Discussion Nintendo's Choices of Donkey Kong Re-releases Feel Boring

[Adulfzen]

feels like this was a somewhat relatively low cost porting/remastering job which explains why it happened instead of any other older project.

Something like Donkey Kong 64 especially would need to be reworked even from a game design to the point you'd be better off making a new game.

I'd say it still seems fairly likely that we'll get a new game eventually considering they're bothering to keep the character relevant between the movie, the theme park and ports.

 

[zumaddy]

I understand why they did it, but yeah my first reaction was also "Returns again..."

 

[Brock Reiher]

This remaster is being done by “Forever Entertainment SA”. I’ll say again, this isn’t a remake. It’s basically the Wii game equivalent of putting the SNES games on NSO, which they already are. It’s not “Returns again?”, it’s “finally Returns! That was the last one left.”

I’m also certain people upset by this would be unhappy if we got say, a full on remake of Donkey Kong Country 2 where everything visually is in the Retro Studios style.

 

[Gartooth]

Yeah I just want to reiterate that like, yes Mario vs Donkey Kong and Donkey Kong Country Returns "make sense" from the perspective of brand synergy with the Mario vs DK fight scene in the movie and the DK theme park at Universal.

I just think the fan element has been completely ignored in paving the way for a new DK game. They need to celebrate games that the fans love the most the same way they did for Metroid by dropping a remaster of Prime 1 with all new graphics, the same way they did with Mario RPGs by dropping remakes of SMRPG and TTYD.

Again I don't know why it feels like they haven't engaged the fans when the state of the DK fandom is still really negative and these are the people who should be your biggest advocates for the IP. Choosing to elevate some of the big fan favorites in the series like a DKC2 is just an example of trying to get DK fans to leap out of their seat in excitement. Really I think anything from the Rare era would do the trick after the response to K. Rool in Smash.

 

[Brock Reiher]

Yeah I just want to reiterate that like, yes Mario vs Donkey Kong and Donkey Kong Country Returns "make sense" from the perspective of brand synergy with the Mario vs DK fight scene in the movie and the DK theme park at Universal.

I just think the fan element has been completely ignored in paving the way for a new DK game. They need to celebrate games that the fans love the most the same way they did for Metroid by dropping a remaster of Prime 1 with all new graphics, the same way they did with Mario RPGs by dropping remakes of SMRPG and TTYD.

Again I don't know why it feels like they haven't engaged the fans when the state of the DK fandom is still really negative and these are the people who should be your biggest advocates for the IP. Choosing to elevate some of the big fan favorites in the series like a DKC2 is just an example of trying to get DK fans to leap out of their seat in excitement. Really I think anything from the Rare era would do the trick after the response to K. Rool in Smash.

The only game they’re investing in enough to do a full on remake is Mario vs DK which is the closest to what we see in the movie. Returns is just an HD port remaster, but from what I’ve seen the Donkey Kong esthetic in Returns is much closer to the Mario Movie and the theme park than anything in the rare games, isn’t it? There are no Kremlings in the Mario movie.

As of now the only games that got full on remakes were games in the Mario and Zelda series. I don’t know if Donkey Kong needs that kind of investment, especially for the Rare games which are pretty far away from the direction of the movie/theme park.

 

[majimazio]

A new 3D DK or DK64 remake would need to be announced within a year of the Switch 2 launch.

 

[KremlingKuthroat]

This remaster is being done by “Forever Entertainment SA”. I’ll say again, this isn’t a remake. It’s basically the Wii game equivalent of putting the SNES games on NSO, which they already are. It’s not “Returns again?”, it’s “finally Returns! That was the last one left.”

I’m also certain people upset by this would be unhappy if we got say, a full on remake of Donkey Kong Country 2 where everything visually is in the Retro Studios style.

I would HATE for the Rare DKC trilogy games to get remastered unless they used the exact same ACM graphics but upscaled to 1080P or 4K. I don't want those games in the Tropical Freeze engine. The last thing I want is for those games to lose their unique art style. It's the most unique part of the game. I'd be much happier with DK64, Diddy Kong Racing or Jungle Beat getting remastered/remade. There's no point anyways. It'd be like remaking the original Super Mario Bros. trilogy. The SNES games are perfect for what they area.

 

[dyle]

Yeah I just want to reiterate that like, yes Mario vs Donkey Kong and Donkey Kong Country Returns "make sense" from the perspective of brand synergy with the Mario vs DK fight scene in the movie and the DK theme park at Universal.

I just think the fan element has been completely ignored in paving the way for a new DK game. They need to celebrate games that the fans love the most the same way they did for Metroid by dropping a remaster of Prime 1 with all new graphics, the same way they did with Mario RPGs by dropping remakes of SMRPG and TTYD.

