The mystery of the monkeys

If, like me, you were lucky enough to own a Super Nintendo in the nineties, you certainly got excited for the weekend to come so you could go to the video store and pray that the Donkey Kong Country trilogy cartridges were available for rent. Or maybe even receive one of the games as a birthday or Christmas gift.

I can say without any fear that the protagonists of the game became as popular as Mario, Luigi, Yoshi, Toad, Samus, and company. Everything involving the games was of great perfection, with graphics that almost reached reality, a fabulous soundtrack, not to mention the countless secrets that were discovered in the levels.



Everything seemed obvious for the next Nintendo consoles, but the fact is that more and more, titles based on the story of the beloved gorilla became scarce, being reduced to a great racing game released for Nintendo 64 and we pretty much stopped there. And to make everything worse, the Rare studio, responsible for the mascots, had been acquired by Microsoft. After all, what happened? This is one of the great mysteries of the gaming industry.

A new hope...

After the absence of good titles for Game Cube, GBA, among others, everything seemed lost for the little monkeys' fans and their hidden secrets in each puzzle. But in 2010, Big N announced with no pretension at all, one of the games that would become one of the greatest games released for the nostalgic Wii: we are talking about Donkey Kong Country Returns.

It is not difficult to think about the reason for the huge success of the title, but just imagine that the great inspiration was the "return" of the classic gameplay from the 16-bit era, reigniting the almost extinguished flame in the hearts of faithful fans. Not only that, but the success was so great that the game received a port for Nintendo 3DS, as well as a sequel for Wii U and Nintendo Switch: Donkey Kong Country Tropical Freeze, which, it is worth mentioning, I consider a very underestimated title, especially after the update bringing Funky Kong.

The best way

Now, the definitive version of one of the most acclaimed Wii games is among us. More beautiful, more lively, without losing a single pixel from what the other versions presented. I dare say that this remaster was the icing on the cake that was missing in the rescue of older games.



It is worth mentioning that the studio changed very few aspects of the 3DS version, which already had a new difficulty, in addition to the possibility of carrying more items in each level and new boosts in Cranky's store, making the game more enjoyable for new players.

The entire game's plot was maintained, in which the animals of Kong Island are hypnotized by the invaders from the Tiki Tak tribe, to steal the most precious thing for a monkey: their valuable bananas.

It is impossible not to appreciate the more colorful scenarios, with a subtle redesign, but compared to the original game, everything becomes clearer. Not that the game had an unpleasant look, far from it.

The vegetation is considerably richer, more abundant, while the effect of blowing a dandelion became much more beautiful. Even the movement of some enemies is smoother, as well as Kong's own. These small adjustments make the experience more pleasant and make you want to play it all over again.

Making things easier or modernizing?

I confess that I am not the biggest platform game player, but I never stopped trusting my jumps, especially because I really like Crash Bandicoot. The thing is, in the Wii version, some commands were hindered by too much precision (or lack thereof), in which some movements were performed by shaking the Wii remote.

Thanks to Donkey Kong Country Returns HD, this "flaw" was considerably fixed, especially for pro controller enthusiasts. Having the dexterity of timing in platform games is essential for success in the more than eighty levels that the game offers the player, distributed in nine different worlds.



I believe that in about fifteen hours, even the most casual player can beat the game without much difficulty, considering not only the advantages of an improved controller, but also the aforementioned advantages. For those who did not have the opportunity to play, the Super Nintendo titles were treacherous.

Where's the sauce?

Saying good things about Donkey Kong Country Returns HD is very easy, as it is the remaster of one of the coolest Wii games. It has everything: graphics, soundtrack, gameplay, fun, secrets...so what's wrong?

Well, just like with Tropical Freeze, I believe that Nintendo could have done something similar here. Whether creating new levels or the possibility of playing with new characters. Not only that, but I consider paying full price for a remaster an exaggeration. But of course, for me, who has known Kong since his beginnings.

A first-time sailor will certainly be delighted with everything the game offers. There's no way not to like Donkey Kong Country Returns HD. Undoubtedly, it is a title to make the Switch legacy even more complete. 

We thank Nintendo for providing us with a key for Donkey Kong Country Returns HD and making this content possible.