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9 News
16-07-2025
- Entertainment
- 9 News
Donkey Kong's newest adventure: 'An imperfect masterpiece'
Your web browser is no longer supported. To improve your experience update it here Donkey Kong Bananza is an imperfect masterpiece. Its ambition pushes Nintendo's new console — the Nintendo Switch 2 — up to and beyond its limit; serving as both a technical showcase and a reality check. Thankfully, the slowdown and frame stutter doesn't detract from one of the best final boss fights I have ever experienced, nor the fun of what will be a game of the year contender. Donkey Kong Bananza is coming to Nintendo Switch 2 on July 17. (Nine) Donkey Kong's first 3D outing in 25 years plays like a power fantasy. And once you get the hang of controlling an ape that's bigger, faster and stronger than Mario, you won't want to stop. In case you missed it, Donkey Kong Bananza was crafted by the team that made 2017's incredible Super Mario Odyssey . There are a lot of similarities but they are very different games. Bananza 's worlds are comparatively massive and they are destructible. Without spoiling anything, these worlds are some of Nintendo's best. There are way more than you might expect, most feature a wonderful gimmick and DK can punch his way through almost all of them. He can rip chunks off a wall, the floor and from enemies and then use that chunk as a weapon. You can throw it like a projectile, use it as a platform to double jump with or ride it to "surf" across water and spikes. This looks very familiar... (Nine) You'll need to master all of the above if - like me - you plan on collecting every secret. At its heart, Donkey Kong Bananza is an old-school collectathon. There are more than 700 "Banandium Gems" to collect and hundreds more fossils to find, which can be traded for costumes that give DK buffs like faster swimming or reduced damage from poison or icy water. You'll stumble across plenty of both as you naturally progress the story, but you'll have to stray off (and under) the beaten path to find everything. Like Mario Odyssey, most of these rewards are tied to besting bosses, challenges or environmental puzzles. Almost all of these tasks are unique but some - like finding Cranky Kong or buying a Banandium Gem from the shop - are basically repeated across multiple levels, which I'm not a huge fan of. Donkey Kong Bananza title screen. (Nine) Again, like Mario Odyssey , the names of each Banandium Gem are a cute nod to where it is or how to unlock it. However, unlike Mario Odyssey , there's no way to get those helpful hints from a friendly NPC. You're never told what that name of a gem is until after you find it. Instead, you can bash your way through an environment to find buried treasure maps that pinpoint the location of a gem or fossil on your map but that takes away some of the fun. Bananza 's story is both wonderfully simple and straight up (sorry for the pun) bananas. DK just loves and wants bananas. But when a villain comes to steal those bananas, DK's mining colony gets squashed underground and he gets partnered with a singing rock that quickly transforms into a shy, 13-year-old called Pauline, who recruits DK on a mission to the earth's core where they can make a wish to return to the surface. Pauline grants DK all new powers. (Nine) Like with magic, the trick is to not think too hard and just enjoy the show. Nintendo is the master of keeping things ambiguous. Fans will pour over references to Pauline's grandmother and when she calls New Donk City "my city" but the game never gives any definitive explanation as to why Pauline is 13, where the story fits on a "timeline" or if the story is somehow connected to Super Mario Odyssey . What matters is the charming relationship between a silent ape and his shy companion. Pauline narrates most of what happens on screen and - if you jump into bed for a rest - she'll regale DK with a little story about her hopes as he falls asleep. It's incredibly endearing and that charm extends to cute idle animations like Pauline playing with DK's hair. They really feel like a perfect pair. And as DK helps Pauline find her voice, she grants him powers that we'd never imagined. Donkey Kong is a beefy boy, and Nintendo leans right into that power fantasy. On top of DK's standard bone-shattering punches, he can unlock the ability to transform into five super-powered animals. These are called Bananzas. Nintendo has already revealed three of these: the Kong (super strength), Zebra (super speed) and Ostrich (flying) Bananzas. To call them overpowered is an understatement. These powers would break most games. Here you're encouraged to break everything. You can trigger each Bananza at any time, anywhere and (because there's so much gold just lying about) the metre required to activate a Bananza is pretty much always full. Zebra Kong?! (Nine) There are specific challenges for each transformation and, like DK himself, each can be levelled up to be even stronger. No one is really talking about how amazing the music is when you activate these - but it's incredible. The Zebra one in particular is such a vibe. There's a lot of Splatoon 's DNA in each of these tracks, adding to what is already a stellar, nostalgia-filled soundtrack. Nintendo has been nailing its soundtracks of late and I can't wait for Bananza 's to be added to the Nintendo Music app. If you've purchased a Nintendo Switch 2, chances are