Again I don't know why it feels like they haven't engaged the fans when the state of the DK fandom is still really negative and these are the people who should be your biggest advocates for the IP. Choosing to elevate some of the big fan favorites in the series like a DKC2 is just an example of trying to get DK fans to leap out of their seat in excitement. Really I think anything from the Rare era would do the trick after the response to K. Rool in Smash.

I really don't think a DKC remake would go over well when half the point of the games were the pre-rendered sprites. Remove the wonder of that and it's just another version of a great game that you can already play on your Switch.

 

[Thunder84]

They need to celebrate games that the fans love the most

Returns is the best selling game not on the Switch* in the series by a pretty big margin. If you want a game that the fans love the most, this is the best one not available on the console.

Not really comparable to Prime 1 or TTYD, both of which were critically acclaimed and not currently playable on the platform. The only game that fits that criteria is Returns.

Remaking SNES games already available on the console would not get as many leaps of excitement as you think.

 

[Kellhus]

This isn't a DKC thing. How many of Nintendo's SNES games have ever had a significant graphical upgrade in a later release? Super Metroid hasn't, Link to the Past hasn't, Super Mario World hasn't, Super Mario Kart hasn't, Star Fox hasn't, Yoshi's Island hasn't, F-Zero hasn't... (correct me if I'm wrong on any of these)

So yeah, tbh I think Nintendo are doing a perfectly okay job on DK re-releases, and I'm sure DK '94 and DK64 will be on Switch Online eventually.

I think they're doing a terrible job of prioritising new DK games though.

 

[Professor Chops]

Returns is the biggest game in the series by a pretty big margin. If you want a game that the fans love the most, it’s probably this one.

I'm not sure what metric you're basing this on, but it's objectively not true. In terms of sales, the original Donkey Kong Country is still the best-selling game in the series, though Returns will likely surpass it. In terms of fan reception, DKC2 and Tropical Freeze consistently rank at the top of "favorite Donkey Kong game" fan polls.

I don't even want remakes or remasters. I just want them to make new games and do more with their characters. The fact that K. Rool hasn't appeared in anything since Smash Ultimate is criminal, though there hasn't been anything for him to appear in outside of merchandise and Mario spin-offs. Never in my wildest dreams did I think this franchise would go 11-12 years without a new game, but here we are.

 

[Thunder84]

I'm not sure what metric you're basing this on, but it's objectively not true. In terms of sales, the original Donkey Kong Country is still the best-selling game in the series, though Returns will likely surpass it. In terms of fan reception, DKC2 and Tropical Freeze consistently rank at the top of "favorite Donkey Kong game" fan polls.

I don't even want remakes or remasters. I just want them to make new games and do more with their characters. The fact that K. Rool hasn't appeared in anything since Smash Ultimate is criminal, though there hasn't been anything for him to appear in outside of merchandise and Mario spin-offs. Never in my wildest dreams did I think this franchise would go 11-12 years without a new game, but here we are.

Fair point, I forgot about the OGs sales being so strong. Best selling game not on the system would be a better way of putting it.

Regardless, my point still stands. Fan polls are already a bit pointless, but even then those top two games are already playable on Switch. And given that the issues with a new Donkey Kong game are likely unrelated entirely to this port, I still don’t see an issue. It wasn’t Returns or a new game, it was Returns or another port. And Returns is generally gonna be a lot more exciting to most than Jungle Beat or DK 64.

 

[Gartooth]

Returns is the best selling game not on the Switch* in the series by a pretty big margin. If you want a game that the fans love the most, this is the best one not available on the console.

Not really comparable to Prime 1 or TTYD, both of which were critically acclaimed and not currently playable on the platform. The only game that fits that criteria is Returns.

Remaking SNES games already available on the console would not get as many leaps of excitement as you think.

Returns only sold 1m more than DK64 and that was on the Wii with an install base that trounces N64. Returns is not above it by a big margin like you say.

Just looking at casual predictions and desire for old Nintendo games I have seen DK64 for Switch pop up way more than Returns alongside a general desire to see Nintendo try 3D Donkey Kong again. This is just not an exciting reveal to get the 3rd launch of a game in a span of 14 years.

And yeah the original Donkey Kong Country is by far the most popular game to the mainstream in the series with over 9 million sales on SNES alone not counting all its various ports over the years. If you want what the most common answers are from fans for the best DK games ever it's always DKC2 or Tropical Freeze.

 

[Thunder84]

Returns only sold 1m more than DK64 and that was on the Wii with an install base that trounces N64. Returns is not above it by a big margin like you say.

Just looking at casual predictions and desire for old Nintendo games I have seen DK64 for Switch pop up way more than Returns alongside a general desire to see Nintendo try 3D Donkey Kong again. This is just not an exciting reveal to get the 3rd launch of a game in a span of 14 years.

Returns sold an additional 3.5M on the 3DS. Lifetime sales are nearly 10M, it well outsold 64. And that second point feels very anecdotal. I’ve seen a much bigger desire and expectation for Returns myself. Especially since 64 can just go on NSO eventually.

