Is This Nintendo's Saddest Rerelease Ever?

[@ArloStuff]

IS THIS MY MOST PINNED COMMENT EVER? Head to www.squarespace.com/arlo to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain using code "arlo" ALSO WORTH NOTING, it was too late to include the detail in the video but apparently co-op mode is busted as well because two players can't bounce on the same enemy like in the original. So just add that to the pile I guess.

[@flamingtanksquad7199]

Yes

[@lanevill5918]

hi arlo

[@DuelScreen]

How did I know that last line was coming? 😂

[@Under_Sky_Third_Gaia]

We really need an all new DK be it 2d or 3d maybe both would be nice

[@hichaelhyers]

ok

[@staticshock4239]

The fact that this was $60 while Metroid Prime Remastered is $40 always seemed crazy to me.

[@dpackerman4203]

I wouldn’t buy this game even if it were $40. I would buy Metroid Prime Remastered if it were $60, maybe even $70 (And this is coming from someone who absolutely loved DKC Returns on the Wii)

[@Digitail-u2t]

So is the $40 price only for online, cause a target I go to has it for $60 which is the same as all other games. So I’m wondering if it went up? Or is it up because it’s physical?

[@Fixional]

​@Digitail-u2t it's 40 at gamestop, target is just being ridiculous

[@16BitKamek]

​@@Digitail-u2t That just sounds like Target marked it up. I got mine for $40 at GameStop.

[@gr8springy]

I'm pretty sure it's because Metroid is not that huge of a IP, while Donkey Kong is that huge.

[@MarcelSOLDIER]

Seeing the frame rate consistently drop in the secret final level where precise jumps are a requirement to complete it was probably the biggest sigh I’ve let out in a long time

[@GabrieleRusso93]

I don't know if you're talking about your playthrough or some video, because I completed this game 100% on Switch and they even warned me about the frame rate drops, but it literally never happened. I played on a 144hz monitor and always docked, so I don't recall if they referred to the portable mode or docked one.

[@3ntr4nc3r]

​@@GabrieleRusso93 I actually had the framerate drops when playing docked, but I don't think I ever experienced the drops when playing in handheld mode.

[@Chaotheawesome]

@@GabrieleRusso93Same except I pretty much only played in handheld mode and got no frame rate drops

[@chrisbeach423]

@@GabrieleRusso93load times were horrible but I 100% the game in handheld mode and never noticed a single drop in frames during any of the “secret” levels

[@sandman8920]

I was going to buy it but I’m ok with the Wii and 3ds versions

[@micahrobbins8353]

You forgot something important. The multiplayer in the 3ds version and now the remake doesn't work because only one player can jump off of enemies. That totally breaks certain parts of the game

[@Luigimansion-kq7bb]

Wouldn't that be more of a glitch? Like BLJ's in Mario 64?

[@squiddu]

​@@Luigimansion-kq7bb Probably not. It was in the original, but removed in the 3ds version because there was no co-op, but making it easier for both players to use the same enemies as platforms in a pretty hard game seems intentional, right?

[@n1nj4l1nk]

​@@Luigimansion-kq7bbno, it was intended in the original and is clearly meant to be there as there are many places where the player that is slightly behind has no choice but to die now.

[@patroka]

Nice, was about to post about this exact thing

[@micahrobbins8353]

@@Luigimansion-kq7bb nah, I think the animation where the tops come off the drum enemies was made to visually represent that mechanic. The whole thing seems very intentional since multiplayer just doesn't work right without it

[@billyzamoravargas3611]

Biggest flop is that co-op is unplayable. They should return the frames for enemy jump back to original.

[@max_the_german4989]

The fact this problem isn’t mentioned in the video… This video wasn‘t researched on the typical Arlo level, Arlo just needed a valve for his emotions.

[@Wesayianshavenolimits]

@@max_the_german4989 I mean it’s a pretty easy thing to miss, a lot of people just play single player so you would have to go out of your way to find that. Especially since it’s local only and not online. Not saying that makes it ok that multiplayer is broken, but I really don’t see how that’s Arlo’s fault. I would’ve have missed that if I was making a video about it, even Digital Foundry missed it.

[@jclkaytwo]

​​@@Wesayianshavenolimitsyou don't need to play multiplayer to know about it. videos were already uploaded about it and people are frequently talking about it.

[@Wesayianshavenolimits]

@@jclkaytwo This comment was the first I heard about it. If I need to watch a video on it that’s basically the same as needing to play multiplayer, as in you would never know unless you were hardcore into the game. Again I don’t see how it’s Arlo’s fault, he just reviewed what he played. The video wasn’t a list about everything wrong with the game, just stuff he noticed. Not everyone is going to be in loop about something, even if you are usually in the loop about everything.

