Finally beat the game yesterday, and it all kind of fell apart at the end

K. Rool's grand return felt pretty underwhelming for me. No new alter ego or persona, he didn't really even talk like himself or have any distinct mannerisms. He felt like Smash Bros. K. Rool (his model looked like it was ripped straight out of that game), or Bowser in a K. Rool skin with shallow references to the past games.
> Look! All the enemies from the old Rare games! Not just the Kremlings, but Neckys, and Armys, and Zingers too! even though they're all reskins of earlier enemies
> Look! K. Rool is using the blunderbuss and here's the same cannonball patterns and the sucking attack!
> Hey! Were doing the same fake Kredits sequence, just like the first DKC game!
> Look! He's using his jetpack copter from DKC3!
> Look! The final fight takes place in a boxing ring like DK64

It was almost passive-aggressive levels of fanserivice

And you don't even get to properly explore NDC after beating the game, which was a goddamn missed opportunity of the highest order