Have you ever played a game as kid that you loved so much that if you were to play it now, you’d love it just the same as the first time you played it?

Donkey Kong Returns might just be that game for the new generation of children.

As a kid, I loved playing the Donkey Kong franchise that was released for the Super Nintendo. To this day, I still go back and play them when I have some free time and am in the mood to relive my childhood.

Donkey Kong Returns takes the side scrolling action that the game brought to us in the 90s and makes it 10 times better.

The new Wii console based game lets you take control of Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong once again in an adventure to save their jungle homeland.

What sets this DK game from all of the other titles featuring the tie-wearing king of the Jungle and his little monkey sidekick is that all of the levels are not only more challenging but way more creative than the Super Nintendo games. Backgrounds are now put into play on certain levels, and there is a plethora of more baddies this time around.

This game almost feels like the new Super Mario Brothers game that wasn’t released too long ago for the same console. Once you complete the first level, you notice that there are more things to collect than just the normal K-O-N-G letters. Puzzle pieces are now spread throughout each level, and once you collect the puzzle pieces for each level, you unlock a new concept art image or sound clip from the game’s creators.

Along with collecting more things, there is also a time trial run you can complete after finishing a level. Once you get all of the KONG letters, collect each puzzle piece and finish the level under the gold medal trial time, you will have successfully completed an entire level. The new Super Mario Bothers game does almost the exact same thing as far as fully completing a level.

In Donkey Returns, they also take away the monkey duo’s tag team abilities. Rather than use both monkeys and tag one another for certain parts of the level, you only control Donkey Kong and Diddy rides on his back, allowing Donkey Kong to use Diddy’s jet pack to glide across gaps or just stay off of the ground for awhile.

Don’t let that discourage you from playing the game though, the tag team problem is only a minor speed bump, and it actually makes the gameplay a little easier because you’re not constantly switching between monkeys.

The game developers did extremely well incorporating the Wii’s controller abilities in the game. The game can be played either with just the Wii mote turned horizontally on its side or you can also play the game with the nun chuck attachment. Each way lets you shake your way through certain puzzles. If you die while playing co-op, you can actually shake yourself down to the other player so that you don’t have to wait and miss any of the action.

Another thing I’ve noticed about this game that sets it apart from the Super Nintendo series is that each monkey is equipped with two hearts as part of their life. This makes living through each level a tiny bit easier. Once both hearts are lost, you lose a balloon, which represents one of your lives. There is actually an option to buy an extra heart from Cranky Kong so that you can start the level with three hearts rather than two.

Wait, did I just say that right? Yep, Cranky is back and his old grumpy ways have not changed one bit. Cranky has huts set up in each part of the world so that you can buy things from him.

His hut offers Squawks, the parrot from the second game in the series that helps you find puzzle pieces for a level, the extra heart and a special key that unlocks another level in that part of the world. In addition, Cranky also sells life balloons. You are able to purchase one, three or seven lives, all with a certain price.

Overall, this game is amazing. The controls are simple to learn and the game almost makes you feel like you’re playing the games from the Super Nintendo era but this time around, there are tons of extras.

The amazing gameplay, however, comes with a price. This game can be extremely difficult at times, even on the easy setting. Ten year olds will quite possibly cry for certain levels because of the many lives they will lose. The game becomes even harder when you’re trying to collect everything, because certain collectibles are put in some dangerous places.

You can pick this game up almost anywhere for almost $40, and I definitely recommend buying it. I give this game an 8 out of 10 for nostalgia, awesome gameplay and difficulty.

For the Geekly Weekly, I’m Donny. Happy gaming, fellow geeks.