Donkey Kong 64 Comes To Nintendo Switch Online June 3

8 Comments | donkey kong, Donkey Kong 64, nintendo, nintendo switch, nintendo switch online | By Peter Paltridge | May 28, 2026 | 2 minutes of reading

The day has finally arrived. After getting just about everything else (who thought we’d get Jet Force Gemini before this?), the Nintendo Switch Online N64 library will finally receive Donkey Kong 64, the 1999 top-seller that put an Expansion Pak into every console, introduced Yanks to Jetpac and made millions despise Beaver Bother. I myself sunk dozens of hours into this game. This is my hard-won 101% screenshot straight from the original cart, a feat I will never attempt again.

We all have opinions on DK64. Some people think it’s too big and complicated. Others like the size and number of things to do. Some hate the backtracking and collectathon gameplay stretched to its limit, others love those things. Opinions on the DK Rap are a matter of taste. You can’t deny this though: the humor and personality is Rare at its peak, crammed with hilarious moments like Chunky cowering whenever you select him and insisting you pick Tiny instead. We’ll be missing out if the game doesn’t come with a digital copy of the manual, which was written by Cranky Kong and packed with sarcastic asides.

And I’ll grant the following negatives: some of the tougher minigames are more like chores than fun, especially the ones you’ve gotta repeat over and over because you keep goofing them up. When you get to the slide with the giant bug, you will come to loathe it. And it’s my understanding a race in Fungi Forest has been rendered impossible due to the original relying on the N64 slowdown to pace the competing racer. Maybe they’ll have fixed that, and maybe not.

If you’ve never played DK64, you’ve got a long road ahead of you. It’s bigger than Donkey Kong Bananza, if you can believe it. The whole mess barrels onto Nintendo Switch Online June 3. If you know the words, you can join in too.

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Active Member

1,754 messages 21 likes

#1 May 28, 2026

I can't wait for Donkey Kong 64 to drop on Nintendo Switch Online next week! It’s about time we get this classic; it’s such a nostalgic gem from the N64 era. I remember spending hours trying to collect all those golden bananas and the awesome multiplayer mode with friends. It’s surprising Jet Force Gemini made it in first, but I guess that just shows how much love Nintendo has for its library. Have you all thought about what strategies you’re going to use to tackle those tough levels again? I might need to brush up on my skills!

The Arctic Blaze

345 messages 24 likes

#2 Jun 11, 2026

Never finished this as a kid because it felt too long and a bit confusing at times. Donkey Kong Country games were easier to follow, so DK64 always felt like a step up in complexity. The idea of revisiting it now is interesting, but patience is different these days. Shorter games usually feel better to pick up after work, so something this big might be tough to stick with. Still, there is respect for how much content is in it. Every level feels like it was built with too many things going on at once. Might try it again just to see if it clicks differently now compared to back then.

She took the kids Ryu

348 messages 14 likes

#3 Jun 11, 2026

Played this back when it was new and it felt huge for its time. The amount of things to collect was almost overwhelming, but that was also what made it stick in memory. Switching between the Kongs was always the highlight, since each one had a different way of moving and solving small parts of levels. Some parts dragged a bit, especially when the same type of task kept coming back, but it never stopped the game from feeling packed with ideas. Seeing it come back now brings up a lot of nostalgia, especially the weird humor that Rare always put into character animations and random moments. Chunky’s reactions alone were always funny without trying too hard. Curious how new players will react, since modern games usually don’t ask for this level of repetition anymore.

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Member

344 messages 9 likes

#4 Jun 11, 2026

Spent a lot of time with this game growing up, even if not everything made sense at the time. The atmosphere and sound design are still easy to remember. The DK Rap gets joked about now, but it stood out because it didn’t feel like anything else at the time. Each Kong having unique abilities made exploration more interesting, even if switching between them could get a bit repetitive. What really stayed was how often there was something new hidden just around the corner. Even the annoying parts kind of blend into the overall experience after a while. Seeing it return makes it obvious how different game design used to feel, with less focus on speed and more on volume.

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Aspiring God of Destruction

339 messages 3 likes

#5 Jun 11, 2026

Surprised this took so long to show up compared to other Rare titles. Always assumed there was some kind of technical issue holding it back. DK64 is not perfect, but it is a big part of N64 history and deserves to be available. Some players will enjoy the freedom and scale, while others will bounce off the collecting quickly. There is not much middle ground with this one. The performance question is also interesting, since some sections relied on old hardware quirks. If those are fixed, the game might actually feel more consistent than it did originally.

Well-Known Member

826 messages 35 likes

#6 Jun 11, 2026

I honestly think people exaggerate how bad the collecting is in DK64. Yes, it is a lot, but that was the point of games like this back then. You were meant to spend time exploring every detail. I remember feeling satisfied when I finally cleared a difficult area, even if it took multiple tries. Some of the mini games were frustrating, I will admit that, especially the repeating ones. But I don’t think it ruins the whole experience. It’s more like part of the challenge. I am glad it is coming back because younger players can finally see what that era of game design was like instead of just hearing opinions about it online.

Froggy Afternoon

643 messages 16 likes

#7 Jun 11, 2026

I’m more of a speedrun viewer these days, so I’m curious how DK64 holds up from that perspective. I know it has a reputation for being long and kind of messy, but that’s also what makes older games interesting to watch being broken apart. The movement and switching mechanics probably create a lot of weird routing choices. Even if I don’t play it fully again, I might watch runs of it just to see how people optimize such a huge game. I also wonder if any new glitches will appear with the Switch version. Sometimes small changes create totally new strategies. That part alone makes the release interesting to me.

Member

339 messages 26 likes

#8 Jun 11, 2026

Mostly remembers watching it being played rather than playing it properly at first. Certain areas like the jungle environments and mechanical stages left a strong impression visually. Even without understanding all the mechanics, it was still entertaining just to see it move. Going back now will probably feel different, but curiosity is strong enough to give it another look. Could feel smaller than remembered, or it might still hold that same sense of scale.

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