Nintendo and developer Forever Entertainment seem to have screwed the pooch with the release of Donkey Kong Country Returns HD. As pointed out by YouTuber Kong Compendium, the game suffers from a serious issue that completely ruins the multiplayer experience; an issue stemming from the Nintendo 3DS port of the original title.
First released for the Nintendo Wii, the original Donkey Kong Country Returns included a co-op mode that allowed players to experience the game with their friends. Being a platformer, the game requires players to jump on enemies to defeat them, with the catch being that these foes disappear upon defeat. Developer Retro Studios figured out a way to have both players land on the same enemy, giving the second player a small window to jump on the staggering enemy before it disappears.
While also featuring a co-op mode, however, the Nintendo 3DS port of the game did away with this clever fix, meaning that only one player gets to jump on an enemy; potentially leving the second player behind. Donkey Kong Country Returns HD suffers from this same game-breaking issue because the game is actually a port of the 3DS version, not the original Wii title.
"In the original game," Kong Compendium explains, "Retro provides a genius solution to a problem that plagues a lot of multiplayer platformers. In every Mario platformer, if Player-1 lands on an enemy, that enemy dies and ceases to exist on frame 1. That means that, if Player-2 was about to land on that enemy as well, they lose their momentum or often die. [Donkey Kong Country Returns] fixed this."
The YouTuber elaborated, "When Donkey Kong lands on an enemy, Diddy has about 25 frames to land on that same enemy while they are stunned. For some reason, when they ported to game to 3DS, this brilliant feature was gone [and] all of a sudden co-op was kind of a chore." Upon realizing that the HD port the game was based on the 3DS port, he then added, "Instantly, all the oxygen and excitement I had for this game was sucked out of me and replaced with a sense of dread."
To further illustrate, Kong Compendium brings forward Platform Panic, one of the most challenging levels in the game that requires players to bounce off enemies in succession in order to complete it. When playing in co-op, the level forces players to work together in order to reach the end. This is no longer possible in Donkey Kong Country Returns HD.
"Is this a bug [the developer] didn't squash, or a feature that they didn't think was important?" Kong Compendium asks, further declaring, "Whatever the case, it takes the co-op experience down a million pegs," later adding, "Despite some of the framerate dips and lack of visual flare, I'm ready to jump back into this game as soon as they fix it; that is, assuming that they care to fix it."
Although Kong Compendium's video has gained quite a lot of visibility in the week since it was originally uploaded to YouTube, neither Nintendo nor Forever Entertainment (the developer who ported the game to the Nintendo Switch) have addressed this game-breaking issue.
Unfortunately for fans of the series, Donkey Kong's return has not been devoid of controversy, with players wondering why the latest re-release of the game is retailing for a full $60 USD; a price fans argue is too steep for a port of a 15-year-old title. This, coupled with the fact that Nintendo omitted original developer Retro Studios in the game's credits, in favor of Forever Entertainment, has fans of the red necktie-wearing ape up in arms.
Help DK and Diddy Kong recover their precious banana hoard from the villainous Tiki Tak Tribe in this visually enhanced version of the Wii™ game. Stomp enemies, blast through barrels, and ride rockets, minecarts, and even Rambi the Rhino in 80 levels across nine worlds, including the additional levels from the Nintendo 3DS™ version. You can even join up with a buddy for two-player local co-op!
Donkey Kong Country Returns HD is currently available for the Nintendo Switch.