I spent several hours playing Donkey Kong Bananza at a Nintendo preview event. If you have a Switch 2, make sure you get the release date for this monkey business-filled adventure in your diary.
As part of the Switch 2 launch event at the start of April, Nintendo announced a new 3D adventure featuring its monkey mascot: Donkey Kong Bananza. After getting to try the console for the first time in Paris, I was cautiously optimistic. Sure, reducing entire levels to rubble with a giant gorilla sounds fun. But how long would it take for the excitement of such a gameplay gimmick to wear off?
At a Nintendo Direct in late June, Nintendo revealed a bunch of new details about the Switch 2 hit. Shortly afterwards, I got to give it a go myself at Nintendo’s European headquarters in Frankfurt. Doing so drastically changed my opinion of the game. I’m now sure Bananza will be the next major must-play title for the Switch 2.
Donkey Kong expert Cassie will be reviewing the game for us. She grilled me after my taster session so that you can get a better idea of Nintendo’s upcoming smash hit.
Note: there’s a little competition at the end of this article.
Cassie: I’m a bit jealous that you’ve already had the chance to play the game. I can’t wait for it myself. But let’s start at the beginning. What exactly do you do in Donkey Kong Bananza? Domagoj:__ Basically, you collect and break stuff. In the four sections I played, I got thrown into pretty big sandbox levels with a bunch of hidden items and side quests. The main missions all involve making your way through one level to get to the next.
_What genre would you categorise the game as? Is it a 3D platformer, a collectathon or a crazy mix?
I’m still not sure about that. I mean, it’s a platformer because Donkey Kong can jump. And sometimes you have to time and execute those jumps precisely. But since Donkey Kong’s also good at climbing and punching his way through everything with brute force, the platformer gameplay is pretty secondary. Picture this: instead of jumping over mountains and swerving obstacles, you can just dig your way through the mountains instead.
The game’s also a collectathon. There’s an unbelievable amount of collectable items – giant bananas, little pieces of banana, gold and fossils that you use to unlock skills or outfits. It’s all hidden in the ground or in small, optional challenges. A random mix that has a lot more to offer than I expected after my first shot of the Switch 2 in Paris.
Does Bananza have an open world? What parallels do you see between it and other Nintendo games?
The structure of the game is comparable to Super Mario Odyssey. You explore fairly extensive levels where you complete tasks in any order.
In contrast to Mario’s Switch adventure, Donkey Kong Bananza is much more open. I even see parallels between Bananza and the two Zelda Switch games when it comes to mission design. The game throws you into the sandbox levels and tells you to have fun exploring without giving you much explanation. How you tackle challenges and goals, or get from A to B, is up to you. You can dig, punch, climb and fly. I love that open, Zelda-like approach.
Roughly how big is the game?
Nintendo hasn’t communicated anything about that yet. Even so, I can imagine you’ll be able to spend many, many hours on it. The levels are extensive, with something to discover every few metres.
Honestly Cassie, I’m glad it’s you testing the game and not me (laughs). It’s definitely the kind of game you should take a leisurely approach to. Don’t stress or put yourself under time pressure to discover all its cool little secrets.
Do you only play as Donkey Kong?
At the preview, I only played as Dong Kong. However, there’s also a teenage version of Pauline, who we know from the very first Donkey Kong (1981) and most recently as the mayor of New Donk City in Super Mario Odyssey (2017). Nintendo kept her appearance in the game under wraps until shortly before the preview session. I like her – she’s super cute and loves to sing.
Do you only follow the main story (like in Princess Peach: Showtime!) or can you also complete optional tasks?
The levels may not look like it, but the game’s storyline plays out underground. It revolves around Donkey Kong and Pauline advancing deeper and deeper towards the earth’s core. Aside from the main story, there are a number of little side activities and challenges, but they aren’t usually integrated into a narrative context.
Did you recognise elements from old Donkey Kong games and if so, which ones? How stoked should Donkey Kong fans be about this game?
