Donkey Kong Bananza starts off strong. The camera frames a cave wall, and I was asked to hit “Y” to punch. Punch I did… repeatedly; until Donkey Kong (DK) burst through. Then, he eye fucked the Banandium Gem in front of him. I knew this was going to be a good game.

Donkey Kong ogling a giant banana.
Did you think I was lying?

I spent a lot of time just punching the cave walls in the first area. It is very satisfying to watch the rock crumble into pieces and disappear into oblivion. I collected a bunch of coins and other goodies. Really, the punching was my real reward. Rocks, sand, and enemies all felt different to punch, but always tickled by senses. The controller vibrates just right, the sound is perfect, and the animations have the heft that only DK can deliver.

Donkey Kong punching rocks
I’m Donkey Kong, and I punch.

Bonanza was made by the Super Mario Odyssey team at Nintendo, so it is no surprise DK feels good to control. His movement is snappy and responsive. He has his roll from the Donkey Kong Country series. The roll has good momentum behind it like those games, but it is much more responsive in Bananza. I recommend mastering the “roll-jump-roll” move. First you roll, then, while rolling, jump, and finally roll again. Not only is it a nod to the Country games, but it greatly increases the distance DK can jump. It isn’t a requirement for anything in the game, but it is handy for some tricky jumps or shortcuts.

The game looks great on the Switch 2, but I can’t help but compare it to Odyssey. Odyssey has an artstyle that blends realism and cartoon. This creates a unique style that pops. In Bananza, the artstyle is strictly cartoon. It looks good, but nothing pops. The game still looks great, and it has its own charm, but Odyssey was always in the back of my head when I played the game. Banaza runs really well on the Switch 2, but it does have some minor FPS dips when using certain abilities. It is forgivable, due to the destruction physics in the game.

Donkey Kong climbing a rock wall next to a water fall.
I forgot to mention in the review, but Donkey Kong can climb anything not slippery.

I mentioned the punching sounds good, but the whole game sounds great. Music plays a big role in this game, and it does not disappoint. Some songs bring back remastered versions of songs from the Country games, and they fit with the new songs. The new songs make heavy use of drums, but lean more into EDM. There are lyrics and vocals in some songs. Some songs have a tribal feel to them. Other songs have a K-Pop feel. The songs all come together, and just feel like Donkey Kong.

At the start of the game, DK is mining for Banandium Gems, when Void Company (the bad guys) arrives and steals all of the Banandium Gems. Donkey Kong finds a little void rock person, and he sets out to get his gems back. Together, they chase Void Company down to the next layer. The pair help out the Kong Elder, who throws a concert. This changes the void rock person into a real person: Pauline! The Elder teaches DK “Bananza,” which allows him to transform into a giant monkey. In Bananza form, DK is able to smash through harder materials, and just punch harder in general.

Donkey Kong and Pauline standing in front of a microphone. They are now friends.
Donkey Kong not sure

Pauline can sing, which has a few abilities. First, it allows DK to transform into his Bananza form if he has enough gold (which is pretty much all the time). Her singing can also show you the path to the next objective. She can also break the void, which is too hard for DK to punch, so that is also useful. DK cannot talk; he can only make gorilla noises. So, Pauline speaks for him. The game is weird with its voice acting. In the US version, Pauline speaks in English. During cut scenes, she is the only who who does. Everyone else is speaking another language. It is a strange choice by Nintendo, but it is not distracting.

The pair meet other Elders the deeper they go, and DK gains new Bananza forms. These forms allow DK to run faster, jump higher, glide, and vacuum up the environment (my favorite). To be able to transform, the gold meter needs to be full (or there is an item that will automatically fill it). Gold is easy to come by, so my meter was basically always full. Once DK transforms, it drains the meter and once the meter is empty, DK transforms back into regular DK. Collecting gold does not extend Bananza time, but it does refill the meter after exiting it.

Donkey Kong in Kong Bananza form punching through pillars.
Now that’s a Donkey punch!

Like Mario Odyssey’s moons, DK is collecting a bunch of Banandium Gems. Getting the gems might require solving a puzzle, performing some tricky platforming, or completing quests. You can buy maps if you are having trouble finding missing ones. There are also fossils to collect, which can be used to buy clothing. Clothing can improve DK’s abilities, so it isn’t purely cosmetic. Needless to say, Bananza scratched by collect-a-thon itch.

The game is fun, until it is not. Donkey Kong Bananza is too long. At the 30 hour mark, I wasn’t seeing anything new or interesting. The game became a slog, but just kept going. It did not help that the game feels like it is wrapping up, but then it keeps upping the stakes. I swear, I fought three or four “final” boss fights. The game could have ended after the first one, and I would have been satisfied. Instead, the game chose to drag on.

After, finally, finishing the story, more Banandium gems unlock. There is an enemy rush and boss rush one that I did not want to deal with, and so I didn’t. There are gauntlets that put your Bananza skills to the test, which were neat. One of them has some tight time limits, which I did not like. I tried, but I ended up missing a couple of gems because of the time limit. I chose sanity over collecting all of the gems.

Donkey Kong Bananza is an amazing video game. It looks and sounds great. The movement and punching feels good. I love destruction in video games, and this game is all about destruction. The story between DK and Pauline is sweet. However, I wish it was short. My biggest gripe is the game overstays its welcome. There are not a lot of Switch 2 exclusives right now, but Bananza is one you should definitely play.