I think these days, after years of Nintendo completely avoiding the race for console power and instead focusing on different ways to play and honing its core craft, we forget that Nintendo is still a pretty sharp company in terms of technical innovation. With the advent of the Wii, the raw power was put to one side, but the company's commitment to creating great, original games in other ways remained—or perhaps even intensified. Of course, there have been many examples over the years, from smart innovations in game design to crazy peripherals, but Donkey Kong Bananza should be one of the best displays of this kind of thinking Nintendo has seen in years.
Obviously, Bananza doesn't really showcase entirely new technology. Ever since the preview period, I jokingly called her Red Faction Gorilla, she is so similar in outlook and technical performance to fifteen year old Xbox 360 game. But what you have here is a remarkable expression of this kind of technology and world-destroying design – and in true Nintendo style, everything is carefully crafted to serve fun, imagination and satisfaction.
The structure of Mario Odyssey is lightly replicated, replacing precious bananas with moons and giving players a set of open sandbox levels in which they can either do the bare minimum to advance or dig deep to complete each stage. Except in this case, the digs are literal, with Odyssey's shiny-but-cute gimmicks swapped out for something more comprehensive: Banadium Gems are hidden in every nook and cranny of every card, and DK's skill set is built around tearing said card to pieces. Sometimes less is more. This game as a whole: design brilliance through design purity. DK is a big, strong guy who can break things. He doesn't need anything more outlandish than that.
Collecting all those bananas isn't so much about puzzle solving as it is about carefully thinking through the mechanics at your disposal and how best to use them for whatever specific micro-task is at hand. What you get with this is a simple game that even a true beginner can pick up, but with real depth to satisfy those who want to really delve into the mechanics of the game. The ideal Nintendo game is always like this, with Pixarian's ability to thread the needle with winks, nods and challenges for adults, while still providing an overall package that even very young children will enjoy. It's just great.
There is a perception of Nintendo as a slightly insular company – and while Nintendo does always “do its own thing”, it does so with an eye on others. And so in Banaz you can see shades of the destructive and creative gaming space of Minecraft and the like, in much the same way as you can feel the influence of Skyrim on Breath of the Wild.
It's also interesting that half of the game's directorial duo are relative outsiders – Kazuya Takahashi's last role before Bananza was on Final fantasy 15where he led the main game's quests and then completely oversaw the rather underrated multiplayer expansion. Personally, I think this is a demonstration of how Nintendo (and to some extent Japanese development in general) is changing its approach to employment. A few years ago, it was relatively unthinkable that a newcomer could come from another company and, regardless of previous seniority, become a leader in a flagship game. But here you understand it. Admittedly, this is probably so that the main characters of Odyssey (that game's director served as a producer here) can probably keep thinking about Mario's future – but with them, Takahashi and Mario veteran Wataru Tanaka bring a sense of freshness to the shared director's chair.
There is another shift. Spoilers ahead for the ending.
What a nostalgia bomb, hey? After years of ignoring most Donkey Kong made outside of Japan, we finally have a game that doesn't just pay homage to DK's proud years coming out of the UK – it goes further by showing an active adoration of the era.
I'm not just talking about returning villains, familiar music, and traveling to places from the Mario universe here—I'm also talking about all the original Bananza stuff, which exudes a kind of rare energy that Japan has never bothered with before. The vibe is always difficult or impossible to express in text, although suffice it to say that Bananza simply feels like it belongs in a Rare-era DK game – and not just because all the dungeon dwellers are bug-eyed creatures.
Combine this love for the past with an amazing sense of narrative style, and you get something that's hard to compare to your average Japanese-produced platformer. I'm not sure if this story ambition comes from existing in the world of Mario movies, or from hiring the guy who worked on Final Fantasy, or what – but it's there. I punched the air as old enemies returned and classic musical choruses touched the memory centers of my brain. And a lump came to my throat when Polina said goodbye to DK in (one of) the endings of the game with tears in her eyes. I can't think of a single Nintendo game that achieved this for me, other than a couple of Zelda endings.
Anyway, I'm rambling, as I'm supposed to do in such gushing things. Bananza is far from the perfect game I described in Four star review from Eurogamer. You can see where it falls short of Odyssey-level greatness and see plenty of room for improvement. I'd also dare say that this year, as you'd expect, there are definitely “better” games on paper this year – we've given several five-star reviews. But sometimes that slightly flawed game speaks to you more. It gets into your heart and becomes an absolute favorite.
Bananza is what I need. And if this is the template for the future, I can't wait for the next Mario or to see what happens next with DK and Pauline. And if we tug at my heartstrings, I wouldn't mind a new one Star Fox or. Could 2026 be that year? I hope so.
