Putting the Super Game Boy issue aside, actually playing Donkey Kong here is still just as much of a joy as it was 17 years ago. But I'm conflicted, too, because the game itself is still so incredible.

Donkey Kong in this 3DS edition is treated like all the rest of the Game Boy re-releases in the eShop, playable only in black and white or the alternative 'shades of green' palette. I knew that Nintendo would re-release this game in some form eventually, and I'd hoped that when the time came the re-release would be given the extra effort it deserved to preserve that best version of its visuals.

I'm disappointed about this re-release because of this issue – because Virtual Console titles' appeal are fueled mainly by nostalgia and this one feels like it's gotten the nostalgia wrong. This new 3DS version doesn't have any of that. It was the definitive Donkey Kong experience, the way the game was meant to be played. You could play it on an old Game Boy unit in black and white if you wanted, but that method was missing out on the major focus of the title – because playing it through the Super Game Boy added vibrant color to it, wrapped its game display in a decorative border inspired by the arcade original and even enhanced the sound effects. Donkey Kong was that new peripheral's launch title and champion. The Super Game Boy adaptor was unveiled, a go-between cartridge that let you plug Game Boy games into an SNES console and play them, finally in color, up on the TV screen. The Big N was expected to announce a colorized successor soon to breathe some new life into the black-and-white portable, and they did – only it wasn't a new handheld. Back in 1994 Nintendo's original, monochrome Game Boy unit was showing its age.

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