Why are more people not talking about how amazing the donkey kong country returns soundtrack is?
I know a lot of people like tracks from the older donkey Kong games. Don't get me wrong,I really love aquatic ambience and stickerbrush symphony. But there is something really special to me about the donkey kong country returns soundtrack. It is a lot of remixes,but that still doesn't take away from the fact that they are bangers. I think it by far has one of the best menu themes of the DKC series (and one of my personal favorite video game menu themes).
Not only that,but the way they handle building up music in certain levels or incorporating it into the levels themselves is fantastic. One of my favorite things about DKCR is how they did the boss fight music. I've never really seen anyone mention it,but in the boss fights the music gets more instruments progressively added to it before it finally becomes a full song. The best example of this is the pirate crab boss fight in world 2. The first crab has pretty simple bongos,which makes sense because its the first and easiest phase. Then the second crab has more sped up bongos with a shaking sound in the back,a little bit of a tougher phase but still pretty simple. The third crab has the bongos from the second crab along with some xylophone and piano mixed in.
Things are building up,and once you beat the third crab is when it starts to get good. The three crabs all stack on top of each other and the real boss fight begins. It blends elements from all three phases and becomes an amazing ska. This song would definitely not hit as hard if it had been the same from the beginning. The crescendo of the boss fight music in this game is really something else,and barely anyone talks about it!
Sorry if I yapped a bit there. I have a lot of sentimental value towards DKCR and its soundtrack with it being one of my first 2D platformers ever,and I wanted to make a post talking about its amazing soundtrack because it feels like not many people talk about it. (Popping planks and the menu theme are peak)