Summary
- Nintendo's Donkey Kong Country Returns HD doesn't list the individual members of the original game's development team at Retro Studios by name.
- According to a statement from Nintendo, proper credit should be given to all individuals who work on a project.
- Donkey Kong Country Returns HD has seen largely positive reviews from players and critics.
Nintendo has responded to criticisms that credits in the recently released Donkey Kong Country Returns HD don't accurately cite the developers of the game on which it's based. Donkey Kong Country Returns HD has been getting largely positive reviews, and many Nintendo fans would like to see the team behind the original Donkey Kong Country Returns get more credit for its success.
Donkey Kong Country Returns HD was released worldwide between January 15 and 16, depending on the player's time zone. A remastered version of the fourth mainline game in the Donkey Kong Country series, which was originally released in 2010 for the Nintendo Wii and later ported to the 3DS, the game features the series' original heroes, Donkey and Diddy, teaming up once again to recover their horde of bananas, which were stolen by the Tiki Tak Tribe.
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Developed by Retro Studios, which is currently working on Metroid Prime 4: Beyond, the original game received generally favorable reviews from fans and professional critics alike. However, in the remastered game developed by Forever Entertainment, the developers of the original Donkey Kong Country Returns noted a perceived snub, as its credits do not list the individual members of the original game's development team by name, instead stating that the remastered game is "based on the work" of that team. In a statement to Eurogamer, Nintendo, which served as publisher of both games, made note of the importance of giving due credit to developers but did not address the specifics of the Donkey Kong Country Returns HD controversy. "We believe in giving proper credit for anyone involved in making or contributing to a game's creation, and value the contributions that all staff make during the development process," the statement reads.
Nintendo Addresses Donkey Kong Country Returns HD Credits Snub
Additional inquiries were made to Nintendo asking for clarification on its statements, but as of this article's writing, none have been published. This is not the first time Retro Studios has seen its individual developers left out of the credits of a remastered game for which its team developed the original. In early 2023, senior gameplay engineer Zoid Kirsch took to social media to complain about missing credits in Metroid Prime Remastered, even though Retro Studios is credited as the developer for both the remaster and the original version of that game.
The controversial omission comes at a bad time for Nintendo, which has just made a major announcement concerning the future direction of the company. After a long period of rumors and speculation, Nintendo officially revealed the Switch 2 on January 16. Featuring a slightly larger size than the original Switch, magnetic Joy-Cons, and one new Donkey Kong sighting in an apparent preview of the next Mario Kart game, fans will likely have to wait for the Nintendo Direct on April 2 to learn more about the upcoming console.
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 77 /100 Critics Rec: 71%
- Released
- January 16, 2025
- ESRB
- E for Everyone - Mild fantasy violence
- Developer(s)
- Forever Entertainment
- Publisher(s)
- Nintendo
WHERE TO PLAY
Help Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong recover their precious banana hoard from the villainous Tiki Tak Tribe! Stomp enemies, blast through barrels, and ride rockets and mine carts (and even Rambi the rhino) in 80 levels across nine worlds.
Play the game as it was first designed for the Wii™ system, or reduce the difficulty for extra hearts and other goodies to make your journey a little easier. This barrel-blasting adventure is visually enhanced in HD for the Nintendo Switch™ system and includes the extra levels from the Nintendo 3DS™ version!
Team up with a friend and take on the whole game as Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong
Pass a Joy-Con™ controller to a buddy and take on the Tiki Tak Tribe as DK and Diddy in two-player local play. Pelt foes with Diddy’s Peanut Popgun and hover using his Barrel Jet, and slam bad guys into submission with DK’s Ground Pound—or just Barrel Roll right through them. Work together to reclaim those bananas by the bunch!
- Multiplayer
- Local Co-Op, Online Co-Op
- Franchise
- Donkey Kong Country
- Number of Players
- 1-2
- Nintendo Switch Release Date
- January 16, 2025
- Platform(s)
- Nintendo Switch
- Genre(s)
- Platformer
- How Long To Beat
- 11.5 hours
- OpenCritic Rating
- Strong
