Donkey Kong Bananza Review — One Big Leap for DK and friends!

One of the first games I ever played on the N64 was Donkey Kong 64. That game, in my mind even today, was one of the most engaging games on the console. From the sheer amount of collectibles (which at the time was a record) to the music and the lovable cast of characters, DK64 was my favorite Donkey Kong main-title game.  However, that might have changed recently with the release of Donkey Kong Bananza. The first HUGE title from Nintendo on the Switch 2 since release has been hyped up more than almost any Nintendo game in a while, and there’s a reason. This game, other than a few TINY bits and bobs, is an absolutely perfect blast to the past while pushing the character forward. 

When the first look for Bananza came out, I initially thought it would be a rehash of Mario Odyssey, with Pauline working as the magical element. I assumed we’d be traveling around collecting bananas and transforming into different objects and items to move around. However, the more I saw from the previews and trailers, the more excited I got that we might have the feeling I got from DK64 again, only on Switch 2. After playing through the game, I can say that this game brings that feeling back with a lot to look forward to in the future of the franchise, while providing enough nostalgia that even older fans of the Kong family can have fun and enjoy. 

Slight spoilers ahead for the story. None of the final three Layers will be discussed.

You play as, what seems to be, a younger version of Donkey Kong than we’ve seen much of in the past. I say that to say that Pauline is quite younger during this game, and since she’s an adult in Odyssey and Mario Kart World, we can assume this is at least before the story of Mario Odyssey. This also takes place after the events of the Donkey Kong Country series, based on some conversations had with Diddy and Dixie Kong. The only game I’m not sure how it’ll fit is the previously mentioned, Donkey Kong 64. 

As we begin, DK is digging for Bananas when Void Company (the main villains of Bananza) blasts in and causes untold chaos to the world as a whole. In the aftermath, DK sees a chunk of odd purple rock hit the ground nearby. This rock is what really starts DK’s journey as we try to reach the top to see what the damage to the area is truly. The odd rock ends up being revealed to be Pauline (shocker), and here we go! 

Movement is extremely fluid for such a large character. While he “feels” strong enough to move and jump around, it doesn’t feel like that ever gets in the way of getting things done in each layer. As you jump from higher heights, DK will land and smash into the ground. His punches will fully break most anything in his normal form, allowing that even if you get lost, you can just punch your way in a direction until you find something to do. If you ever played the Incredible Hulk games (Hulk Ultimate Destruction specifically), it sometimes feels like that level of destruction is possible at any time. You have rolling abilities to keep you moving as fast as you can, and I loved combining a roll into a punch for absolute cool-factor.. 

Alongside the rolling, DK’s climbing speed makes traversal a blast. It’s a far cry from the speed (or lack thereof) of Link’s climbing in Breath of the Wild.  I found myself in new areas, climbing as high as I could early on to see what drew my eye first before jumping down and heading in that direction. 

The new feature for Bananza are the Banazas themselves, which uses Pauline’s singing and DK’s drum beats to create new versions of DK mashing his Ape form with the form of Ultimate Kong, Zebra, Ostrich, Snake, and Elephant. These do the following:

— Kong breaks things easily and gets you through where normal punches can’t.
— Zebra allows you to run on breakable floors and move quickly.
— Ostrich allows you to glide (more like falling with style at times) and drop Egg Bombs.
— Snake allows for mega high jumping and powers up to allow for power slams.
— Elephant allows you to suck up floors, walls, lava, etc, and create boulders of those elements to throw around the map.

These Bananzas are so much fun and allow for a lot of replayability since you’ll be able to return to earlier layers to complete challenges with your new Bananza. 

You have 17 Layers to go through. Each one brings something different to the Bananza! You have beaches and jungles and ice worlds and so much more! Each of these floors includes side quests, locations to explore, easter eggs, power-ups, and lots and lots of collectibles. I found my ADHD brain truly scratched by this game because no matter what direction you go, including up and down, you’re bound to find rewards for exploring.

