Donkey Kong Bananza [Review]

Not only the first big platformer from Nintendo in years (and for DK in a decade), Donkey Kong Bananza injects some action-adventure elements in a strong platforming foundation to not only be a new adventure from the most popular monkey in gaming, but also to differentiate itself from the 3D Mario franchise.

The world is made up from several small open areas that vary in size, with most of them being more or less characterized by the power up that is unlocked on them. Scattered through the passages and routes are numerous challenges that can be some puzzling or battling, stored in little “shrines” that share most of the same aesthetic from one another. While Bananza is from the team that brought Mario Odyssey, what was in my mind on the whole playtime was actually the iconic The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, because of its shrines and trials through the fields. DK even shares some moves with Link, like surfing on the occasional rock.

Bananza, then, feels like an action adventure first, platforming second. The breaking of the environment is more of a tool rather than the entire reason of the game existing, and DK has many other tools that are unlocked through the 20 hours or so campaign, in paths that are filled with enemies, fights and secluded puzzles. After seeing the credits, there were, for me, about more 20 hours to get enough collectibles to finish the final trial. And, yes, there's always more to collect and while I've left feeling that I saw everything I wanted, knowing that there would have more things around is part of the magic of a collectathon.

It is not that common to have hard progression mechanics (like statuses and level ups) in platformers. Because of Bananza's adventure vibes, its progression is tied to a Skill Tree. It is unfortunately hit or miss, because sometimes it gives a feeling of powerlessness while progressing through the game. Fortunately, it is easy to respec all the skills and then change the build a bit. Also, the skill tree locks some movement and overall quality of life abilities that should be free from the get-go, and they rely too much on rising numbers – from 120% to 140% of something – instead of making unlockable nodes actually always fun or always different.

There's a Nintendo quality for the animation, graphics, presentation, and warmth that is still unmatched, with an absurd amount of detail and unrelenting compromise to the physics of the world and how DK 'shapes' it, and most of the time it works. When it doesn't is with the repeated environment for the chamber puzzles and some repetition on the overall presentation, but it is understandable giving the scope of it all. This artistic vision is sometimes at odds with real performance, with common frame rate drops throughout, when opening and closing the map, fast traveling or in scenes with lots of enemies and particles. The final boss is rough. Still, overall, the 60 fps target is somewhat achieved in the game, but not using any upscale technique makes me think if it wasn't better if this game had a 30fps lock with 100% stable moments never dropping a thing. The current state of it makes some stages feel a bit shaky and, some effects, unfinished.

The story, although simple, has a lot of charm, and it is convincing to see both Donkey and Pauline interacting through the game. The little chats before bed are super sweet, and I've never felt bored with her. I'm not a person that often likes the chatty companion, but on Bananza, it is earned and a strong side of the game. It is a story that talks a lot about music, and while the game has some great tunes that stick all day long, like the Bananza Form songs, the overall score is a bit forgettable and relies too much on old songs from the Country series, in my opinion.

One of the earliest memories of gaming that I have is when I played Banjo-Kazooie for the first time and how I liked just to walk around. I was very young, and the N64 wasn't mine, so it was just a brief, dream like sensation, of being transported to a little world for the first time, messing with the systems, getting lost in the small worlds and battles. DK Bananza made me feel just like that, walking and exploring and collecting is fun, and while the game has some things that I didn't like, almost everything is fantastic, absurdly fun, and very memorable.

8.5/10

Unfortunately, for this review, the captures here are from IGDB, I had some captures but only for the later half of the game and I didn't want to spoil anything!