It has been a decade since we’ve got a brand new, wholly original Donkey Kong game. That’s right, Donkey Kong Tropical Freeze came out way back in 2014. Since then, all we’ve got are remakes of old games or Mario vs. Donkey Kong games. Well, now, with the release of Donkey Kong Country Returns HD, we’ve got a remaster of a remake. Donkey Kong Country came out way back in 1994 and is a game I remember fondly from my childhood. Many of the levels and music are ingrained into the back of my head. Donkey Kong Country Returns was a Wii remake of the game in 2010. Then, that game was released on the 3DS and titled Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D. And now, for its third official release (four if you count the original), we’ve got the Switch version 15 years later, Donkey Kong Country Returns HD. This is… a lot of Donkey Kong Country.
It’s hard to complain about this game constantly being shoved into the light of day because it’s terrific. In my opinion, the original game has some of the best music ever composed. David Wise composed some truly unforgettable classics that found their way into Donkey Kong Country and Donkey Kong Country 2. Hearing his tracks replicated by composer Kenji Yamamoto was very nice. The mix of old tracks remade and new tracks gives the soundtrack a nice blend of old and new. But now these “new” tracks are 15 years old, it’s hard not to feel nostalgic about them, too, albeit in a less captivating way. The original tracks are the best, and personally, the OST in Returns pales in comparison, but it’s still a strong OST that holds up. It’s just hard to match the perfection of the original.
If you’ve played the original DKC, you will remember every single level in this remake. Retro Studios originally developed DKC Returns and did a stellar job reimagining the OG game’s intentions and designs. Forever Entertainment took the reins this time, and it’s crazy to me that the developer is different because it’s literally the same game. Let me explain… The 3DS port of DKC Returns had new levels that weren’t present in the original or its Wii counterpart. I thought maybe if it’s getting a Switch release, we would have some extra content, new playable characters, and new levels… but no. Donkey Kong Country Returns and Donkey Kong Country Returns HD are essentially the same video game. Is it too much to ask for some new content to get excited about?
This remastered version doesn’t even strike me as very different from the Wii release. When looking at the games side-by-side, it’s hard to see any stark difference. Even in close-up shots of DK and Diddy, you can see that their fur is different, but that’s really about it. What looks changed to my eye is that a lot of new colour correction is going on. Things pop a little bit more on the Switch remaster, and textures appear a lot clearer than they used to. But other than these “new” colours and enhanced textures, I’m not sure what is supposed to be remastered. They even used the original cutscenes and diorama pieces in the game. They used the original Wii cutscene models, and the dioramas remain untouched. It’s almost as if they forgot to apply the touched-up stuff to those areas of the game. I’m not entirely sure what happened there.
Look, DKC Returns HD isn’t all that bad. It’s got a lot of questionable design choices, and I don’t think this version of the game needs to exist, but the nice thing is, it’s the exact same game that was released on the Wii. It’s a very difficult platformer that is a ton of fun to play, whether you’re playing alone or with a friend. This is way harder than the vast majority of Nintendo platformers out there. Donkey Kong games have always been way more hardcore than any Mario platformer has been in terms of difficulty. There are two modes you can pick from right off the bat: “original mode” is the classic game. Two hearts per character, instant death if you fall off a cliff, minecart crashes, etc. This mode is a brutally tough experience that doesn’t hold any punches. You will need to mentally prepare for this. “Modern Mode” is a take on the 3DS game’s “new mode.” Each Kong has an additional heart and can equip items that you purchase from Cranky at his shop. You can buy additional hearts or momentary invincibility, to name a few. You equip a myriad of these items at any given time if you so choose.
The issue with this game is that as classic as it is, it has the same difficulty spikes found way back in 1994. The smooth movement and fidelity of Tropical Freeze weren’t around when this game came out on the Wii, so it isn’t here now, either. Although… it definitely could have been. Had they implemented the same movement and controls from that game perhaps this experience wouldn’t feel so clunky in comparison. In so many sections of the game, you have to rely on split-second inputs and decision-making. It’s not so bad in the early game, but out of nowhere, in the mid-to-late game, it ramps up to a preposterous level of difficulty that’ll have even OG players shaking. This has never been what anybody would call a “balanced” experience, but if you’re a fan of the nail-bitingly tough difficulty, then look no further.
Is DKC Returns HD terrible? No. I just can’t find any reason to defend its existence. Nintendo is most likely saving a new Donkey Kong platformer for the Switch 2, and if that’s the case, I’ll be extremely pleased. But putting Donkey Kong Country out into the world AGAIN at full price doesn’t make any sense to me. Forever Entertainment didn’t reinvent the wheel with this release, and I struggle to understand why they would leave things like collectibles and cutscenes untouched. Had this been released at half price, I might be less confused by it, but given the fact that this game after taxes will run you $90 CAD makes it really tough to recommend. If you’ve somehow missed this game every single time it was released, you should get it because it’s a classic. But if you’ve played every version of it like I have, I don’t see any reason to pick it up.
