Review – Donkey Kong Bananza is a delightfully smashing good time

If anyone asks me what I remember the most about Donkey Kong, it’s the days when I played Rare’s Donkey Kong 64. Three memories come to mind. I was one of the lucky kids to get the game with a jungle green Nintendo 64 for Christmas. Every session of Donkey Kong 64 started off rebuilding the darned deleted inventory with an annoying coconut collection grind. And I despised King K. Rool’s obnoxious laugh and horrible ray of doom every time I had a game over. That happened a lot.

Much to my chagrin, the experience was aggravating enough to overshadow the more positive aspects of Donkey Kong 64. I eventually quit by the fifth boss and moved on to more pleasurable Nintendo experiences. Little did I know that over two decades later the next Donkey Kong game in my hands would be what I now consider one of the best Nintendo games of all time.

I can explain.

A Whimsical Epic Deep Dive

As one might expect with a Donkey Kong game, the main plot in Bananza has a rather simple premise. But that’s perfectly okay because simplicity is also one of the game’s strengths. Parents don’t need to worry about what their children might be getting into with this game. Bananza’s story isn’t about the destination, it’s the journey. Your epic trek through the Underground World is filled with whimsical awe and wonder the deeper down you go. There’s no need to give yourself a migraine trying to untangle complicated lore here (let alone think about how it’s possible for a primate and a girl to dig to the center of a planet, mind you). Simply pick up the game and start smashing your way to enjoy the experience to its fullest. This makes Bananza appealing to eager youngsters and tired working adults alike. If nothing else, smashing through everything in sight is an excellent stress reliever.

The subterranean trek begins when Donkey Kong arrives at Ingot Isle to help his primate friends mine a recently discovered mother load of delicious Banandium Gems. But things escalate when a storm kicks up and the next thing they know, a huge magnetic meteor-like object falls from the sky and shoves the entire mine deep into the earth and brings DK and his friends along with it. It turns out that a diabolical mining company known as Void Co. is responsible for the cave in.

When DK comes to and learns that everyone is safe and accounted for, an odd purple rock plummets into the sinkhole with them. DK goes to investigate and is shocked to discover that the rock talks, and even sings. A comical scene ensues where they are at first frightened at each other, but the rock becomes attached to DK after he saves it from a couple of small monsters. The rock later transforms into a 13-year-old girl named Pauline who was somehow cursed into a rock by Void Co.

Voiced by Yurianne Eve in the Japanese version and Jenny Kid in all other versions of the game, Pauline has a remarkable singing voice that packs a powerful punch — literally. But she has terrible stage fright. Donkey Kong helps her overcome her fears as they learn the ancient art of the Bananza from the Underground Elders and travel together to reach the Planet Core to fulfill their wishes before Void Co. does. Pauline wants to return to her home on the surface while Donkey Kong wants — you guessed it — more bananas.

Unleash the Power of Song

Bananza isn’t just a new game for the Switch 2. It’s an entire overhaul to the Donkey Kong franchise. The entirety of Bananza is wrapped around one simple but ingenious question: What if you could shape the entire game world terrain with nothing else but Donkey Kong’s strength?

The driving point is simple, but it’s enough to kickstart an interactive excursion worthy enough to be called a spiritual successor to Jules Verne’s Journey to the Center of the Earth. You will notice that music is an important theme to the story. The original game soundtrack, let alone Pauline’s voice, carries out one righteous banger after another that rivals the likes of legendary Disney Sing-a-Longs. Its gorgeous rock ballads will compel you to dance your heart out and beat your chest alongside DK as you play. The songs are also interactive with the gameplay.

Pauline’s singing does powerful things like break seals, help you find your way, and transform Donkey Kong into strong Bananza forms. You experience everything that Donkey Kong experiences. And if you’re experiencing two-player co-op, Pauline does some pretty sweet things too. The thrill of free diving into the next layer of the planet is akin to Link plunging into the heart of darkness through the Depths in Tears of the Kingdom. Plenty of surprises await seasoned Donkey Kong fans and newcomers alike with each expansive layer. You’ll meet a cast of colorful new characters and smile when you see familiar faces on this family friendly Bananza adventure of a lifetime.

Who put Zelda in my Donkey Kong?

Perhaps the reason why Bananza is irresistible is because there are many Tears of the Kingdom callbacks in its secret sauce. And when I say “many” I mean a multitude. Nintendo is not shy to copy its own homework. Who can blame them? Zelda players might recognize some enemies and even bosses akin to certain Hyrulean counterparts in Bananza. Donkey Kong now has a heart meter that can gain temporary hearts depending on the type of bed he sleeps on. There is even a shameless camera shot at DK’s entrance to the Lagoon Layer that is laughably similar to the Tears of the Kingdom title sequence at Great Sky Island.

Donkey Kong does a lot of things that Link does in the Era of the Wilds Zelda games, and sometimes better (sorry Link, we still love you). DK jumps and climbs cliff sides with ease, tumbles through caves, free dives into chasms, punches through mud, and pounds through rock to his heart’s content. He can tear chunks of earth to do various tasks like throw rocks at enemies long distance, do a double jump, clear difficult terrain, and even blind an enemy by slinging mud at its face. Such abilities hearken players to Cappy’s creative controls in Super Mario Odyssey. Like Link, DK will have some limitations climbing slippery surfaces of course, but from what he can do, the player notices right away that DK is super strong. He won’t be able to clip through obstacles with Ascend of course, but in many cases he can simply punch his way through them.

