DK Country Returns…again!

Help Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong recover their precious banana hoard from the villainous Tiki Tak Tribe in Donkey Kong Country Returns HD for Nintendo Switch! Stomp enemies, blast through barrels, and ride rockets and mine carts (and even Rambi the rhino) in 80 levels across nine worlds. Play the game as it was first designed for Wii, or reduce the difficulty for extra hearts and other goodies to make your journey a little easier. This barrel-blasting adventure is visually enhanced in HD for Nintendo Switch and includes the extra levels from the Nintendo 3DS version! Team up with a friend and take on the whole game as Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong. Pass a Joy-Con controller to a buddy and take on the Tiki Tak Tribe as DK and Diddy in two-player local play. Pelt foes with Diddy’s Peanut Popgun and hover using his Barrel Jet, and slam bad guys into submission with DK’s Ground Pound – or just Barrel Roll right through them. Work together to reclaim those bananas by the bunch.

The original Donkey Kong Country Returns came out on the Wii and would later get a 3DS version, while its sequel Tropical Freeze launched on Wii U and later on Switch, so it’s been a bit odd that its taken till now for the original game to get the Switch treatment. Nonetheless, it’s here now as the Switch starts its swan song before its successor launches.

But what is new, you ask? Well it’s more of a refined HD version of the 3DS edition with its extra stages, while adding in an easier difficulty mode which gives you extra hearts and other perks to make the experience easier. The original game and even the 3DS version have been known to have quite brutal moments, so it’s good to see them make a game a bit more accessible for everyone.

The HD visuals are a very nice improvement over the original versions, while running at a solid framerate throughout. The soundtrack is just as catchy as before with some great tunes during levels.

The core game is still intact and just as fun as it ever was, it’s more of a definitive version than anything else. Load times between stages are fairly short, while the game runs at a solid framerate throughout. I didn’t encounter any glitches during my playthrough.

The Verdict

Donkey Kong Country Returns HD may not add much to the original versions, but it is nice to finally have on Switch. For one of the few remaining Switch games to come out from Nintendo, it’s still a damn good one.

Score: 8.5