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Donkey Kong Bananza has been out for nearly a month now and I have had my fill of it. I’ve beaten the main story and have collected about 450 bananas at this current moment. I am working on the post game content, but this review won’t be discussing that. Today, we will be covering just the main gameplay and story for this Donkey Kong Bananza review.
Story
DK goes to Ingot Isle to find some Bandaniam gems, but then some nasty individuals steal all the bananas and suddenly, he’s underground and finding a strange purple rock who’s singing can get rid of Void’s, the main villian’s, creations. They set off in search of bananas and soon, DK learns that the purple rock isn’t a rock at all but a human girl named Pauline who was trapped by the evil Void and his friends. The two must work together to reach the planet core and find the Bandandiam root that is said to grant any wish.
Along the way, Pauline learns about self-confidence and her role in what’s happening below. There will be a few turns in their journey, but nothing I would say is too unexpected. The end boss, which I won’t spoil, did surprise me since it was hidden so well.
Gameplay
Smash, Smash, SMASH!!! That’s the gameplay. That’s it.
Okay, no, but smashing does play a huge part in this DK adventure, along with exploration, challenges and singing! Not to mention beating up some bad kongs and villains. DK and Pauline will be destroying everything in sight in search of bananas, fossils, chests and gold!
Through Pauline’s singing, DK will be able to take on different Bananza forms. These are each unique and have different abilities that will help throughout the game in various ways. I won’t spoil what these are specifically, but each one did feel unique and had their own place in the game.
There’s plenty of challenges to take on, exploring to do and even quests that you are rewarded with bananas for completing. The gameplay for this game may sometimes feel repetitive, but I found myself coming back time and time again.
Graphics
Being that this is a Switch 2 exclusive title, I think a lot of us went in with big hopes. I have to say that this game delivers on a pretty experience. This is only the 2nd time that DK was in 3D, but it feels so naturally done. Meaning, DK does not feel out of place in this world and all the different environments really are a nice sight on the new system, both in handheld and docked.
Soundtrack
With hints of music from past games, even the DK rap from Donkey Kong 64, this game is a joy to listen to as you play. It definitely gave a sense of wonder.
Controls
I’ve played this game three different ways. One being in handheld, the other docked as single-player and the last was docked multiplayer. Let me say that while playing single-player was pretty simplistic and I felt the controls worked well, playing multiplayer with one JoyCon set could become a little complicated.
The player controlling Pauline had issues with the cursor getting stuck, which the cursor is what you used to aim and fire with. I also realized, kind of late in the game mind you, that player number 2 could also change Donkey Kong’s transformations, even though they were not controlling him directly. I think this was a poor design. It was done accidentally by my 2nd player and put us in some weird situations during gameplay and boss fights.
Maybe multiplayer would be better if you were using two different systems or two sets of JoyCons but I still see it as a flaw if you’ve only got one (paid link) Nintendo Switch 2 and one set of (paid link) JoyCons.
Replayability
This game has a ton of replayability in my books due to the amount of bananas to find and you could always start a new file to experience the journey all over again. Smashing up the terrain doesn’t get old and you can always find an excuse to come tear up jack for a little while.
Scores
Story: 9/10
Gameplay: 9/10
Graphics: 10/10
Soundtrack: 10/10
Controls: 8/10
Replayability: 9/10
Overall:
Conclusion
Donkey Kong Bananza is a fantastic title for the Switch 2 and is a much welcomed addition to the DK family of games. If you don’t have a (paid link) copy, I suggest picking one up at your earliest convenience.
That’s it for this review, I hope everyone who is currently playing Donkey Kong is having a good time and if you want more reviews, go check out the one we wrote for Mario Kart world. As always, happy gaming everyone.
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