Donkey Kong Bananza review: A story of music and fruit

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In the latest game, Donkey Kong: Bananza, Nintendo’s iconic gorilla makes his grand return to the limelight, taking on a new 3D platformer adventure. This expansive journey is brimming with tough platforming stages, a variety of distinct adversaries, and innovations that will significantly impact the future of this series. To top it all off, the story is heartfelt, making it an outstanding choice for the Switch 2’s growing game collection.

Peeling back the layers

In the game titled “Donkey Kong: Bananza,” Donkey Kong embarks on a quest to reach the planet’s core, hoping to have a wish granted. But he doesn’t travel alone; a young Pauline is by his side, and their partnership is crucial for achieving their objectives. Nintendo does an exceptional job portraying the bond between DK and Pauline in Bananza. While Donkey Kong’s name is in the title, it’s actually Pauline who shapes the narrative, and she provides the game’s most impactful emotional scenes. Although DK primarily seeks bananas, his commitment to making Pauline’s dreams a reality is touching, and I found their dialogue throughout the story delightful.

As the pair journey deeper into the planet’s heart, they’ll encounter a succession of layers, each inhabited by distinct characters and adversaries that DK (Donkey Kong) and Pauline must confront to advance. These characters serve as guides for objectives, share backstory, and in certain instances, unveil concealed mysteries. The intrigue of discovering what each layer held only fueled my curiosity; it seemed like a piece of a broader cosmos.

I spent 15 hours completing the credits in Donkey Kong Bananza. Since it was made by the Super Mario Odyssey team, the gameplay feels familiar yet offers a unique twist as Donkey Kong: Bananza explores fresh territory within the realm of 3D platformers.

Going bananas

In Donkey Kong Bananza, gameplay primarily centers around demolition, destruction, and manipulation. Each level is richly filled with destructible environments that can be dismantled, picked up for battles or transportation, among other things. The game features a variety of distinct materials such as stone, dirt, concrete, and wood, each interacting uniquely with one another. Harder materials effortlessly crash into others, causing significant damage when used as weapons, while softer materials can adhere to others, forming platforms or altering the weight of existing ones.

In this game, you can immerse yourself in a sandbox-style environment that allows for hours of exploration on a single level. You’ll meticulously dig through each layer to uncover hidden treasures, with an abundance of gold (currency) and collectibles scattered throughout the world.

The main item you’ll find in this game is Banandium Gems. These are crystallized bananas that can be discovered underground, at the end of platforming stages, purchased from shops, or received as a reward for defeating bosses. They resemble the Moons from Super Mario Odyssey because each one is special to its location and method of acquisition. Unlike in Super Mario Odyssey, Banandium Gems don’t play a crucial role in advancing the storyline. Instead, they are used to unlock and enhance skills for DK.

In an innovative twist, Nintendo transforms Donkey Kong Bananza into an action RPG by incorporating a skill upgrade system and equipment management. Accumulating five Banandium Gems grants players a Skill Point to enhance Donkey Kong’s health, punch strength, item storage capacity, and unlock new strategic and combat moves. Initially, I focused on boosting my power to effortlessly break through tough materials, and also increased my Apple Juice storage to prevent losing gold when my health depleted. For those not interested in strategizing while playing a Donkey Kong platformer, the game suggests where best to allocate Skill Points based on your current progression.

I enjoyed the concept of crafting my personalized take on Donkey Kong, and the absence of Banandium Gems influencing story development prevents any awkward rhythm problems in the game. As you uncover abilities, it becomes increasingly expensive to enhance them using Skill Points. This often led me to perform mental calculations to figure out how many more bananas I needed to collect to acquire the skill I desired to complete a specific task.

