Topic: Donkey Kong Bananza

@Dev-N The hell? I mean not terribly surprising to see her show up in the game because they have a history together, but when she looks like she might be younger than her typical self? What is this, a prequel to the original Donkey Kong? But then why would he kidnap her in that game? This raises a ton of questions.

@Bolt_Strike I doubt it's going to be a prequel(remember, these games have never been bound by any real canon), but the implication is interesting. If that actually is Pauline, of course.

@N00BiSH So you don't think it's Pauline, but a young girl that looks like her? Interesting. IDK, it looks a lot like her so maybe she's intentionally meant to resemble her. It is also a first, there's never been a main series DK game (as in with DK as the protagonist) with human characters. Anytime DK's ever interacted with a human it's either been a spinoff or a game where DK is the villain (such as the classic Donkey Kong games or Mario vs. DK).

@Bolt_Strike I dunno, the design looks a little too different from Pauline to be the same person, and it can't be a redesign because Mario Kart World is still going with the current look for her:

It's gotta be a different character. Interestingly, she's got a purple bracelet that looks similar in material to the Odd Rock(the purple rock creature on DK's shoulder). Wonder what that could mean.

@Bolt_Strike @N00BiSH Clearly, it's Pauline's and DK's child. Only possible explanation. Don't think about the details.

@FishyS

@FishyS Please no. The Bowser Jr. allegations are bad enough, we don't need more of that going on.

@FishyS @N00BiSH Nintendo going dark with this game. It’s bright and colourful and playful on the surface but much like when Donkey Kong digs deeper, there’s an underlying theme running throughout the game.

Is this going to be a launch day game, thought Nintendo said this was coming later, seems to be lots of fun though. OK I've just seen the video 17/7/25, helpful for those of us mourning the absence of a new Super Mario 3D game.

Am I the only one not liking the gameplay? It looks like a beat'em up with cheap level design. Understandably, since a big part of the environment can be destroyed. The character design is ugly, especially the enemies. Some of the Donkey Kong titles, namely Rare's games are in my favourites list, but this is not the Donkey Kong I was expecting, but glad for those who like... this.

EDIT: Jungle Beat is a 2D platformer focused on the level design and with great boss design, so I can't find any similarities.

@Banjo- Much like many of the big 3D Marios, they're definitely massively experimenting with the formula. I think it looks fun personally, but I agree it's not quite what I expected of 3D DK.

I wouldn't say it looks much like a beat'em up. This game seems to have a lot of areas with exploration and mild puzzles and sparsely placed enemies and occasional crazy platforming tricks and mini games and hidden collect-a-thon items, so those parts are all similar to DK Country. Given the gameplay we've seen and the open nature, I don't have a good feel of the level design but taking something like DK country and 3D-i-fying it will always cause some compromises or different types of decisions.

@FishyS It certainly looks different from previous 2D and 3D Donkey Kong games, including Jungle Beat (developed by Nintendo). Maybe this is not just a simple beat'em up, but definitely it's focused on action, whether it's enemies or environment. Nintendo is experimenting, but I'm not liking what I'm seeing, not at Drag X Drive level of disappointment, though. For the record, I'm not against trying new things, but I just don't like this. As I said, happy for those that do. In my book, it looks disappointing.

@Banjo- In my opinion I actually think the game looks fantastic. I honestly think the gameplay is far from a beat em’ up, and I think that being able to destroy and punch through things throughout the game looks fun, though it’s definitely different and something I haven’t ever seen in most 3D platformers.

I also thought the game really reminded me of Rare’s platformers, funnily enough, mainly because your going to be able to collect things, explore, there being much more humor and expressiveness with the characters (especially DK), the trailer showed rock characters with eyes, plus there’s that purple rock companion that talks (kind of reminding me of the googly eyes on objects in Banjo and Conker) and how the fantasy elements are way more prominent in Bananza compared to previous games. I also don’t mind the character design of DK and I actually like both the new retro-inspired design and the Rare design they were using up until this game. Though I’ll say I might be super easy to please especially when it comes to platformer games and anything DK.

But I can understand that some people are disappointed that they are using less elements from Rare’s games (and how the Kremlings seem to be a no-show once again) and how the game looks because it’s something they haven’t done before, but in my opinion Bananza is very reminiscent of Rare’s older platformers, and that’s what makes me very excited for it.

@Banjo- It's not what anyone expected, but that's not inherently a bad thing. If anything, I admire the fact that it isn't trying to ape from the Country games or any Mario games, but rather trying to properly define what makes a Donkey Kong game in 3D.

It's similar in the fact that both titles put heavier emphasis on DK's physical prowess and massive strength.

@N00BiSH I basically disagree with everything you have written on this thread, but that's all right!

@Pastellioli As I said, it's not literally a beat'em up, but definitely focused on action, whether it's beating enemies or destroying the environment. I don't see yet that inspiration you are describing, maybe the collectibles? The enemy design is awful and I don't like the gameplay that has been shown.

@Banjo- It’s fine if you don’t like it a lot, I’m sure it’s not what a lot of people were expecting, though to me I see a bit of more Rare inspiration present in it, and you are right about the game having an emphasis on action this time in comparison to other DK games, which is interesting to me, because I think a lot of the platformers I have played before don’t have that much emphasis on attacking, action, and destroying stuff.

You are right, I definitely do think the collectibles present are reminiscent of Rare’s older platformers the most, that and the fantasy elements the most. Those two make the game very interesting to me, and I am liking how Nintendo seems to be seemingly taking a bit of inspiration from them, even if it isn’t fully Rare inspired.

@Pastellioli I don't like the gameplay nor the characters, specifically the enemies, that were shown. The art style doesn't appeal to me. I love a good platformer, but I wouldn't consider this game a platformer for now. Of course, I love other genres, but destruction combined with mediocre level design can become a gimmick. I'm happy for those that like what they're seeing here.

@Banjo- Agree to disagree, sure but did you not play Jungle Beat? It was a pretty physical game.

@N00BiSH I did and got all the medals. I still have the bundle. It's a good one restricted by the bongos, but the game is built around them, so playing it with another controller doesn't make sense. The best Donkey Kong games are Rare's trilogy. I was hoping for an evolution of the Donkey Kong 64 concept here, a challenging platformer, since Super Mario Odyssey was casualised and turned into a walking simulator by Nintendo's and Rare's standards. I know more people here was hoping for the next Donkey Kong 3D game to be a pure platformer after Super Mario Odyssey. I've read that here not long ago.

@Banjo- I'd argue the real challenge of DK64 mostly stemmed from getting all the collectibles, beating the minigames and suffering through Beaver Bother. The actual platforming, while solid, felt secondary as a result of the game padding itself out with all that extra content. It was Rare at its best but also its worst. No amount of Dr. Pepper can make beating the game any less exhausting.