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Starfox Zero, Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze (Wii U) - $36 at EB Games

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Great price for a brand new first party Nintendo game!

Another notable mention is Donkey Kong Tropical Freeze, also $36. (credit: thatguyfromthatplace)
https://ebgames.com.au/wiiu-157829-Donkey-Kong-Country-Tropiā€¦

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closed Comments

  • +1

    There's a reason it dropped in price. Not a great game.

  • +2

    Do a barrel roll!

  • I was so keen for this…but the feedback and reviews weren't great!

    • Yeah I heard the same, but then I thought for 36$ I'll just give it a whirl and flog it off on eBay or scumtree if I have to afterwards

      • Just return it to eb for a full refund if/when you don't like it.

        • How many days is this valid for?

        • +1

          @montorola: 7 days usually, but you can use the Christmas present return promotion to return it.

        • +1

          @montorola: Usually 7 but at around this time of the year they offer the long one past christmas.

  • +3

    Donkey Kong Tropical Freeze is down to $36 as well. Just got it Price matched from JB.

    • ozgameshop had it for $31.99 the other day…

    • +1

      Thanks mate, added this to the post too, great game!

      • +1

        I recommend you add it to the title and tags as well.

  • -1

    Great game, controls nice. Thats a decent price too. Controls are E-Z. Got clickbaited by reviewers/gamer tabloids but its a very solid game.

  • +3

    Not sure if you guys care or not but I am 20 games away from a AUS PAL complete wii u set

    and most games cost me under 10 or 15 dollars.

    • +1

      Woah nice! Pics? =D

      And how did you get your games so cheap if you don't mind me asking

      • games cheap i got from ebay/gumtree/eb/target etc

        e.g I usually buy clearance games from a variety of consoles and then resell them on ebay and buy more games for my collection

  • For those with co-op buddies or partners into games, apparently it's a much better game when played co-op. Possibly worth the price.

  • -1

    This is a decent game hidden behind an awful control scheme. If you're a fan of Star Fox 64 / Lylat Wars it's finally the sequel you were looking for… right up until it took a hard left turn down stupid gimmick control street.

    It's worth persevering as the game itself ticks all the right nostalgia boxes, and the controls become acceptable eventually, but takes awhile to get used to it.

    • -1

      Yeah massive blunder by Nintendo there. I completed a single run of the game but never got to the point where I felt comfortable with the controls. I'm really shocked that Nintendo and its high standards, including Miyamoto who seemed heavily involved in this project, allowed it to ship in that fashion. That said they had a few games barred by boneheaded decisions last year. Triforce Heroes was another, particularly the decision to not allow two player in that title.

      But yeah, completed it once and moved on. Didn't feel inclined to struggle through any further to open up alternative paths or whatever.

      I think "decent" describes it well but. I think it'd have still only been average with better controls, but at least it'd be funner.

      • -1

        Omg now you guys really make me wanna play it to see how bad it is!!

        • -1

          It wasn't so much bad but frustrating. It'd have been 'ok' had the controls not sucked, although still far from exceptional. I'd expect more from a sequel thats had almost 20 years between its predecessor but it felt relatively short of new ideas.

  • There's a demo on the eShop. Try that first. I tried it and gave up. Not going to get it, for any price. Shame; I loved every previous game in the series, even Adventures and Command.

  • This is one of those games that gets concern trolled by the internet but people will go back in 10 years and talk about how its a classic. Kind of like the underrated Wii, Gamecube and Original Xbox / 360 games.
    Honestly if you've used the simple gamepad, its not particularly difficult to get used too at all, like Splatoon. Younger gamers seem to be able to adjust. Seems most of the critics barely touched the wii u and gamepad throughout the systems span and bashed it for not being a duplicate, 'remember the controls from the last shooter you played' controller. I guess the Sony/Microsoft systems seem to dictate what critics and the gamer geekdom on the internet will accept. I remember the gamer niche crowd were more open minded during the mid 2000s. I like the Xbox One controller, but i hope they start switching things up more, games need to take more risks. Gamer geekdom generally jumps on board only once something is popular unfortunately. Seems like people care more about the next system, the Switch, based on popularity.

