Donkey Kong Bananza Is Happening Because Nintendo Exec Wanted A 3D Kong Game

Donkey Kong Bananza is the next project from the Super Mario Odyssey team. It is the franchise’s first 3D platformer since 1999’s Donkey Kong 64 and the first one developed by an in-house team since Jungle Beat in 2004. But why Donkey Kong, rather than a more direct Mario Odyssey sequel? And why return to 3D now? An new interview with Bananza’s developers has surfaced answers to some of these questions.

In an interview with IGN, Donkey Kong Bananza producer Kenta Motokura explained that Nintendo executive Yoshiaka Koizumi approached the team and asked them to think about making a 3D Donkey Kong. The team then discussed the possibility with Shigeru Miyamoto, who created both the Donkey Kong and Mario series. He emphasized that Kong has “unique actions” like the hand slap featured in Super Smash Bros. Koikumi, who directed Jungle Beat, added that Donkey Kong has long and strong arms, much in contrast to Mario’s more modest figure.

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Now Playing: Donkey Kong Bananza – 21 Minutes Of Official Gameplay | Nintendo Switch 2

At the same time, one of Mario Odyssey’s developers was experimenting with voxels. This is the tech that powers games like Minecraft, where the world is made with bespoke individual shapes the player can manipulate. It even shows up in Super Mario Odyssey as snow in the game’s Snow Kingdom and cheese in the Luncheon Kingdom. The combination of these two factors–thinking through Donkey Kong’s unique abilities and experimentation with voxel tech–led to the Bananza that we see today.

To wrap it up, Donkey Kong Bananza producer Kenta Motokura said, “When we realized the compatibility of Donkey Kong’s distinctive characteristics, being strong and having these large long arms, and the possibility of voxel technology, we saw that this was a good match that led us to the idea of pursuing destruction as core gameplay in this title.”

In other Nintendo Switch 2 news, Amazon is finally selling the console, but only by invitation. The Wilds Hearts S demo is now live and you can transfer your save to the full game.

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