The highly-anticipated release of Donkey Kong Bananza is now just around the corner. As the first new 3D Donkey Kong game in over 20 years, the game is set to redefine what the series is as a whole. As such, extra care and detail was a must to truly give Donkey Kong the best return to glory possible. This led to a very long development time, with the game originally being planned for release on the Nintendo Switch before being shifted to the Switch 2. In a recently released developer interview, some of the details behind this process were shared, as well as a look at the original build on the Switch.
Development for Donkey Kong Bananza started shortly after the release of Super Mario Odyssey almost eight years ago. The general producer for the Nintendo Switch, Yoshiaki Koizuma, asked the team behind Odyssey to create a new 3D Donkey Kong game. The approach the team chose to take was a focus on destruction, making Donkey Kong’s strength a focal point to set him apart from Mario. This design philosophy resulted in the idea to create a fully destructible world, but that ended up being quite challenging to create on the original Nintendo Switch. The limitations of the hardware was especially constraining when creating a game centered around a fully interactable and dynamic 3D space, so plans had to be changed.
In 2021, the team shifted their focus and considered developing the game for the upcoming Nintendo Switch 2 instead. The increased power of the system meant that even more could be added to the world, enhancing both the scenery itself and the satisfaction derived from destroying it. This enabled even more gameplay ideas that would have had to be scrapped otherwise, such as launching large objects with explosions and collapsing structures. For all of these reasons and more, it was settled on that development would continue for the Switch 2, resulting in the game we have now.
Looking at the differences between the Nintendo Switch build and the Switch 2 version, it becomes immediately obvious that the shift to the next console was well worth it. It’s been so long since Donkey Kong got to have a proper 3D adventure of his own, so it’s great to see the extra time and care taken to make sure it’s as fun as possible. Now all that’s left to do is give the game a try once it releases later this week!
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Written by Abbie Maxwell
Lifelong Nintendo fangirl, Abbie holds a special place in her heart for video games. She has always strived to provide tips and tricks to make the experiences of those who share her passions that much better.
