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Donkey Kong 64HD Should Happen

Dio

~ It's me, Dio!~
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England
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Absolute unit
DK64 was one of my favourite N64 games, unfortunately there was never another DK game released that was like it, they have all been 2D platformers since then.
I think it would be great to have a DK64 HD on Wii U or even another 3D DK adventure.
What do you think? Did you enjoy DK64 and want to play it again on Wii U, or would you prefer to see a brand new sequel? Or both? Or do you hate Donkey Kong?
 

Hanyou

didn't build that
Perhaps they should rerelease it for the people who want to re-play it, so a Virtual Console release would do nicely. But a remake would probably not be lucrative (in spite of some recent praise, I remember it being negatively received when it came out--no one in my circle of friends liked it, either) and it would probably reiterate the wrong design principles.

I believe DK64 showcased everything that could possibly go wrong with a 3D platformer. It was more overloaded with characters than most Sonic games, most of the gameplay was unnecessarily repetitive, and it was less about platforming than about snatching up arbitrarily locked-off collectibles via minigames and frustrating obstacles. Like its spiritual relative, Mario Sunshine, DK64 came off as an exercise in tedium to me.

Banjo-Kazooie and Super Mario 64 it was not. By comparison, both of those games were breezy and well-designed, with environmental puzzles generally incorporated seamlessly into each level rather than activated with Rube Goldberg-esque knobs, buttons, and character-switching. When objectives were more complex, they stayed interesting and physically engaging to play through, and they never took 20 minutes. Banjo-Tooie repaired some of DK64's problems--probably because it was, for the most part, limited to two main characters--so I'm sure the people at Rare sensed they did something wrong with DK64.

I love Donkey Kong, particularly the Donkey Kong Country and Donkey Kong Country Returns games. This has almost nothing in common with them.
 
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misskitten

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Jun 18, 2011
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DK64 will always remain my absolute favourite DK game, and I really wish we could have gotten a re-relase or at the very least a VC download. I remember being so disappointed when I realized the DK game that came after was just another sidescroller, so if they ever made another 3D adventure I'd probably be first in line to buy it
 
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I'd love to see DK64 get re-released, but I highly doubt it'll ever happen because of the copyright issues with the game (Rare used a couple of their games to be used as minigames). Not to mention the negativity it had back then concerning the constant character switching, not much platforming, & being way too repetitive. A re-release may happen someday, but it all depends since DK64 isn't as well-received as its 2D counterparts.
 

Jimmu

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Donkey Kong 64 is a game that I played for many, many hours as a child and I have very fond memories of playing. For me it is difficult to choose between Donkey Kong 64 and Donkey Kong Counrty 2 for my favourite Donkey Kong game, both would probably make my top ten favorite games of all time.

I'd really like to see both a Virtual Console release and a new 3D Donkey Kong game. The VC release may be complicated though due to Rare's involvement (although, I'm not a law student and have no idea what regulations surround this particular matter). As for a new game, they did it for 2D Donkey Kong so I'm sure they could give 3D a go.
 

Salem

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May 18, 2013
Well, in general I don't care much for HD remakes, but if it has a market for it, than it's fine.

I believe DK64 showcased everything that could possibly go wrong with a 3D platformer. It was more overloaded with characters than most Sonic games, most of the gameplay was unnecessarily repetitive, and it was less about platforming than about snatching up arbitrarily locked-off collectibles via minigames and frustrating obstacles. Like its spiritual relative, Mario Sunshine, DK64 came off as an exercise in tedium to me.
I agree with everything, I recently tried to do a 100% run of this game recently, it wasn't fun.
 

DarkestLink

Darkest of all Dark Links
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Oct 28, 2012
I feel a sequel is the better way to go. Improve what DK64 had, drop the unneeded elements, maybe take a few lessons from Banjo Kazooie and Tooie, and revive the franchise. Right now, Donkey Kong just feels like a watered down version of New Super Mario Bros. to me. And we need some traditional platformers...and by that I mean ones like SM64, BK, BT, and yes even DK64 where you had worlds to explore and objects to find. To me, Super Mario Galaxy (1 and 2) are just obstacle courses. They aren't much different than the Super Mario 3D games. That is, by no means, a bad thing. I love all those games. But I miss my traditional platformers too.

I may harp and nag on my hatred for exploration and non-linearity a lot, but that's simply because I don't think it works well with Zelda. But I LOVED exploring the worlds of the N64 platformers. Exploration had a purpose. It was how you got through the game. And the fact that almost none of the collectibles were required to beat the game made exploration all the better.

The reason I don't like exploration in Zelda is because--to me--it's just a time waster while you look for the next dungeon. The game doesn't progress until you find the next dungeon or area or whatever you're looking for. In the N64 platformers, you progressed through exploration. Often times, especially in the Rare games, you weren't really looking for anything specific. You just wandered around, looking for collectibles, solving puzzles and overcoming obstacles as you saw them. There was always something to find. Something to investigate and dig deeper into. That, in my opinion, is exploration done right. And we need more of that. I feel Mario has always leaned in the direction it's going now...yes, even with SM64. So I feel Donkey Kong would be the best way to revive that king of platforming.
 