    • -1

      Each to their own but I use the Gamepad exclusively with the Wii but hated how it was implemented for this particular title. Ironically enough one of the few other games that used the gamepad for much more than screen mirroring, ZombiU, had a dual screen mechanic where the purpose was to remove focus from the TV which in turn made inventory management a risk. That game successfully acknowledged that managing two screens was difficult, where StarFox tried to use it to improve precision but only really reiterated that most people would rather focus on one screen or the other.

      I really doubt this game will go down as a classic. Controls aside, it's still only a passable experience. Maybe if it had a proper co-opp campaign and a few more interesting mechanics, otherwise it was lacking much in the way of anything that'd make it a superior game to the N64 version.

      I've really liked the Wii U gamepad overall over a dozen plus titles. This title was the one exception. Probably worth noting that some reviewers did like the controls, it just seems the majority didn't.

      • I wouldnt say Zombi U was doing that, id say it just did that to add intentional tension to a survival horror title. Inventory management was also slow which added to this. I liked that game but its become a bit overrated like Bayonetta2. Star Fox Guard feels more in the that category.

        I've heard people say Star Fox Zero is better to them then the N64 version or what they consider a true successor. This really feels like a case of 'its something slightly different, 'too Nintendo' thing that critics went with (not that critics really matter) - their statements feel more like a clickbait piece. A game with standard tutorials, but they seem to have gone out of their way to write it off. I doubt they would have on some other popular platforms. Many games on the system have received alot of over-scrutiny from the gamer tabloids, especially the gamepad games. I am hearing more people praise the controls in retrospect, confused why there was backlash. I'd also say the skill level of gamers has gone down quite dramatically, especially if children can understand it but reviewers/gamers cant. The same people that had trouble with the Doom reboot. Arcade style games with hidden levels and scores designed for replay-ability seem lost on the current-gaming audience, and sales seem to indicate only certain games sell.

        But it seems people never liked or loved Starfox the way they had claimed, which is sad and typical of the gamer audience. I'd say the screen deal works work well (there were some titles from publishers on the wii u that didnt use it as well they could, but this really doesnt feel the case with this). This game added alot of mechanics too. Perhaps some that only like platformers or shooters wont really stray to different genres anymore.

        I never got the whole anti motion thing, and the screen dealy never feels bad the way people claimed it would, not really that difficult. More of a narrative people went with to write off the title then a true issue. Perhaps battery life issues would have been more of a understandable gripe, but the differences never felt that demanding. Though i found though you dont need to look at both as much as people claimed.

        • -1

          Well some critics did like the game, but it's clearly divisive to put it nicely. I don't think the reviews were unfair just they felt different to how you and others perceived the game. I feel it's clear how the majority felt, but that's not to say people won't have fun with it.

          I've enjoyed games critics didn't like as well. I'm sure some people genuinely did prefer it to the original too, I'd expect no less.

        • @Smigit:

          I'd say the critics generally have an agenda in many cases, unless a big publisher/ niche has something to offer them. Its much easier now to get clicks based on negativity and false pretenses sadly… The gamer rage audience is bigger then the actual consumer audience online. Nintendo conducts alot of their own coverage, while reaching out more to brand ambassadors. So "review" sites/reviewers have less to gain directly from them and compete with that.

          You have writers from the Apple/Android brand mindset that now write about games focusing more on the brand /spec war then the game experience. Microsoft games end up in a similar scenario in the current gaming climate, where the games are bashed for clicks. The resolution wars was used to portray certain games negatively on the Xb1, which is sad. The Wii u and its core experiences were generally written off as being too different from other platforms. Perhaps its one of the only ways for reviewers believe they'll get traffic, or so they feel.

