Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D, the 3DS port of the highly acclaimed Wii hit, has officially been given a release date by Nintendo. In a PR email sent out to journalists, Nintendo announced that gamers could get their hands on DKCR3D on May 24, 2013.  Donkey Kong Country Returns is a 2.5D platformer and is the true spiritual successor to the revered Donkey Kong Country series which saw 3 separate games released across the SNES during the high of the platformer craze of the mid-90s. All three of the original DKC games were developed by British video game developers Rare (at the time they were a second party developer for Nintendo). Though the 3DS port is being handled by Monster Games, known mostly for the Excitebike series that was revived on the Wii, the original Donkey Kong Country Returns on Wii was developed by Retro Studios (the guys and gals who brought you the Metroid Prime series).

Additionally, accompanying the PR email from Nintendo was this image:

Check out this Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D gameplay trailer from last month:

We’ll bring you more news on Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D as it becomes available. If you’re looking to get a glimpse of the game in real 3D make sure to hop over to the 3DS eShop and download the free 3D gameplay video.