Donkey Kong Country Returns HD is the third time that Donkey Kong Country Returns has been released. We first saw the game on the Wii, then it came to the Nintendo 3DS, and now we have it in HD on the Nintendo Switch.
Donkey Kong Country Returns HD has a little bit of a story, but being a platformer from Nintendo, not much of one. The story is that the Tiki Tak Tribe, an evil band of Tiki’s have hypnotized the animals of DK Island into stealing Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong’s banana horde.
Donkey Kong Country Returns HD plays very similar to most traditional platformers and is no different than the previous released this game has seen. The game is your traditional platformer, traverse a level, collect bananas, seek out hidden collectibles, jump on enemies to defeat them, and then take down the area boss. That’s pretty much all there is to it as far as the gameplay goes, and that is pretty basic.
However, as basic as the game sounds, it’s a lot of fun to come back to playing with traditional controls and no gimmicks. With the original Wii version, you had motion controls, the 3DS port had the use of 3D (which honestly looked really good), but with Donkey Kong Country Returns HD , you have none of those gimmicks. You play the game with a traditional control scheme and the game plays really well.
Though Donkey Kong Country Returns HD has gone mostly unchanged from the original release on the Wii, there have been some improvements. As the title of the game suggests, it’s now in HD and looks wonderful. In addition to being in HD, the game also features the previously exclusive levels of the 3DS version and retains the Modern and Classic game modes. The Modern mode gives you an extra heart as well as the ability to carry nine items with you into a stage, and have Cranky Kong’s shop stock more items at the start of the game as opposed to later on in the game.
Another addition to the game is the ability to use assisted mode, provided your playing the Modern mode of the game. This will allow you to skip a level should you find it too difficult. How this is achieved is that Super Kong will beat the level for you, but it won’t count as you actually beating said level. This mode can come in handy because instead of throwing a Wii-mote through a TV out of frustration, you can simply just have the game beat the level for you. This way you don’t sacrifice a TV, and you’re not left both frustrated at the game and horrified that you’re now left without a TV to game on.
As it’s name suggests, Donkey Kong Country Returns HD is in glorious HD now! With some games this seems like a sales gimmick to get you to buy the more “improved” version of the game, but with Donkey Kong Country Returns HD , it really is a graphical improvement. The original Donkey Kong Country Returns on the Wii was great for the time it released. But the game didn’t age well at all if you try and go back to play it again today. The 3DS port while looking really good with that super awesome 3D effect, looks a little grainy on the small 3DS screen; even on the larger XL model of the New 3DS.
While you don’t get the 3D effect in this latest release, what you get still looks stunning. Playing in docked mode, the game runs at 1080p resolution and in handheld mode, it comes down to 720p. Either resolution though, you’re going to get beautiful bright colors along with character models and textures that have been up-scaled and look surprisingly good; regardless of resolution.
So how does all of the graphical improvements and game changes perform? Well again, surprisingly well. The original Wii version ran at 60fps, the 3DS port ran at 30fps, and this HD release runs at 60fps on Switch. The best part about the performance is that it doesn’t take a hit when in handheld mode, like I honestly would have expected. I had expected it to go down to 30fps when in handheld mode, but it doesn’t, it manages to keep the 60fps frame rate.
If you’ve played any version of Donkey Kong Country Returns, then this music will be rather familiar to you. That’s because nothing has really changed with this release of the game in regards to music. Though the music does sound a bit remastered, that’s the only change that’s been made here. Don’t get me wrong, the music sounds great, but don’t expect a complete overhaul.
The soundtracks haven’t been rearranged, changed, or any new music selections offered. With a remaster like this, it’s something to expect. You aren’t going to get any changes like that, and that’s fine. If it was a remake, then I would totally expect those kinds of changes. But with this being a remaster, the music going mostly unchanged, is to be expected.
With all that I’ve gone over, does this game warrant the $60 (or equivalent for your region) price tag? I would say that only you as the reader can make that determination.
But let’s go over a short recap. You have a graphical overhaul, modern improvements to the game in the form of it being more accessible, traditional controls, no real gimmicks, and you have the previously exclusive levels of the 3DS version included.
As someone that’s owned and played the original on the Wii and the 3DS version, I would say that the $60 price tag is more than fair given all the improvements this game makes over the first two releases. Donkey Kong Country Returns HD is the definitive way to play Donkey Kong Country Returns and I highly recommend picking this game up to either play for the first time, or revisit an iconic classic of a game.
Disclaimer: A review key was provided
In addition to writing articles, Ryan Byers also creates content for his YouTube channel called "Obscure Games and Consoles", collects video games, and dabbles in video game development.