Donkey Kong 64 Remake Suggestions - Overall

[Alolan_Apples]

Now it's time to present the remake suggestions for DK64. The suggestions follow as if this were made for the 3DS. If you read the preview, the five main problems are:

1. Excessive Collecting
2. Forced Backtracking
3. Multiple types of items
4. Missions
5. Lack of Dixie Kong

There are also other problems with the game (like when bosses don't reveal their vulnerable spot until they're done attacking, inconsistent difficulty, Beaver Bother, outdated graphics, and some repetition), but let's put that to a side.

To fix each problem, here's what I suggest. On the excessive collecting, we have to deal with 200 golden bananas in total if we put in Dixie Kong. Other than that, we will only have 160 golden bananas. However, whether if we put in Dixie Kong or not, there should be different level locks. Jungle Japes requiring one golden banana and Angry Aztec requiring five golden bananas were good to begin with. However, the other level locks should be altered. If we choose not to have Dixie Kong, Frantic Factory should require 10 golden bananas, Gloomy Galleon should require 20 golden bananas, Fungi Forest should require 30 golden bananas, Crystal Caves should require 45 golden bananas, Creepy Castle should require 60 golden bananas, and Hideout Helm should require 80 golden bananas. The cap is 168. If we do want Dixie Kong, Frantic Factory should have a level lock of 12, Gloomy Galleon should have a level lock of 24, Fungi Forest should have a level lock of 36, Crystal Caves should have 54, Creepy Castle should have 72, and Hideout Helm should have 96. The cap is 200. To take care of the colored banana problem, I say we keep them, but for every 50 bananas a kong collects, their stats get fully restored. For example, if you can have only up to 32 crystal coconuts and you have less, collecting 50 bananas will restore the crystal coconuts to 32. If your ammo max is 100, it goes back up to 100. And instead of having bananas for each kong, all colored bananas can be collected by the same kong, but they change colors if you switch kongs (for example, bananas will turn pink if you use Dixie Kong).

To fix the backtracking problem, I'll be okay with character specific items, but we should be able to switch Kongs on the go. We can also put in "no-switch zones" so you know that the button to switch kongs won't work.

For that third problem, I already mentioned making colored bananas as a bonus rather than an expectation. But to fix this problem, there should be more use in them. The blueprints and banana fairies had some good use, but some items need to be removed. The Nintendo Coin and Rareware Coin should all be removed. The crowns should symbolize total completion and not something you can win in a battle. The banana medals should be something to collect and not to earn by collecting bananas. They should also act like the level keys to the boss stages. The boss keys should not unlock one lobby at a time. It would be better to have the Angry Aztec, Frantic Factory, and Gloomy Galleon lobbies unlocked with just one boss key, Fungi Forest lobby with four, Crystal Caves and Creepy Castle with five, and Hideout Helm with six.

The fourth problem will be discussed in every entry of these remake suggestion. Even if we still have 200 golden bananas, each kong in the original DK64 will have one less golden banana per level. Some sections in some levels might even be removed. I would suggest moving the Kasplats (platypuses with shockwave powers) in different locations. And yes, some mini-games I would suggest removing.

Now I'm gonna cover the ideal controls. The target system is the Nintendo 3DS. Why? It's more fun to play on the go rather than at one room all day. It's also where the N64 remakes go while the GameCube remakes go to the Wii U. Here are the control mapping:

• A button - A button - very identical.
• B button - B button - same as above.
• X button - Barrel Move - instead of looking for the barrel, you should be able to press the X button to perform your move once it's unlocked. So if you're using Diddy Kong, you can press the X button to get out the jetpack. Also while in this form, you can press X to cancel the move.
• Y button - Tag Barrel - this is what I was talking about earlier. If you press the Y button, you should access the tag barrel instead of looking for one.
• R button - R button - again, this is identical.
• L button - Z button - the Z button was used a lot, but the L button was never used.
• Circle pad - control stick - the circle pad is the 3DS version of the left analog stick of the Playstation systems and the control stick on the Nintendo systems.
• Control pad - C buttons - the sad news was that until like 2000, the control pad of the Nintendo 64 was almost never used. So if DK64 hits the 3DS, the control pad should be the camera buttons. The top control pad button is the eye mode button.
• Touch screen - some combo moves - when you're using the touchscreen, you should see a whole bunch of moves for the kongs. On the touch screen, you can get out the shooter, oranges (press B to throw), play instruments, or use the camera.

And here are the few minor problems that should be fixed.

1. Put an inflation in prices of moves and upgrades - the most useless item is the banana coins. There are a lot of banana coins, but you only need very little. They should raise the prices to encourage you to collect more banana coins. Also, just like the colored bananas, they should make banana coins shared and collectible by any kong while they change colors.
2. Do not half your stats when you load up your game - I think this is a bug or something, but I don't like this at all.
3. Do not refill health meter when you enter a tag barrel - I'm not sure if this was in the original version to begin with or if this was a VC edit, but this is a cheap way to refill your health. With a tag barrel accessible at any time, the health meter should be shared.
4. Remove the maze mini-games, Splish Splash Salvage, and Busy Barrel Barrage - a couple of mini-games may have to go, but these three are definitely out of the picture. The only games where you can see your kong are Minecart Mayhem and Speedy Swing Sortie. And Beaver Bother should be replaced with Beaver Battle where you use a crocodile to attack a certain amount of beavers instead of scaring them into the hole.
5. Fix the Homing Ammo mechanic - instead of having two separate tickets of ammo, the homing ammo should have a shared ticket with the other. Granted, homing ammo will take up two ammo shots instead of one, but it's better for attacking enemies. You should be able to switch ammo through the touch screen.
6. Remove Jetpac and Donkey Kong 1981 - I don't like seeing arcade games as a requirement for the gameplay, so both should be out. Jetpac is now owned by Xbox/Microsoft, but Donkey Kong 1981 is still Nintendo's. The latter is harder than the former, but at least we don't have to play Super Mario Bros all the way. Recent reports are saying that calculus is now easier than Super Mario Bros, which shows that the arcade game must be too hard for the new generations.
7. Speed up character movement - one of the big problems I haven't talked about is how slow character movement is. Yes, they move very slowly. I would suggest speeding up Chunky Kong to the speed he was at in the VC version, Lanky a bit faster, Donkey even faster, Diddy faster than Donkey, and Tiny half as fast as Mario with FLUDD (turbo nozzle). But the attack value, Tiny would be even weaker while Chunky can knock out any enemy with a single primate punch.

I hope you enjoy these suggestions. In the future entries on DK64, I will go over how each level can be fixed. Since I don't know Dixie Kong too well, I would need your ideas on what instrument she plays, what would be the best fruit for ammo, and what other moves she would use.