Good news for all Donkey Kong fans who may have owned a Game Boy at one point. A rare and beloved Donkey Kong game is returning to Nintendo Switch Online’s retro games service. The NSO service has been in a love/hate relationship with Nintendo fans for many reasons, but the retro games aspect of the service is one of the best parts. Fans have been asking Nintendo to release more games on NSO for a long time, and they finally delivered. Here’s everything we know.
Nintendo Switch Online
There are many purposes for the NSO service. With Nintendo Switch Online, you gain access to online game services on Nintendo’s servers. If you want to play Mario Party with friends online, you’ll have to pay the $3.99 monthly fee for Nintendo Switch Online. Games like Fortnite and Among Us are excluded from this paywall. Another feature of the service is cloud-saving games. This might be useful if you have multiple Switches and want to use them back and forth. It will allow your game save data to sync between the devices automatically. The only way to do that outside of paying for NSO is by manually transferring game save data between devices; both Switches must be present and close to one another.
Many have critiqued Nintendo for NSO because they feel consumers shouldn’t have to pay for online services. However, Nintendo isn’t the only company that employs this subscription model. PlayStation and Xbox both have their online services, charging gamers for the ability to play online with their friends. Nintendo Switch Online is the cheapest of the three major console companies, starting at $3.99 monthly. There is even a subscription tier that allows you to get free expansion packs for select games and share the subscription with up to six members of your family.
Despite criticism of NSO, most Nintendo fans agree that they lost the retro games feature. When you pay for Nintendo Switch Online, you also get a feature that essentially turns your Switch into an emulator. You can play games from various Nintendo consoles like Nintendo 64, NES, Super Nintendo, Game Boy, and Game Boy Advance. You can play multiple retro games with an application on the Switch that’s only accessible once you’ve paid for NSO. It bridges the gap between new and old gamers, making the Switch appealing to an older demographic that might not have paid attention to the Switch otherwise.
Donkey Kong
There are quite a few Donkey Kong games among the retro games. For the NES, there are Donkey Kong Jr., Donkey Kong, and Donkey Kong 3, all released in 1986. For Super NES, there is Donkey Kong Country, Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy’s Kong Quest, and Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong’s Double Trouble!, which were released in 1996. As the consoles go on, there are more games from the popular franchise, allowing newer generations to enjoy the older games without needing original hardware.
There is a new Donkey Kong game on the scene, previously released on the Game Boy. Donkey Kong Land 2 was initially released in 1996 for the Game Boy. In this game, you’re playing as Diddy and Dixie Kong, who are trying to save Donkey Kong after he is kidnapped. The game has an 88% rating on Google, meaning that a vast majority of players enjoy the game. Fans were excited about the beloved game becoming available on Nintendo Switch Online, although some would have preferred Donkey Kong 64.
Conclusion
Emulation allows for games to remain timeless. While technology will always stop working eventually, as long as the games can still exist in some capacity, they will be enjoyable forever. Nintendo allows consumers to play old favorites on their Switches, which helps to solidify the intense nostalgia that many have surrounding the game company. The addition of DK shows die-hard Nintendo fans that the company is listening to them and trying to provide what they really want. Once they add Nintendo DS and Wii games, Nintendo gamers will feel like they have a complete set from them.
