After 40 long years,Donkey Kong Bananzahas returned the big ape to his rightful spot asNintendo’s top banana once more.
Though it struck me as — please allow me to speak frankly —bananasfor Nintendo to put theSuper Mario Odysseyteam on anything other than Super Mario Odyssey 2, I have to admit that I sadly did not see the vision. Bananza currently enjoysa 91 top critic average on OpenCritic, with 100 percent of reviewers recommending it. For the first time since the arcade era, DK is getting all the glory.
But if Nintendo really wants to capitalize on this newfound mo(nkey)mentum, it needs to take a close look at DK’s run from 2003 to 2010. For those seven years, Donkey Kong had the game on lock, and Nintendo would be wise to mine that era for theSwitch 2.
Donkey Kong Country Returned
Let’s start at the end. The decade closed off with, arguably, the best DK game ever.Donkey Kong Country Returnsbrought the sidescrolling SNES series back on the Wii, and later on the 3DS, thanks toMetroid Primedeveloper Retro Studios. Though it was well-received (then andnow), it’s the least interesting of the DK games released that decade. It felt like, well, Donkey Kong Country returning.
It’s the only DK game released in that span that is currently available onSwitch, so there’s no need for Nintendo to revisit it.
There were a few handheld DK games in this time too, and they took everyone’s second favorite primate (after Funky Kong, naturally) in more experimental directions. The GBA game DK: King of Swing traded out traditional platforming in favor of DK swinging through the level in circles, using the left and right bumpers. Its sequel, Donkey Kong: Jungle Climber, took the formula to DS.
But the most era-defining DK action was happening on the GameCube.
Rock On, Donkey Kong
Like a lot of gamers in the 2000s, Donkey Kong spent the decade getting really into playing the drums. The only difference? Unlike the rest of us, DK did itbeforeRock Band. From 2003 to 2005, the legendary ape starred in a trilogy of Donkey Konga rhythm games, all of which utilized the DK Bongos, a plastic peripheral shaped like a pair of drums topped with soft pads.
Those games were well-liked — though 3 was only released in Japan — but the most interesting DK game to use the bongos was Donkey Kong Jungle Beat. It was interesting because it was extremely traditional. If you played Jungle Beat with a regular controller, it would be a fine 2D platformer.
But its use of the DK Bongos elevated it to another level. Instead of moving left and right using the D-pad, Jungle Beat had players hit the corresponding drum. So you wailed on the right bongo if you wanted to advance, and the left one if you wanted to retreat. To jump, you slapped both bongos, and slamming your meaty primate paws together caused DK to attack enemies with a powerful clap of his own.
The bongos used a sensor between the drums to sense your powerful claps.
It was an era of innovation from Nintendo, and that’s something the console giant should be aiming to recapture in the Switch 2 era. Its current console is great, but it’s mostly an upgrade of the one we’ve had for the past eight years. This era of Nintendo was good because it embraced the weird side. Nintendo needs that energy now. If Donkey Kong Bananza is a huge success — and it likely will be given, you know, that it’s one of the only new games on the console and has stellar reviews — Nintendo needs to double down.
Give me Switch 2-compatible DK Bongos. Remaster the Donkey Konga games (and bring 3 to the rest of the world). Add Donkey Kong Jungle Beat to Nintendo Switch Online. The ape must share his beauty.
