Topic: Donkey Kong Bananza

Not me man. That was a solid direct. Pretty much like Odyssey, it saved all the best stuff for its second preview, and it paid off. Hard.

Here are some of my thoughts(I might edit them later):

• the terrain tearing seems to be pretty involved with all the different materials having different effects like stickiness and floatiness. Will definitely lead to some interesting platforming challenges. Pretty deep(HA) for a game about "just punching rocks".
• Speaking of which, the level structure seems to ape(HA) from Odyssey here, with big open areas to flex movement and exploration that also house smaller, more intricate challenges, be it platforming or combat in one case. This to me feels like a great evolution of DKC's bonus rooms - smaller areas with incentive for rewards. Better than what 64 did with all the minigames.
• PAULINE. Really not much else I can say. Her inclusion is just as interesting as it is baffling. I wonder if Kate Higgins is voicing her?
• The transformations are interesting, not only because they're so weird and uncanny(especially the Kong one) but also because they line up with what's been speculated at - there's been talk about the game being a DK version of Journey to the West, and in that story, Sun Wukong also turned into different animals.
• I've seen people who complained about K. Rool not featuring, but that's deliberate I feel. Like the Ruined Dragon in Odyssey, they wanna save the biggest surprises to find in the full game.
• And while we're talking Odyssey, Jump Up Super Star had Pauline singing about stuff that alluded to the game's events("Oh we can zoom all the way to the moon"). The Direct opened up with Pauline singing "the world felt so cruel." Most likely foreshadowing Rool's Resurgence. No question about it: he's in.

Didn't watch as I don't want to spoil. And was already going to buy.

Wow, awesome direct. 10/10. I think this game has the potential to be my favourite platformer. Definitely the wildest.

Forget DK Bananza. This is DK Unleashed.

@N00BiSH i love this analysis, i didnt even think about the meaning of paulines song. its crazy to think they still havent pulled the curtain back on so much!

Some new (mon)key art:

You just know they're going to add Young Pauline to World soon.

Went from 'I can pass on this' to being pretty damn sure I want it with that direct. My only concern is being TOO overwhelmed by the sheer size and bits to collect, but ramped my interest up hugely. This really should have been the launch title I feel.

Talk about keeping your cards to your chest though! I am kind of glad they did though. I think it is more fun NOT knowing too much too soon. Doing it with a month to go seems better to me.

Also, DK now makes Mario's Elephant transformation seem like small change! He just had to 1-up him there!

As much as it leaves us wondering how this fits into the timeline or lore, I’m so glad Odd Rock turned out to be more than just, well, an odd rock! That idea always felt a bit dull to me. Having it be Pauline is such a cool throwback and tie in to the first game.

So the game’s Japanese website confirmed Pauline’s age in the game. Turns out that in the game Pauline is 13 years old.

The Kongs names are always 2 syllables and end in an ‘E’ sound (Diddy, Dixie, Cranky, Swanky, Lanky, etc.).

The three new Kongs are Grumpy Kong, Poppy Kong, and…Void Kong?

My theory is that Void Kong isn’t really a Kong, his name is only 1 syllable and doesn’t end in the ‘E’ sound. Could this be King K. Rool’s disguise?

@PikminMarioKirby I dunno if it's him in disguise, but the Kong naming convention has always been a bit hazy. Before Void Kong, there was Dread Kong, Sumo Kong, Karate Kong, Ninja Kong and Bluster Kong.

@N00BiSH Well I just found it suspicious how the other 2 Kongs added to this game follow the naming scheme and this one didn’t, all Kongs seen in this game do follow the name ‘rule’ besides Void.

Is it possible they only gave Kong a single skin in MKW to maintain the secret of DKB?

I'm sold. When I get a Switch 2, I'll get this.

Just watched. I'm not a total fan of what they did with the transformations, but everything else looks great. Pauline is adorable. And it is going to be collectathon insanity

The Direct was definitely the one this game needed. This absolutely feel like the DK answer to Mario Odyssey now in terms of quality as well as structure.

Definitely getting this now. The only thing slightly annoying me is that the digital copy is $10AU more than what most retailers are charging. And there's no equivalent of a voucher program on Switch 2 yet, or possibly ever, also no gold coin rewards to close the gap

I guess I'm going physical for this one?

I like the look of the singing sections! I can't wait to mute my Switch!

Direct sold me on this - was very much on the fence leaning towards not buying, certainly not excited for it. After the direct - sold!