Dio

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I'd love to see DK64 get re-released, but I highly doubt it'll ever happen because of the copyright issues with the game (Rare used a couple of their games to be used as minigames). Not to mention the negativity it had back then concerning the constant character switching, not much platforming, & being way too repetitive. A re-release may happen someday, but it all depends since DK64 isn't as well-received as its 2D counterparts.

What negativity? It was met with critical acclaim.
 

Hanyou

didn't build that
A visit to gamerankings places it at 86%--by no means a bad rating, but certainly a good deal lower than its contemporaries. Comparatively, the N64's Banjo-Tooie was placed at 91%.

I can tell you as someone who was with the N64 from the beginning that there was a sense of collective disappointment at the game. This is anecdotal, but many of the people I knew who loved the other N64 platformers couldn't stand DK64. It was simply too big, too disorganized, and too packed with busywork. Rare's other games--even their other deeply flawed N64 game, Jet Force Gemini (which admittedly got a 79% on gamerankings)--showed a much more solid understanding of basic game design philosophy. Don't encumber the player with pointless tasks; let them get to the meat of real gameplay. Let the platforming or minigames themselves be the challenge, not questions about which character to use. Let the only thing standing between you and those collectibles be environmental obstacles or (occasionally) unlearned moves.

Rare was a lot like Nintendo. While games were trending toward the cinematic, Rare, at least early in the N64 era, either incorporated the cinematic elements (see Banjo-Kazooie, Goldeneye) or eschewed them almost entirely in favor of raw gameplay (see Blast Corps, Diddy Kong Racing). And the gameplay, at its best, was engaging. You had to think of new ways to use Banjo-Kazooie's moves. You had to pick the right vehicle in Blast Corps. You had to traverse levels carefully and explore in Goldeneye. You could generally do all this without backtracking or slowly plodding toward goals; it came down to your skill as a gamer and your understanding of the game's core mechanics. And that's just scratching the surface of those games.

The cheesy cutscenes in DK64 were just painful to watch. Most of us who'd grown up with the system were too old for things like that when the N64 was released (I was 10 in 1996), and were far less willing to tolerate it so late in the system's life cycle! If DK64 had been backed by solid, consistently engaging gameplay, I would have been content to ignore it, but it seemed like this ill-advised atmosphere was really the whole point. There was little seamless about its design, little intelligence to its level layouts, little fun about its sprawling tasks.

I can guarantee you that as someone who watched the N64's whole life cycle very closely, DK64 was considered a low point, and a sad end to Rare's consistent upward trajectory.
 

misskitten

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I was 14 when I bought my N64 and I loved DK64 (loved Super Mario 64, Banjo Kazooie as well), I don't see what age has got to do with it. I played the heck out of that game, eventually 101%-ing it.
 

JamesBond007

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Krosno, Poland
I'd love to see DK64 get re-released, but I highly doubt it'll ever happen because of the copyright issues with the game (Rare used a couple of their games to be used as minigames). Not to mention the negativity it had back then concerning the constant character switching, not much platforming, & being way too repetitive. A re-release may happen someday, but it all depends since DK64 isn't as well-received as its 2D counterparts.
There are only two things in Donkey Kong 64 owned by Rare. First - their old logo. Maybe Rare/M$ wants money for even using the logo, and DKC trilogy was removed from Wii VC because the old deal expired and it wan't renewed? Second - Jetpac. One of the minigames. Everything else is owned by Nintendo. There could be other problems - I've played Donkey Kong 64 on emulator. I could easily play and finish the game, but it has graphical glitches. Recently, I was able to fix some of them (like missing inactive bananaport transparency), but some glitches still remain. Maybe Nintendo tried to bring the game to VC, but they've encountered similar glitches and they were unable to fix them?

BTW, I would like to see another 3D Donkey Kong game like that. With multiple playable Kongs and (most important) - the Kremlings and King K. Rool as the final boss.
 

キラ

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I'd just like Nintendo to take another shot at making a 3D Donkey Kong game. DK64 was good, but I don't think there is enough demand for a remake, especially when Nintendo can think up new ways to make the game much better than the last 3D entry. DK64 wasn't really iconic.
 

Spiritual Mask Salesman

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Well I agree, DK 64 was an awesome game, the only full 3 dimensional Donkey Kong game I know of. A remake would be cool, I'd totally support it, in addition to a new 3 dimensional DK game. Honestly a new game should be what Nintendo focuses on, but then again re-releasing DK 64 with upgraded graphics could build up hype for a new game. The question is will they do it? As far as I know I haven't heard of any plans for a remake, or a new 3 dimensional DK game.
 

キラ

Yo!
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Feb 14, 2014
Location
Illinois
Well I agree, DK 64 was an awesome game, the only full 3 dimensional Donkey Kong game I know of. A remake would be cool, I'd totally support it, in addition to a new 3 dimensional DK game. Honestly a new game should be what Nintendo focuses on, but then again re-releasing DK 64 with upgraded graphics could build up hype for a new game. The question is will they do it? As far as I know I haven't heard of any plans for a remake, or a new 3 dimensional DK game.

Releasing trailers for a new 3D DK game would build up hype too.
 

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