[@CEOofBdubs]

I’m just ready for a NEW Donkey Kong, man… Tropical Freeze came out 11 years ago

[@ConceptsCool4993]

The last 3D platformer for DK came out in 1999💀

[@MorosSilverwing]

Hoo that makes me feel old.

[@BrieLarsonsBoyfriend]

I said it before and I’ll say it again, the Switch 1 era did Donkey Kong dirty!

[@MrJ077]

@@BrieLarsonsBoyfriend Hey they had Mario versus donkey Kong and that game… exists

[@BrieLarsonsBoyfriend]

@@MrJ077 That was just a remake of a GBA game number one. Number two, it’s not a game where you play as our favorite tie wearing ape but rather an Italian buffoon of a plumber

[@OgichiGame]

If you do the bare minimum. I expect a bare minimum price

[@budderk1305]

yea, this should have been 20 bucks at MAX

[@TheGodofweak]

This is LESS the bare minimum though, its awful. Don't feel bad about getting this one for free if ya know what I mean

[@BonJoviBeatlesLedZep]

To me, the only problem is price. This would be a steal for 20 bucks. That's how remasters like this work on most consoles and PC. Arkham Asylum and Arkham City on PS4 are pretty much just higher graphics from the PC version with some extra console exclusive effects, and it's 20 dollars for BOTH of them. Nobody's complaining about that especially with PS5 power. If they just dropped this for 20 bucks, nobody would be complaining.

[@dpackerman4203]

Agreed. I don’t care about the quality of a game THAT much, but I do care if you’re making me pay full price for it. $60 for this is just not happening, and I loved the original so much.

[@AsherTheModder]

thats not true at all.

[@squiddu]

We would still complain about the frame drops. Or the removed co-op bounce thing that makes multiplayer way harder now. Or inconsistently only improving *some* parts of the graphics. It still wouldn't be a good remaster, we would just be less mad.

[@n1nj4l1nk]

That's BS. It removed a feature integral to the game, it's literally broken rn, it would still be broken at 20.

[@thekiss2083]

The 3DS version was $20 over a decade ago. Same content, only slightly worse performance

[@FedoraKirb]

8:57 It’s interesting how this exact same thing happened in the Kirby series, from multiple angles. Kirby Super Star laid the foundation for almost every game that came after it, and the 3DS titles perfected the formula that Return to Dream Land established by iterating on Super Star, so RtDL was seen as that “middle title” sandwiched between more important games. But in recent years, more people are appreciating Return to Dream Land as an incredibly foundational Kirby game in its own right, thanks to how narratively integral it is to the overarching worldbuilding, and especially thanks to the remake (which Arlo alludes to later on, actually). So nowadays Triple Deluxe is more often seen as that overlooked stepping stone. Perhaps Luigi’s Mansion and Donkey Kong could have gotten that same remake treatment so that they can step out of their neighboring games’ shadows.

[@jakobthomas1926]

Hoping Triple Deluxe gets good HD Remake 🙏

[@SomeYouTubeTraveler]

Return to Dream Land sounds like the Skyward Sword of the Kirby series

[@FedoraKirb]

@@SomeKZbinTraveler Narratively, sort of, seeing as it has our first in-game allusion to The Ancients, but RtDL is way less controversial than Skyward Sword, and is generally seen as one of the best in the series (and also they were both Wii games released in 2011). Star Allies is probably the closest thing the series has to Skyward Sword, in that it’s pretty divisive on a gameplay front but dropped some insane lore bombs for the series.

[@justchan2443]

It's sad that Dolphin is probably the best way to play this game. Third Party options should be an alternative, not a way better version.

[@MisterDaveJohnson]

Also the co-op is broken since they ported the 3ds version without fixing it. That's peak frustration given it's a major feature of the original

[@vantablack3327]

I was looking to see if someone mentioned this. I saw a video the other day talking about how the 3DS version added levels, but broke multiplayer and DKCR HD seems to have just taken from 3DS and updated the graphics.

[@zacziggarot]

It's UNPLAYABLE in co-op

[@Synbios459]

​@@vantablack3327GameXPlain debunked that.

[@weathermansam2]

I’m super disappointed as a huge DK fan. I hope they have something in store for DK soon because we have NOT been eating good

[@Jigen0]

As someone who likes most other Nintendo franchises and not DK too much, I feel so bad after getting so much on switch all while DK fans have to kick rocks. They better give DK a banger game on switch 2. (And revive starfox)

[@Gungho73]

@@Jigen0 I find the DK treatment by Nintendo frankly baffling. This is a franchise that sells much better then people are probably aware of, but they give it the treatment of something they clearly don't treat/care for as well or see only as a ROI title like Paper Mario/Pikmin (two franchises I very much love but recognize do not set the sales world on fire). Donkey Kong is not in a state, historically, where it needs to scrap for ROI. At least, by fans standards it certainly shouldn't. This is the same company however that said you can't have 2 Mario RPG's, neutered one to shit, let the other one die, and left the neutered one in that state until eventually bringing the dead one back. Their logic, the Nintendo logic, has always eluded me. So maybe its something as stupid as "we dont need multiple first party AAA platformers." God I hope that's not what it is. DK games are fabulous.

