Donkey Kong Land is now available on Nintendo Switch Online.
The 1995 Rare Game Boy platformer is available as part of a Nintendo Switch Online subscription for Switch, joining the growing list of classic Game Boy games available to download and play. Check out all the games available on Nintendo Switch Online here.
Donkey Kong Land offers a condensed version of the side-scrolling gameplay of Rare’s beloved 1994 SNES classic Donkey Kong Country, with different level designs and boss fights. As you might expect, it stars Donkey Kong and his nephew Diddy Kong as they team up to defeat King K. Rool and collect many, many bananas.
Grab a vine and join the excitement in Kong Land.
Donkey Kong Land is now available to play #NintendoSwitchOnline members! #GameBoy pic.twitter.com/OBYq0Faoh4
— Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) November 22, 2024
The game did so well that it spawned three sequels: Donkey Kong Land 2 (1996), based on Diddy’s Kong Quest; Donkey Kong Land 3 (1997), based on Dixie Kong’s Double Trouble!; and the Game Boy Color version of Donkey Kong Country (2000).
Here is the official note:
Cranky Kong believes that Donkey Kong has not yet proven himself as a hero. So he decides to make a deal with the closest villain he knows. K. Rool and his villains have hidden bananas in modern places on Donkey Kong Island in an attempt to outsmart the best friend duo. The only answer is that Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong are off on another adventure!
The Game Boy launched in 1989 with Super Mario Land, Tetris, Baseball and Alleyway, which are now available on Nintendo Switch Online. Other Game Boy games available on the site include Metroid 2 – Return of Samus, Kirby’s Dream Land, Super Mario Land 2 – 6 Golden Coins, The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening DX and Wario in Wario Land 3.
As for Donkey Kong, Donkey Kong Country Returns HD, a remake of the Nintendo Wii original that was also ported to Nintendo 3DS, is coming to Switch in January. Last week, Super Nintendo World Direct gave fans a long-awaited first look at the modern Donkey Kong Country-inspired expansion, while also announcing that it will officially open on December 11, 2024 in Japan.
Wesley is the UK news editor at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. Wesley can be reached at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
