Donkey Kong Country Returns on the Nintendo Wii came out when 2D platformers were effectively non-existent and indie games were about to take off and reestablish the genre. Retro Studios was known for making Metroid Prime games; a series of sci-fi first-person action-adventure games, grounded in surrealist alien imagery.
When it was announced that Retro Studio would be making a fourth Donkey Kong Country, most gamers shrugged incredulously. Nobody knew what to expect, but when it came, Donkey Kong Country Returns turned out to be a decent entry in the franchise and renewed interest in 2D action platformers. It eventually saw an impressive port on 3DS and an unbelievably improved sequel with Tropical Freeze on Wii U.
When the Nintendo Switch came around, it was time to port some classics and Tropical Freeze got an excellent conversion. Seven years later, Donkey Kong Country Returns makes, yet another, return. How does it fare on Nintendo Switch? Find out in this Donkey Kong Country Returns HD review!
Donkey Kong Country Returns HD
Developer: Retro Studios, Forever Entertainment
Publisher: Nintendo
Platforms: Nintendo Wii (as Donkey Kong Country Returns), Nintendo 3DS (as Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D), Nintendo Switch (reviewed)
Release Date: January 16, 2025
Price: $59.99
Donkey Kong Country Returns never had a definitive way version until now. The original version on Nintendo was always slightly alienating to play because it forced players to use waggle motions for certain actions and gameplay was limited to using the Nunchuk analog stick to move. It never felt right to play because it felt inaccurate to shake the controller to do a ground-pound.
The port on 3DS was a technical marvel for getting the entire game on a small cartridge, plus added content and levels. The drawback was that it was 30 frames per second, but players could finally play with a D-pad and the waggle was out.
Donkey Kong Country Returns HD is the best of both worlds and then some. The frame rate is 60 fps again, the waggle controls are gone, and the Cloud World levels from the 3DS versions are present.
Sadly, there is no playable Funky Kong for an ultra-easy mode. Dixie and Cranky Kong also won’t be playable and are relegated to Tropical Freeze only. The enhancements for this rerelease are sparse and restrained. The most notable visual change is the fur effects added to Donkey Kong. There wasn’t anything that could have been done since the source material had a strong foundation.
Some elements seem off, like lighting that appears too bright on some objects, but the average gamer won’t notice anything off unless played side-by-side with the original. The HD remaster might be based on the 3DS port because the background graphics have a distinct visual signature compared to the graphics from the Wii original.
This is still a very solid-looking game, but it is noticeably bland compared to the Super Nintendo Entertainment System trilogy. The old games had high-contrast lighting and awesome character designs. Retro Studios may excel at bizarre alien creatures, but their cartoony jungle animal designs resemble clip art found on Google.
The Tikis are especially boring designs and are hopelessly non-threatening. Donkey Kong Country Returns HD isn’t without its striking visuals. The silhouette stages stand out as some of the most creative and the level with the swarm of spiders chasing the Kongs remains a tense and nightmarish sequence.
The animation is lively for every object. Various environmental elements rattle when D.K. storms through and rides a rhino. D.K. himself is also very weighty and gains incredible momentum when he rolls and bops on a row of roaming foes.
Donkey Kong Country Returns HD may not be as inventive as Tropical Freeze or as varied as the Rare trilogy, but it’s still a Donkey Kong Country game, and that elevates it above most platformers. The kinaesthetic feedback from jumping, dashing, and swinging around to blast from barrels feels nice and crunchy.
Level design is pretty safe apart from a few outliers and it might have to do with Retro Studios aiming to deliver something palatable at the time. There hadn’t been a Donkey Kong Country game in years and maybe the developers did not want to shake things up too much. There aren’t any swimming levels and the only ridable animal buddy is Rambi the rhino.
The minecart stages return and are still nerve-wracking, white-knuckle thrill rides, but they are nothing compared to the harrowing rocket stages. The rocket is functionally like Flappy Bird and has bespoke physics and weight.
The platforming physics are weighty due to D.K.’s immense muscular girth. His movement feels powerful and bopping foes have a satisfying bounce, sometimes used to clear gaps. With Diddy as backup, D.K.’s moveset expands, allowing him to hover and his roll attack can keep rolling indefinitely.
Returns is a hard game, probably the hardest entry in the series and Nintendo recognized this by adding an easier mode. Even on easy, young gamers will find Donkey Kong Country Returns HD brutal. D.K. And Diddy get extra hits, and Cranky’s shop carries more helpful items that nearly break the game.
The banana potion gives the Kongs a ridiculous amount of extra hits for a level and they’re very cheap. Despite their affordability, all the extra hits mean nothing if the heroes fall into a bottomless pit. Picking a difficulty locks you into it, forcing players to commit. This is a positive feature and reinforces the value of the challenge of the core experience.
A feature that sucks that can be found across all iterations of Donkey Kong Country Returns is the blowing mechanic.
This was a result of Shigeru Miyamoto playing an early build of the game and seeing D.K. kick up some dust when dashing, mistaking him for blowing. After realizing his misunderstanding, he mandated Retro Studios to implement an actual blowing mechanic.
Donkey Kong Country Returns HD is a pretty fast-paced platformer that requires accuracy and mastery of D.K.’s playability and Diddy’s jetpack. Having to stop at every flower to make the ape blow on it brings the thrilling action to a halt. The problem is that a lot of secrets and collectibles are revealed by blowing on objects… and a lot of them are also a complete waste of time.
It’s very telling that Tropical Freeze completely cut the blowing feature. Retro Studios knew it was a terrible idea and only installed it at the behest of their boss. They were likely too timid to argue with D.K.’s creator and obliged because nobody wanted to say no to the industry’s most celebrated game producer/designer.
The music is nowhere near the level of the SNES trilogy. The best tracks are remixes of classics from past games but with limp instrumentation. Donkey Kong Country music is more than generic jungle beats.
It should incorporate atmospheric elements and other musical styles like industrial dance and jazz. Everyone knew this music was lacking because the next game brought back the original trilogy’s composer.
For its price, Donkey Kong Country Returns HD is a bit steep. Considering the Wii version launched at 49.99 and the 3DS port was $39.99, it’s shocking that this old game with no new features or modes is priced so high. Metroid Prime Remastered is $39.99 and features dramatically enhanced visuals.
Donkey Kong Country Returns HD needed additional content to justify its price. There could have been a Diddy mode, minigames, and additional levels. They could have included the SNES trilogy to make this the ultimate Donkey Kong Country package. At the very least a fishing minigame would have justified a full price.
Anyone who has played Donkey Kong Country Returns on Nintendo Wii or Nintendo 3DS will know what to expect. This HD remaster plays it very safe and while it is disappointing that there is nothing new for veterans, gamers will be hard-pressed to find a better mascot action platformer that isn’t Tropical Freeze, Kaze and the Wild Masks, or Yooka Laylee and the Impossible Lair.
While it may be a 15-year-old game now, it holds up beautifully and still delivers thrilling platforming, spectacle, and diabolical challenges.
The collectibles are still mostly useless and aren’t very rewarding apart from unlocking the mirror mode, but the hardwiring in our brains makes it hard to ignore them. Once you start a level, it’s hard to put the game down and you’ll be begging for more.
Donkey Kong Country Returns HD was reviewed on a Nintendo Switch using a code provided by Nintendo. You can find additional information about Niche Gamer’s review/ethics policy here. Donkey Kong Country Returns HD is now available for Nintendo Switch.