Donkey Kong Country Returns HD is a remaster of a game that was on the Wii and then on the Nintendo 3DS. I played both versions, and also this newest version. Donkey Kong's a great game, but Nintendo should reconsider how it prices classics like this in the future as we approach Year 9 of the Switch Family's lifecycle.

A character that Nintendo seemed to have forgotten, focusing on a very specific type of game, as seen in the Game Boy title that was released in 1994, the year in which everything would change. From the hands of British Rare,

Since his debut Donkey Kong's character design has remained fairly unchanged, but his 'new' look isn't quite as fresh as you might expect. Seemingly taking inspiration from the animated aesthetics of the 2023 Super Mario Bros.

Donkey Kong Country Returns HD is a fairly straightforward port that'll fill enough time on the road to the Switch 2.

It’s called Donkey Kong Country Returns HD, and it’s basically what it says right there in the title: the original game but with cleaned-up graphics. Fundamentally, there isn’t a lot of difference. The premise,

The newly unveiled Mario Kart 9 game for Nintendo Switch 2 sports the first sign of the Donkey Kong redesign from the movie.

Donkey Kong Country Returns HD for the Nintendo Switch takes aspects of each of these rereleases — motion controls, bonus levels, enhanced visuals — and packages them into the ultimate experience. It’s easily the best the game has ever looked and felt,

Donkey Kong Country Returns HD's perceived snub of the development team at Retro Studios is addressed in a statement by Nintendo.

Country Returns breathed life back into the franchise and was considered the spiritual successor of the original Donkey Kong: Country trilogy from the Super Nintendo era. From the 2D platforming to its cartoon style, Retro Studios stayed true to the essence of the classic games while introducing new elements.