FantasticToma Member Sep 21, 2024 1,783 Germany Disclaimer: This is not a hate thread. A lot of people love the announcement, so to avoid too much of a conflict, I decided to make a thread for those of us who want to discuss the game more critically. I'm still looking forward to the game myself, but it's also my biggest disappointment of the announced 1st-party games for Switch 2 and I'd like to discuss the reasons for that. Thank you. The game's biggest promise is the fully destructible environment, but that's exactly where the footage we've seen so far disappoints me the most: You'd think that a fully destructible environment would be a huge, fun sandbox with physic to experiment with. But so far, there are no physics at all. Donkey Kong always picks up the same, pre-determined shaped from the ground. When he hits into the ground, a same-shaped hole is created. And when he throws something at or punches a wall, it breaks away a bit of that wall as if you were playing Minecraft and a bunch of spaces are removed. With the premise of being able to destroy everything, I would have expected looooots of physics-based puzzles and shenanigans. Like throwing a rock and watching it roll down a slope. Or digging away at a larger structure only to watch it all crumble when you punch away the final piece. Or causing landslides and such. None of that was to be seen, it's all a very static world, only now you can pick it apart piece by piece. The color scheme is extremely off-putting to my eyes. I post two screenshots below, because this is what the game immediately reminded me off: The ugly starting area of Tears of the Kingdom. Except while you eventually leave that ugly area in TotK, Bananza took these colors and made an entire game with them. Whether it's the yellow or the brown in the caves or the purple in other areas, everything about Bananza's colors makes me feels almost physically ill. Compared to Mario Odyssey which had more muted, eye-pleasing colors, Bananza imo pops too much and makes the wrong choices, too. Here's hope that later areas of the game look different, but we can see the very logo of the game featuring these colors, so I wouldn't invest too much hope. Once again in a Nintendo-platformer, no voice-acting. This was a big chance to move forward. I've thought for a long time that it's such a bummer that all these Mario-themed Nintendo-games lack voice-acting, making it impossible for younger players to fully enjoy these games. I'm sure there's lots of 5-7 year olds who love playing Mario-games, but then there's so much text that they cannot read. Now we get a Donkey Kong-game and it's full of those Diddy Kong-clones that are waiting around to tell you something … via text. Why can't Nintendo give these monkeys voice-acting? Heck, Donkey Kong himself has been established to talk, this was a chance to not turn him into another silent protagonist. It just feels like Nintendo is being too cheap to do voice-acting, leaving me with my dream of Mario-type games achieving full-fledged "Saturday morning cartoon"-status in terms of presentation. And lastly, the game simply doesn't look like much of a jump from Mario Odyssey. The whole "the environment is destructable, that's why the visuals aren't as advanced" is a big excuse imo, especially with the lack of sandboxy physics. Bananza looks like an Odyssey-spinoff to me and even if I'm wrong here, it feels like this could have been a Switch 1-title, too. Nothing about the footage I've seen screams "next gen!!!1". This complaint could change when we see more from the game, but at this point, it's just not an impressive game imo. Is it cool that we're getting a new 3d-Donkey Kong-game? Yeah, totally. I only wish it was more impressive. That's about it. Feel free to talk about the above points or mention your own minor or major complaints about what we've seen from Donkey Kong Bananza so far. But try to keep it civil and based on the game, thx.  Jintor Saw the truth behind the copied door Member Oct 25, 2017 34,682 The colours are weird yeah but idk. I'm willing to wait and see what the word is when it's actually out instead of triple guessing right now.   NotLiquid One Winged Slayer Member Oct 25, 2017 37,586 FantasticToma said: Once again in a Nintendo-platformer, no voice-acting. Click to expand... Click to shrink... Did you just not watch the Treehouse footage or something   Charismagik Member Oct 27, 2017 4,560 I only watched a few gameplay segments and was genuinely confused as to what the gameplay loop was. Everything I saw was just him digging up rocks and throwing shit. Looked kinda messy visually also   Audiblee Member Mar 14, 2025 580 Just a little worried about all the performance issues I keep hearing about. Hopefully that's all addressed by launch. Otherwise I think it looks great.   