Before last year’s Donkey Kong Bananza, the 1999 platformer Rare was the only Donkey Kong game in 3D.
Nintendo announced its cult N64 platformer Donkey Kong 64 finally joins its Nintendo Classics library on June 4. The N64 emulator was first introduced in the Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack membership tier nearly five years ago, and Nintendo fans have been asking for Rare’s 1999 collectathon platformer ever since.
Before last year’s great match Donkey Kong Bananza, Donkey Kong 64 was the tie-wearing gorilla’s one and only 3D release and remains an important part of Nintendo’s history, even if the game itself was always quite controversial. Unlike the British developer’s much more popular side-scrolling Donkey Kong Country games, Rare’s Donkey Kong 64 sees DK exploring large 3D levels absolutely filled to the brim with collectibles.
DK 🎵
DONKEY KONG! 🎵
Help Donkey Kong save his friends, recover the Golden Banana and save his homeland in Donkey Kong 64, available on the Nintendo 64 – Nintendo Classics app on June 4 for #NintendoSwitchOnline + Expansion Pack members! pic.twitter.com/WfAZ73Cwvo— Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) May 28, 2026
Some people loved the more open approach and multiple playable characters, but those who did were hoping for a Donkey Kong-style game. Super Mario 64 lamented the backtracking and confusing structure of the game. Rare’s previous platformer, Banjo Kazooiereleased a year earlier in 1998, is also part of the Nintendo Classics library, and the two are very much in the same mold.
Like many games from the early 3D era, a shaky camera and clunky controls can also make Donkey Kong 64 a bit difficult in 2026, but if you love Donkey Kong (and who doesn’t?) and have ever wondered where Grant Kirkhope’s famous “DK Rap” came from, you owe it to yourself to at least give it a try next week.
Donkey Kong 64 is the first N64 game to be added to Nintendo Switch Online in 2026, after Rayman 2: The Great Escape And Tonic problem arrived in December. Its addition means that many of the N64’s biggest games are now playable on NSO via the Expansion Pack add-on, which costs $50 per year for an individual subscription. The tastes of Diddy Kong Racing And Super Smash Bros. are still missing from the library.
