Donkey Kong Bananza Director Replayed Every Game in the Series Before Development

Donkey Kong Bananza director Kazuya Takahashi has revealed he replayed all the entries in the franchise after learning he would be assigned to the game. Donkey Kong Bananza’s release date is approaching, and while players await the highly anticipated comeback of Nintendo’s famous gorilla on July 17, the director has shared some tidbits about the game’s development.

Donkey Kong Bananza will launch exclusively on Nintendo Switch 2, marking the franchise’s first fully 3D adventure since Donkey Kong 64. The new game reimagines the series, introducing a completely destructible environment where DK goes deep into underground biomes to recover golden Banandium Gems stolen by VoidCo. The latest gameplay trailers have shown that players will be able to smash, dig, and climb in the game, while also featuring some interesting mechanics like voice-controlled co-op. Although the franchise has been dormant for the past 11 years, Nintendo’s gorilla has remained a popular character, showing up in re-releases, ports, or cameos, while its games have continued to be popular. Now, players have learned that, from the original Donkey Kong launched in 1981 to the latest mainline entry in 2014, Tropical Freeze, Bananza has been shaped by the franchise’s history.

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Nintendo has quietly kept itself busy with the Donkey Kong franchise, and its new entry on the Switch 2 has been a long time coming.

Speaking to La Vanguardia, director Kazuya Takahashi shared his experience with the Donkey Kong franchise. He revealed that once he learned he would be assigned to Bananza, he decided to replay the entire series to get some new ideas. He also commented on Donkey Kong Jr. and Donkey Kong Country, emphasizing that these are among his favorite games and that he was especially looking forward to revisiting some elements from the latter, but with a new “sense of destruction.”

Bananza Director Inspired by Some Donkey Kong Country Elements

Donkey Kong Country is considered by many as one of the SNES’s best games, and it looks like Takahashi is aware of that, as he wanted to “incorporate past memories along with new ideas” inspired by the 1994 hit. However, Bananza seems to be moving away from the series’ previous style by shifting from traditional 2D or classic 3D platforming to a fully destructible, voxel-based 3D world.

In addition to sharing his experience with the franchise, Takahashi warned players about Bananza’s potential performance drops in certain parts of the game, though he also assured that this wouldn’t significantly impact the overall gameplay. While players wait for the game’s release date, it’s a good sign for Bananza that its director took the entire franchise into account before tackling development.

Donkey Kong Bananza

Systems

Released

July 17, 2025

ESRB

Everyone 10+ // Fantasy Violence

Developer(s)

Nintendo

Publisher(s)

Nintendo

Number of Players

Single-player

Nintendo Switch 2 Release Date

July 17, 2025

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