(Note: This blog was originally on February 21st, 2014, but I deleted that blog and regretted it so edited the contents into this older blog post that I was deleting. Good enough.)

Today's Quick Look of DKC Tropical Freeze is a great reminder for those of us who know DKC well that not everyone knows how to roll jump. Straight up always be roll jumping. It's the best. Rolling is a lot faster than running and, when you jump out of a roll, you have a lot of extra momentum that takes you farther. Air control being what it is in DKCR and DKCTF it's a lot easier to overshoot where you want to land than in the original SNES games but with a little practice it can be pretty reliable especially if you have Diddy or Dixie and can use their power to kill your momentum before landing. Also try rolling off a ledge! You can jump out of a roll at any time even in midair. This is super key.

Outside of roll jumping rolling is just super useful. If you have a buddy on your back it's infinite and you can do it as long as you like. Otherwise you can use it to take out one dude (be careful if it's a string of dudes) or just use it exclusively for roll jumps which are faster than just running anyway. (Note: In the SNES games rolling works different. Momentum is not higher for a roll jump than a regular jump. It's easier to stop though because you have more air control. Additionally you roll as long as you're hitting dudes and get a speed boost for each one you hit.)

Watch this guy do the first level of a speed run of DKCR. He's always roll jumping because, without the infinite roll, that's the fastest way to move. Look how far he goes with each jump. Remember the gaps that Jeff and Brad struggled to cross. They're trivial with a roll jump! You don't need any space to start it, it comes out instantly pretty much. It's great.

So yeah, always be rolling and roll jumping. That's sort of rule #1 while playing DKC games. Playing DKC without rolling is like... playing Sonic without realizing he can turn into a ball. It's essential and the key to going fast and doing tricky jumps. Good luck and don't stop for nothing!