you're going to buy this game. It's big, it's beautiful, it's charming and it's fun. Yes, it's disappointing that the game's performance isn't flawless. Typically, I'd expect more from Nintendo - especially when it's the 3D Mario team. Its framerate issues appear to be more pronounced in larger levels - and while I haven't done a frame-by-frame analysis - I think things looked smoother in handheld mode when VRR was enabled. AI upscaling does a lot of the heavy lifting to make the game look as nice as possible, but its flaws are obvious too. If you spin the camera around fast enough, the hearts in DK's health bar start to blur together, which I've never seen in a Nintendo game before! Regardless, if you've been waiting for a classic collectathon on the Nintendo Switch 2, look no further. Early access to Donkey Kong Bananza was supplied to Mark Santomartino for the purpose of this article. Tech entertainment Video Games Nintendo Nintendo Switch CONTACT US
CBC
16-07-2025
- Entertainment
- CBC
Donkey Kong Bananza's controlled chaos makes it a must-play game for Switch 2
Donkey Kong Bananza feels like an unintentional conduit for this generation's societal frustrations. You aren't playing as Mario, who gleefully jumps and bounces around the Mushroom Kingdom while shouting "wahoo." You are Donkey Kong, a 500-pound gorilla with massive arms punching, pounding and smashing his way through unknown lands in a world threatening to crush you beneath its oppressive weight. It's the video game equivalent of an anger room, a place full of breakable objects begging to be demolished, as you walk inside carrying a sledgehammer and wearing a pair of protective goggles. Paired with the puzzle-platforming DNA that makes the Mario games instant classics and a vibrant visual style all its own, Bananza rockets past Mario Kart World as the new Switch 2's must-have game — even as it struggles with glaring technical problems. WATCH | Donkey Kong Bananza overview trailer: The story, thin as it might be at first, is enough to set the stakes for the theme park-like adventure through over a dozen colourful environments. Donkey Kong is working at a mine staffed by other monkeys when they find banandium gems, giant edible (at least by D.K.) golden bananas. Soon after we encounter the Void Company, who are bent on reaching the planet's core for unknown reasons, causing havoc along the way — and Pauline, a young girl with magical singing abilities. The main villain and eponymous head of the company is Void Kong, who also happens to be a corrupt businessman with wildly styled hair. Void Kong is obsessed with golden bananas, insists everyone call him "the president" and angrily says his underlings are "fired" whenever they fail. Nintendo is not the kind of company to deliberately pull from the latest headlines for inspiration. But, even accidentally, Void Kong is the perfect antagonist for a video game in 2025 that encourages players to work out their frustrations by shattering everything in front of them. The young Pauline, meanwhile, rides on D.K.'s back, guiding the player along the way, as she's the only character to speak (and sing) in a human language. Longtime players might scratch their heads at her inclusion — in the 1981 original Donkey Kong game, Mario had to rescue a grown-up Pauline from D.K.'s then-villainous clutches; she later appears as the mayor in Mario Odyssey. It's best not to think about the timeline implications, as Nintendo remixes their mythologies as they see fit across most of their franchises. More importantly, the loveable big goof and savvy youngster formula infuses the game with heart and humanity even though it feels like it cribbed too much from Wreck It Ralph's notes to look completely original. All about destruction In a developer interview conducted and posted by Nintendo, producer Kenta Motokura said the principle concept behind the game was destruction. On the surface, nearly everything is built around Donkey Kong's destructive capabilities. Besides moving around and jumping — classic video game's basic alphabet — three buttons are dedicated to causing havoc: punching forward, punching up, and punching down. Other abilities further your devastation: tearing off chunks of terrain, swinging said chunks to destroy enemies and obstacles, or surfing on the chunks to rocket you through the underworld. It's an upheaval of the usual video game logic, where the environment is usually locked, except for the elements the player is supposed to overcome. You wouldn't break through a rock wall in a Zelda game unless there was already a treasure chest hidden behind, for example. In Bananza, those rules are usually thrown out the window. You can level entire mountains to rubble with your fists whether there's something to find or not. Often times you'll be rewarded by finding a banandium gem along the way; much like Mario Odyssey's hundreds of hidden Moons, they are meant to be found in abundance. But if you want to simply let loose and destroy everything around you, without any pretence of treasure hunting, the level's malleable geometry is happy to oblige. Serious frame rate problems All that destruction appears to have pushed even the new Switch 2 hardware to its limits, however. When playing the game while connected to the TV, the frame rate can slow to a crawl, or stutter inconsistently. It most often happens when hundreds of shards of glass, rock and mud fly across the screen at once, but