Donkey Kong Bananza (aka Banjo Kongzoie) - July 17, 2025

ResurrectedContrarian said:
IQ is part of it, but also this kind of environmental & visual design puts me off:
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it just looks like random junk everywhere; kind of like No Man's Sky worlds, which I also find universally repulsive, and some other non-procedural games that do it.
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Yeah, it's like there's no actual level design, just environments with random stuff here and there. A bit like the depths in TOTK.

From what I've seen so far there isn't really much actual platforming either, which is weird for a DK game.
 
Didn't expect Donkey Kong to provide us with a spiritual success to Red Faction, but here we are. Looks fun to me. If Switch 2's are widely available at retail when this comes out I'd probably pick it up.
 
SpiceRacz said:
Nintendo, specifically the Odyssey team, I believe. Someone in one of the preview videos said Koizumi was standing by watching people play the demo.
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ah so this makes me both more and less depressed simultaneously

more, because I'd hate to see the Mario team on this, given that I did not like the level design in the trailer (though I guess I couldn't see much)

less, because if Koizumi & all are involved, it surely won't be a bad game
 
Come to think of it, the whole idea of this game is extremely reminiscent of the ending sequence of Super Mario Odyssey. You could pretty much just replace Bowsers model with DK, smashing through the underground environment. Seems like a very natural evolution of ideas/concepts.

This has to be the Odyssey team.
 
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The more I see of it, the more I am starting to fear the whole destroy everything feature will become a gimmick and it's fun will wear off, hopefully I'm wrong. I do applaud them for trying something different.

That being said, i honestly just wanted a 3D DK game full of platforming, typical DK enemies and locations and so far I'm not seeing that.
 
Stafford said:
The more I see of it, the more I am starting to fear the whole destroy everything feature will become a gimmick and it's fun will wear off, hopefully I'm wrong. I do applaud them for trying something different.

That being said, i honestly just wanted a 3D DK game full of platforming, typical DK enemies and locations and so far I'm not seeing that.
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Only Rare understood the DK aesthetic and ethos, they created it after all. Think about the shade and sick jabs Cranky threw at Diddy at the end of DKC2 for not collecting enough DK coins and not being "hardcore" enough or whatever; now take a look at this steaming pile of shit that has no culture, no direction, no sense of style.

It's eating away at Miyamoto's ego that DKC overshadowed Yoshi's Island at a superficial level, so now he wants to retcon the lore; reshuffle it with procedural generation like Leo being stuck in Inception limbo for 50 years where there's no past, no future; only the fever-dreamish hellscape of the present

djdoltm-c367f5ed-45f7-46f3-831f-0bbaaba1592d.gif
 
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RoadHazard said:
As I said in the Treehouse thread, this really doesn't feel like a DK game at all. It feels like a terrain destruction demo that they decided to put DK in.

Then someone else said that this should have been a Wario game, and YES, that makes so much sense! Smashing through rocks and mining for gold and shit is exactly what Wario would do. The art style and atmosphere also feel more Wario than DK. Everything does. Wouldn't surprise me if this originally actually was a Wario game, but then they decided that DK would sell better. I just can't believe that they decided to make a 3D DK and this is what they came up with. It doesn't make sense.

(I'm not saying this won't be a good game. Just that it's a really fucking weird DK game.)
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Agreed completely. I'm not saying I don't want a 3D DK game but after watching the Treehouse gameplay I can't be unconvinced. The underground setting and atmosphere is cool, but suits Wario better. Everything about it does, you're right. Wario's Gold Mine (remember the Mario Kart Wii course?), it could've been called. Or Wario World 2.

It's an ugly game. Clearly the destruction is a core part of the game's design and as long as it runs well I'd say that's fine, but DK's fur alone looks so godawful I'd say they really made a mistake here, making him the star of this particular game. I'm watching the part where he talks to Cranky Kong (who looks relatively unchanged from his last appearance in DKCTF), and while Cranky's fur is much flatter and more simplistic, it still looks better than whatever the fuck DK's got going on.
 
I'm really excited by this, it looks like a lot of fun. Like Mario Kart World, there's an open world quality that could either make or break the game, but there's an undenyable joy in just smashing and breaking blocks. That's half the fun of Minecraft, after all. I do hope Diddy, Dixie & the other Kongs are in this one. I also really like the new cartoony Donkey Kong. It just makes me wonder what the next 3D Super Mario will be like.

That price is absolutely horrendous, though. I hope Nintendo's bosses are closely watching the US stock market, and are ready to make sensible adjustments.
 
Watching gameplay stream I'm even more hyped! Holly fuck the entire environment is destructible in this game.
 
