Donkey Kong Country Returns HD Doesn't Fix Nintendo's Current DK Problem

One of the many announcements made during the newest Nintendo Direct was that of for the Nintendo Switch. While the game was a hit on its original platform of the Wii and helped restart the franchise in many respects, getting it on Switch doesn’t help reach new heights as a character or as a franchise. In short, Nintendo has a DK problem, and it's seemingly not being addressed.

The original version of came out in 2010. It was a surprise announcement by Nintendo at E3 2010, and the announcement was only made stronger when it was revealed that Retro Studios was the team making the reboot. Prior to, Retro Studios had grown to prominence by developing the games. would go on to have great success on the Nintendo Wii, and it would spawn a sequel,, on the Wii U. However, after that Wii U release, the franchise hasn’t had a new entry.

Mario and Luigi: Brothership, the first entry in the series in over nine years, has been officially revealed by Nintendo during the recent Direct.

Nintendo is leaving the series to flounder without new games, a problem highlighted by the success of the port of on the Nintendo Switch compared to the Wii U version. The Wii U release came in 2014 and had good sales. Then, in 2018, the Switch got a port with some small upgrades and additions, andit doubled the Wii U sales by December 2022, according to. By all accounts, it was a highly successful Switch port, proving that people were still interested in the franchise. Yet, Nintendo didn’t make a new game, but ported an even older one to the console.

While the Nintendo Switch has been praised for its incredible lineup, including some of the new games announced during the Nintendo Direct, many critics have also called it a port machine. During both the early years and in 2024, Nintendo has been more than content with porting or upgrading past games versus making new ones. That applies to more than once, as one of the early Switch releases in 2024 was the remake of , a title that was released on