Donkey Kong Bananza

I feel the timing in me playing this game was an experience in itself. Given I just finished Clair Obscur, I was ready for a more lighthearted palate cleanser of a game after the string of RPG and RPG adjacent games I’ve played recently before diving into games for spooky season. I actually debated getting Bananza when it came out and was wanting to wait for it to be on sale unless the reception was overwhelmingly good, which it was. I saw reports that some user reviews on sites collected brought this game to the level of being the second best Nintendo game ever made, just right behind Majora’s Mask and right in front of Ocarina of Time. Pretty much all the YouTubers I watch who discuss Nintendo games called this game a “masterpiece.” So this made me curious.

After playing and completing its main story line in about 30 hours, I’d say most of the hype is warranted but I still hesitate to go as far as calling this game a masterpiece. And I definitely wouldn’t say I rate above Ocarina of Time. Or any of my other top favorite Zelda games for that matter. I would say it’s the best Donkey Kong game I’ve ever played, hands down. I would also agree the sentiment I’ve seen saying it’s the best 3D platformer I’ve played since Mario Odyssey. Maybe in time I’ll come back to it and feel better about it. But for now here’s what I appreciate about it.

One of the biggest things I appreciate about this game is that for me it was this perfect, other side of the coin, comparison to Clair Obscur, which I’m still riding the wave of enthrallment from. I talked about how in Clair Obscur I love its story and the gameplay was serviceable for me, someone who’s not a big fan of turn based RPG’s. So the main driving factor for me was completing the story and once I finished that, I felt done with game. I do feel with both these games I’d pick them up again in the future from time to time to play and be in the worlds again. But with Donkey Kong, I feel the story was serviceable or pretty decent, with one part being executed really well which I won’t go into too much detail of but it’s the part where all the NPC’s keep saying when you pass by them about how quiet it is. I felt having the compliment the story beat was chef’s kiss in subtext and conveying the vibe of the story and making hit even harder. But where Donkey Kong really shined was its gameplay.

To me, the gameplay made it feel like an interesting blend of Mario Odyssey and Tears of the Kingdom. The exploration and mining mechanic was well done and frankly addicting. I feel so much of my time was spent just destroying random underground areas to give myself a great buffer in gold so when progress to new areas in the story, I felt rich from always being able to buy anything I needed or always being able to build getaways or other things needed for progression or an easy way of moving through the area. I also enjoyed the RPG mechanic with the skill tree and the Bananza transformations as they felt empowering like getting the different sage ghosts in Tears of the Kingdom.

The music was generally good too, no songs that I didn’t like. But one that just had a certain vibe I felt with it was for The Divide. But then again I think I just love the contemplative songs in video games. It always bring nostalgia whether consciously or subconsciously for the save rooms in the Resident Evil series. Another I really enjoyed is the song Pauline sings near the end of the game. That actually had me tear up a little. But ready in time for what was after it as it was perfect because it does a great job at breaking down then building back up.

I would say one disappointment was I couldn’t get Aquatic Ambience as a song to play on the record player at the getaways but maybe it’s just in the endgame. I wish I would have been able to get it in the main game so I could have enjoyed it more, assuming it’s in the game in the first place. But speaking of the endgame, I would say it is definitely more compelling but I ended up hitting a wall with one of the challenges you first encounter in its quest which made me just want to come back to it at a later time after I get my itch for spooky season games scratched.

So I know it’s not the best to compare games but I feel this is an interesting comparison to make between Donkey Kong Bananza and Clair Obscur Expedition 33 because they are both great experiences that I’d recommend to any gamer. And so while I still think deeply about the story of Clair Obscur since I finished it over a week ago, I feel that the game I will sooner return to will be Donkey Kong because I just feel it has more to offer in its gameplay and endgame. For me personally this pairing is like the Barbeheimer of video games this year, even though there was a good three months between their releases but imagine if they didn’t come out the same day. So for anyone who hasn’t played either and is interested in both, play them back to back.