can mar the experience even in calmer moments. Some of the later boss battles, with particle effects covering the screen, can make it feel as though you're trying to walk underwater. It appears to only be a problem when docked to a TV, however, as the game ran at a smooth 60 frames per second without a hitch when playing in handheld mode. Review: Donkey Kong Bananza is an a-peel-ing Switch 2 title 10 minutes ago One of Nintendo's oldest and most beloved characters is back in Donkey Kong Bananza for the Switch 2. We took the game out for a spin ahead of its release on July 17. The destruction motif doesn't limit Bananza's developers when it comes to level design, however. Devious puzzles and inventive enemies will constantly put players on their toes in ways that the House of Mario has perfected over decades. The best examples juggle pinpoint platforming with different terrain's properties; throwing an enemy made of ice will cool nearby lava, making it traversable; parasites that ooze corrosive slime can be neutralized by dumping piles of salt-rich sand onto them. All of this is tied together with the vibrant, surrealistic visual and environmental design. Typical video game biomes are given a slight twist, like adding chocolate and vanilla ice cream-shaped landscapes in an ice world. The cartoony denizens include the Fractones — creatures made of cerulean crystal with big, Pixar-like eyes — and a race of ostriches who run a five-star hotel inside a skyscraper-sized eggshell. (One note from the ostriches belies the script's occasional profundity: ostriches can't help but look down on others with their long legs, so must work extra hard to empathize with, and ultimately serve, their patrons.) As worrying as its technical hitches are this early in the Switch 2's life, Donkey Kong Bananza is a triumphant return for the titular gorilla. It'll take players about 20 hours to reach the thunderously exhilarating final act, but they'll likely have more than twice that spent just searching the underground world for more banana gems and other hidden treasures.
Time of India
19-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Donkey Kong Bananza Nintendo Switch 2 release date: New gameplay features, powers, and more revealed
Donkey Kong Bananza release date: Nintendo revealed many details about Donkey Kong Bananza during the latest Nintendo Direct, and the game looks much more than just the Donkey Kong version of Mario Odyssey and Zelda. From smashing terrain to singing-based powers, Bananza feels like a wild, creative and chaotic leap for the franchise. The game launches on July 17, 2025, only on Nintendo Switch 2, and it's shaping up to be a must-play. Multiplayer with a twist We knew there was something odd about that rock…The talented young singer Pauline will team up with Donkey Kong on his subterranean adventure in #DonkeyKongBananza. Unlike Mario Odyssey's limited second-player mode, Bananza gives real power to player two. You can control a younger Pauline, not just for the ride but for real action. She fires musical blasts that copy nearby terrain materials and actually help in boss fights. And thanks to GameShare, you only need one copy of the game to enjoy local co-op. Music powers and transformations Music drives both the world and the action in Bananza. Pauline's voice isn't just for singing this time. As you explore, you'll meet Giant Elders who grant music-based powers. These unlock wild animal transformations for Donkey Kong. MY GAWD Donkey Kong Bananza looks absolutely incredible!The Visuals, The Gameplay, The MUSIC, The Story, The EVERYTHING!THIS might very well Of The Year! 🔥 #NintendoSwitch2 So far, we've seen him become a zebra to dash over water and an ostrich to fly across tropical skies. These forms come with unique combat and platforming skills, opening up new ways to solve puzzles and take down enemies. A soundtrack full of nostalgia and new hits Bananza features an upbeat and funky soundtrack. Classic tunes like 'Jungle Hijinks' and the unforgettable 'DK Rap' return. Pauline even belts out new songs, including one inspired by Bob Seger, giving a retro pop-rock feel to the game's boss battles and cutscenes. Side-scrolling levels return Old-school fans will love this. Bananza includes dedicated side-scrolling levels packed with tricky challenges. Completing these gives you Banandium Gems, which you can use to level up Donkey Kong's abilities. #DonkeyKongBananza Same energy 😭 In the Nintendo Direct, we saw Pauline and DK getting launched from barrels, swinging through vines and diving into 2.5D action sequences that nod to the series' roots. DK Artist Mode: A fun break from the chaos There's DK Artist mode for players looking to relax between the platforming madness. Using Joy-Con 2's mouse controls, you can sculpt, paint and stretch art into rocks and walls, kind of like Mario Paint meets Donkey Kong. It's a charming and peaceful distraction from the main game. A deeper story and more destruction Bananza's big gimmick is its destructible terrain. Donkey Kong can smash almost everything, from rocks to structures, and use those pieces to fight, build, or create paths. It adds a fresh dynamic to how you explore the world. There's also a surprising story twist. The mysterious rock companion from the trailer? That's actually a young Pauline. She's no longer just a damsel. She's a sidekick with her story arc, musical powers and vital role in DK's journey underground.