Rixam Member Jan 2, 2023 1,189 I don't think the game looks bad or anything but whilst the game having lots of destruction is the hook, it doesn't seem like one that I'd find much fun outside of the first hour or two It's a wait for reviews kind of game for me but I was hoping for more from the first big exclusive post launch ngl  Lightsong Member Nov 11, 2022 8,853 This all feels like "fucking Donkey Kong" all over again with all these threads.   mopinks Member Oct 27, 2017 32,398 can't relate. looks dreamy   inspectah "This guy are sick" Member Oct 28, 2017 1,374 Germany I think we haven't seen much at all. Nintendo has a history for hiding the good shit in the reveal trailers.  Buzzth Member Jan 15, 2018 883 Japan if I compare my initial reaction to Odyssey when it was revealed I think it was about the same level of excitement (I just thought it looked cool). Then Odyssey released that second trailer later in the year and I was blown away. I'm hoping they can do something similar with this game as well move closer to the release which will elevate this game's hype.   raviolico Member Oct 27, 2017 843 Nope, love the artstyle and the poppy colors. Also loved the sky islands in TotK.   kok9953 Member Mar 19, 2024 35 That's just the first level. Nintendo is known for not showing everything. There's gonna be A LOT to discover   RYUHAYABUSA Member Feb 15, 2025 195 Agreed OP, the game is weirdly ugly. I really don't want to look at these colors(same for the starting area of totk). I'm also very skeptical about the overall premise of the game. Everything being destructive screams trivial level design to me. But I will say this, the animations and the movement look fanatastic and fun to play. So yeah, overall, very mixed. This could have been so much more.  Knight in Shining Armani Member Oct 30, 2017 9,366 To me, as a platformer lover but not a Nintendo fan in general, it's the only exciting thing about the Switch 2.   dgamemaster Detective Mode: On Member Jun 29, 2020 1,367 There is voice acting in the game, the rock creature that follows you is voice acted, and I wouldn't be surprised if the spoiler character is also voice acted. granted, it's not full voice acting but IMO Mario games do not really need heavy voice acting. After all, the storyline is mostly just filler to facilitate gameplay. The other issues OP mentions are fine criticisms, but I think adding destructible environments by itself is already a massive undertaking, and no other Mario series title really messes around with physics since it really clashes with the platforming style that the series uses. So I don't mind that much the fact that there are no physics puzzles in the game, the game isn't really that much about puzzles but rather about exploration. Color variety will probs shift once we get a look at places outside of the first couple of levels, game def seems more bigger than what first meets the eye.  Aprikurt ▲ Legend ▲ Member Oct 29, 2017 20,032 I mean is voice acting... in a Donkey Kong game really your breaking point...? I do think the world destruction will get old though  pikachief Prophet of Truth Member Oct 25, 2017 8,074 I wouldnt say I'm disappointed, but a donkey kong 3D platformer is not something im personally interested in. Neither is the gameplay of destroying the world and using it as a weapon. Looks very good though and I'm sure it'll be fun and sell well.   werezompire Zeboyd Games Verified Oct 26, 2017 14,636 Not disappointed, but cautiously optimistic. I like Nintendo platformers, but I'm worried that a destruction-focused one will get old fast.   giapel Member Oct 28, 2017 5,132 People never learn. I get not liking what we've seen so far. I get having concerns about the game loop. But extrapolate that what we've seen is all there is… in a Nintendo game? It's like 3D World all over again. It's like the no towns in Zelda. Just trust Nintendo devs.  joffocakes Member Nov 15, 2017 1,895 I'm excited for it, though not as overwhelmingly excited as I thought I would be at the idea of a new 3D Donkey Kong game from Nintendo. I wanna see what interesting stuff will be done with the destruction. He definitely looks a lot more fun to control than DK64 and we've seen very little of the game so I'm sure my anticipation will build as we close in on release. I'll be buying it anyway, obviously.  Wtfpigeons Member Aug 6, 2020 584 It's hard to tell considering all we have seen is the Tutorial and first open area in free roam. They're clearly hiding stuff and I'm interested to find out what the side character does to effect the platforming and also what the terrain meter means in other areas.  Red Kong XIX Member Oct 11, 2020 12,838 Not at all actually, super hyped for it.   Lowrys Member Oct 25, 2017 14,466 London The gameplay I've seen looks absolutely chaotic, DK just rampaging around smashing everything. I didn't get any sense of level design. That worries me a bit, as the rampaging will surely get old fast when the novelty wears off.   