It might not be out until January, but that hasn’t stopped one fan from pointing out “everything that’s wrong” with Donkey Kong Country Returns HD in a detailed comparison thread on X.
The remaster of the original Wii game was announced at Nintendo Direct earlier this week. It is supposed to be a HD graphical upgrade; however, Drybones2015 isn’t convinced that it’s an upgrade at all. Instead, their thread suggests that it’s a downgrade in some areas – and it’s easy to see why.
The thread, which uses comparison footage compiled by GameXplain, takes an in-depth look at the Donkey Kong Country Returns HD remaster by directly comparing the new Nintendo Switch and original Nintendo Wii versions of the game.
In the examples Drybones2015 uses, there are some noticeable changes that don’t necessarily look like an improvement.
The first point of comparison, a clip of Donkey and Diddy Kong, lacks “shadows and shading”, according to Dybones2015.
In another clip, they point out that the sunset is missing, jungle smog is absent, a frog doesn’t glow when it is hit, items have a noticeably reduced glow, and “the effect when collecting a heart is subdued” in the Nintendo Switch version compared to the Wii version.
Other comparisons show missing debris effects, removed dust clouds, altered water effects, and more inconsistent shading and lighting.
Of course, whether or not you consider these changes to be for the better is purely subjective. However, it’s hard to argue that some of these things don’t look like a downgrade on the original game.
Be sure to check out Drybones2015’s thread for the full, in-depth comparison.
Donkey Kong Country Returns HD is scheduled for release on 16 January, 2025.
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