[@jamesandthegiantorange3839]

My favorite Nintendo franchises are Star Fox, F-Zero, and Donkey Kong....I do not own a Switch lol

[@Jigen0]

​@@jamesandthegiantorange3839yeah the odds were stacked against you this time unfortunately

[@BrieLarsonsBoyfriend]

We DK diehards have NOT been eating good during the Switch 1 era

[@EXCLMaker]

It is generally better to have more of Nintendo's legacy catalogue on Switch than not to have it, so I am pretty much always in favor of Nintendo rereleasing any past game on Switch even if it's a low-effort remaster or just a straight port, but that being said it is still very frustrating that Nintendo is charging premium for these bare minimum rereleases that simply do not justify being $60.

[@Dingalow]

I am very much in favour of more legacy content on Switch and that makes it all the more irritating to see how they've handled it. In most cases, it's better to pirate the games on emulators or hacked consoles for free than play their $60 remakes/remasters

[@rodneyleonard9269]

@@Dingalowwas just about to say this. Hell I’d rather just go purchase a copy of the game from eBay/GameStop for like 15 dollars for my 2ds

[@Nintenguy128]

@@Dingalow I'd understand this sentiment if it's for games that they don't bother rereleasing at all, I do emulate games that Nintendo still isn't selling right now nor offering them on NSO still, but if a game is literally easily accessible for you to buy no matter no matter how you think about quality as quality is completely subjective, then you don't really have a right in stealing no matter how big or small a company is or how they do things, because you're not really any different than they are if you're doing something bad too. If something just isn't up to snuff to your standards or expectations then you simply don't buy and just hand your money to other rereleases that you see as good instead.

[@Dingalow]

@@Nintenguy128 Here's the problem with that. When these companies release legacy content, they are competing with fans who are way better at preserving content than the companies themselves. People don't just pirate games because they're malicious or want a company to go bankrupt, they do it because they love the games and would be much happier with them in an authentic manner. NSO releases are a good example of this because there are a tonne of games on there that are way better to pirate than play on there. They'll bafflingly release games completely in Japanese when plenty of fan translations exist already without a Switch online subscription. Some of the games even keep their botched localisations and, again, are best played as fan translations rather through Nintendo's own service. When a rerelease fails to live up to the original, the best course of action is to simply play the original by any means necessary and if I'm going to refuse to buy the overpriced rerelease, why would not just play the game anyway in a superior form?

[@Nintenguy128]

@@Dingalow But then there's a problem with that, fans do not really make up the majority of the general consumer base for Nintendo products nor videogames in general, so how come any company not just Nintendo, that rereleases games is competing with fans when they're simply offering convenient options, but also they're filling their schedules with rereleases while they're working on new games? NSO may not be perfect as a service, but it's gotten much better overtime and most people don't even want to bother using emulation (you can't blame them for that) therefore having NSO as a convenience is only a good thing for consumers especially since there's already so many games than how it initially was back then. I'm all for game preservation and emulation don't get me wrong, and I'm a user of emulation myself, but the thing is emulation should only be used in instances where games are no longer available or not even being sold at all, quality is always subjective when it comes to games but you can't really go around stealing games no matter bad or good you think a remaster, port or remake is, because theft is still theft no matter if a product is physical or digital especially if the product is easily accessible for you to purchase. Even if you're gonna preserve something for yourself, you can just buy the game beforehand, dump it to your computer, and then you do anything you want with it and you're not really doing anything wrong with that. We must have our limits when it comes to emulation, there's a reason why a lot of them get shut down and it's because of bad actors who use them for malicious reasons rather than actually wanting to preserve games.

[@diddygamecube]

1:27 tropical freeze is also the best 2d platformer ive ever played

[@rudeboyspodcast]

Literally, its only issue is too many bonus rooms taking you out of how amazing the levels are.

[@ct2xperience749]

Mine too

[@kagley]

Part of the problem for me is that with a higher resolution, you notice how many flat 2D assets there were in the Wii version that don't hold up especially compared to Tropical Freeze over 10 years ago

[@danielbetts6771]

Yeah, like with the trees and canyon area. The 2D assets stick out quite bad.

