Summary
- Nintendo excluded the individual developers from Retro Studios from the Donkey Kong Country Returns HD credits.
- Nintendo's history of condensing credits in remastered games has been criticized by developers in the past.
The imminent release of Donkey Kong Country Returns HD has confirmed that the game's original developers at Retro Studios have been omitted from the remastered version's full credits. Set for release on January 16, 2025, Donkey Kong Country Returns HD presents a remastered version of the 2010 Wii platformer for Nintendo Switch owners.
Thanks in part to its portability and Nintendo's large library of classic titles, the Nintendo Switch is a strong contender as one of the best contemporary retro game platforms. Nintendo itself has also gotten into the trend of remastering and remaking beloved classics, adding new content and graphical flourishes to refresh them for fans and newcomers alike. Recent years have seen things like the enhanced remake of Super Mario RPG and the remasters of classic series like Advance Wars. Even underappreciated narrative games like the Famicom Detective Club titles have seen a renaissance on the Switch.
Donkey Kong Country Returns HD Misses the Opportunity to Revive a Fun Tropical Freeze Mode
Although Donkey Kong Country Returns HD will be its definitive version, it missed the chance to bring a beloved Tropical Freeze feature back.
That slate includes the Donkey Kong Country series. With the Donkey Kong Country Returns HD release date looming, news outlets with pre-release access have confirmed that Nintendo has omitted the staff of Retro Studios, the developers of the 2010 Wii original, from the full credits of Donkey Kong Country Returns HD. As reported by Nintendo Life, the credits screen only features credits for the staff of developer Forever Entertainment, which ported and enhanced the original game, along with the 3DS version content, for the Switch. Instead of surfacing full credits for Retro Studios, the credits screen shows a line saying that the remastered game is "Based on the work of the original development staff."
Nintendo Omits Retro Studios From Donkey Kong Country Returns HD Credits
The decision to condense the credits of Donkey Kong Country Returns HD falls in line with Nintendo's treatment of other Switch-based re-releases. In 2023, developer Zoid Kirsch, who was a programmer and senior gameplay engineer at Retro Studios for the first two Metroid Prime games, criticized Nintendo for excluding full original credits from Metroid Prime Remastered on the Switch. At the time, he said he felt "let down" that Nintendo chose to omit the names of members no longer working at Retro Studios during the remaster's development. Fellow developers chimed in, saying the exclusion of original teams from the credits of remasters and remakes is "bad practice."
Crediting is a hot topic in the game industry thanks to the importance of credits in building the careers of game developers. Even in the field of remastered titles, crediting original developers also works as a gesture of appreciation, recognizing the effort of teams that put years of their time into beloved titles. Nintendo is also accused of not crediting translators, or saddling translators and translation partners with restrictive non-disclosure agreements that prevent them from saying they worked on key series like The Legend of Zelda. As increasing numbers of developers and fans publicly call out improper crediting practices across the industry, the time may come when publishers, Nintendo included, will have to change their habits.
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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