I have to admit, I’m not the biggest Donkey fan. I just don’t trust that monkey. And I hate him as an opponent in Mario Kart. Even so, I spotted some cool references. Short snippets of soundtracks to old games that appear in a remix version. Items such as the red balloon that prevents you from crashing. Short 2D levels reminiscent of Donkey Kong Country. And the look and feel in general, which is very reminiscent of old Rare games – especially the funny NPCs with big eyes.
By the way, what’s with the DK rap snippets (e.g. here) in the Nintendo Direct presentation? Did you hear any rap when you were playing the game?
Unfortunately not, but I do hope the legendary song will make an appearance. Mind you, at least Pauline sings every time Donkey Kong learns a new Bananza transformation. I love the songs – they’re unbelievably catchy.
Let’s talk about the Bananza transformations. How do these «superpowers» work?
Over the course of the game, Donkey Kong learns new Bananza forms which he can temporarily take on. I played two of them during my taster session.
The Kong Bananza transformation is basically a Super Saiyan form of Donkey Kong. It smashes its way through opponents and materials that it wouldn’t usually be able to destroy.
The Ostrich Bananza transformation is really funny. It involves fluttering and gliding through the air like an oversized bird, opening up completely new ways through the levels. You can even drop eggs on your opponents. I love it.
Then there’s the speedy Zebra Bananza form, which allows you to run over water. Unfortunately, I didn’t get a chance to play that one. I don’t know if there will be any other transformations other than the ones I’ve mentioned.
What I can tell you is that there are loads of unlockable costumes that make Donkey Kong look really funny. You can even change the colour of his fur. Some cosmetic items actually have an impact on the gameplay.
Does Bananza feel like a Switch 2 game or is it just a fancier Switch game?
At first glance, Bananza doesn’t look dramatically better than, say, Super Mario Odyssey. However, once you start destroying stuff, you see all these particle effects displayed on screen and realise how incredibly destructible the environment is. It made me realise this would never have been possible on the Switch 1 at 60 fps, in this image quality. With HDR, the whole thing also looks quite stylish. Although, unfortunately, that doesn’t come across very well in my screenshots.
How much are you looking forward to the game after the preview? Did you have any concerns or hopes that were addressed at the preview event?
Before the Direct presentation and before I previewed the game, I was worried that the destructible environment «gimmick» would soon get old. Now, I feel reassured that there’s more to Bananza than just blindly destroying stuff. For one thing, there are all the challenges, transformations and secrets. And there’s a lovely amount of variety in terms of how the levels look. I’m blown away. It’s definitely Super Mario Odyssey level!
I do have some concerns about the performance and the camera. The game’s still a little jerky in some places, and the camera’s slightly too stiff for my liking. Plus, the camera has a tendency to start spinning around whenever Donkey Kong buries himself deep in the ground.
Speaking of Super Mario Odyssey, a lot of people reckon that the same development team is behind Bananza. Do you know anything about that?
Nintendo’s always very secretive about things like that. It’s reluctant to reveal who’s working on particular games. However, when I sent the company a media inquiry, it confirmed that it really was the Odyssey team. On the one hand, that’s cool because it’s a guarantee of quality. On the other hand, it’s sad; how long will it be until the next 3D Mario game if the team has been busy with Bananza?
Can you share any other highlights from the preview event?
I love that Nintendo served us bananas. Naturally, I jumped on the opportunity to take a few funny photos with Donkey Kong.
Can you see this chic Switch 2 notebook in the picture above under the TV? The bright red book can be yours, including a Switch 2 pen in a matching colour. Answer this question: How many Bananza transformations did I play at the preview event?
Donkey Kong Bananza will be released exclusively for the Switch 2 on 17 July. Nintendo invited me to the preview event and covered my travel expenses.
My love of video games was unleashed at the tender age of five by the original Gameboy. Over the years, it's grown in leaps and bounds.
