With the last Donkey Kong game developed by Nintendo having been released in 2004 as Donkey Kong Jungle Beat, I was stoked for Donkey Kong to finally be back. Not to throw any shade at the Donkey Kong Country Returns series which I’d argue are some of the best 2D platformers ever made. However, Donkey Kong Bananza is a completely new and ambitious venture for our favorite banana loving gorilla. While I think it’s preposterous to say that Donkey Kong was being ‘neglected’ it’s clear that this character was not living up to the potential it could be. Looking at the great strides and reinventions of other Nintendo franchises like Mario, Legend of Zelda, Splatoon, and Kirby, this is Donkey Kong’s time to shine! With a fresh coat of paint in design and a new destructive move set that is intricately refined, this Donkey Kong proves that it is more than just a Super Mario Odyssey successor.
He’s bigger, faster, and all-brand new!
Having never played Donkey Kong 64, Donkey Kong’s move set in Bananza has some of the most unique capabilities I have ever seen for a 3D platformer. Punching has never felt so satisfying and addictive. Being able to punch forwards, downwards, and upwards with each direction taking its own button press. Punching is a pretty familiar action we’ve seen in other titles like Wario World and Astro Bot. What makes it stand out for this Kong are the effects these punches have on the environment. You can punch your way through almost any terrain. A grassy hill? You can go right through it. A tree? Gone with a few button presses. There are varying degrees of breakable environments from sand to crystalized rock. The further into the game you are the harder the terrain will be to break through. As strong as he is, Donkey Kong is not reduced to a button mashing punching machine.
You can’t punch your way out of everything and there are multiple ways around breaking certain material which become like a puzzle. Donkey Kong can also pull out a ‘chunk’ of material from the ground which he can then use to swing around to damage enemies and break the environment. These chunks can also be thrown with cursor precision to ensure you hit your target accurately. This is just one way to get through unbreakable or untouchable terrain. For example, there is a spikey vine that will damage you when touched, but you can swing or even throw a chunk of rock to break through those spikey vines. Not all reactive materials are harmful to Donkey Kong. For example, there is rubber material that will propel Donkey Kong upwards when he performs a downwards punch to provide height for getting over barriers. Then, there are materials like concrete that are literally unbreakable to Donkey Kong, but easy pickings for his Bananza form.
Bananza is not just a quirky name for namesake. Bananza plays a significant role to Donkey Kong’s kit. The first form, the Kong Bananza, will vastly power up Donkey Kong’s punching strength. While you’re going berserk tearing up the environment to find bananas or fossils one of the most catchy songs you will ever hear is playing. It perfectly encapsulates making you feel powerful, leveling up the scale of Donkey Kong and adding a lot of visual flair and dynamic. Each Bananza transformation has unique attributes and will be fully utilized in the area where the power is granted. When you’re granted a new transformation you will be able to easily swap between the forms because there may be situations where you want to swap for a certain ability like to run on water or glide between islands. I was always thrilled to see what the next Bananza form would be granted and how it would be used to interact with the environment. The fun with the Bananza forms doesn’t end there because even they can be upgraded with the skill tree.
The skill tree is robust and expands both Donkey Kong’s normal and his Bananza forms making it the gift that keeps giving. Every 5 banandium gems found will reward you with a skill point. A couple upgrades have low impact like being able to automatically initiate a Bananza (which you can do by collecting a few gold pieces) or expanding your hearts. But there are some real substantial investments like granting Donkey Kong a spin jump attack or chunk surfing on water. Then, there’s the Bananza upgrades like granting whole new moves to forms like dropping eggs bombs for the ostrich and a spin attack for the zebra. This makes finding banandium gems feel very rewarding, and hearing “BANANA” with every gem never gets old. You get banandium gems from exploring, completing challenges, and beating bosses. There are enough bananas to keep a completionist busy for dozens of hours.