[@JeremyMallek]

Nice to see arlo back in fabric and stuffing!!

[@RPanda3S]

But he's not wearing anything....

[@JeremyMallek]

@@RPanda3S oh no

[@Accidental.Creation]

I just don't get Nintendo sometimes, you know? On one hand we get amazing stuff like the Metroid Prime Remaster out of nowhere for a really good price, and with beautiful remade graphics. And then we get stuff like Luigi's Mansion 2 or DK: Country Returns for way too much money. Like, why, Nintendo?

[@briansilva3765]

Different studios responsible for those, with different budgets and needs, the latter two are there to fill release gaps, and were made by outside studios. Metroid Prime Remastered and Xenoblade DE are there because the studios that made those games wanted them back, and they themselves remastered the games with in-house technology.

[@MichaelHeide]

And neither Metroid Prime nor DKC Returns has proper credits for the original development team. Not even Tommy Tallarico. And his mother was so proud.

[@blackdot105]

Free money, I guess

[@palmpact]

at the time, it was my personal conspiracy theory that they would be releasing the Prime trilogy in (relatively) rapid succession, meaning that $40 would turn into $120 assuming most players followed through on the trilogy. that didn't happen so now I'm left wondering why Prime, a high profile GameCube title, got a full makeover and was released for only 40 bucks while 3DS games just get upscaled and cost 60. Mario tax, I guess.

[@jesusramirezromo2037]

​@@palmpact No, We know for certain from insiders that they never planned for 2 and 3 to get remasters It instead seems Prime Remastered was a side project that they used to just have something release

[@BugsyFoga]

Probably the saddest since the 3D all stars collection

[@eliserss]

at least with 3d all stars you got 3 of some of the greatest games of all time included portably and in hd for the first time (i'm not a massive 3d mario fan, but i know how much people love them) but with this game it is 60 dollars for... one game that was already on a portable console

[@justdaffy]

yeah that was just a slap in the face, if you can't beat emulation don't bother

[@Cream147player]

Oh this is definitely sadder than 3D All-Stars. 3D All-Stars is 3 great games (rather than 1), all of which have never been released on portable before (SM64DS being a different game to the original!) with a res uplift. It's very lazy, but as a value for money proposition for consumers it's well above this. For me personally 3D All-Stars would have been worth the price of admission just for bringing Galaxy to portable alone. Oh, the time-limited thing though. Yeah, that's was pretty sad.

[@Magic_Ice]

@@justdaffyat least it is much more convenient than emulation + I think the HD hud in All Stars is much better than the ones in basically every texture pack.

[@Nintenguy128]

@@justdaffy Emulation shouldn't ever be in the equation when discussing the quality of an official rerelease at all, especially since most people don't use emulators like the echo chamber does. As a rerelease, yeah it undoubtedly should've had more and it was painful that they stopped selling it, but it's still a good collection solely because of conveniently having some of Mario's greatest games in one package and even some of the little things in the remasters themselves do make a difference when playing them.

[@Mr.Pacario]

The Pac-Man World remake also omitted the original team from the credits. Later on, the team was patched in at the "special thanks" portion of the credits at the tail end.

[@thomaskuzma4360]

I look forward to the schaferillis styled 6 part series about Arlo looking for his vegetable peeler

[@zeospark9715]

I don't see why Nintendo doesn't just make a new Donkey Kong Country game already. I was never excited for Returns HD especially since I already still have the Wii and 3DS versions and they re-released Tropical Freeze on the Switch as well.

[@orangeslash1667]

I recommend Yooka-Laylee the Impossible Lair and Kaze the Wild Masks, their based on DKC.

[@domymbd]

No, the saddest one was Super Mario 3D All-Stars with a freakin' limited time release

[@Tomasin19]

He's just saying that because it didn't include a trailer for Pikmin 5 in the end credits.

[@SilverKitten10000]

Pikmin 5 won’t be released til 2029 prolly.

[@stanley8006]

@SilverKitten10000comfortably 2035

[@zacziggarot]

Doesn't the game NOT EVEN HAVE end credits? That was one of his previous videos

[@ConceptsCool4993]

I hope to god they pull a metroid dread on the cancelled 3D donkey Kong game.

[@chriswestergaard4506]

"DK DREAD" would be a raw title for a game

[@Antasma1]

That was a rumor

[@orangeslash1667]

@@chriswestergaard4506 I recommend Yooka-Laylee the Impossible Lair and Kaze the Wild Masks, their based on DKC.

[@M64bros]

Why?

[@ValorDucky]

Fun fact. Retro Studios last 2 games were the DK games, and both games were remastered before releasing their next game.

[@LogosSteve]

Sounds like they're Naughty Dog

[@budderk1305]

el em a o

[@n1nj4l1nk]

TF wasn't remastered, it was ported.