RoadHazard said:
As I said in the Treehouse thread, this really doesn't feel like a DK game at all. It feels like a terrain destruction demo that they decided to put DK in.

Then someone else said that this should have been a Wario game, and YES, that makes so much sense! Smashing through rocks and mining for gold and shit is exactly what Wario would do. The art style and atmosphere also feel more Wario than DK. Everything does. Wouldn't surprise me if this originally actually was a Wario game, but then they decided that DK would sell better. I just can't believe that they decided to make a 3D DK and this is what they came up with. It doesn't make sense.

(I'm not saying this won't be a good game. Just that it's a really fucking weird DK game.)
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That is exactly how Nintendo operates.
You make the game first, make sure it is fun, THEN you add the IP to it.
Splatoon was originally in the position of being made into a Mario title, until they decided to give it its own IP.

So yes, it could have been made for any other other characters, Wario or not. Just like Zelda was given her own game late in development of Echoes of Wisdom when they realized Link wasn't the right fit.

Wario is probably too derivative of Mario to get that BIG of a title for himself.
 
Watched some of the Treehouse footage -- the destructabiilty and other ideas look fun, it's definitely not phoned in... still not convinced though by the open area level designs which feel a bit random. Some of the caves and other areas looked much better.
 
Yeah. It is going to massively suck if this game is $80. I will have to try to snag a discounted one on eBay if that happens.
 
From what ive seen so far....

-If you like destructable envs youll love this
-If you want a traditional 3d DK64 type game, this wont be for you
 
Looks alright, but a question to switch owners - do you notice the non-existent AA on a switch screen? I know its smaller but is it distracting..?

With my PC brain, its the first thing i noticed :messenger_grinning_sweat:
 
Jinzo Prime said:
Same engine for sure

I'm hard predicting more Kongs are playable. First 3D DK game since DK64? The gangs got to be all here!
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But does Diddy Kong have this much upper arm strength?

We'll see, but it might be one of those games that is just really married to the star, like a Wario game
 
The destructible environments remind me of how Sonic could tunnel through like 2 shortcuts in Green Hill which blew my mind only to never appear in the game again. It tugs at an unresolved gaming desire.
 
b0uncyfr0 said:
With my PC brain, its the first thing i noticed
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Turn off AA on your pc and then get a 8 inch lcd display and connect it via hdmi (or…just use a steam deck/pc hand held).

For me the smaller screen (in hand held mode mind you) hides it far better than the switch in docked mode on a high res monitor/tv.
 
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Game looks fun, I'm glad its releasing so soon after release of the Switch 2. With that being said, Nintendo would have a more compelling console launch if this and Metroid Prime landed day one.
 
This looks fun as hell. It's crazy how we still hear comments on graphics when that proved to mean nothing on the original Switch, lol. At it's core the game looks fun and we damn sure need more games chasing that than graphics. My flights just got easier to get through, lol.
 
DeltaPolarBear said:
That is exactly how Nintendo operates.
You make the game first, make sure it is fun, THEN you add the IP to it.
Splatoon was originally in the position of being made into a Mario title, until they decided to give it its own IP.

So yes, it could have been made for any other other characters, Wario or not. Just like Zelda was given her own game late in development of Echoes of Wisdom when they realized Link wasn't the right fit.

Wario is probably too derivative of Mario to get that BIG of a title for himself.
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I mean, in some cases they operate that way, not always. When they start making a new Mario game they know they're making a Mario game, I'm pretty sure. Same with Zelda (even with the character swap in Echoes).
 
DryvBy said:
Outside of the DK model being in the game, how exactly is this even a DK game?
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I've seen suggestions this should have been a Wario game (and I totally get that, the treasure hunting, Wario Land games seemed to emphasize destroying environment using speed and strength) but I would say the focus on using strength (something the Retro DKC games emphasized) and the focus on weighted movement (another thing the Retro DKC games emphasized) justify the use of Donkey Kong. I also remember reading around the time of the Wii U release of Tropical Freeze, someone in Nintendo expressed desire to see another 3D Donkey Kong game. I think it's been on the mind of Nintendo for a while.
 
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Watching the tree house video and omg this game is awesome!! Looks great and full of interesting puzzles.
It easy just shot to the top of my list.

It's another great physics based game along side of Zelda.
 
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Anyone know who's developing this? Rumor is Retro Studios but I haven't seen any confirmation.
 
Wasn't overly excited when this was revealed in the Direct. Definitely a bit more hyped when I found out it's more or less from the Mario Galaxy/Odyssey team.
 
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