Donkey Kong Bananza is the first Nintendo game in the Donkey Kong series to feature Skill Points and a Skill Tree. DK Bananza players can unlock a variety of new abilities and stat improvements by collecting Stat Points and spending them in the Stat Tree.
How to Save, Load, & Erase Save Data in Donkey Kong Bananza
To save the game in Donkey Kong Bananza, you must navigate to the Save Data menu either in-game or in the main menu.
By default, the Skill Tree will pop up every time you earn a Skill Point, but if you want to return later on to spend your Skill Points, the game doesn't explain how to open this menu back up. This guide explains how to get Skill Points and how to open the Skill Tree in DK Bananza to unlock new Skills.
How to Get Skill Points in DK Bananza
To get Skill Points in Donkey Kong Bananza, you must collect five Banandium Gems. These crystal, apparently edible giant bananas are all over the place in DK Bananza as rewards for challenges or puzzles, though some are simply buried in the earth.
Use DK's Hand Slam move by pressing R to highlight nearby collectibles, including Banandium Gems.
You can see how close you are to earning a Skill Point whenever you find a Banandium Gem. Look under the name of the Banandium Gem location in the middle of the screen to see a bar with five bananas on it. Each Banandium Gem you collect will fill up this bar and, upon your fifth, DK will earn a Skill Point.
How To Respec Skill Points
To reset the Skill Tree in DK Bananza and refund your spent Skill Points to reallocate, you must find and speak to an Elder. Follow this guide to learn how to respec Skill Points in DK Bananza and find out locations of the game's five Elders.
Best Early Skills To Pick First
At the start of the game, players only have ten skills to choose from. As you earn Bananza transformations and progress through the layers of DK Bananza, more Skills will unlock, but some of these first ten Skills are worth investing in as early as possible.
How to Fast Travel in Donkey Kong Bananza
A guide explaining how to fast travel and return to previous layers in Donkey Kong Bananza.
As you play through the Lagoon and Hilltop levels at the beginning of the game, follow this guide to the best early Skills in DK Bananza to learn which skills you should prioritize and which you should avoid to save your Skill Points for something more powerful.
How to Open the Skill Tree in DK Bananza
The Skill Tree will automatically open every time you earn a Skill Point in DK Bananza. After the "You Got A Skill Point" screen, you will be prompted to spend it, but you can also close this menu to spend the Skill Point later on.
To open the Skill Tree, DK Bananza players must press up on the left Joy-Con d-pad. This will bring up the full list of your available Skills and show your total Stat Points. If you press R while this menu is open, you will open the Status screen, which displays the clothing you currently have equipped and their bonuses.
Donkey Kong Bananza
- Released
- July 17, 2025
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- Everyone 10+ / Fantasy Violence, In-Game Purchases
- Developer(s)
- Nintendo EPD
- Publisher(s)
- Nintendo
- Number of Players
- 1-2 players
- Platform(s)
- Nintendo Switch 2
