On the cusp of its release, Donkey Kong Bananza developers Kenta Motokura (producer) and Kazuya Takahashi (director) have dived deep into the game’s development, sharing plenty of new details with the folks at IGN.
One of the really interesting tidbits revealed is that Donkey Kong Bananza has been in development for quite some time. When this process started, it was actually in development for the original Nintendo Switch, with voxel technology used, and ‘lots of different ideas for applications,’ per Motokura.
When the development team learned about the Nintendo Switch 2, the decision to swap over and expand the game was made – as it would allow ‘the best implementation of these ideas and technology.’
Takahashi further expanded on the value of switching the Nintendo Switch 2’s more robust hardware, confirming it allowed the team to double down on the destructive elements of Donkey Kong Bananza – you can destroy entire plains with the smash of your monkey fists.
‘When I was previously talking about the importance of the continuity of destruction, that was something that we could expand on and have a longer continuous play experience with that kind of concept on Nintendo Switch 2,’ Takahashi said.
Read: Donkey Kong Bananza is exactly as brilliant as it seems
‘So this allowed us to engage in creating really extremely rich variety of materials and very large scale changes in the environment on that new hardware. And when destruction is your core gameplay, one really important moment that we wanted to preserve was when a player looks at a part of the terrain and thinks, can I break this? Because that creates a very important surprise that has a lot of impact for them and that was something that was best done on Switch 2.’
Per Takahashi, it wasn’t only the processing power of the Nintendo Switch 2 that excited the team, it was also the option to expand the game with alternative gameplay styles. For example, being able to use mouse controls in co-op play, to control Paul’s vocal blasts, or using mouse mode to sculpt in DK Artist mode.
Elsewhere in the interview, Motokura and Takahashi dived deeply into what players can expect of this upcoming game, discussing new and returning features like mine carting, barrel blasting, and questing for Banandium Gems. What is most clear throughout this chat is the pure passion and excitement both developers have for the upcoming game, and how it’ll reimagine the Donkey Kong universe.
After a recent preview, the ScreenHub team is equally excited about this upcoming game – and we can’t wait to share more about it. Stay tuned over the coming week, as Donkey Kong Bananza, the next big Nintendo Switch 2 exclusive, is set to launch very shortly.
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Also on ScreenHub: Donkey Kong Bananza is exactly as brilliant as it seems
Donkey Kong Bananza is positively bursting with bold ideas. Some bright and colourful, some wildly creative, and some completely bananas. After three hours with the game, its brilliant sense of adventure has made a vast impression. This is the game you’ll want to buy a Nintendo Switch 2 for. It’s the game that probably should’ve launched with the console, alongside Mario Kart World, to really show off its capability.
Since Nintendo revealed more about Donkey Kong Bananza in a recent Nintendo Direct, the excitement around the upcoming game has grown exponentially. Pauline is on board! Music plays a major role! Donkey Kong can transform into a giant ape, complete with his bum hanging out! Excitement can do a lot for a game, but it can also create sizeable expectations. Based on my time with the game, it feels very likely Donkey Kong Bananza could meet and exceed the hopes of its audience
