-A: Dynamite Dash
*6-B: Icicle Arsenal
*6-K: Slippy Spikes 
;Secret Seclusion
*7-1: Levitation Station
*7-2: Rocket Rails
*7-3: Crazy Clouds
==Items and Objects==
===Collectible Items===
*Banana
*Banana Bunch
*10-Banana Bunch
*Banana Coin
*Heart
*Extra-Life Balloon
*K-O-N-G Letter
*Puzzle Piece
*Air Bubble
*Slot Machine Barrel
*Mysterious Relic
===Projectiles and Assistance===
*Barrel
*DK Barrel
*DD Barrel
*DX Barrel
*CK Barrel
*Watermelon Fuse Bomb
*Water Sack
===Vehicles===
*Mine Cart
*Rocket Barrel
===Other Items and Objects===
*Barrel Cannon
*Skull Barrel Cannon
*Blast Barrel Cannon
*Auto-Skull Barrel Cannon
*Bell
*Burlap Hanging Sack
*Climbing Grass
*Collapsible Underwater Seaweed
*Flying Banana
*Item Container
*Item Handle
*Jelly Block
*Portal
*Purple Flower Platform
*Rambi Crate
*Spinning Platform
*Snowflake Shield
*Spring Platform
*Vine
*Vine-Triggered Platform
*Zip-Line Vine
== Reception ==
Like its predecessor, Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze received "generally favorable reviews" from critics."Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on November 12, 2020. Retrieved February 18, 2014.
Destructoid gave the game a perfect 10 out of 10.Carter, Chris (February 17, 2014). "Review: Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze". Destructoid. Archived from the original on November 12, 2020. Retrieved April 17, 2018. GamesRadar gave the game 4 out of 5 stars, praising its presentation and challenge whilst criticising the co-operative multiplayer.Sullivan, Lucas (February 17, 2014). "Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze Review". GamesRadar. Future. Archived from the original on March 4, 2020. Retrieved April 17, 2018. Game Informer gave it a 9.25 out of 10 for the levels, gameplay and graphics, while also noting the game having a fewer levels than Returns.Vore, Bryan (February 17, 2014). "Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze". Game Informer. GameStop. Archived from the original on January 30, 2021. Retrieved March 2, 2014. GameTrailers gave the game a 9.1 out of 10, praising enhancements made to the gameplay, and the "stellar" soundtrack.Damiani, Michael (February 17, 2014). "Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze - Review". GameTrailers. Defy Media. Archived from the original on November 5, 2015. IGN gave the game 9 out of 10 for the game's challenge, level design, and boss battles.Otero, Jose (February 17, 2014). "Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze Review". IGN. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on January 11, 2020. Retrieved February 17, 2014. Gamnesia's Colin McIsaac chose Tropical Freeze as a Game of the Year, calling it "a masterpiece of mechanics and level design" and citing the level Grassland Groove as the best platforming level of the game.McIsaac, Colin (January 19, 2015). "Gamnesia's Games of the Year". Gamnesia. Archived from the original on January 22, 2015. Retrieved January 19, 2015.
GameSpot, however, gave the game 6 out of 10, saying that interesting boss battles and vehicle segments did not make up for "clunky, repetitive level design" and poor implementation of new mechanics.Walton, Mark (February 17, 2014). "Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze Review". GameSpot. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on November 12, 2020. Retrieved April 17, 2018. GamesTM, who gave it a 7 out of 10, found the game to be as difficult as its predecessors, citing the enemy and obstacle placements, and the difficulty of boss battles."Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze Review". GamesTM. February 17, 2014. Archived from the original on October 22, 2018. Retrieved April 17, 2018.
Aggregate score 	Aggregate score
Metacritic 	83/100
Review scores 	Review scores
4Players 	90/100"Test: Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze (Plattformer)". 4Players.de. 18 February 2014. Archived from the original on February 21, 2020. Retrieved August 7, 2020.
Destructoid 	10/10
Edge 	7/10"DKCTF for Wii U review". Edge. Archived from the original on October 24, 2014. Retrieved February 17, 2014.
Electronic Gaming Monthly 	9.5/10"Donkey Kong Country Tropical Freeze review". Archived from the original on March 3, 2014. Retrieved February 17, 2014.
Eurogamer 	7/10"Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze review". Eurogamer. 17 February 2014. Archived from the original on 2020-11-11. Retrieved August 7, 2020.
Famitsu 	35/40"Famitsu Review Scores: Issue 1313". Gematsu. 4 February 2014. Archived from the original on 18 December 2019. Retrieved August 7, 2020.
Game Informer 	9.25/10
GameRevolution 	4.5/5"Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze Review". Game Revolution. 17 February 2014. Archived from the original on June 7, 2020. Retrieved August 7, 2020.
GameSpot 	6/10
GamesRadar+ 	4/5 stars
GamesTM 	7/10
GameTrailers 	9.1/10
Hyper 	70/100"Mario Kart 8". Hyper. No. 247. Future Publishing. May 2014. p. 68.
IGN 	9/10
Joystiq 	4/5 starsKietzmann, Ludwig (February 17, 2014). "Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze Review: Money in the Banana Land". Engadget. AOL. Archived from the original on October 29, 2018. Retrieved August 26, 2017.