[@Handy_Man]

This is not our finest hour.

[@alexh2790]

The deal breaker for me was the removal of the second bounce threshold in 2-player. This effectively wrecks co-op in harder stages where you need to bounce off enemies, and no reviewers have mentioned it.

[@frankj.1077]

14:28 You forgot about Jungle Beat (2005).

[@colindoyle4370]

Thumbnail looks like Arlo and Donkey Kong have beef

[@HypeVoiceActing]

Donkey Kong doesn't like butternut squash

[@PhillipClearman]

The worst part is I bought this with a voucher under the idea that if this doesn't sell well, then Nintendo won't give us another Donkey Kong Country again. Its been 11 years with no relief in sight.

[@JenRut-kz9vx]

You're a complete influence! Thank you for sharing your vision.

[@dahmerung]

I'm a bit more forgiving to Luigi's Mansion 2 HD since the developers had to rework the game from the 3DS hardware. The release of DKC Returns feels weird since it was a home console game, turned into a handheld game, and now turned into a hybrid console game.

[@RobinaRay-hw8gx]

Your commitment is clear, keep radiating on your own!

[@sharpdreamz]

Heyyyy whats ur number girl

[@Turquoise-Topaz]

you also can't jump off enemies that have just been stomped so multiplayer is broken and sometimes just not possible.

[@halstonconnally1367]

The only Donkey Kong game I want is a remake/sequel of Donkey Kong 64

[@MonkeyboyST1]

To be honest, it’ll be up to Rareware if they work with Nintendo.

[@miragevarietyproductions3361]

​@MonkeyboyST1 Not really. Nintendo owns the rights to Dk and that includes the Kremlings too.

[@jesusramirezromo2037]

Same, The Returns games are over rated

[@orangeslash1667]

@MonkeyboyST1 I recommend Yooka-Laylee the Impossible Lair and Kaze the Wild Masks, their based on DKC.

[@papaG6423]

I think this rerelease is beneficial simply for giving us a home console version of the superior 3ds version without forced waggle, but the number of shortcomings on this version is really disappointing. Hopefully, the Switch 2 will help it run better and shorten load times, but until then, I won't take the plunge until it's around $30 or less on ebay lol

[@ADreamingTraveler]

8:20 DKC Returns sold an insane amount. It sold 7 million while the 3DS version sold 2.50 million. Definitely not a small number for a game to sell almost 10 million

[@sweetfeathery]

I find it funny that fans were able to decode and put a upscalled version of Star Fox 64 with ultra-wide support for free, yet Nintendo wants us to pay 60 dollars for bare minimum.

[@PikaPhantomVG]

They cleared the bar of slapping a SNES ROM on a Wii disc. Not a high bar, but they cleared it.

[@t.fernbach602]

€60 for a port of a port? The hardest of passes.

[@AsherTheModder]

and then it sells 10M to 15M copies.

[@iamthepikman]

Atleast in the case of Luigi's Mansion 2 HD, they brought back the online multiplayer, which had previously become unavailable due to the 3DS game's servers shutting down earlier in the year.

[@n64gamefrek52]

Technically we did get DK jungle beats for the GameCube. So technically only 6 years between them

[@TheDreadedZero]

I’m surprised you delved this deep into it and didn’t even mention the way the screwed up the multiplayer by not allowing the second player to bounce on enemies. This makes certain levels physically impossible

[@lukeisagiantsfan]

Your remark at 8:28 that the switch’s hardware is “modern, yet still aging” surprised me. A game console with 4GB RAM and 1ghz processor in 2025 is substantially outdated.

[@ColossalM]

14:34 I know they aren't mainline games, but we got Donkey Konga 1 and 2, Jungle Beat, Barrel Blast, and all the Mario vs Donkey Kong games in that timespan, so it's not like Nintendo abandoned the character

[@TheDerpyDolphin]

I think Jungle Beat is actually considered mainline. I saw an official promotion or ad once from Nintendo (I think when Tropical Freeze was ported) and it was there alongside DK64 and the DKC games

[@NShadow]

Arlo, videos like these are why you’re my favorite Nintendo reviewer by far. Always getting down to brass tacks and evaluating what these games and price points look like to the average fan rather than getting lost in the Nintendo super fan perspective that tends to glorify everything the company does. I know you get worried about coming off too pessimistic at times, but just know that quality of honesty is the reason many of us consider you the best reviewer out there

[@koopa159]

Let’s be honest, this release was just a quick tie in for the DK lands coming to Japan and Florida at Universal.

[@grfrjiglstan]

This feels like the exact point where the ratio of price vs. effort swings in the direction of “worth complaining about”.

