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On Friday, Nintendo hosted one of its Nintendo Switch 2 Experience events at CBS’s Televsion City in Los Angeles. We got a chance to go hands-on with multiple Nintendo Switch 2 titles and will be discussing them in detail. For this installment, we’ll be looking at Donkey Kong Bananza.
As I played through the demo of Donkey Kong Bananza at the Nintendo Switch 2 Experience, there was something slightly familiar about it that I couldn’t shake. The rumor on the street is that Bananza is being put together by the same crew at Nintendo that handled Super Mario Odyssey. After getting to play it at the recent Nintendo Switch 2 Experience event, I think I’d be more surprised if I found out that they weren’t the ones working on Bananza. Nintendo EPD Tokyo or EPD Group No.8 is the division within the company’s larger Entertainment Planning and Production structure that I’m referring to here.
They really know their stuff, having made the aforementioned Odyssey as well as Donkey Kong: Jungle Beat, which was their first project together. EPD Tokyo’s fingerprints are all over Bananza, from the aesthetic, which to me has some hints of Odyssey’s Luncheon Kingdom infused into the color palette, and the various monkeys I saw on Ingot Isle would have been right at home in Jungle Beat. Oddly, Nintendo is telling fans that they’ll have to look at the credits after beating Bananza to see who made the game, but regardless, it’s obvious that no matter who is making the game, one of the premier teams at the company is taking the lead here.
During the demo, there wasn’t a lot of story setup—we know he’s facing off against a group called VoidCo and is looking for Golden Bananas, which the former has stolen. We find Donkey Kong working in some kind of mines or caves on Ingot Isle, but it’s never said why he’s there nor what he’s doing before he starts to hunt for the Golden Bananas. He does seem to be hard at work, however, wearing pants and suspenders, as well as a bright, yellow safety helmet. More than his clothes, however, fans will notice DK’s new design. I’ve mentioned it a couple times now since the Nintendo Switch 2 Direct (and others spotted it before back when the console was first announced), but DK has been totally overhauled with a rounder physique and a gentler, less menacing face.
I continue to find myself at odds with the redesign. He certainly looks good, but I have a soft spot for Rare’s version, which was instantly iconic, not to mention tough and cool. This DK is a little less cool, and it’s something that I struggle with as a fan. Regardless, the detail packed into his character model is pretty astounding to see. He’s emotive, he’s hulking, and he’s packed with power. The fur texture can look a little strange at times, more like leaves than fuzz, but overall DK looks good.
The same can be said of the Underground World, which is the large, subterranean region that players will be exploring throughout Bananza. Although it’s described as underground, it seems to be a place in defiance of the natural order, as the region I explored had a bright, blue sky overhead. The central mechanic in Bananza is tied to DK’s ability to smash through the overwhelming bulk of the game world around him. The world isn’t entirely destroyable, as resting at the core of each area is a layer of bedrock that can’t be broken, but the sheer volume of terrain that can be punched, crunched, smashed, and bashed is impressive.
The result of all this destructible landscape is that DK can explore in new and exciting ways. There are secrets littered throughout the game world that can be found via a myriad of methods. He can burrow directly into the earth, for instance, or hurl explosive ore at certain cliffs and walls to expose new areas to comb through. Although the chunk of the Underground World I got to see wasn’t especially expansive, it was still pretty impressive how much freedom I had to climb and dig virtually everywhere that was within my reach.
I mentioned that this is supposedly the Mario Odyssey team working on this game, and I feel like that assertion is further validated by the level structure in Bananza. Swap out Kingdoms and Moons for different regions of the Underground and Golden Bananas, and the setup is very similar. Which isn’t a bad thing; it totally works within the setup of Bananza, and I like how the game doesn’t have to stop every time a collectible has been gathered. Instead, there’s an acknowledgment a Golden Banana has been obtained, but otherwise the player is free to continue moving and exploring. It’s good for maintaining momentum and the overall flow of the action.
Apparently, Nintendo is promising appearances by at least Cranky Kong, and who knows who else might show up, including a certain classic character. I will point out that during my play session, DK had a purple rock companion perched on his shoulder while in the Underground, positioned exactly where that classic character was shown in the leak. Does that mean the purple rock creature is a placeholder? I’m inclined to say so, but that’s purely speculation on my part. It lines up too perfectly to ignore, but it’s always possible there’s more than meets the eye here. Maybe DK has multiple companions on this adventure. After all, we have yet to see Diddy…
Combat was surprisingly engaging during the demo. DK’s punches are an obvious go-to attack, but his upward strike and ground pound offer other avenues of assault against adversaries. What I especially enjoyed was having DK dig into the ground, pull up chunks of rock, and then hurl it at foes. It was not only effective as a projectile, but DK could also take those same dug up boulders and use them to wallop enemies upside the head. It’s not a super deep fighting system or anything, but the brawling here has some variety that gives the player some freedom to think up strategies for attacks as opposed to mindlessly smashing the same button over and over.
It won’t be long before Bananza is in the hands of fans, as its July 17 release is, relatively speaking, not all that far away. While I’m sure we’ll get to see more of the game before then, the tantalizing teaser shown off was enough to get me excited. It’s gorgeous, it’s fun, and digging through the Underground World seems like it will be quite the rewarding experience. We’ll keep you posted on all things Donkey Kong Bananza in the weeks and months ahead.
