Why Donkey Kong Bananza Will Stand The Test Of Time

Summary

Donkey Kong Bananza offers a diverse and exciting gameplay experience with unique mechanics and a platformer with RPG elements.
The game's distinct art style and vibrant colors draw players in, setting it apart from other platformers.
Embracing oddity and fun, Donkey Kong Bananza features unique details, costumes, and a surprising final boss battle with King K. Rool.

If someone owns a Switch 2 and they don't have Donkey Kong Bananza, something is not right. Donkey Kong has been delegated to the 2D realm for far too long, so much so that anything besides a 3D Mario is looked at with raised eyebrows. How can a Donkey Kong game be a AAA experience?

Void Kong surprised in Donkey Kong Bananza

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By Tristan Jurkovich

While a 3D Mario game is coming at some point, it's not needed anytime soon on the Switch 2, thanks to DK's big return. Donkey Kong Bananza is the 3D Mario experience Nintendo fans want. It will remain as classic as Super Mario 64. Is there any way to refute that claim? Let's go into detail about exactly why this game has legs.

There will be spoilers.

The Undeniable Urge To Smash

Infinite Possibilities

It doesn’t take long before players get control of DK and can go absolutely bananas with smashing. It’s undeniable how great it feels to punch through a cliffside and end up on the other end, even beyond other destruction games. Even though the camera angle can betray players at times, it never really gets in the way, as there are plenty of ways to highlight DK and Pauline.

Besides some terrain, it’s all there and ready to smash with DK’s fists, but that’s not all. DK can climb just about anything, pick up terrain to hit enemies, or even use objects to surf. Mechanically, DK has never felt so diverse in his move sets, and none of it feels complicated. That’s the lasting legacy right there: complex moves, easy inputs.

A Platformer With A Leveling System

Putting A Point To Collecting

Super Mario Odyssey is still great, but at the end of the day, the gameplay is easy to explain. Players need to collect Power Moons, which gate progress similar to collectible MacGuffins in other platformers. The collectibles in Donkey Kong Bananza are called Banandium Gems, and there are hundreds to find.

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The twist is that they don’t really gate progress in the story. Instead, finding five Banandium Gems will give DK a skill point to spend on a wildly diverse skill tree in Donkey Kong Bananza. There aren’t many platformers with RPG elements like this besides the Ratchet & Clank games or Kingdom Hearts, which is why Donkey Kong Bananza stands out. Putting a different context to collectibles makes them more desirable, but still optional.

A Distinct Art Style

From DK’s Expressions To Colors

DK and Pauline pointing in Donkey Kong Bananza

Side by side, Donkey Kong Bananza may not be as graphically powerful as another recent 3D platformer, Astro Bot, on the PS5. That said, it’s the best-looking Switch 2 game so far, and it doesn’t feel held back by the technology. That’s because the art style will draw players in thanks to the vibrant colors and diverse Sublayers of Donkey Kong Bananza.

Nintendo thankfully didn’t make each Sublayer just a mound of brown dirt. As great as another destruction game is, Red Faction: Guerrilla, the setting of Mars’ surface is pretty drab. Beyond the world of Donkey Kong Bananza, the character designs are fun and outlandish. It’s hard not to laugh at DK’s antics, which borderline on anime bits.

Getting Weird

Going Full Bananza

Running as Zebra Bananza in Donkey Kong Bananza

More developers need to embrace being weird because video games are supposed to be fun. There’s so much oddity within Donkey Kong Bananza, even in the little details like collecting Banandium Gems. A little voice will cry out, “Banana!” As DK gobbles up the collectible. The game didn’t need to go that hard, but it did, and fans appreciate it now and will in the future.

There are also the Bananza Powers in Donkey Kong Bananza, which allow DK to transform into a bigger ape, ostrich, zebra, elephant, or snake. Elephant Bananza is a game-changer as players no longer need to smash to cause destruction, as they can start sucking with DK's trunk instead. The costumes for DK and Pauline are also strange, but endearing, as they give players a lot to customize.

The Last Hour

Hard To Top

New Donkey City taken over by KKR in Donkey Kong Bananza

Surprise! King K. Rool is in the game. Jaws are going to drop at his reveal as he will literally punch Void Kong into oblivion and usurp the throne as the big bad of Donkey Kong Bananza. This happens right before the last Sublayer, and once players reach his boss room, they are going to be treated to an hour, maybe even more, of pure King K. Rool mayhem.

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His love of gold, remaking New Donk City in his own image, using Bananza Power for himself to become a rotten banana, and so on. It reaches Hideo Kojima levels of absurdity in the best possible ways. It kind of overshadows the rest of the game, and unfortunately, it cannot be discussed openly yet. Suffice it to say, Donkey Kong Bananza ends with a bang.

No Need To Rely On Mario

It’s Its Own Legacy

Donkey Kong and Pauline bonding in Donkey Kong Bananza

The best reason Donkey Kong Bananza works is that it draws on the Donkey Kong franchise’s past, but pushes forward, too. DK is not the same ape as in other games, nor is Pauline. There are cameos from other Kongs and Easter Eggs aplenty, but that’s not the focus of Donkey Kong Bananza.

Mario could have easily been thrown in at the end once players reach New Donk City, but Nintendo thankfully kept this a core Donkey Kong adventure. It can seemingly be so tempting to over-reference the past in a new project to help drum up old fans. Donkey Kong Bananza’s confidence in its own ability to excel is what truly makes the game special.

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