Before we proceed, let’s get this out of the way: everything you see in that video? In engine. In game. All of it happening in real time. No pre-rendered cutscenes, no CG.
And holy crap, it looks absolutely gorgeous.
I have always said that beyond a certain point, Nintendo’s titles don’t need a whole lot of processing power, just about enough to do justice to their inimitable art style, and the Wii U certainly seems to provide that in spades. To wit: Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze. It looks stunning, it looks gorgeous, and it looks like all of Retro Studios’ muscle was thrown behind the game.
As for the cutscene itself, it is the opening movie in the game, which sets up the plot for this specific outing of Donkey Kong and crew. Not that the plot matters, what matters is that the game should have lots of tight platforming goodness, and it looks like Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze will deliver on that front.
Stay tuned.