Nintendo announced today that Donkey Kong Land 3 would be available for Nintendo Switch Online Subscribers. However, Donkey Kong Land 3 as the West knows it, was never released in Japan. Instead, the Japanese audience received an enhanced Gameboy Color variant. Today Nintendo uploaded this variant for Japanese Online subscribers.
As shared over on Reddit by Turbostrider27 Donkey Kong Land III was announced for Nintendo Switch Online Subscribers today.
While all Gameboy games could be played on the Gameboy Color and have colors added to them. This process was automated, the colors limited and it would sometimes lead to strange pairings. Native Gameboy Color games had added colors with intentional color choices. The same is true of the Japanese version of Donkey Kong Land 3. This variant features upgraded colors that help obstacles and enemies stand out and accentuates the level designs.
The improved colors of the Donkey Kong Land 3 are not the only additions. When a character is speaking letters appear individually instead of as a full-text box. There are no slowdowns present, which is in contrast to those present in the Western version. This is likely a result of the Gameboy Color’s improved CPU. One downgrade on the Japanese version is that the overworld maps are not animated, this is apparently a holdover from the game’s prototype where there was limited memory. In the Western version, the last Time Attack time was visible on the Time Attack screen, which was also removed from the Japanese version.
Fortunately, the Switch is not region-locked, so Nintendo Switch Online subscribers outside of Japan now also have a chance to enjoy this upgraded version of Donkey Kong Land 3.
If you’d like to read up on the Western version coming to Switch Online, click here. The announcement video is linked below if you’d like to watch it.
