Rareware’s trilogy of Donkey Kong Country platformers was a huge statement back on the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES). Not only was Donkey Kong back, but he could stand up to Mario himself when it came to the 2D platforming crown with three excellently designed games released back to back from 1994 to 1996.
After a fourteen-year absence, Donkey Kong Country finally returned in 2010 with Metroid Prime developer Retro Studios taking over the mantle from Rare with the aptly named Donkey Kong Country Returns. And now fourteen years on we’re getting the game again, but this time without the forced waggles of the Wii version or the hindered framerate of the later 3DS port, meaning Donkey Kong Country Returns HD is finally the definitive version of the game – but it’s not much else.
Review info
Platform reviewed: Nintendo Switch
Available on: Nintendo Switch
Release date: January 16, 2025
Admittedly, I was disappointed at the announcement of this port. It’s been just over 10 years since the last game in the series – the phenomenal Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze – with the big ape since being relegated to spinoffs. However, over the past few years, it has felt like Nintendo has been building up to something with Donkey Kong between his prominent role in the Super Mario Bros. Movie and the new theme park area in Japan. So for the grand return to be a 14-year-old Wii game ported over, there wasn’t too much to get hyped about.
Much like the 2018 Nintendo Switch port of Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze, there really isn’t anything new to Donkey Kong Country Returns HD aside from a brand new easy mode – which is nice, but it’s not something I’m interested in playing. Although Tropical Freeze at least dressed up the easy mode with a playable Funky Kong, something absent from Returns HD. This could be excused if it was released for a lower price perhaps, like the substantially visually overhauled Metroid Prime Remastered, but Donkey Kong Country Returns HD follows last year’s Luigi’s Mansion 2 HD as a full-priced game that, on the whole, brings nothing new to the table and is a middling Nintendo Switch game in 2025.
Ooh, banana
Donkey Kong’s banana hoard has been stolen once more – which is tantamount to killing a family member as far as the tie-wearing ape is concerned. Retro Studios abandoned the iconic Kremling army from the SNES trilogy in favor of the Tiki Tak Tribe, who are a band of sentient Tiki masks. While the Tikis themselves are pretty boring, their power of hypnotism allows the boss fights to get a bit more ‘out there’ as DK gets to scrap with various jungle creatures under their control. Each boss ends with a satisfying battering after every fight that evokes the feeling of GameCube classic Donkey Kong Jungle Beat.
Compared to Mario, Donkey Kong Country is a more hardcore platformer series. Donkey Kong himself is extremely heavy (as you would probably expect from a gorilla), and that weightiness transfers to the platforming perfectly. Where Mario can breeze through stages with massive jumps and power-ups, Donkey Kong is more momentum-focused with strategically placed jumps and rolls required to really breeze through levels, but a lot of the time it’s best to take things a bit slower. Later levels get extremely tough, requiring you to be top banana to get through, but that just makes it all the more satisfying to clear.
Donkey Kong Country Returns HD also brings Diddy Kong back into the fold as a pseudo powerup. Getting him works like in the SNES games where you find a DK barrel and smash it to get your pal. But unlike on the SNES, you can’t switch to Diddy Kong; he mainly acts as a jetpack hover to DK’s jump and allows you to infinitely roll. This was disappointing back in 2010, and it’s still a disappointing aspect of the game now, especially considering a second player can take full control of Diddy Kong in the game’s co-op mode. This would’ve made a nice addition to the new port, but alas, it’s not here.
Jungle Japes
Developer Retro Studios had big shoes to fill, and like most nostalgic platformer returns, a lot of the early game of Donkey Kong Country Returns HD feels very much like a cover band playing the hits of that original trilogy. While the levels are good, it feels a lot like trying to recapture the magic of the originals. However, as the game progresses, Retro introduces unique biomes like the Factory and Volcano worlds, which not only up the difficulty but are far more interesting to play through than the opening hours.
Best Bit
Donkey Kong Country Returns really starts to shine as the adventure comes to an end, with World 7’s factory setting standing up with the best the series has to offer. This is where the difficulty really starts to ramp up with a barrage of levels that are satisfying to plow your way through.