Lightsong Member Nov 11, 2022 8,853 giapel said: Just trust Nintendo devs. Click to expand... Click to shrink... Not trusting this team in particular, with their track record, is WILD to me!   Fuchs One Winged Slayer Member Oct 25, 2017 3,494 Nah, I'm super excited.   DinoBlaster Member Feb 18, 2020 3,763 The only potential issue I've noticed is there wasn't much actual platforming showcased. I'm excited to see more of the game though, I think it looks awesome   Lightsong Member Nov 11, 2022 8,853 Good poll result!   EatChildren Wonder from Down Under Member Oct 27, 2017 7,539 Does nothing for me at all. I really dislike the visual direction, and I'm yet to get a sense of any identity or focus to the game systems or presentation. The deformable terrain and destruction is great on paper, but the footage shown thus far didn't strike me as interesting or engaging. Much of the faith I have at the moment comes from Nintendo's remarkably high consistency with striking gold with their mascot platformers. But yeah. If the Switch 2 were launching with it tomorrow, I wouldn't, at this stage, have any interest picking it up.  Neonep Member Oct 25, 2017 6,213 This is going to be the highest selling donkey kong game ever. It'll be alright.   TheDkmariolink Member Nov 12, 2017 839 The no voice acting is a odd complaint. When I was a young lad (<6) playing Mario 64 and other Nintendo games I couldn't give a hoot about no voice acting, and also, 5-7 year olds should be able to understand very basic reading comprehension which is all they need to understand what's going on. If not, parents can always help them out which at that age, they should be doing, regardless. If anything, no voice acting leads to expanded imagination, it's what makes reading books at a young age so beneficial. For accessibility, however, if they don't do voice acting, they should consider text to speech like a lot of games offer now.  JoRu Member Oct 25, 2017 1,952 A lot of your points seem very rushed and/or incorrect. First of all, we haven't seen much of the game at all; Nintendo is always very careful in curating each showcase to only show a few gameplay features at a time. Right now it's all about the basic means of destruction and traversal, and while that's obviously a core of the game that doesn't mean there isn't a lot more to discover (we for example didn't see any of the capture mechanics of Odyssey initially, it was all about the movement and the locations in the initial reveal). Your point about voice acting is incorrect, period. The art style I think is overall pretty good. That level shown in the Treehouse that you have an image of does indeed look a bit like the TotK starting area, and yeah, personally I'm not a huge fan of the execution, but plenty of the other worlds like the icy world and the more green grassy ones I think look very pleasing. Switch 1 could not run this game. Maybe at 720p30, but that hardware would be absolutely wrecked by all the destructible environments and barely be playable at all.  horkrux Member Oct 27, 2017 6,318 I'm not disappointed, I just don't know what to make of it. It's like he just demolishes everything and I'm not sure to what end lol   Redis Member Mar 1, 2025 123 Donkey Kong Bananza, Hollow Knight Silksong and Hades 2 are my most anticipating games this year. So no, I am insanely excited.   thetrin Member Oct 26, 2017 10,142 Grand Junction, CO I watched the treehouse footage and it looked like a heap of fun. I am excited, tbh.   Andromeda Member Oct 27, 2017 5,165 The colors are flashy as it's designed for people playing Fortnite. But what disappointed me the most is that it looked more like a Smash Bros spinoff than a Donkey Kong Country sequel with precise platforming, beautiful graphics and top notch music.  Adhrast Member Jan 17, 2018 847 Never played a 3D DK game and I'm not a huge collectathon games or even 3D platformer games fan, so I don't think this is for me, but yeah I'll wait for more info. For now I'll probably skip it   barjed Project Lead Verified Aug 31, 2018 1,781 Not feeling it that much but I am not the target audience so that's fine. BTW, I must applaud you for even creating a thread like this here. It's going to be a wild ride :P  Hoggle Member Mar 25, 2021 6,741 It looks like it lacks the signature look and personality of the 2d games. Kind of same as my complaint about Sonic Frontiers. DK looks like he's been slapped into a different game here. So if night play well, but if have preferred a 3d game that looked like the original trilogy art direction wise.  