When it comes to Nintendo’s 3D action/adventure games, not much else gives me a burst of nostalgia like them. I grew up with the Super Mario Galaxy games and I played them to death, making sure to get 100% and squeeze everything out of those games I could. Even replaying them recently, along with other classics like Super Mario 64, there is just an immensely satisfying formula set in those games and it works in every single way it is implemented. Picking a level, ploughing through that level to get to a star and moving onto the next level to see the next power-up or cool boss fight is exactly the simplistic magic that we do not get nowadays. I was not overly enthralled with Super Mario Odyssey and it did not quite give me the same spark as those earlier games. The decision to make levels more open was not something that clicked with me, but I recognise that it definitely made sense as a natural evolution of that old formula. In the same way, it was only natural that the Donkey Kong games would cease to be trapped in their sidescroller format and make that jump the same way Mario did. Donkey Kong Bananza is the result of Nintendo honing their 3D action/adventure craft and evolving it even further, spotlighting a character that isn’t Mario for once. In every single way, this is a remarkable game and if you have any connection to Donkey Kong or just Nintendo’s broadly exceptional repertoire, this is essential.

Donkey Kong Bananza puts you straight in control of the titular ape in the best way, giving you a blank screen with a prompt to ‘punch’. Doing so brings Donkey Kong smashing onto the screen, where we see him mining at Ingot Isle, a colony sitting right at the very top of the underground world. However very quickly, the evil Void Co. introduce themselves by stealing the bananadium gems from Ingot Isle, that contain great power, causing a sinkhole leading to the underground world. As Donkey Kong, you must pursue Void Co., lead by the maniacal Void Kong, and find the scattered bananadium gems throughout each layer of the underground world by punching everything you see. Joining you will be the loveable Pauline who was turned into a rock by Void Co. to silence her singing voice. She lacks confidence to sing but Pauline quickly realises that her voice has even more power than she once thought, enhancing the power of Donkey Kong’s collected bananadium and creating a bananza! These are powerful, animalistic transformations that will help you throughout the game, all with unique abilities that can be used to face the various threats. You must descend each unique layer of the underground world, going deeper towards the planet core, which is said to contain wishes for whosoever reaches it. Being the only way for Pauline to return to the surface, you must go there, while simultaneously stopping Void Kong’s nefarious plans to steal all bananadium.

Evolving the gameplay formula of Super Mario Odyssey was always going to happen, as that framework seemed ripe for building on. Having multiple beautiful, unique environments full of objectives, secrets and collectables is a simple, effective model, but Donkey Kong Bananza takes this idea and gives it a unique twist. Immediately getting the player to start punching is genius because that is exactly whatr you will be doing for the whole game. Punching through terrain, digging it up and throwing it, almost everything around you in these environments is breakable. With the ability to climb walls and punch in any direction too, you can dig all over the place, finding gold, fossils and those all important bananadium gems. Gold can buy you items and fossils can buy you cosmetics but the gems are the thing you will crave more than anything. Every time you collect one of these bananadium gems, you get the infectious muttering of ‘Oh, Banana!’ by Donkey Kong and there is not a single soundbite that will invade your mind more this whole year. Unlike just jumping and collecting a star or moon like in the Mario games, you have to punch these gems too which is so satisying. Once Donkey Kong has triumphantly gobbled a gem, getting five will give you a skill point. These can be spent to acquire new abilities including punch strength, more health, traversal abilities and even extras for the bananza forms you acquire throughout the game. This is the core loop and it effortlessly grabs you and makes you want to get as many as you can. Think of some of the most coveted dopamine feedback responses in gaming and this is akin to them. With over 700 to collect, in my playthrough I collected over 500 with relative ease, not in the sense of gameplay difficulty but in regards to the absence of that chore-like feeling most collectathon games have. I had that feeling with Odyssey but the ability to smash everything and work through layers at my own pace, collecting as much as I want along the way, it really kept me engaged.

Outside of the drive for bananas and smashing up the different environments, the more concentrated gameplay elements are equally as potent in their engagement factor. The most important element to talk about initially is the bananzas and how brilliantly they switch up the gameplay from just mindless smashing. There are five different ones to collect throughout the game and all of them offer a refreshing gameplay switch-up. Whether it is the ability to smash through metal walls, or being able to jump ridiculously high, these abilites are all combined extremely well with the core gameplay loop and the changes in environment. Every layer that you descend upon has different enemies and obstacles that force you to use your acquired bananzas in innovative ways, keeping every single level really fresh. Many of the challenges that are scattered throughout the layers also encourage the player to utilise those abilities, especially those which force you to use a specific one. Nothing truly tests your honing of the bananzas more than the boss fights though, which vary from incredibly easy to crushingly difficult. They feel exactly as boss fights should, as skill-check intervals to show what you have learnt in the past segment. The final boss, and final level as a whole, is perfect because it has a fair amount of difficulty and makes you use everything you have learned in the whole game. Surprisingly, there is very little hand-holding, in the whole game for that matter. Considering you have Pauline on your shoulder at all times, it would have been so easy for her to lecture you on what to do like many modern games do.

What truly makes this game succeed beyond Nintendo’s masterful gameplay realisation is the amount of heart that constantly shines through. Writing is never something really present within these games but there is some sprinklings of an emotional throughline that is really sweet. The decision to have Pauline as a companion is at the core of where this succeeds because this is her story. With how massive the world around her is, she feels small, inferior and that she cannot make a difference. She lacks confidence in her singing after being silenced and does not think people will want to hear it. Her slowly realising the power of her voice, metaphorically and quite literally, is the driving force of the story and Donkey Kong could not do any of it without her. Her arc and her connection with Donkey Kong is not something I expected to get attatched to, but I am really glad Nintendo took the time to make sure everyone who plays it does. Even outside the writing aspect, the craft is just full of love and care. A lot of what we see in the many layers of the underground world is brand new stuff that we have never seen before and Nintendo once again shows their talent for production design and world brimming with life.

I loved my time with Donkey Kong Bananza and it sails into the upper-echelon of Nintendo’s quite impressive repertoire. People give the Switch 2 grief for not releasing with many games other than Mario Kart World, but if this released too, it would definitely be a different overall reception. It really shows the power of the Switch 2 because the fact that it can render these beautiful worlds and keep up with the destruction you make is remarkable for what is essentially a handheld. There were some performance issues here and there but nothing even remotely concerning for the future of this machine. If Nintendo manage to keep up this calibre of games for their future releases, particularly the upcoming 3D Mario game, this may be a smash-hit generation for them. Even if not, this game is excellent, sailing into Game of the Year territory, and I do not hesitate to recommend it.