Have your bananas prepped once again because Donkey Kong and Diddy are reuniting; their fans could not have been happier. Thanks to the Donkey Kong Country Returns HD release on the Nintendo Switch, players now have the chance to replay one of the most beloved platformers of the last several years. Yet, this return is not solely about the improved resolution; it is a declaration of how the same crew from Metroid Prime, namely Retro Studios, managed to resurrect the dead and make their mark in Nintendo’s history.
Essentially, the company needed its next project when some of the prominent staff were leaving Retro. This was the moment when Shigeru Miyamoto, who was interested in restarting Donkey Kong, came along, and Tanabe presented Retro as the best group to accomplish it. That single concept triggered the process, which later on led to the creation of Donkey Kong Country: Returns, a title that would pay homage to the SNES classics while simultaneously moving in new directions with the series.
The pressure was on immediately. As developers Kynan Pearson, Mike Wikan, and Tom Ivey later explained, internal shake-ups within the studio created a void–but it also presented an opportunity for fresh ideas and a new vision. Most of the new members were lifelong enthusiasts of the original trilogy, and that strong passion carried over into their work. Pearson describes how the mutual love of the series spurred their innovation, and that enthusiasm was heightened by working near Nintendo’s Kyoto-based developers. The combined effort bridged skepticism about whether Retro was capable of doing something so divergent from Metroid.
At E3 2010, the announcement of Donkey Kong Country Returns was nothing less than a thunderous splash. It not only managed to bring back the series’ characteristic platforming precision and imaginative level design but also offered a vibrant new look and engaging gameplay mechanics. The game’s success both critically and commercially was so loud that it quickly quieted the skeptics. As Tanabe later remarked, Retro’s natural grasp of the reasons why Donkey Kong Country was great helped it to triumph.
And currently, Donkey Kong Country Returns HD is delivering the Donkey Kong magic of the past to the entire new world. The HD remaster will be launched on January 16, 2025, and is basically the first Wii release with all 80 stages. Moreover, the 3DS version has been updated with additional content, so the Switch version is more than just a simple port. It is designed to keep everything that made the original great, but now with improved graphics and smoother performance to match the standard of today’s gaming experience. So, no matter if you are riding mine carts solo or collaborating with friends in local co-op, the game is yours to enjoy.
Needless to say, not even one of the Donkey Kong series is complete without several eye-catching antagonists, and Retro was quite generous in that regard. In Donkey Kong Country Returns, the player had to face the hypnotic Tiki Tak Tribe, but the real work was done by Tropical Freeze as it shook things up by introducing the Snowmads led by the rotund, horn-blowing Lord Fredrik. The game could be considered to have gained a certain flavor from his icy takeover and Viking-inspired appearance, although his fight with the boss may not have been the most original, as it still seemed to draw some parallels with King K. Rool. In fact, he may have been at the same time a bit of a trope and an injection of new life into the series. The Snowmads had a complete influence on the making of Tropical Freeze, entirely different from the situations caused by Fredrik himself, which was a little bit of a mixed bag for the longtime fans from the frozen battlefields to frost dragons called in.
But at the same time, it is very evident that Retro Studios brought in the same level of respect and courage. They were not hesitant to tamper with the formula if it meant to depict the classic villain characters in revolt or to try out something new with the level mechanics. It was this mixing of innovativeness with the love of the original that allowed the developers to keep on with the saga while still maintaining the same foundations.
Donkey Kong Country’s revival essentially boiled down to a profound respect for the history, and it has been a great success in going even further. Retro Studios didn’t merely reprint a platformer–instead, they breathed new life into a dead franchise. Consequently, both retro lovers and new school players will be able to enjoy the charm, difficulty, and imagination that characterize the series once Donkey Kong Country Returns HD hits the Switch very soon. If you are eager to experience the jungle once again or play it for the first time, Donkey Kong Country is calling–and it’s more colorful than ever.