          Gamers/Reviewers: we want something different!

          Publishers: Here, something a little different!

          Gamers/Reviewers: Waah not what i wanted! Gimmie the same!…

          Publishers: Oh boy…. Here, the same again.

          Gamers/Reviewers: To similar, need something different!

        • -1

          @BNN: It wasn't just critics though, the reception in forums and other such avenues clearly pointed towards the game being divisive amongst those that played it. People above had similar sort of responses.

          While I'm sure reviewers have an agenda, I doubt that collectively it's the same one and the issues with this game were quite consistent amongst those critical of it. I'd say the take away is generally this was regarded an average game at best that some people happened to like it such as yourself. Not sure how it can be spun otherwise. For what it's worth one of my fondest experiences was Ultima IX which had a similar sort of reception.

        • @Smigit:

          There are alot of games that gamers dont play but trash anyway. Its called s.h. posting for a reason, lol. Why do you think theres always a few games that get bashed every 2 or so months? Generates attention for sites, ytbs or revenue depending on the forum. Gets internet message boards talking about reviews/controversy. Sadly most of the comment sections ozb turn into some system wars thing, when prices should be the focus. It is what it is. If you went back and tried it again and gave it a chance, you'd probably adapt better and get good at the game and controls, enjoying the game more.

          Games like that were designed for replay. People had to get used to S64 controls also, even if it was a niche and somewhat overrated series, its a better entry within it. Probably wont be another one for a few years.

          Keep in mind alot of people watch games online but dont play them. The gaming culture on the internet is separate from the people that generally buy games. Many Nintendo games/platform receive revisionist praise, every game heavy on the controller received hate from the toxic internet audience, same way resolution tanked the xbox game reception.

          The were also rumor bloggers that made up a rumor that the game was going to be delayed due to bad controls, but that wasnt the case. Wii U might not be a big seller but its games are solid for the most part at the end of the day. Devils Third had some aim issues, but this one was fine.

          Not that it really matters much now with new systems approaching. Perhaps everything should go mobile, maybe gamers would secretly prefer that in the long run.

        • -1

          @BNN: "If you went back and tried it again and gave it a chance, you'd probably adapt better and get good at the game and controls, enjoying the game more."

          Perhaps when I was younger. Now that I work full time and time is more limited than money, if a game fails to capture me I'm going to move on and play something else. I've played plenty of more enjoyable games this year including on the Wii U. As I mentioned elsewhere, I played through the entire thing so I gave it every chance. Controls aside, I don't think it was a hugely interesting title. Ok, but not worthy of a replay. I don't need to love a game immediately, but I'm likely not the sort of person who will keep at it after finishing the entire campaign if I'm not enjoying it, not when there's dozens of other titles out there to try.

        • @Smigit:
          Its a genre that isnt really around anymore. The Star Wars style dogfighter. Designed for replay, to unlock more levels/paths, new medals as you go. So yeah, probably not your kind of game maybe. Probably the best Star Wars game will get for a while (outside the Lego Star Wars). I think if the genre hadn't gone away for so long, internet would be more receptive. I remember not understanding Gears of War the first time i played it, as i hadn't played a cover shooter. Picked it up again not long after, and I understood. Based on the current market, most will stick with shooters, open world games..

        • @Smigit:

          Played it.

          Have to agree with you, the controls are horribly frustrating!

          I got up to the bit (think third stage) where pigma shows up and it's a one on one. I lost because half the time I had to look at the TV, then quickly at the screen to try and aim properly. It's just all-round terrible.

          I'm loving the graphics, I just wish we could somehow plug in an n64 controller - that would be gold.

          Dunno about you guys, but personally gaming for me is de-stressing after a hard days work. I don't like the stupid motion controls or any sort of "active" immersion/involvement nintendo is going for here. I just want to pick up a controller, rest my hands on my lap and play while watching the TV the whole time, just like the good old days.

          /rant over

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