In this context, these principles hold true for the gear too, because almost every level has a store offering distinctive outfits for Donkey Kong and Pauline. These outfits can either lessen damage from certain sources or enhance Donkey Kong’s own powers. You obtain them using Fossils, which are found in every level. It was fun customizing DK and Pauline, but I do miss the option to transpose appearances (transmog), as some of my favorite gear looked odd or didn’t fit the fur color I preferred for Donkey Kong.

Power ballad

The main joke in the title “Bananza” stems from the special abilities Donkey Kong gains when influenced by Pauline’s singing. These abilities cause DK to transform into various animal shapes, each with its own unique skillset. The first one you unlock is called Kong Bananza, which amplifies Donkey Kong’s strength, enabling him to punch through solid objects and even tear them apart. Other Bananzas include a Zebra form that lets DK run on water and other delicate surfaces, and an Ostrich form that allows him to fly through the air.

I really appreciate how freely Nintendo allows the use of Bananza forms without any time or method restrictions, as long as your Bananergy meter is charged, Donkey Kong can activate a Bananza form. This brings a similar feel to “The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild,” encouraging continuous exploration and questioning if certain Bananzas can help you access a location or defeat an adversary. More often than not, they can. Bananzas are particularly useful in Challenge Course Ruins, which are intricate levels containing rewards like Banandium Gems for completing tough platforming challenges or combat stages. Obtaining a new Bananza ability will also unlock a fresh path in the Skill Tree with associated skills.

As a fan, I’ve found that each layer in Donkey Kong Bananza concludes with a boss battle designed to evaluate my progress from that particular level. However, I must admit that I was let down by how effortlessly most of these battles were conquered. The initial four to five encounters could be quickly resolved within 90 seconds by triggering Kong Bananza, closing the gap, and repeatedly pressing the punch button until victory was mine. While the battles do become more demanding as the game progresses, many of them leave me feeling unimpressed.

Generational trauma

In its debut as the initial game developed by a first-party studio for the Switch 2, Donkey Kong Bananza showcases some innovative capabilities made possible by the upgraded hardware. Alongside gyroscopic controls, the new Joy-Con 2 controllers offer a mouse function that becomes especially useful in cooperative play, allowing players to control Pauline as she collects materials and launches them as ammunition. Furthermore, the DK Artist tool for 3D sculpting and painting takes advantage of the mouse’s precision for intricate carving and drawing tasks.

Though overall, Donkey Kong Bananza was an enjoyable experience, one aspect that occasionally hindered my gameplay was its performance. Frequently, during scenes with heavy destruction or multiple explosions, there were noticeable lags or frame drops. This happened quite often within each level, especially when a wall collapsed or I destroyed numerous gold items. Moreover, the framerate dipped during map manipulation and even in some tough boss battles.

It’s disappointing to experience framerate issues with the first post-launch first-party game for the Switch 2, especially since one of its main selling points was improved capabilities over the original Switch. These framerate drops were expected to be a thing of the past, but they persist in a game that thrives on chaos and destruction. While it doesn’t entirely ruin my gaming experience, it’s still unsettling and raises concerns about future AAA Nintendo games on this platform.

Regarding the performance concerns, it’s important to acknowledge them, but visually speaking, Donkey Kong Bonanza is quite stunning on the Switch 2. The intricate details on Donkey Kong’s fur, the layered foliage, and environmental effects give the game a lively, immersive feel. While I believe it doesn’t fully exploit its potential on this new hardware, there’s no denying that Donkey Kong has never looked better in any game to date.

Hit the music

Despite being a newer title, Donkey Kong Bananza carries the classic Nintendo charm. The game features moments that have etched themselves into my memory as quintessential Nintendo experiences, thanks to the studio’s knack for creating captivating 3D platformers filled with engaging and challenging levels. Beyond the gameplay, the relationship between Donkey Kong and Pauline adds an emotional depth, making me eager to pursue each new goal. It’s been quite some time since we’ve had a Donkey Kong game developed in-house at Nintendo, but Donkey Kong Bananza was definitely worth the wait.

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2025-07-16 15:28