For me, if they were gonna port any game over, Returns was easily the most exciting pick. There just isn’t a flashy game for DK they can do like with Metroid Prime or Paper Mario. And given that the 3DS port happened over 10 years ago now, it’s not like they’ve been releasing Returns constantly. The time difference is more or less the same as the Zelda HD remasters.

 

[Gartooth]

Returns sold an additional 3.5M on the 3DS. Lifetime sales are nearly 10M, it well outsold 64. And that second point feels very anecdotal. I’ve seen a much bigger desire and expectation for Returns myself. Especially since 64 can just go on NSO eventually.

For me, if they were gonna port any game over, Returns was easily the most exciting pick. There just isn’t a flashy game for DK they can do like with Metroid Prime or Paper Mario. And given that the 3DS port happened over 10 years ago now, it’s not like they’ve been releasing Returns constantly. The time difference is more or less the same as the Zelda HD remasters.

That logic makes no sense.

This game has multiple re-releases --> therefore it sells the best from multiple sales opportunities --> well it's the best seller so we should port it again

For 15 years from 2010 to 2025 Nintendo has just kept milking the same 2 Retro Studios games. After the 3rd re-release of a Retro DKC I think it's more than fair to be bored and wanting something else.

 

[Thunder84]

That logic makes no sense.

This game has multiple re-releases --> therefore it sells the best from multiple sales opportunities --> well it's the best seller so we should port it again

It sold the best in its initial run anyway, so your point is moot. But yes, selling well across multiple platforms means more than selling on one platform.

For 15 years from 2010 to 2025 Nintendo has just kept milking the same 2 Retro Studios games. After the 3rd re-release of a Retro DKC I think it's more than fair to be bored and wanting something else.

Cool. I highly disagree. Getting one of the best 2D platformers of the 21st century playable on a modern console is a huge win for me. We’ll leave it at that.

 

[Gartooth]

I would HATE for the Rare DKC trilogy games to get remastered unless they used the exact same ACM graphics but upscaled to 1080P or 4K. I don't want those games in the Tropical Freeze engine. The last thing I want is for those games to lose their unique art style. It's the most unique part of the game. I'd be much happier with DK64, Diddy Kong Racing or Jungle Beat getting remastered/remade. There's no point anyways. It'd be like remaking the original Super Mario Bros. trilogy. The SNES games are perfect for what they area.

Why would those games lose their art style and look like Retro DK? SMRPG Remake did not look like generic Mario.

Those graphics just do not work on a modern TV well today, they were made for the fuzziness of CRTs.

 

[VDenter]

Rare DKC games are really short by modern 2D platforming standards. Well 2D platformers from that era are and I don't see anyone really remaking them from the ground up and selling for full price. (Especially if they are already available on NSO) If you are going to go through so much effort then just make a new game?

Remaking DK64 is another almost pie in the sky level tier idea. Making that game playable is going to take an insane amount of work. Although I can see them releasing in on NSO at some point.

Look OP I get it I want a new DKC game too as much as anyone else and the gap between new games is kind of a bummer, but all your other examples of what Nintendo could have remade instead of just remastering DKCR make no sense to me. It was the obvious and correct choice.

 

[Mekanos]

Retro's been busy.

Retro is not the only studio on planet Earth capable of making a Donkey Kong game.

 

[Professor Chops]

I think bringing Returns up to Tropical Freeze’s level visually and adding another playable character or two would have satisfied the fandom, but this feels like a fairly effortless release—which makes the 2025 release date sting even more. It's not like the Tropical Freeze was treated much better; the only new content was playable Funky Kong, whose model was already in the game. That didn’t stop them from charging more for it than the Wii U version, however.

Meanwhile, Metroid Prime was shadow dropped and received a complete graphical overhaul for $40. It’s frustrating that franchises that sell far less than DK constantly get better treatment, let alone Mario who gets ten games a year. We just want the franchise to be taken seriously again, and despite the tenuous promise that EPD is working on something, this release does little to assuage my fears.

 

[KremlingKuthroat]

I’m content with DKCR HD because I accepted that Nintendo royally screwed up this gen. The biggest mistake Nintendo has made with the DK IP is having an iron grip on quality control. Sure the Paon games and Donkey Konga weren’t stellar, but only allowing 1st party studios and the disaster that was DK Freedom happen was due to this iron grip on quality control. There are tons of studios chomping at the bit to make a DK game, but Nintendo’s obsession with quality control has resulted in 2 original games since 2007. I’m very confident in the brand moving forward. Nintendo just needs to loosen the damn reigns on the quality control. EPD will happen. No one knows when, but the good news is that DK is on a roll now. Back to back years of DK releases (Mario vs DK this year and DKCR HD next year). Just keep releasing a new game every year and I’ll be content. That’s why I want DK64 HD, Diddy Kong Racing HD and Jungle Beat HD, gotta have stop gap titles