Donkey Kong 64 is coming back, and this is one of those Nintendo Switch Online drops that actually feels overdue. Rare’s 1999 collectathon has been one of the biggest missing names in the N64 library, and Expansion Pack subscribers will finally be able to play it on modern Nintendo hardware from June 4.
The announcement also landed on the 10th anniversary of Harambe’s death, which gave the internet an easy joke to run with. Nintendo has not connected the two in any way, but the timing quickly became part of the conversation online.
Donkey Kong 64 was Rare going all-in on the 3D platformer boom. It gave players five playable Kongs, huge levels, minigames, boss fights, banana piles, hidden collectibles, and one of the most unforgettable opening raps in Nintendo history.
The Switch Online version should make the game easier to return to than the original cartridge. Save states and modern access can soften some of the rougher edges, especially for players who remember how much backtracking the game asked for.
It is still a messy game in places, but that is part of why people talk about it. Donkey Kong 64 is big, strange, excessive, and very much a late-N64 release.
This is arriving during a stronger moment for Donkey Kong as a series. Nintendo has been giving DK more attention again, and adding his biggest 3D adventure to Switch Online gives newer players a chance to see where the character went after the Donkey Kong Country games.
That is because Donkey Kong 64 is not just another retro title. It was the series’ major attempt at a full 3D adventure, and Nintendo has rarely returned to that exact style since.
For longtime fans, this is a nostalgic play. For newer players, it is a chance to see why people still argue about the game’s ambition, humor, and massive collectible list decades later.
The announcement’s timing gave social media an extra reason to notice it, but the real news is still the game itself. Harambe was killed at the Cincinnati Zoo on May 28, 2016, and the date has stayed alive online through years of memes.
Nintendo’s reveal landing on the anniversary is almost certainly a coincidence. Still, it made a normal NSO update feel stranger, funnier, and more shareable than usual.
Donkey Kong 64 joins Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack on June 4. Players will need the Expansion Pack tier to access it through the Nintendo 64 app.
