Nintendo Switch Online subscribers across Switch, Switch Lite, and OLED Switch have a new free download set to bring all that snag it back to 2010 and the era of the Wii. By the time of 2010, the Wii had already been on the market for four years, debuting in 2006. The fever pitch around the console had begun to fade by this time, but this was still two years before the release of the Wii U. And one year before the release of the 3DS. This is to say, in 2010 the Wii was the primary machine for Nintendo.
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The marquee Wii release of that year was no doubt Super Mario Galaxy 2, one of the best games of all time according to many. In the shadow of Super Mario Galaxy 2, but no doubt the second biggest Nintendo release on Wii in 2010, was Donkey Kong County Returns. That said, where Super Mario Galaxy 2 has never been brought forward — not on the Wii U nor the Nintendo Switch — Donkey Kong Country Returns is set to hit the latter console, the Switch, tomorrow, January 16, 2025.
Ahead of the port, the first major Nintendo Switch release of 2024, Nintendo has a freebie for all Nintendo fans anticipating the re-release. More specifically, for the release of Donkey Kong Country Returns HD on Nintendo Switch, Nintendo has released “custom icons” of the game. These icons include Donkey Kong, Diddy Kong, and more.
Those without a Nintendo Switch Online subscription will not be able to access these icons — which cost five to ten Platinum Points each — because they are exclusive to Nintendo Switch Online.
Meanwhile, those interested will need to keep track of some dates as the icons are set to release in waves lasting seven days. The first wave runs from January 15 to January 22. The second wave runs from January 22 to January 29. The third wave runs from January 29 to February 5. And the fourth and final waves runs from February 5 to February 12.
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Once claimed, each icon is free to keep and is retained beyond a Nintendo Switch Online subscription. In other words, while a Nintendo Switch Online subscription is needed to access these Wii freebies, it is not required to keep them once they are claimed.
It’s worth noting that it is not often Nintendo Switch Online icons return in a second release. And when they do, it is typically required to own the game to download any of the associated icons on the second time around. To this end, Nintendo fans will want to be prompt with each wave, because once the wave is over, the icons will be gone, and could be gone for good.
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