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Donkey Kong Bananza

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Donkey Kong Bananza
Developer(s)Nintendo
Publisher(s)Nintendo
SeriesDonkey Kong
Platform(s)Nintendo Switch 2
ReleaseJuly 17, 2025
Genre(s)Platform, action-adventure
Mode(s)Single-player

Donkey Kong Bananza[a] is an upcoming platform game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Switch 2. The player controls the gorilla Donkey Kong as he seeks to recover stolen banana-shaped diamonds from a group of villainous apes. They explore sandbox-like levels while completing objectives, battling enemies, and collecting objects. Bananza features destructible environments; the player can destroy most terrain to create paths, create makeshift tools, and find items.

Bananza is the first major Donkey Kong game since Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze (2014) and the first 3D platformer since Donkey Kong 64 (1999). It is scheduled for release on July 17, 2025.

Gameplay

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See also: Gameplay of Super Mario Odyssey
Donkey Kong swings a stone slab and destroys terrain. Bananza features destructible environments; almost every surface can be destroyed.

Donkey Kong Bananza is a 3D platformer and action-adventure game that emphasizes destruction and open-world exploration.[1][2] As the gorilla Donkey Kong, the player explores sandbox-like[3] levels in an underground world[4] amidst a gold rush as they seek to recover the stolen Golden Bananas,[3] banana-shaped diamonds,[5] from VoidCo.,[1][5] a gang of villainous apes.[6] Donkey Kong can roll,[7] punch, slap the terrain, pick up and throw objects, and climb most surfaces.[2][8] He is accompanied by Odd Rock, an anthropomorphic purple stone who directs the player towards objectives.[1][9]

Journalists have compared Bananza to Super Mario Odyssey (2017),[5][8][6] with some describing it as a spiritual successor.[3][10] The player completes missions, solves puzzles, assists non-playable characters, and fights enemies to collect Golden Bananas.[3][8] Golden Bananas function similarly to Odyssey's Power Moons and are obtained by progressing through the story or found through exploration.[3] Other collectibles include Banandium,[2] a gold-like material that serves as currency,[3] and fossils,[8] which the player can trade.[6]

Bananza is distinguished by its destructible environments:[11] Donkey Kong can smash almost every surface and destroy terrain.[5][9] He can rip pieces of the environment from the ground or walls and throw them to uncover items or destroy enemies,[3][10] or use them as snowboards.[7] Destroying environments allows for varied traversal;[9] for instance, Donkey Kong can dig underground and create a path to another area of the world.[10] He can also uncover Golden Bananas by digging.[5] The player keeps track of their progress in a 3D world map.[3]

While exploring, the player discovers secluded areas where they must complete challenges including platforming, defeating enemies within a time limit, and mining for Banandium. They are rewarded Golden Bananas or Banandium upon completion.[3] Some areas contain side-scrolling sections, similar to the Donkey Kong Country games,[11][12] and minecarts.[4]

Development

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The previous major Donkey Kong game, Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze, was released for the Wii U in 2014.[13] Afterwards, Nintendo and Vicarious Visions, with consultation from the franchise's creator, Shigeru Miyamoto, worked on a Donkey Kong game for the Nintendo Switch for six months. Codenamed Freedom, the project was an open-world 3D platformer that emphasized traversal, with grinding on vines as a core mechanic. It was canceled in 2016 after Activision Blizzard, Vicarious Visions' parent company, redirected its developers' focus to the Call of Duty franchise.[14][15] In 2021, Nintendo Life reported that Nintendo Entertainment Planning & Development was developing the next Donkey Kong game, the first developed internally since Donkey Kong Jungle Beat (2004). Development reportedly began in 2017 or 2018.[16]

Bananza is the first 3D Donkey Kong platformer since Donkey Kong 64 (1999).[17] It is the first Donkey Kong game to use a redesigned Donkey Kong since Rare's Donkey Kong Country (1994),[18] inspired by his appearance in The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023).[19] The redesign proved divisive among fans, but Kevin Bayliss, who created the Country design, said he considered it superior and that "people need to embrace change more".[18] Kouichi Kawamoto, who led the Nintendo Switch 2's development, cited Bananza's destructible environments as an example of gameplay made possible by the improved processing speed over the original Switch.[20]

Release

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Nintendo announced Donkey Kong Bananza in a Nintendo Direct presentation on April 2, 2025. It is scheduled for release for the Nintendo Switch 2 on July 17.[21] It will be the first major Donkey Kong game since Tropical Freeze.[13]