The Quentulated Mox Corrupted by Vengeance Member Jun 10, 2022 6,432 it is sort of missing a je ne sais quoi for me. i think it's level design. the levels in odyssey encourage engaging with either mario's very versatile moveset or the unique cappy possession abilities provided by the environment. as it stands (not to say this can't change) all i'm seeing here is "if you can't figure out where to go, smash the shit outta things until you find something" and i don't deny that this can be fun, it is less appealing to me than a more pure platforming experience   Wtfpigeons Member Aug 6, 2020 584 Lightsong said: Not trusting this team in particular, with their track record, is WILD to me! Click to expand... Click to shrink... Mario C team tier game.   OP OP FantasticToma Member Sep 21, 2024 1,783 Germany Lack of voice-acting certainly isn't the biggest complaint, guys, but I've long felt this way about Mario-type games that are played by lots of children who cannot yet read or read well. Just feels like ignoring a sizeable part of the audience of these games. And it's not like it would hurt, Sony platformers have voice-acting and they're fine. Also, yes, maybe (hopefully) the final game will have a lot more than what we know right now. So I'm not judging the final game, only what we've seen so far. I think that's fair. barjed said: Not feeling it that much but I am not the target audience so that's fine. BTW, I must applaud you for even creating a thread like this here. It's going to be a wild ride :P Click to expand... Click to shrink... Yeah, that's why I made an effort to word my OP as calm and reasonable as possible. There's still some "omg you hater!"-postings in here, but that cannot be avoided I assume.  ConflictResolver Member Jan 1, 2024 4,086 Midgar I went into the Direct needing a 3D Mario to get a Switch 2 at launch. For me this satisfies that craving. Especially considering all signs point to Odyssey team.  atony7 Member Apr 6, 2025 17 It looks amazing imo, but I do really hope we also get a 3D Mario sometime in the Switch 2 generation.   MrKlaw Member Oct 25, 2017 36,481 Sounds like you want crackdown 3 or whatever it was that promised the world regarding physics and couldn't deliver. Not sure it's reasonable to expect that from a DK game If it's an action platformer and less puzzly I can understand why they might have chosen destruction over physics as complex interactions aren't needed for what they've designed - throw a thing at a thing and both things explode. Doesn't need to burn CPU on unnecessary things which lets them spend it elsewhere in the world  TheDkmariolink Member Nov 12, 2017 839 I just don't think kids care about no voice acting, like seriously, all the games big with kids don't have much if not any voice acting at all (fortnite, Minecraft, Roblox). I'll repeat, if anything, no voice acting helps with games meant for a younger audience as they put their own voices for the characters.   BossAttack Member Oct 27, 2017 46,505 You're gonna take a lot of flak, but you are 100% correct. TheDkmariolink said: I just don't think kids care about no voice acting, like seriously, all the games big with kids don't have much if not any voice acting at all (fortnite, Minecraft, Roblox). I'll repeat, if anything, no voice acting helps with games meant for a younger audience as they put their own voices for the characters. Click to expand... Click to shrink... Those games don't have stories...  Millstone Member Feb 17, 2025 172 This is the most I have been excited for a Nintendo game in years, possibly in my entire life. I never liked the Rare games or the Retro Studios games. In fact, the only Donkey Kong games I may actually like are the Donkey Konga games and Jungle Beat. I think this game looks super fun and is almost enough to get me to buy a Switch 2. My only wish is they'd go even further with the punching. I want them to go so crazy with this and make this into the Asura's Wrath successor I never got. I want to play as the Donkey Kong and I want to punch a hole into the earth that is so large God himself has to come down and stop me.  TheDkmariolink Member Nov 12, 2017 839 BossAttack said: You're gonna take a lot of flak, but you are 100% correct. Those games don't have stories... Click to expand... Click to shrink... I seriously doubt donkey Kong will have a story that requires voice acting, it can all be told through visuals, which from the trailers looks to be the case. Now Zelda is a different story, there's so much dialogue in those games, lol. Maybe it's nostalgia, but voice acting for Nintendo games always felt odd to me, especially after seeing the Mario movie.  MrKlaw Member Oct 25, 2017 36,481 The trailer immediately - and continues to - make me think of if they made a Wreck it Ralph console game. Maybe it's the dungarees?   Lightsong Member Nov 11, 2022 8,853 Andromeda said: The colors are flashy as it's designed for people playing Fortnite. Click to expand... Click to shrink... What? Stupidest thing I've read all week.