[@tristan_967]

Arlo casually revealing that the amount of time between DK64 and DK returns is the same amount of time between DK Tropical Freeze and now, I nearly had an existential crisis

[@SPTX.]

We can get the mood. Look at what they did with Kirby and Yoshi on wii U. Nintendo have very capable people who know how to display atypical graphic styles.

[@milicabojic9434]

My man DK deserved better. Imagine DKC Returns with Tropical Freeze visuals, you're telling me they couldn't have done that?

[@mr.awesome6011]

So basically Tropical Freeze?

[@redi.c.e.6046]

19:38 Arlo: “…and I will never say anything bad about you ever again” Somehow I doubt that

[@NaXEthan]

18:35 Worth mentioning that Unity is not a bad engine at all to make a game in; the problem is that moving a game to a new engine and trying to preserve everything good about the original is incredibly difficult. (Source: while I'm by no means an expert on porting to another engine, I am a game dev)

[@matthewLkidder]

Feels like DK is stuck in a New Super Mario Bros kind of slump, but there have been no 3D games to supplement.

[@BlueToadFan]

It's kinda funny that there was more talk about Donkey Kong's redesign shown in the Switch 2 trailer than Returns HD

[@TheCartoonGamer8000]

14:35 Hey now, we got plenty of DK games in that interim. I'd kill for those days again.

[@Dakr2000]

6:30. I think the idea that the prerelease discussion of “it’s actually worse” was sensationalized is an understatement. I watched a 10 minute video of a fully grown man going over the trailer frame by frame using rainbows as evidence that this remake is worse. I won’t be buying the game but not because some graphics are slightly faded 😂

[@YoSoyConando]

If anything, DKCR HD emphasizes the question "why are companies still contracting Forever Entertainment?"

[@Digitail-u2t]

Is that company awful or making bad remaster?

[@YoSoyConando]

@Digitail-u2t Forever Entertainment hasn't made a single good remaster, and they're like 6 deep now with Returns HD.

[@jacksonhart5961]

The Super Mario All Stars version on the Wii was a lot more effortless so I won’t say DKCR is their saddest rerelease, but I’m also not saying it’s good.

[@HypeVoiceActing]

I feel like All Stars has a *little* more slack because it is multiple games packed into one for the price of one game This is one game charged more than it originally was

[@solidskullz5736]

Nintendo trying to distract people from the switch 2 leaks by going monkey mode 24-7

[@spicycorn4]

Us: Tell us about the Switch 2 or release or bad remake of a game not a lot of people play. Nintendo: hold my beer

[@Sp0tted_L3af]

this is crazy because i played a version on emulator with fan remade textures that looked way better than this actual switch remaster YEARS AGO

[@GatorBoyDilopho]

Yeah I agree, it’s cool but prolly won’t get it, maybe it’s a placeholder for a larger donkey Kong project? Dk 64remake? Or a whole new game style?

[@orangeslash1667]

I recommend Yooka-Laylee the Impossible Lair and Kaze the Wild Masks, their based on DKC.

[@0cellusDS]

I'm glad I will have an easier way to play this game on the TV now. And it's sad that this is the main positive thing I have to say about it.

[@elkarlo1593]

If only they weren't so stubborn to make a patch that fixes things to at least be on par with Wii and 3ds, but knowing about Nintendo's track record, the only thing we can expect is a patch to iron out a seizure issue or a hacking exploit

[@Paiguy7]

I really regret paying full price for this.

[@runningoncylinders3829]

I enjoyed this game on the Wii. I am bummed that I missed Tropical Freeze. I would get Tropical Freeze before the rereleased og.

[@quarases]

This was also the first game Nintendo game to Forever Entertainment as part of a new contract they have with them, so it was not ported over by the same team at Retro Studios that did the Tropical Freeze Switch port. Monster Games, the team that did the 3DS port was also recently bought out, so they wouldn't have worked on it either. Clearly this new team did not pass the test with flying colors, but I hope they can learn and improve for any future projects they work on

[@erichierl2295]

Thanks arlo, you’ve convinced me to replay Tropical Freeze

[@ethanstong1564]

Relieved to know he found his vegetable peeler. The suspense was killing me for the whole ad read

[@Jacks_game_room]

While I won't say it's necessarily a worse rerelease, I will point out the Mario's 25th anniversary super Mario all stars. A single snes game on Wii disc with next to none or even no changes. You did get a bonus art book and music CD in the original run, but later Nintendo selects copies were just the game disc. Maybe not worse than DKCRHD but certainly close competition.

[@9-VoltGaming]

Love how Arlo forgot Jungle Beat exists and considers the gap between DK64 and Returns a "main series gap"

[@averagehater13]

dkcr was my favorite childhood game, what did they do to my boy 😭

[@Jasonixel]

Nintendo: We don’t have to try anymore.

