Key Takeaways
- Donkey Kong Country Returns HD is coming to the Switch on January 16, 2025.
- At that point, all the Donkey Kong Country games will be playable on Switch.
- This is thanks to Switch Online and the previous port of Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze.
Nintendo has recently highlighted the fact that the Switch will soon have access to every Donkey Kong Country game. The Donkey Kong Country sub-series started in 1994 with the release of the original game on the Super Nintendo. Donkey Kong Country was a critical and commercial success, leading to the release of two direct sequels on the Super Nintendo.
The Donkey Kong Country sub-series went dormant after the release of Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong’s Double Trouble. It finally made a comeback 14 years later with the Retro Studios-developed Donkey Kong Country Returns on the Wii, which was also a big hit. Retro then moved forward with Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze on the Wii U, with the game eventually ported to the Nintendo Switch.
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Thanks to Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze releasing on the Switch and the Switch Online service adding the original Donkey Kong Country trilogy, nearly the entire series is currently playable on Nintendo’s home console/handheld hybrid. The only exception is Donkey Kong Country Returns, but that will change in the near future. Donkey Kong Country Returns HD is coming to the Switch on January 16, 2025, and when it does, Switch owners will have access to every DKC game made to date.
List of Donkey Kong Country Games on the Switch
- Donkey Kong Country (Switch Online)
- Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy’s Kong Quest (Switch Online)
- Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie’s Double Trouble (Switch Online)
- Donkey Kong Country Returns HD (January 16, 2025)
- Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze
Not only will Switch owners be able to play every Donkey Kong Country game by the end of January, but they can also play most of the related Donkey Kong Land games as well. Donkey Kong Land and Donkey Kong Land 2 were both added to the Switch Online service just recently, and while they are not technically Donkey Kong Country games, they are closely related. In fact, the Donkey Kong Land games actively attempt to replicate the DKC style of gameplay, plus their plots are closely related if not basically identical. Donkey Kong Land 3 still has yet to come to Switch Online, but one has to imagine that it will happen sooner rather than later.
Nintendo has done a great job of ensuring its major franchises are well-represented on the Switch. There are still some missing games, but the Switch is already a fantastic machine for Super Mario, The Legend of Zelda, and Metroid as well. And with the news that the Switch 2 is backward compatible with the original Switch, it seems Nintendo’s next console will be even better for fans of Nintendo’s biggest franchises – especially if the games missing from the Switch are released in some capacity for its successor.
Donkey Kong Country
Released over just a two-year period between 1994 and 1996, many consider the original Donkey Kong Country trilogy to be among the finest side-scrolling platformers ever made. After a long hiatus, the series returned in 2010, with another game then being released for the Wii U some four years later.