One of the benefits for purchasing a subscription to Nintendo Switch Online is access to a variety of NES and SNES games, often with additional online capabilities or challenge modes. However, some fans have complained that the service is slow to add worthwhile content, its last update in May only including four games. Today, Nintendo announced three more will be coming on July 15, but most fans will undoubtedly gravitate toward the addition of Rare's SNES classic Donkey Kong Country.
The original Donkey Kong Country trilogy of games were humongous hits for the SNES, standing out both for their keen mastery of the side-scrolling platforming genre and for state-of-the-art 3D models. They have been a glaring omission in Nintendo Switch Online's offerings, which already hosts titles like Super Metroid, A Link to the Past, and Super Mario World.
Other than Donkey Kong Country, the July 15 update will also add the SNES title Natsume Championship Wrestling, a 1994 wrestling game developed by Harvest Moon-publisher Natsume; and NES title The Immortal,  a 1990 action-adventure game originally created for the Apple IIGS that was published by EA. However, Donkey Kong is clearly the big draw, as soon after the announcement was made Donkey Kong Country began trending on Twitter.
The original Donkey Kong Country series, ostensibly a reboot/follow-up to the Donkey Kong arcade game, was so beloved that it was brought back by Retro Studios with Donkey Kong Country Returns on the Wii in 2010. That game saw a sequel, Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze on the Wii U which was later ported to the Nintendo Switch, selling more than its original version in just two weeks.
Despite complaints about the drip-feed of new titles through Nintendo Switch Online, the service has mostly been a success thanks to the accessibility of NES and SNES games, as well as exclusive titles to the service such as Tetris 99. One recent title, GungHo Entertainment's Ninjala, has been downloaded two million times not long after its official release.
That being said, the service has taken flack for other issues, including poor connectivity on online-heavy games such as Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, occasional outages, and reports of Nintendo online account breaches by hackers. While it's hard to say a few more free games is a worthwhile compensation for these issues, some Nintendo fans should still be happy to get their hands on Donkey Kong Country.
Donkey Kong Country, Natsume Championship Wrestling, and The Immortal will be available July 15 through Nintendo Switch Online.