[@Yipper64]

Its funny because Luigis Mansion 2 and this game are both very much on my wishlist i just havnt prioritized buying new games for a while. Mostly been collecting really old games.

[@tye2]

These are really old games though 🥴

[@Yipper64]

@tye2 I'm talking SNES Genesis and N64. And a little bit of PS1.

[@tye2]

@@Yipper64 yea I getcha, just messing around 😊

[@GamingWarlord64]

16:50 I still find it installing that the base game with out updates is less finished than original Diamond and Pearl

[@breadcrumbtrail]

Surprised that you didn’t mention the fact that they broke (and still haven’t fixed) multiplayer in this port.

[@Nocturne989]

At least with Luigi's Mansion 3DS, you can argue that the choice of the 3DS was specifically because they wanted to use 3D tech on the GameCube version but ended up having to cut it so they can finally realize a 3D version of Luigi's Mansion.

[@spielezer126]

Dude, I just noticed Arlo never blinks and it's unsettling

[@KeaganZev]

Apparently DK blowing flowers was Miyamoto's idea.

[@jesseburgener442]

I'm hoping this is, at the very least, just Nintendo's way of filling in dead air between this and Switch 2 games rather than an indicator of the kind of quality to expect going forward. DKCR is my personal favorite DK game so to see it get such a blah rerelease is disappointing, to say in the least, but if it means we get a new, well-polished DK game (being very cautiously optimistic), I can live with it.

[@allanrincon7200]

I think Nintendo’s strategy here was to remake some games themselves (Paper Mario TTYD, Metroid Prime) and relegate others to port houses (Luigi’s Mansion, DKCR, Super Mario RPG) because they want to get as many games out there as possible so Switch 2 owners have a vast library to play while Switch 2 exclusive games take time to develop and release.

[@jgfence123]

That Wii U Mario tennis game still holds the candle for Nintendo’s saddest release

[@theotherjared9824]

It's definitely a philosophical debate that has gotten more attention recently: how far should a remaster go? Should the game be a faithful recreation, warts and all? Should it be allowed to almost be unrecognizable from the original? This debate often changes on a case by case basis depending on the state of the original and the desires of the fans. Sometimes the fans have been begging for specific changes ever since the original dropped. Sometimes any change is considered blasphemous and will make the remaster worse in the eyes of the fans. It's a very complicated discussion with no definitive answer.

[@BoxoSpoons]

I don't think most people have any issues with straight remasters as a thing, but if you want to charge $60 for it you're going to get a lot of people annoyed that you aren't doing anything more. Especially since Nintendo's charged the same price for stuff like the Thousand-Year Door remake, meaning Nintendo is telling us they see Returns HD as being an upgrade of equivalent value to that.

[@Lex6d6]

I think that every direction will be fine if the final price reflects the actual effort put into the project. I don't have a problem with straight simple remasters but they should cost around 20/25 €.

[@topdog23100]

As someone who hasn’t played DKCR before the remaster, this was worth the purchase honestly. It’s great seeing this game in HD with the 3DS levels and the 3DS version’s easy mode included. It’s definitely not the worst Switch remaster imo. Now Luigi’s Mansion 2 HD? Now THAT’S a bad remaster. I played the 3DS and Switch versions of Luigi’s Mansion 2, and I was expecting the remaster to at least add some sort of change to the original, but no, it’s just a lazy port with pretty graphics. They didn’t bother lowering the difficulty of the Ice Boss, they didn’t fix the mission structure of the original, etc. At least DKCR did add in the ability to carry 9 items in a level instead of 3, so at least it changed SOMETHING about the originals besides adding HD textures

[@max_the_german4989]

The comment section is dominated by very negative comments. I‘m glad that I am not the only one who very much enjoys this port!

[@The_Nametag]

So you looked at what they did with Super Mario 3D All-Stars, and you thought "But this is DK!" was an excuse for them to NOT half-ass the job? Oh, no, you've clearly forgotten that it existed.

[@fen4554]

A big part of the mood for the original DK was not only the simple models and stretched textures, it was the ray-traced lighting that was baked into the sprites. While I doubt we're getting an RTX ready Nintendo games, eventually raytracing will be common even for Nintendo's notorious lack of advanced tech.

[@xenogamer723]

Yeah pretty much

[@xenogamer723]

I could be biased because the Luigi’s Mansion 2 rerelease was also pretty lazy but I love that game so much that I didn’t really care. I’m much less of a fan of Donkey Kong games, I actually straight up dislike the character but even so it feels way lazier than Luigi’s Mansion 2. The textures are weird, the co op is broken and it doesn’t really play all that well at least to me. Ehh. Still fun but yeah switch 1 is definitely on its last legs here.