Nintendo Life 	9/10 starsWhitehead, Thomas (February 17, 2014). "Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze Review". Nintendo Life. Gamer Network. Archived from the original on November 30, 2020. Retrieved May 5, 2018.
Nintendo World Report 	9.5/10"Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze Review". Nintendo World Report. Archived from the original on August 25, 2020. Retrieved August 7, 2020.
Official Nintendo Magazine	86%"Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze review". Official Nintendo Magazine UK. Archived from the original on July 15, 2014. Retrieved August 7, 2020.
Polygon 	8.5/10Riendeau, Danielle (February 17, 2014). "Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze Review: Summer Boy". Polygon. Vox Media. Archived from the original on January 31, 2021. Retrieved April 17, 2018.
Shacknews 	6/10"Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze review: losing a-peel". Shacknews. 17 February 2014. Archived from the original on August 25, 2020. Retrieved August 7, 2020.
The Guardian 	4/5 stars"Donkey Kong Country Tropical Freeze – review". The Guardian. 17 February 2014. Archived from the original on 18 June 2020. Retrieved August 7, 2020.
USgamer 	4.5/5 stars"DKCTF Review". 17 February 2014. Archived from the original on 17 November 2020. Retrieved February 25, 2014.
VentureBeat 	70/100"Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze isn't the game the Wii U needs right now (review)". VentureBeat. 17 February 2014. Archived from the original on 27 October 2020. Retrieved August 7, 2020.
VideoGamer.com 	8/10"Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze Review". VideoGamer. Archived from the original on February 18, 2021. Retrieved August 7, 2020.
=== Sales ===
Donkey Kong: Tropical Freeze sold over 70,000 copies during its first month of release in Japan.Romano, Sal (2014-03-19). "Media Create Sales: 3/10/14 – 3/16/14". Gematsu. Archived from the original on 2015-04-21. During its first eight days of release in the United States, the game sold an estimated 130,000 units."Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze sales reach 130K in eight days | Joystiq". 2014-03-14. Archived from the original on 2014-03-14. Retrieved 2018-10-31. This game, along with its predecessor, were added to the Nintendo Selects label in March 2016, in North America."Nintendo of America Officially Announces New Nintendo Select Titles". February 29, 2016. Archived from the original on October 25, 2020. Retrieved March 13, 2016. According to the 2021 CESA Games White Papers, it went on to sell 2.02 million units on the Wii U, as of December 2020.2021CESAゲーム白書 (2021 CESA Games White Papers). Computer Entertainment Supplier's Association. 2021. ISBN 978-4-902346-43-5.
==Trivia==
*This game shares several similarities to New Super Mario Bros. U (also released for the Wii U).
**Both games start off with the game's main protagonists celebrating a birthday (Princess Peach's Birthday for New Super Mario Bros. U and Donkey Kong's Birthday for Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze).
**Both games involve the main villains invading the heroes' homeland to take over (Bowser, Bowser Jr., and the Koopalings invade Peach's Castle in New Super Mario Bros. U and the Snowmads invade Donkey Kong Island in Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze).
**Both games involve the main heroes being flung far away (by the Bowser's Claw in New Super Mario Bros. U and by the Ice Dragon's windstorm in Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze) from their home and landing in a faraway land (Acorn Plains for New Super Mario Bros. U and Lost Mangroves for Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze).
**Both games involve the heroes having to traverse through several different worlds in order to make their way back to their homeland to stop the villains.
**The villains of the respective games both takeover the heroes home by engulfing it in a misty cloud (Peach's Castle in New Super Mario Bros. U becomes a volcanic castle while Donkey Kong Island becomes a frozen wasteland).
**The heroes battle high-ranking minions of the games' main villain at the end of each World.
**Once the heroes finally reach back home, the adventure continues to bring down the villain which took over (Bowser and Bowser Jr. for New Super Mario Bros. U and Lord Fredrick for Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze).
**After the defeat of the games' villains, the heroes' homeland is returned to it's former glory in some way (Kamek's magic wearing off in New Super Mario Bros. U and The Kongs using Lord Fredrick's horn to unfreeze the island for Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze) however the levels still appear in their affected state when replayed.
**The heroes gain access to a bonus world after defeating the villain (Superstar Road for New Super Mario Bros. U and Secret Seclusion for Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze) which can be accessed by obtaining certain collectibles (Star Coins for New Super Mario Bros. U and Mysterious Relics for Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze).
**Both games are heavily similar in terms of gameplay to their predecessors on the Wii (New Super Mario Bros. Wii and Donkey Kong Country Returns respectively) and both predecessors received ports or similar games on the Nintendo 3DS (New Super Mario Bros. 2 and Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D) months before the respective Wii U games released.
**Both games also received a port on the Nintendo Switch, New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe and Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze (Nintendo Switch) respectively.
*This game marks the first time Cranky Kong as a playable character in a Donkey Kong game.
*Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze is a pun of "tropical breeze".
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Category:Games in Donkey Kong franchise
Category:Donkey Kong Country series
Category:Wii U games
Category:2014 games
Category:2010s games