| System | Wii |
|---|---|
| Developer | Retro Studios |
| Genre | Platformer |
| Series | Donkey Kong Series |
A tribe of evil Tikis has taken control of the animals on DK Island and used them to steal Donkey Kong's banana hoard. Donkey Kong and his Diddy Kong set out across DK Island once again to rescue the bananas and defeat the Tikis.
Donkey Kong has to travel through each stage to the goal. Each stage throws up new tricks and traps, from minecarts and rocket barrels to foggy levels and platforms that simply crumble away.
If you find Diddy Kong then he can be used to help you fly over gaps. If two players take part, Diddy can be independently controlled from Donkey Kong.
| Region | Name | Release |
|---|---|---|
 |
Donkey Kong Country Returns | 21 Nov 2010 |
 |
Donkey Kong Country Returns | 03 Dec 2010 |
 |
ドンキーコング リターンズ Donkey Kong Returns | 09 Dec 2010 |
| System | |
|
|
|---|---|---|---|
| Wii U Download | 21 Jan 2015 | - | 22 Jan 2015 |
| Nintendo 3DS | Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D |
The Foggy Fumes levels contains a number of blink-and-you'll-miss-it cameo appearances in the background.
Near the start of the stage, you can see a construction site in the background laid out exactly like the 25M stage from the arcade Donkey Kong.
Around halfway through the stage, you see Mr. Game & Watch, the representative of the Game & Watch systems. He is hammering on a pipe in a simple 2-frame animation.
You can see a crane in the background, lifting a large object filled with holes. The shape of this object is exactly the same shape as the skull of Crocomire, one of the bosses from Super Metroid.
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Near the beginning of the Wonky Waterway stage, the entrance to the temple is blocked by huge stone blocks sporting the face of Donkey Kong from the Donkey Kong arcade game.
Towards the end of the level, in the background you can see a giant 8-bit style statue of Donkey Kong holding up a Wii remote. While the sprite has been modified with a hair curl and a red tie, this sprite is originally from Donkey Kong Jr. Math.
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If Donkey Kong is standing on flat ground and you don't touch the controls for a while, he sits down and pulls out a white Nintendo DS Lite and plays with it for a few seconds.
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Stage 1-2 is named King of Cling, which is a reference to the title of DK: King of Swing (GBA).
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The final stage in the game, the Golden Temple, is only unlocked after you collect all the KONG Letters and the Orbs from the temple stages in each world.
The music in the stage is a remix of all of the music from the Donkey Kong Jr. arcade game.
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At the very beginning of Stage 3-2: Button Mash, head to the right and jump into the first Barrel Cannon. The giant stone monkey on the right is wearing a tie featuring the stars and stripes of the American flag.
This is the iconic tie worn by Billy Mitchell, the world record holder for the Donkey Kong arcade game.
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When you collect the Diorama for the Factory world, it is laid out similarly to the 25M stage in the arcade Donkey Kong. Donkey Kong stands at the top, preparing to throw a barrel, while other barrels are rolling down the girders.
Concept art for the game has shown a number of elements that didn't appear in the final game. Some of this concept art can be unlocked in-game, while others have been released on the internet. Several of these feature cameos:
Concept art shows a Minecart stage set in a red and black level inspired by the Virtual Boy.
Another black and red Virtual Boy stage appears to have been inspired by Super Mario Bros. 2.
One piece of concept art shows a huge structure made out of pipes and bits of machinery. Look closely, and you can make out buttons and controller ports from a variety of Nintendo hardware, including the NES and SNES.
One piece of concept art shows a rocky structure that appears to be in the shape of Kraid, the giant reptilian boss from Super Metroid.
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