[@shinyxshadyboi]

Y'all hear about multiplayer being unplayable because player 2 can't jump on the same enemy as player 1. Even though the original had it and needed for some stages?

[@superspen97]

I think the most egregious part of dkc returns hd is how hard they've pushed it. I've seen ads for it on roughly the same level as pokemon and mario wonder. Maybe they could've put half of the marketing budget back into the actual game

[@Traveler_of_the_Stars]

I personally disagree that this remaster is "lazy." Is it perfect? Absolutely not. However, Nintendo *do* have a very simple HD upscale of the Wii version that was released on the NVIDIA Shield. If they wanted to, they could've easily just plopped that on the Switch. KZbin and social media compression really don't give the improved visuals justice, in my opinion. Sure, there are wrinkles that really shouldn't exist, but by in large, I'm very happy that the developers gave this remaster an extra coat of paint and went in to make this the definitive version of the game. With this re-release, they made it the best version of the game by combining the best aspects of the Wii version with the extra content of the 3DS version. You can argue all day whether this or BDSP is "sadder," but BDSP went out of its way to ignore most of the positive changes Platinum brought to the games. BDSP was an objectively worse gameplay experience just for the sake of "faithfulness," whereas Returns HD *didn't* ignore the additional content from an arguably better version of the game. Is this remaster a bit too expensive, and could it have spent more time in the oven? Certainly. However, Returns is still a terrific game, and just because Tropical Freeze exists doesn't make this game any worse. To me, the people who act as if Tropical Freeze is an outright "replacement" to Returns seem very anti-art to me. DKC2 is most often seen as better than the original DKC, but people don't act as if that original game has no merit, right? Returns and the original DKC offer their own experiences that make them worth going back to, rather than always defaulting to their respective sequels. Sure, I do believe Tropical Freeze to be the better game, but I don't understand why that always needs to be a part of the discussion surrounding the game. I'm just happy this game is available to more people, especially players who have recently become more interested in DK due to the Mario movie and/or Super Nintendo World. As someone who grew up on the Wii version, this remaster could've used a tad more love, but I'm still very much happy with it! Highly recommend it if you've never played.

[@fancymonkeyman4139]

Same. I think it's a bit extreme to call it lazy. This is easily the best version of the game, and I think people tend to just kinda skim over that. Classic button controls, 3DS content, and all in HD? That's not nothing. This may not have been upgraded as much as people were wanting visually, but BDSP didn't add almost anything, and frankly, looks terrible. I'll take the original pixel look any day. I get saying it didn't reach it's full potential maybe, but lazy is a step too far in my humble opinion.

[@theantgre]

It's still baffling to me that we got dozens of 2d and 3d Mario plaformers and then like 6 Donkey Kong games

[@Crusader1089]

1080p is fine. 4K is quite hard to appreciate with any game, especially a cartoony game like this. Once it's on a 50 inch tv you're not noticing the difference between 1080p and 4K from anything more than 6feet away. Its the games that have variable resolution, or use AI frame generation, to turn everything into mush I can't stand. Crisp, consistently 60fps 1080p is all a gamer needs.

[@batmanbud2]

Too bad PC shills don't get that fact.

[@donaldthescotishtwin]

It doesn’t even look or run as good as tropical freeze which came out in 2014.

[@brandonwilliams6119]

It was a nothingburger re-release, I had more fun watching Vinny play Donkey Kong 64 with the Tag Anywhere mod. DK64 Should’ve gotten a remake by now, they still haven’t put it on NSO.

[@phantasmalwolf2996]

Totally agree, idk why Nintendo is holding that one up from getting on NSO! I hope it’s not one those things where Nintendo is trying to forget about that game or something! I certainly won’t, and very much would like to see either a good, high effort remake/remaster, or just drop it on the service!

[@DariusRoman-p6x]

🎵 “He has no style, he has no grace Th-this Kong hates being re-release” 🎵

[@Chlocean]

Did y'all ever notice we never see the bottom half of Arlo? I'm starting to wonder what his species looks like. Imagine if there's just like, a guy sticking out of his bottom half? I know- sounds crazy but we really don't know.

[@BagMonster]

Really hard for DK to catch a break, huh?

[@baosia]

Oh... So Arlo hasn't heard about the bounce thing in multiplayer? I figured it would be mentioned otherwise...

[@aws-107]

There are actually some cases where I think this looks worse than the original wii game. There’s a level early in the game that’s supposed to have a big pretty sunset. But that’s gone now, because this is partially a remaster of the 3DS DEmaster

[@thelibyanplzcomeback]

This game could have released for the Nintendo Wii with no problems whatsoever.