Donkey Kong Bananza Review: The Switch 2’s King of Platformers Has Arrived!

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In an exciting development, Donkey Kong is all set to grace our screens once again with “Donkey Kong Bananza” for the Nintendo Switch 2. This marks his comeback to 3D platforming since the classic Donkey Kong 64 from 1999. While we’ve been enjoying DK in Mario Kart World and the Mario movie, this new game promises a fresh, open-world, action-packed adventure that allows our favorite ape to shine brightly in the limelight he truly deserves.

As an ardent admirer of DK64, despite the online skepticism, I was eagerly anticipating a fresh installment in the series. A 26-year gap between releases is excessively long; during this time, Luigi had three games, multiple Yoshi titles, and Toad even got his own game. Granted, we’ve had a couple of new 2D Donkey Kong games like Returns and Tropical Freeze, but none of them have matched the allure of the N64 classic for me.

Is Donkey Kong Bananza the long-awaited successor to Super Mario Odyssey, or is it more of a spoiled banana that didn’t ripen as expected? Let’s delve into it and discover the truth.

“Donkey Kong Bananza takes center stage among the second wave of games for the Switch 2. Despite Mario being the star on day one and karting being enjoyable, this is the substantial launch game you’ve been eagerly anticipating.”

To maintain a spoiler-free experience, I suggest reading the score initially and revisiting the review later if you prefer to play without prior knowledge.

Initially, let me rephrase that for you: To start with, Donkey Kong Bananza is an eye-catching game. If Super Mario Kart World didn’t leave your friends amazed by your new Switch 2, this game will certainly make them exclaim “ooh” and “ahh”. Filled with the unique charm of Nintendo, and even a hint of Rare design, the visuals in each level are truly captivating. The characters have a charming cartoonish appeal that brings back memories of classic Rare-era Nintendo, while still fitting with the updated Donkey Kong look from Mario Kart World.

Exploring each fresh dive site offers something exciting: vibrant landscapes, novel adversaries, and a multitude of treasures to gather. Indeed, Donkey Kong Bananza can undeniably be labeled as a “collect-a-thon,” embracing this aspect wholeheartedly. Following decades of gamers lamenting the excessive collection in DK64, Nintendo seems to have responded with a casual “pass me another refreshing drink,” as they’ve significantly amplified its collectathon character in this installment.

Donkey Kong Bananza carries on the tradition of DK64 with an impressive collection: there were 201 golden bananas, 3,500 colored bananas, 40 banana medals, 20 banana fairies, 40 blueprints, 8 boss keys, 10 battle crowns, a single Nintendo coin, and one Rareware coin. To put it simply, Donkey Kong Bananza continues the trend in a fantastic manner.

In this game, every item you gather serves a specific function; it might remind you a bit of the mini-currencies from MMORPGs, but here they’re completely free and enjoyable to collect – think banandium gems, banana chips, fossils, treasure maps, and many others. These currencies can be utilized in villages scattered throughout the levels to buy items like new outfits that offer DK benefits such as poison resistance or improved swim speed. Plus, with the game’s destruction mechanic, digging up these treasures is a thrill!

In the game Donkey Kong Bananza, an exciting feature is that you can demolish much of the terrain across various layers as you make your way towards the core. Pressing B, Y, or X keys will let you deliver directional punches, emphasizing Nintendo’s desire for destruction: break everything apart! Exploring levels reveals a new layer to platformer-style gameplay, allowing you to collect items in ways beyond precise jumps (although these are still included). Instead, you can smash through the terrain to uncover hidden caves and reveal greater complexity within the levels than initially appears on the surface. Additionally, you can rip out chunks of terrain to use as projectiles against enemies, create new platforms, perform turf surfing (jump on top of a piece and ride along), and much more!

During regular gameplay, you may not initially notice Bananza’s slowdown when extensive destruction occurs. However, I managed to bring it about deliberately. Although there are minor frame lags and unusual camera instances that might make you think you’ve fallen through the map, these issues can generally be disregarded as they don’t negatively impact the game in any significant way. The joy of demolishing objects is still very much present, and I frequently found myself intentionally crushing the ground beneath me or nearby walls while en route to my next goal. What makes it even better? You have the option to restore all terrain within a layer at any time, allowing you to repeat the destruction process whenever you desire.