One of the big things associated with the series is collectibles; each level contains hidden ‘KONG’ letters to collect, as well as puzzle pieces. These are key to unlocking all manner of things like concept art, music, and even bonus levels that will really test your platforming skills (including the previously 3DS-exclusive levels). The letters are mercifully pretty easy to find on a first go, but some of those puzzle pieces will test your eyes as well as your platforming.
Another iconic Donkey Kong staple is the unique level gimmicks. Animal friends return from the SNES trilogy, although this is sadly limited to just Rambi the Rhino here. Meanwhile, the dreaded minecart stages that would test your reactions with their brutal difficulty also make a return this time around, and this is one area where Retro really outdid Rare. The weight of DK in this game, alongside the Returns physics, makes the jumps in these even more satisfying, and there’s always a wealth of extra pathways to add to the risk/reward factor.
Finally, there are the Rocket Barrel stages, which are a flight mode akin to Flappy Bird (yes, it was released four years prior, but everyone knows Flappy Bird). Hold A to rise, and let go to dip as you avoid all manner of obstacles. Truthfully, I’ve never loved these stages, as the slower on-rails nature of them feel like a less interesting version of the minecart stages, leading them to drag on a bit.
Here he comes banana slamma, congo bongo’s hero
Donkey Kong Country Returns HD’s entire purpose seems to just be making a version of the original game that brings the extra content and a good control scheme from the 3DS to a console that looks good and runs at 60 frames per second (fps) like the Wii original. And to that end, Donkey Kong Country Returns HD nails it; it sure is that. But while other ports have had even the bare minimum of extras like Captain Toad Treasure Tracker’s Odyssey levels or Hyrule Warriors: Definitive Edition’s Breath of the Wild costumes added, Donkey Kong is just the same game from before.
And don’t expect a Metroid Prime Remastered-level visual upgrade either; while it is a definite bump in quality in the jump to HD, it isn’t an impressive leap. While Returns HD does upgrade DK to have more fur compared to his flat Wii model, the fur in Returns doesn’t look on par with its Tropical Freeze counterpart. One area where the visuals feel like a downgrade however is the lighting in the volcano level, which is more of a dull magma color rather than the bright orange of the Wii edition.
You’re still getting a good game here (albeit, a game that’s a reskin of probably the weakest Donkey Kong Country title), but it’s really hard to recommend this to anyone who has played the game before; you’d be better off picking up the far better (and probably cheaper) Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze. If anything, this just recontextualized how good the sequel was to me; the jump in quality from Returns to Tropical Freeze is nothing short of incredible.
Should you play Donkey Kong Country Returns HD?
Play it if…
Don’t play it if…
Accessibility
Donkey Kong Country Returns HD features a brand new ‘Modern Mode’ that offers up an easier experience for players less attuned to DKC’s more hardcore platforming. You’ll get an extra hitpoint for both DK and Diddy, as well as the ability to bring nine of the helper items as opposed to just one in original mode (including some items that are exclusive to modern mode like Diddy Kong barrels and the Green Balloon).
Outside of that, the game doesn’t have many accessibility options. You have the option to swap the Roll/Pound/Blow button (X/Y) with the Grab button (ZR/ZL), but other than that, you’ll need to remap your controls from the console settings.
How I reviewed Donkey Kong Country Returns HD
I played roughly 13 hours of Donkey Kong Country Returns HD, and in that time I completed the main game, including collecting all of the KONG letters and completing optional levels. I also completed the extra levels that were introduced in the 3DS version of the game. I played the game in the ‘Original’ setting outside of trying out a few levels on ‘Modern’ after rolling credits.
I played the game primarily in handheld mode on a Nintendo Switch OLED using the Joy-Con controllers, with a bit of playtime in docked mode on my Samsung Q60D TV and Samsung HW-T450 soundbar with the Nintendo Switch Pro Controller and CKRD Neo S controller.
First reviewed December 2024 / January 2025
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scott.mccrae9512@gmail.com (Scott McCrae)
