Donkey Kong 64 is finally coming to Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack, for Switch and Switch 2.
Originally released in 1999 for the Nintendo 64, Donkey Kong 64 was DK’s big entry to 3D gaming. As DK and four of his friends, you rescue members of the DK Krew across multiple levels from King K. Rool.
Oddly enough, it was also the sole 3D Donkey Kong game for years until 2025’s Donkey Kong Bananza.
Donkey Kong 64 is also known for being particularly huge for its time. Average playthroughs can take 30 hours, with completists potentially getting closer to the 100 hour mark. So, it preceded the kind of 3D gaming experience gamers grew up with on the likes of Grand Theft Auto and Assassin’s Creed by quite a bit.
Finally, we can’t ignore that this was developed by Rare, now under XBOX. It’s possible that one reason for this long wait was XBOX needed to sign off on it.
That’s not because of Donkey Kong 64 itself, but because Rare hid Jetpac, one of their older microcomputer games, in it. But we’re sure dataminers will be checking if it’s still in there soon enough.
