There’s been a lot of talk about whatDonkey Kong Bananzaisn’t. It’s not a newMario. It’s not what we expected to kick off theSwitch 2era. After making my way through the entire thing, I fear that conversation will remain. Donkey Kong Bananza is a good game. Butit’s not a new Mario, and it’s not what I expected to kick off the Switch 2 era.
There is obviously a baseline level of quality to any first-partyNintendoplatformer, and we see this on display in Bananza. It’s colourful and bouncy. There’s a lot of creativity not just in the different themes of each layer and its densely packed world, but in how that layer is stretched to the limits of its potential for ideas. It leaves you with a happy feeling as you smash through rocks or ice or oversized strawberries to progress through the campaign.
Layers are Bananza’s version of worlds, as our eponymous ape burrows through layers of the planet’s crust.
But there’s an unavoidable shortcoming, a sense that this is a game that could be great, and is not. The bouncy nature of the platforming is often a hindrance, with Donkey Kong’s cartoonish running animation landing him in trouble through no fault of your own. That endless creativity rapidly becomes aesthetic set dressing for patterns that begin to feel familiar. That happy feeling often comes from the instant chemistry between DK and Pauline, which never feels fully expanded upon.
Donkey Kong Bananza Suffers Under The Weight Of Expectation
It feels a little odd to be writing about a game I very much enjoyed and that did a lot of things well with the negative angle that it’s not quite a masterpiece. But this is the follow up toSuper Mario Odyssey, a title so entrenched in greatness that the greatest honour paid tolast year’s Game of the Year,Astro Bot, was that it was thebest platformer since Odyssey. Bananza is also the first exclusive platformer on the Switch 2, tasked with setting the table for the world’s best platformer company launching a follow up to its most popular console ever.A masterpiece was expected.
There is plenty that Donkey Kong does extremely well. With a handful of different power-ups to unlock, it does a lot with the tools it offers itself. The first one just makes you stronger, but another which makes you fast is tied to fragile platforms, making you quick enough to reach new areas. The one that lets you fly is limited to gliding, meaning it still has to be used tactically.
Later power-ups cannot be discussed as per the review embargo, but they encompass both the highs and the lows of the buffet of abilities on offer.
The result of this very deliberate use of power-ups is that the game feels very controlled. Every level, whether it’s one of the Challenge Courses you can disappear into for a side puzzle for more gems, or the main overworld itself, all feels stitched together with a very certain sense of how you move through it. At times, that means everything comes together in harmony and sings to a tune of platforming perfection. At others, it feels as though you’re playing the game wrong for taking its premise at face value.
In my preview, Igave the game a tongue in cheek comparison to GTA. My reason being that burrowing into the earth, as DK can do with his mighty punches, gave me that same kind of catharsis in carnage I got when I hopped onGTAand ignored the story in favour of blowing stuff up. In the full experience, that chaos feels more gated, and you’re not given much opportunity to think outside the box or outsmart the game.
The box is wonderful! It’s metaphorically full of sand and sometimes literally is too! It’s a larf and a half to run and jump and punch inside of it, collecting bananas and gold. It’s easy to have a lot of fun in Donkey Kong Bananza. It just doesn’t often feel like the kind of fun that will linger long in the memory.
Donkey Kong’s Story Shouldn’t Matter This Much
It’s worth going back to that Astro Bot comparison, by way of Super Mario Odyssey. In the very last level of Astro Bot, the game throws a new power-up at you. It has been constantly tossing out old ideas and replacing them the whole time, and every time it does, you’reamazed at where they keep coming from. When you get fresh ideas in the later stages of Donkey Kong Bananza, you feel more like ‘oh we should have had this earlier, that would have made everything better’.
I’m also at a bit of a loss with the narrative. Burrowing deeper and deeper into the planet, it’s never really explained why each level has such a different terrain, why they appear to have the sky above them, or how any of what you’re playing stitches together. On the one hand, it’s a platformer.Crash Bandicootis in the jungle one minute and in space the next because that’s fun. On the other, the game puts a lot of emotional stock in its story, and while this is sold by the interactions between DK and Pauline, the importance of the story being told comes and goes.
There are a lot of ways I could describe Donkey Kong Bananza. It’s a blast. It’s superb family friendly fun. You’ll go ape for it. (That last one is trademarked, if you see any other review use it, they owe me a dollar). It’s an extremely enjoyable game. But we’re right back where we started. It’s not Super Mario Odyssey.
Donkey Kong Bananza is a fantastic platformer with a lot of ideas hidden inside of its barrels, but falls short of the perfection it aims for by playing a little safe. Though still a great experience for Nintendo fans, I don’t think its shadow will loom as large over the Switch 2 as Super Mario Odyssey did for the original console. It’s just a good honest video game, and sometimes that’s enough.
Donkey Kong Bananza
Played on Nintendo Switch 2
The big guy is back! Donkey Kong swings onto the Nintendo Switch 2 system with a brand-new action adventure.Help Donkey Kong make his way through the depths of the Underground World. The deeper he goes, the more amazing places he finds! There’s no shortage of things DK can pulverize with his powerful punches. Break on through this truly destructive adventure.Behold the golden bananas! The mysterious group, known as VoidCo, has its eyes on this prized bunch. But no one messes with DK’s favourite food!Golden bananas? The whole island was buzzing about the discovery of this tasty treasure. But then, distaster struck! During the chaos, VoidCo stole every breathtaking bunch of bananas. Now Donkey Kong must venture deep underground to get them back!