Side quests are a’plenty throughout each level, with quests such as searching an area for stuck characters, breaking walls that other characters can’t, using your Bananza powers to get to different areas while platforming, and more. There is always something to do and rewards to get from them. 

Bananza is built for you to be able to play as much or as little as you want during a sitting. If you have 30 minutes during a lunch break, you can get 1-3 side quests done. Have 45 minutes, you can get a full main quest finished. Enjoy this game a way that allows you to finish it the way you want to finish it. If you push yourself, you can finish in 20 hours. If you do side quests, find secrets, and collect gold, you’re looking at at least 40-60 hours or more (especially with post-game content). 

Speaking of gold, get as much as you can at all times. Gold is the essence of this game overall. The world provides you with plenty of options to grab gold; you just have to take those chances. Gold helps you take Banana pieces and turn them into Bananas, pay for rest zones, pay for items, respawn after falling or losing your hearts, and more. Since I pushed really hard to get through levels, I reached the end and almost ran out of gold for how hard the last four levels can be. This almost made me have to return to the upper layers to get more gold, but I made it through.

The difficulty is fairly easy until those last four layers. Before those, I didn’t lose to any bosses and only failed one side quest I attempted. At the end of the day, this is a kids game and should be accessible to kids. That is, but just like DK64 back in the day, the ending ramps up the difficulty, making you use everything in your arsenal to your advantage to win the game. Those last four levels were also the first time I went out of my way to purchase items as most everything can be found digging into mountains and such. As the levels became harder and it took longer to figure out boss’s tendencies, the need to get extra items grew. 

Along the way, you’ll meet some of the Kong family, but not all of the iconic characters have returned. The most iconic of the returns include Diddy Kong, Dixie Kong, and Cranky Kong! Thankfully, as well, an iconic staple of the Donkey Kong Country franchise returns in a new era, with one layer being fully Rhino Races with Diddy Kong and Dixie Kong. It was placed in the perfect layer placement to break up any feeling of monotony. 

The lack of feeling of monotony is a huge plus for Donkey Kong Bananza. Each layer provides just enough to keep things feeling fresh and moving forward. I’m someone who needs collectathons to keep throwing “new” at me, or I get bored. Banjo-Kazooie was always my peak example of perfect Collectathon, as you always had something new to learn up until the end, and every world felt completely different. Bananza does this very well, with you learning new ways to use your powers up until the very end. 

From a visual and graphical perspective, this game was made for the Switch 2 and looks amazing on the Switch 2. Each layer looks polished and smooth. Load times are between 1-3 seconds at any moment. Bananza also looks great handheld or docked, which is the goal of a console built like the Switch 2. The only nitpicky thing I can bring up is if a boss spawns in a lot of mud, it can lag the spawn time a bit, but it’s not anything that impacts the character models, just terrain load speed. 

Bananza uses music for a lot of things that other games would use eagles, items, or the map to track. Need to know where you’re going? Use LB to whistle and see where you need to go next. Need to transform into a Bananza form? Hold LB and RB to use DK’s beat and Pauline’s singing to transform. Need to open void gates or get through void tunnels? Use Pauline’s singing to break those open. DK has always had iconic music; it was smart of Bananza to really hone in on music as a centerpiece of his character. 

The music is also a huge reason why each world feels so different, even outside of visual perception. The usage of older themes from Donkey Kong 64 and other DK games, plus the new songs for each location, leads to always feeling like you’re hearing something special. This is taken to a 10 when big moments happen and the orchestra swells to its max. As someone who is obsessed with video game music, this soundtrack is bound to end up on my rotation! 

Donkey Kong Bananaza isn’t just a copy of Mario Odyssey like some expected; the developers and writers did a great job of taking an iconic character and playing with what actually made him iconic over the past 30+ years. Bananza allows the player to play the game the way they want, with as little or as much guidance as they desire. With the focus on music, movement, and fun locations, Bananza is a treat for any fan of the iconic Donkey Kong. 

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