In this game, the primary goal is to make your way down to the planet’s center. Disclosing why that’s important might spoil the story, so let me just say that there’s an unexpected character named Pauline who adds a twist to the narrative. Nintendo could have kept her under wraps until the game release, making it a bigger surprise for players, but they decided to show her in the trailers. So while I can mention her briefly, discovering more about her role will be part of the gaming experience.

In this game, Pauline travels with DK to reach the planet’s center. Her unique ability is singing to break through barriers called void seals, enabling advancement and discovery of hidden regions. Throughout most of the game, she rides on DK’s back, not significantly altering the overall gameplay experience, except for being essential for the new Bananza transformations. These transformations could have been implemented without Pauline, but her presence is appreciated as it adds to the game’s charm.

The transformations provided enable Donkey Kong (DK) to assume various animal shapes, such as an ostrich for temporary flight and gliding, a zebra to traverse delicate surfaces without damage, or a large ape that mimics a Super Saiyan form, enhancing DK’s power to tackle tougher terrains. These transformations become accessible as the story unfolds, and you can activate them by accumulating enough gold pieces. After some time, if the gold supply depletes, DK will automatically revert to his regular form.

I was impressed with the latest transformations because while they appear powerful and can be utilized whenever you have a full meter, I never found myself excessively using them instead of standard DK form. The balance is exceptional, and they never feel overly repetitive. To top it off, DK features an RPG-style skill tree for leveling up skills by gathering Banadium gems. Moreover, you can enhance his alternate forms in this skill tree, which amplifies their power and grants additional abilities such as the fantastic egg bomb skill for the ostrich form.

Beyond gathering, damaging the landscape, transforming, and serenading sealed creatures, there are boss fights. Although some of these might be intimidating for younger gamers, you can usually bypass them by repeatedly punching once you get near. After a few blows (frequently with a transformation midway), the boss will collapse, drop a key, and let you move on to the next region. This isn’t the most challenging Donkey Kong game, but that makes it more inviting for players who might have been put off by the complexity of the 2D games in the series. There are 2D tributes scattered throughout, which can be uncovered by opening sealed areas and reward you with extra bananas. While not as intricate as the original games, these levels are so well designed that you’ll want to find them just for the sake of exploring, and of course, the opportunity to collect a few more bananas.

In Donkey Kong Bananza, there’s plenty to explore and interact with! You’ll discover side missions for bonus Banadium gems, hidden areas to construct in each zone, puzzle pieces to gather, friendly villagers to assist, and lots more. Even on your initial playthrough, you might not uncover everything, but those who enjoy completing games will be thrilled when they find the fast travel eels. These eels transport you between layers you’ve previously visited, making it possible to access areas that were once inaccessible due to a missing power-up. Additionally, there’s a DK Artist mode where you can sculpt objects similar to the Mario 64 title screen, allowing you to mold and manipulate various items, adding another layer of fun to an already packed game!

The Donkey Kong Bananza game, despite being a traditional platformer that might not appeal to everyone, could still attract people towards the Switch 2. Its captivating music, stunning graphics, engaging gameplay, and adorable dance moves by DK and Pauline at the end of each level are reminiscent of Mario Odyssey’s success and make it a delight for those eagerly waiting for the next big thing on the Switch 2. In essence, Donkey Kong Bananza is the best exclusive game for the Switch 2 yet, and it’s a promising sign of the greatness that could be expected from the platform in the future.

There are still many exciting twists in store in the game I’ve been saving as a surprise. It’s worth noting that fans of Donkey Kong and 3D Mario platformers will find this one particularly delightful. To put it simply, Donkey Kong Bananza is an exceptional showcase game that could be the system-selling gem Nintendo needs at the moment. I can’t get enough of it, even after finishing the game to collect every last banana. This has quickly become my favorite Switch 2 game and my predicted Game of the Year for 2025 so far.

Sorry, Mario Odyssey; DK has just knocked you off your spot as king of Switch platformers.

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2025-07-16 15:13