Today, I’m revisiting a game that has gotten a new upgrade on Nintendo Switch 2. Let’s have a look!

Donkey Kong Country Returns HD

Genre: Platformer

Players: 1-2 Co-Op (Local, Local Wireless GameShare)

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Review:

I previously looked at the difference between playing Donkey Kong Country Returns HD on Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch 2, but wouldn’t you know it, Nintendo had to come out and release a game update for Nintendo Switch 2 adding improved graphics and loading times, as well as support for Nintendo Switch 2’s Game Share feature.

Well, let’s give this game another look, then!

Curiously, after the game update, game loading times on the original Nintendo Switch seem to have bloated from 15 seconds to fire up the game to 42, 13 seconds to load up a game save to 16, and 14 seconds to load into a level to 25. The update also makes it take longer to load up the game on Nintendo Switch 2, with those same times going from 6, 8, and 7 to 19, 10, and 5. Okay, that last one is shorter, and the improved visuals do justify this somewhat on Nintendo Switch, but even so, to say that this update reduces loading times is pretty misleading when it only reduces them compared to the worsened loading times the update adds to the Nintendo Switch version.

At the very least the other updates to the game on Nintendo Switch 2 are well worth the update. The improved resolution looks great, really smoothing out the already-excellent visuals of Donkey Kong Country Returns. It’s just a shame the framerates couldn’t be boosted as well. And of course, GameShare is nice to have, even if this isn’t a game I’d consider to be a great game for multiplayer.

Overall, it’s a bit of a mixed bag, but I would say it is an improvement, once again making Nintendo Switch 2 the definitive way to play this game. It still doesn’t justify the $60 price tag, but this is nevertheless still a phenomenal Platformer that’s even better (even if just a bit) on Nintendo Switch 2.

tl;dr – Donkey Kong Country Returns HD is a solid remaster of an excellent Platformer from Wii and Nintendo 3DS (improved further with smoother visuals and better loading times on Nintendo Switch 2), but this release doesn’t add much, and overall does little to justify its $60 price tag, especially when Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze is also on Nintendo Switch and an overall superior game. By comparison, this feels a bit like taking a step backwards at this point.

Grade: B

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I hope you enjoyed this latest Nintendo Switch 2 Difference Mini-Review, and found it to be helpful! Want to see all Nintendo Switch 2 Difference comparisons? Check out this page for links to every article where I’ve included these comparisons!

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