Nintendo Switch Online Keeps Ignoring One Of Donkey Kong’s Biggest Games -

Nintendo Switch Online seems to be neglecting a major Donkey Kong title. 2024 is a huge year for one of Nintendo’s oldest franchises, as the iconic Donkey Kong Country series celebrates its 30th anniversary, and the company seems committed to showing how important Donkey Kong remains to it. With the opening of the Donkey Kong Country theme park at Universal Studios Japan steadily approaching, alongside the upcoming release of Donkey Kong Country Returns HD for the Switch, there’s lots for fans of the franchise to look forward to.

NSO has also joined in the ongoing celebrations, having recently added a string of classic Donkey Kong titles to its virtual console service. It serves as a great way of preserving these beloved titles for current Switch players to easily access and enjoy. However, the most recent Donkey Kong games that have been added to the service have once again highlighted the absence of one crucial title in particular: Donkey Kong 64. Its exclusion from the service remains baffling, as it remains one of the most important titles in the history of the Donkey Kong franchise.

Donkey Kong Land 3 Is Now On NSO

Another Donkey Kong Series Has Become Available To Switch Players

On Wednesday, December 4, Nintendo announced that Donkey Kong Land 3, originally released for the Game Boy in 1997, had been added to the NSO service. This addition follows the recent inclusion of the first two Donkey Kong Land games, making this entire series available on the Switch. It’s another huge win for the NSO service, as it continues to expand its library of retro games, making them more accessible for current Switch players to relive those classic experiences, while newer players get to discover them for the first time.

The inclusion of the Donkey Kong Land titles is also a huge win due to their lesser-known status. While they were certainly successful when first released on Game Boy, in retrospect the series has often been overshadowed by its groundbreaking SNES counterpart. Moreover, the Donkey Kong Land series had seen little support prior to their addition to NSO, only being rereleased once before for the 3DS. The inclusion of the Donkey Kong Land games on NSO has avoided any risk of these games falling into obscurity, while also recognizing the impact they have made.

That being said, the addition of the Donkey Kong Land trilogy causes Donkey Kong 64‘s absence to become more baffling as a result. Despite seeing huge success on the N64, Donkey Kong 64 faces a similar issue to what Donkey Kong Land once had. Currently, the title has only received one rerelease for the Wii U, whose lackluster sales meant that the game didn’t have as broad an outreach as it deserved. Despite how exciting it may be, the inclusion of the Donkey Kong Land trilogy also highlights the ongoing issues with Donkey Kong 64‘s lack of recognition and accessibility.

Every DK Game On Switch & NSO Now

The Switch Has Become The Ultimate Console For All Things Donkey Kong

Donkey Kong 64‘s continued absence is also confusing, since Nintendo is seemingly committed to making the Switch a major point of access for all things Donkey Kong. While the Switch may not have any new titles to speak of, it currently boasts an impressive selection of older Donkey Kong titles, with more rereleases on the way. By the end of January 2025, the list of Donkey Kong games on Switch and NSO will include:

Donkey Kong Country
Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy’s Kong-Quest
Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong’s Double Trouble!
Donkey Kong Land
Donkey Kong Land 2
Donkey Kong Land 3
Mario vs. Donkey Kong
Donkey Kong Country Returns HD
Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze

This doesn’t even account for the titles where Donkey Kong is a major character but isn’t playable, including the arcade games and the puzzler Mario vs. Donkey Kong. These inclusions send a clear message to players of the importance of the Donkey Kong franchise to Nintendo and the worth of making these classic titles readily available to players old and new. With this in mind, it’d be fair to assume Donkey Kong 64 would also be included in that list.

DK64 Is Still Missing On Nintendo Switch

The Game Deserves To Be Remembered

Alas, there’s still no sign of Donkey Kong 64 making its way to NSO anytime soon. Its absence is incredibly frustrating, especially when considering the impact the N64 classic had on release. Not only does it serve as Donkey Kong‘s first jump into 3D, but served as an important release in the collectathon genre (not to mention the game’s infamous DK rap), which had been popularized during the N64 era with classics such as Super Mario 64.

Donkey Kong 64 served as a culmination of the many features and tropes of the genre, especially those featured in developer Rare’s other collectathons, such as Banjo-Kazooie. The game’s scale has been well-documented, with an almost unfathomable number of collectibles for the player to seek out and multiple playable characters to unlock that further cemented Donkey Kong 64 as the N64’s ultimate collectathon. Even if the game’s wealth of content isn’t always seen as a positive, Donkey Kong 64 remains a beloved entry and an important moment in the franchise’s history that deserves the same recognition as its counterparts.

Only time will tell whether Donkey Kong 64 gets the rerelease it deserves. The confirmation that NSO will be included on the Switch 2 adds hope that Nintendo will eventually get around to adding this title to the service. Nevertheless, Donkey Kong 64 is an important game for the franchise that deserves the same treatment that other entries in the Donkey Kong franchise have received.