What’s the Gameplay Like?

All these controls allow the player to accomplish various tasks in the game their own way. Like the Era of the Wilds Zeldas, each Underground layer provides a spacious three dimensional open world map with terrain to smash, goals to meet, Bananas to get, and points of interest to explore. Some layers have a little, while others have a lot. There are in-game suggestions on where to go next with a little bit of handholding, but following these is optional and doesn’t take away your sense of freedom if you do. Each Banana you get helps you get skill points to learn new moves. The catch is you must choose which skills to learn first. How you choose these skills, and how you choose to traverse the terrain to complete the game is up to you, which is the entire point of Bananza.

If you use the Donkey Kong and Pauline amiibo in Bananza, you’ll unlock one of Pauline’s outfits early in the game. This is not required, it just makes things a little more convenient. You can also use any other amiibo you may have to achieve a variety of effects in Bananza. A sweet chunk of bomb rock was summoned when I used my Tears of the Kingdom Ganondorf amiibo, for example. But the next time I used him, I received a ball of not-so-powerful crystal instead. Experiment with what amiibos you have each time you play to spice things up!

Difficulty scaling can be a different experience from player to player, but like Baby Bear’s porridge in Goldilocks and the Three Bears, Bananza seems to feel “just right” for me. Like Tears of the Kingdom, the pacing between the levels and bosses in Bananza does not feel as technical as past games but rather has a more “organic” experience. Combat with enemies is well balanced, and thanks to the creative terrain mechanics, there is usually more than one right way to victory. I was able to face plant a chunk of dirt at one formidable skeletal enemy and effectively blind it, making it easier to take it out from afar with chunks of stone. There were times when I definitely noticed the difficulty amp up and I had to lock in, but unlike Donkey Kong 64, these challenges were thrilling and nowhere near rage quit worthy. Even when I fell to the first boss with a Bananza activated, I was met with the same inspirational feelings to try again as I did before when I first played Tears of the Kingdom.

Walking and Digging on the Wild Side

At its core (pun absolutely intended), Bananza is organized chaos at heart. It’s like having The Minish Cap’s Mole Mitts on permanent overdrive. If you like digging mechanics, you might need to keep yourself in check and set a timer for yourself to know when to take a break. Bananza is one of those games where three or even four hours can fly by like the wings of a bird if you’re not careful. What happens if you destroy too much terrain? Not to worry. You can simply reset the terrain from the map screen. You even get to try your hand at the sculpting game DK Artist on the game’s title screen, which allows you to create and share any sculpture you could possibly want with various textures and colors thanks to the Switch 2’s mouse controls.

Bananza may take its inspiration from the Era of the Wilds Zelda games, but don’t worry. It still feels like a proper Donkey Kong through and through. In fact, Bananza is a delightful homage to both the classic arcade and Rare styles. Despite some controversial takes on Donkey Kong’s recent redesign inspired from the Super Mario Bros. Movie, his new look has received an overall positive response. I adore his new expressive art style and personally prefer it over Rare’s. It’s a proper homage to his original look that Shigeru Miyamoto gave him in his very first debut with Mario (and ironically Pauline) in the Donkey Kong arcade game.

Sometimes you will control DK through action-packed side scrolling just like Donkey Kong Country. There’s plenty of collecting to be had too, but unlike my experience with Donkey Kong 64, it feels nothing like a thankless chore in Bananza. Nor does it feel like the game is giving away handouts, either. Thanks to DK’s infectious digging mechanic, every item you gather feels like you discovered hidden treasure with a sense of instant gratification. Each item has a purpose that is useful in driving you forward, or should I say, further down, on your quest to the Core.

The attention to detail in this game is fantastic. Remember when I mentioned beating your chest like Donkey Kong? Well, you will literally do just that if you’re using the motion controls when the system is docked to ramp up for a Bananza mode. Waving your Joycons back and forth in a chest-beating motion is an alternate control option for holding L + R. You’ll even hear the first verse of the DK rap from Donkey Kong 64 at certain points of the game. At least that’s one good thing I remember.

As good as a Donkey Kong game gets

Donkey Kong Bananza alone is a solid reason why the Nintendo Switch 2 is an excellent console of choice. It doesn’t matter whether you have a lot of experience playing Donkey Kong games or none at all if you’re playing Bananza. The game is approachable and quite literally a blast of a time. The Bananza transformations provide creative action-packed gameplay as well as a blockbuster soundtrack. No more aggravating coconut collecting. Everything you do in Bananza feels like a cross between a party and a graphic novel. Donkey Kong’s character redesign is fun and imaginative and his character development with the young Pauline reminds one of heartwarming bonds between humans and animals on the big screen. The game environments are visually stunning masterpieces with each layer’s own unique mini-world to explore.

Looking to scratch that 3D Mario itch? Do you like sculpting? Need an adventure to tide you over until the next Zelda game? Or maybe you’re just into the style trends of the zany Underground World. Bananza has something to offer for everyone. Its story is simple enough for anyone to follow but the experience is meaty enough to satisfy discerning players. Even through times of increased difficulty, I could not find a single frustrating downside to Bananza. It has entirely reshaped my perspective of Donkey Kong for the better. Now, please excuse me because it’s time for me to take my banana snack break.

SCORE: 10/10