Monkey see, monkey do
Donkey Kong Bananza doesn’t perform perfectly. While these technical issues may be mildly noticeable it doesn’t get in the way of fun. There is a lot going on in this game. There are times so much gold will be broken, so many pillars and walls will be destroyed, so many enemies on screen and during these times the game will dip in framerate. It happens more than I’d like it to. It occurs most when gameplay abruptly goes from nothing going on to a lot happening at once. But after that minimal chug it will smooth out and perform like normal with everything still breaking into pieces.
Donkey Kong Bananza, visually, looks magnificent. It looks so good it makes you NOT want to destroy everything and ruin the land aesthetically. Is it the best looking game out? No, but it’s vivid and takes each theme for each world and runs with it. My favorite layer is the snow world which is themed after ice cream covered with molten chocolate lava and sprinkles. Donkey Kong and Pauline look sharp and expressive, at all times. As if they weren’t detailed enough you can change the clothes and colors of both Donkey Kong and Pauline. There’s also a photo mode to capture any moment from the many Pixar-like moments this game has to offer.
A bananas story
Donkey Kong Bananza’s story is a fun adventure to rescue all of the banana’s and put an end to the new villains Void Kong and his crew. The story here is nothing to write home about but there are some great revelations from certain characters and the villains make for a new threat to Donkey Kong’s stash of bananas. Donkey Kong is minding his own business, mining for bananas when Ingot Isle is plunged into Earth’s crust. It seems the only way to get to the surface is to go deeper. Void Kong is stealing everyone’s bananas to power a giant drill to reach the planet core. It’s speculated that the banandium roots will grant a wish to those who reach the planet core. Needed to unlock the core is a beautiful singing voice from none other than, Pauline.
Speaking of Pauline, Bananza reinvents the relationship between Pauline and Donkey Kong. She is no longer the incapable damsel in distress. In fact, she plays a critical role to activating Donkey Kong’s Bananza abilities. Without her, there are no Bananzas cause she is the one who sings those catchy theme songs. Pauline’s personality is on full display in Bananza. She speaks a lot, more than I expected and it’s performed very well. You will learn a lot about her during each rest spot as she has campy dialogue which is sure to get a chuckle here and there. Donkey Kong doesn’t speak which is slightly odd but he says a lot with his expressions during gameplay and cutscenes. It’s clear that he is Pauline’s number one supporter to kickstart her singing career. While the story isn’t deep the lighthearted nature and wholesome connection between Donkey Kong and Pauline is all I needed from it.
The critique & conclusion
Donkey Kong Bananza has minor issues I’d like to address. The first is how easy the bosses are. And I mean they don’t even take 30 seconds to beat, kind of easy. A few require a bit of thought and have some creativity but for the most part I was let down by how easy they were to beat, especially in the first half of the game. And this is just me playing solo. I heard that the game becomes even easier playing CO-OP. In the CO-OP mode Pauline is able to copy any material which can be used to hurl as a projectile. This is very powerful seeing how concrete and bombs are on the table to be copied. This can make the game a cake walk. This is the only real criticism I have for this game, but I get it. The game has to remain accessible for young audiences. This is easy to look past because the second half and post-game content is firing on all cylinders and worth the playthrough.
Having a Donkey Kong platformer for the Switch 2 launch year is a bold move from Nintendo. Everyone was expecting a sequel to Mario Odyssey but instead they gave us a Donkey Kong developed by the Mario Odyssey team, but it’s nothing like a Mario Odyssey game. It’s a game of its own caliber. Donkey Kong throws punches like we’ve never seen before. He’s able to tear down islands to their foundations and completely level buildings. Throw in a variety of materials that aren’t breakable which what makes the game more than just a button mashing adventure. On top of this are the Bananza forms which add another layer to the gameplay. These forms really make the identity of Donkey Kong Bananza each having their distinct capabilities and theme songs. The game’s difficulty especially in the first half will be a push over. However, for a game that’s all about destroying everything, it truly builds to an incredible experience like no other. There were times in this playthrough where I got lost just digging and hunting for collectibles around each world out of pure enjoyment. Donkey Kong Bananza makes an experience truly worthy of a Switch 2 purchase.
Donkey Kong Bananza is out now on the Nintendo Switch 2.
The Review
Masterpiece