Notes

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  1. ^ Japanese: ドンキーコングバナンザ, Hepburn: Donkī Kongu Bananza

References

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  1. ^ a b c Wald, Heather (April 3, 2025). "Donkey Kong Bananza: Everything we know so far about the new 3D adventure coming to Switch 2". GamesRadar+. Retrieved April 4, 2025.
  2. ^ a b c Frushtick, Russ (April 3, 2025). "Donkey Kong Bananza is not just Mario Odyssey with a gorilla". Polygon. Retrieved April 4, 2025.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Plant, Logan (April 3, 2025). "Donkey Kong Bananza: First Hands-On Preview". IGN. Retrieved April 4, 2025.
  4. ^ a b Hilliard, Kyle (April 2, 2025). "Donkey Kong Bananza Is A New Nintendo Switch 2 Platformer Starring Donkey Kong". Game Informer. Retrieved April 5, 2025.
  5. ^ a b c d e Parrish, Ash (April 3, 2025). "Donkey Kong Bananza was best in show at the Switch 2 hands-on". The Verge. Retrieved April 3, 2025.
  6. ^ a b c Lada, Jenni (April 3, 2025). "Preview: Digging Into Donkey Kong Bananza". Siliconera. Retrieved April 5, 2025.
  7. ^ a b Perry, Alex (April 4, 2025). "Nintendo Switch 2 hands-on: First impressions of 'Mario Kart World' and 'Donkey Kong Bananza'". Mashable. Retrieved April 4, 2025.
  8. ^ a b c d Shea, Brian (April 3, 2025). "Donkey Kong Bananza: Tearing Down Walls". Game Informer. Retrieved April 4, 2025.
  9. ^ a b c Rutherford, Sam (April 4, 2025). "Donkey Kong Bananza hands-on: A funky fresh take on Nintendo's favorite ape". Engadget. Retrieved April 4, 2025.
  10. ^ a b c Rudek, Jordan (April 3, 2025). "Donkey Kong Bananza: DK's Very Own Odyssey". Nintendo World Report. Retrieved April 4, 2025.
  11. ^ a b Bonk, Lawrence (April 2, 2025). "Donkey Kong Bananza is a brand new 3D platformer for Switch 2". Engadget. Retrieved April 2, 2025.
  12. ^ McWhertor, Michael (April 2, 2025). "A new Donkey Kong 3D adventure is coming to Switch 2". Polygon. Retrieved April 2, 2025.
  13. ^ a b Reynolds, Ollie (April 2, 2025). "Donkey Kong Bananza, A New 3D DK Adventure, Is Confirmed For Switch 2". Nintendo Life. Retrieved April 3, 2025.
  14. ^ Blake, Vikki (May 5, 2024). "Activision's Vicarious Visions worked on a cancelled 3D Donkey Kong game". Eurogamer. Retrieved May 7, 2024.
  15. ^ Middler, Jordan (May 5, 2024). "Activision studio Vicarious Visions was working on a Donkey Kong game, it's claimed". Video Games Chronicle. Archived from the original on May 5, 2024. Retrieved May 5, 2024.
  16. ^ McFerran, Damien (May 13, 2021). "Rumour: The Next Donkey Kong Is Being Developed By The Super Mario Odyssey Team". Nintendo Life. Archived from the original on April 1, 2022. Retrieved February 22, 2023.
  17. ^ Robinson, Andy (April 2, 2025). "Donkey Kong Bonanza is the next big 3D adventure coming to Nintendo Switch 2". Video Games Chronicle. Retrieved April 2, 2025.
  18. ^ a b McFerran, Damien (April 3, 2025). "Donkey Kong Country Artist Shares His Thoughts On Kong's New Design". Nintendo Life. Retrieved April 4, 2025.
  19. ^ Peters, Jay (April 2, 2025). "Donkey Kong Bananza is coming to the Switch 2 in July". The Verge. Retrieved April 2, 2025.
  20. ^ "Ask the Developer Vol. 16: Nintendo Switch 2 — Part 1". Nintendo. April 2, 2025. Retrieved April 5, 2025.
  21. ^ Yin-Poole, Wesley (April 2, 2025). "Donkey Kong Bananza Announced for Nintendo Switch 2". IGN. Retrieved April 2, 2025.
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