From the little bit I saw and played recently, it was clear that Donkey Kong Country Returns is being made by people who have really studied the older DKC games. On a basic level, it just feels the same — you can somersault into enemies for a small boost of speed; you can do that same roll off the edge of a platform and still jump for extra air; and you know what to expect from a barrel that has an explosion symbol on it as opposed to an arrow.
In fact, aside from the obviously improved graphics, the bigger differences are the main troupe of bad guys — a nefarious tiki tribe instead of the long-gone Kremlings — and the average length of a stage feels extended (being so familiar with the series, I was genuinely delighted to see a mine cart track that went outside). There are some other marked changes, though. For one thing, player one is always Donkey Kong; you can’t switch between simians like in the older games. That sounds a bit sacrilegious on paper, but in play, it’s no big deal. For one thing, I always liked Donkey Kong better, but more practically, Diddy stays on DK’s back, and his jet pack can be used to float the duo after DK jumps (which, funnily enough, had me thinking of Banjo and Kazooie).
