Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle: Donkey Kong Adventure

What is going with the Donkey Kong franchise right now? Nintendo must be absolutely bananas, right?

As I write this Nintendo has just released the long requested, and long overdue, remastered version of Donkey Kong Country Returns (DKCR) on the Nintendo Wii port for the Nintendo Switch, almost eight years since the Nintendo Switch first released, and not to mention amidst the current internet meltdown of the Nintendo Switch 2 reveal.

As someone who has been waiting for a DKCR port since the Nintendo Switch was announced, it seems completely bonkers (or is bongos?) to me that DKCR is finally releasing literally at the tail end of the Nintendo Switch’s lifespan. Why didn’t Nintendo release it four years earlier and build on the sales success of the superb 2018 Wii U port of Donkey Kong: Tropical Freeze when fan anticipation for DKCR was at its peak?

Sure, to be fair to Nintendo they did just open the new Donkey Kong Country theme park to expand on Super Nintendo World in Japan, and putting both in the media spotlight around the same time does align nicely from a PR perspective. But let’s not kid ourselves here, read any chat threads on Facebook or Reddit right now and Donkey Kong fans everywhere aren’t pleased that a HD remaster of an old Nintendo Wii Donkey Kong Country game has arrived so very late to the Nintendo Switch party, and at a full retail price of $69 (AUD) to boot too. What fans also really wanted during this console generation was a brand spanking new Donkey Kong Country game. Not just DKCR ported to the Nintendo Switch, or even King K. Rool added to the Super Smash Bros. Ultimate roster (ok I admit, we did want him in the roster and what an incredible reveal that was). We wanted a brand, new, game.

But we didn’t get that did we?

Or did we?

Developed by Nintendo and Retro Studios, no wait, actually make that… Ubisoft?, Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle: Donkey Kong Adventure (DKA) fell under the radar for many Donkey Kong Country fans, myself included. Now, I know what you’re thinking, ‘A Donkey Kong Country XCOM game… with Ubisoft’s Rabbids…. and it’s DLC for a Mario XCOM game? You’ve got to be joking right?  Look, I don’t blame you, I thought the same thing when DKA was first revealed in 2018 and sat on it until this year.

But let me ask you this, what is it you love about Donkey Kong Country games in particular? Is it the sheer degree of expressiveness and charm exuded by characters like Donkey Kong himself? The beautiful, richly detailed tropical environments the series is so well known for? The satisfying feedback you get when Donkey Kong ‘bops’ his enemies on the head, or blasts around in barrels? That unique, iconic sound of collecting bananas? Perhaps it’s the series timeless musical score? Well believe me my friend, DKA has all of these things in the spades, and then some.

Without a doubt, at its core DKA does play like a top shelf, turn-based tactics game, a’la the aforementioned XCOM series. You control Donkey Kong, Rabbid Cranky Kong and Rabbid Peach (where the hell is Diddy Kong by the way) in a series of turn-based battles, manoeuvring around the battlefield to get the tactical advantage, utilising a range of actions to defend against and defeat the enemy Rabbids, making use of cover, environmental hazards, and upgrading each character’s skill trees and weapons with each successive victory. From a gameplay perspective, the user interface is incredibly slick, the action tense, and the adjustable camera perfectly captures everything you need to see on the battlefield. But what makes DKA more than a simple XCOM clone with a Donkey Kong Country coat of paint is that everything about this game gives you all the feels, as if you really have returned to the world of the Donkey Kong Country, and that is where it’s real source of joy lies.

Donkey Kong’s ranged attack, for example, of course just has to be a banana boomerang of sorts. Watching him hurl it with gusto and the banana ricochet’s its way through a line of enemy Rabbids, either burning them or bouncing them out of bounds, gave me that same satisfying feedback I felt when bopping on enemies in the Donkey Kong Country games. True to form, and in a nod to the Nintendo Gamecube classic Donkey Kong: Jungle Beat, he can also bang away on bongos, which draws surrounding Rabbids closer in a hilariously hypnotic, idiotic dance that sets them up for a knock-out ground-pound attack. This kind of fanservice is infused everywhere in the combat in general, as well as the various tactical battle scenarios more broadly; from the explosive TNT barrels based on the original Donkey Kong Country games which are critical to a late mini boss level, to a Winky the frog themed grenade launcher that Cranky Rabbid Kong can use to soar grenades over enemy cover. While it was a pity there is no sign of the Kremlings or King K. Rool, I was still delighted to see that even the Rabbids were all appropriately decked out in full Tiki Tak Tribe gear in a nod to the main villains of DKCR.

In between the tactical battles, DKA’s gameplay is a mix of light exploration and puzzle solving elements, both of which are also full of easter eggs and nods to the Donkey Kong franchise. As you navigate through staples of the Donkey Kong Country series, from temples to treetops, you’ll collect bananas that serve as the games form of currency to purchase upgrades and use barrels to launch your way way across islands. Best of all you'll also stop on a regular basis to take in many unique points of interest that are clearly lovingly crafted nods to the various games in the Donkey Kong Country franchise. My favourite had to be sighting a kraken which had wrapped its tentacles around a treasure box (no doubt loaded with bananas) which will be instantly recognisable to one of the best designed levels in DKCR, Kraken Wackin. As great as the sight seeing is in DKA, the game’s mostly optional puzzle sections are far less inspired and involve a lot of block-pushing, although there are some clear standouts that require solving in order to progress, such as a colour coded coral organ which required fans to recall their favourite Donkey Kong Country tunes to progress.  

Graphically, DKA is a gorgeous game even by today’s standards. Every single environment, from the rain swept rocky shores, to the sun-soaked beaches, towering jungles, and glittering temples is beautifully detailed and wonderfully animated. There is a certain way Donkey Kong Country games look which makes them instantly recognisable. The palm trees, for example, have a cosy-like vibe to them, with broad trunks and bright green leaves that look believably springy enough for Donkey Kong to bounce on. As you navigate the various environments, you’ll also notice little Donkey Kong Country specific easter eggs everywhere, such as an occasional giant DK barrel floating in the distant sea, or parrots flying around reminiscent of Squawks. Certainly, I experienced the occasional frame-rate hiccup while exploring, which is something we have seen with quite a few games in the Nintendo Switch generation. But mid-session one day, as I went to put my controller down I saw it, yes god damn it Ubisoft had, in a nod to the original Super Nintendo trilogy, even given Donkey Kong his own unique idle animations. If only they had brought in an old veteran from the Donkey Kong Country series, like Grant Kirkhope, to remix the classics we all know and love. Oh wait, they did that too!

With the Nintendo Switch sunsetting this year and the Nintendo Switch 2 on the horizon, I’ll be the first to go on a full Cranky Kong style rant that we never saw a new title in the Donkey Kong Country franchise. Heck, even the Metroid fans got a brand new 2D Metroid game. But, truth be told, I’d be wrong. If the Donkey Kong Country series is as near and dear to you as it is to me then don’t sleep on DKA anymore. DKA is a love letter to Donkey Kong Country fans across the console generations, and a superb Donkey Kong game in its own right.

 --- Jon @ PGC