Topic: Donkey Kong Bananza

I JUST GOT TO THE RACING LAYER AND IMMEDIATELY TOOK A PHOTO WITH DIDDY AND DIXIE OH MY GOD anyways all bananas and fossils collected in the layers ive been through, thirty five hours in the game!

@rallydefault no doubt. They were all fun levels, but i felt the same way. I saw everything I needed halfway through. I loved the different transformations though. Mostly used the first transformation more than the others though. Ostrich was also helpful.

@Hapless Congrats!

@NintendoByNature @rallydefault I'm tempted to agree about the end dragging on a bit. I'm not sure I'd say the game needed cutting down - just it felt it lost a bit of momentum at the end and maybe things could be re-organised.

More specifically: everything following Tempest Layer felt like it was signalling end-game, especially considering how strong and game-changing of an ability Elephant Bananza is. My thoughts on each subsequent layer:

• Landfill layer: neat as a showcase for Elephant Bananza, but otherwise a bit underwhelming.
• Racing layer: not much going on here, and was really surprised to see this so late in the game. Should've appeared much earlier IMO.
• Radiance layer: meh, it was okay. Not a big fan of the Snake Bananza and tbh if I had to remove any significant layer (i.e. one with > 1 sublayers) from the game it would be this one.
• Groove layer: alright, nice to have a bit of a twist in the story, but to have it followed with...
• Feast layer: ...why is this here? Should've been earlier in the game IMO. I think we should've gone straight from Groove to Forbidden. Great level though.
• Forbidden layer: pretty good. Loved the final boss fake-out. Really reminded me of the whole Zant/Ganondorf thing in Twilight Princess.
• Planet core: pretty great, no complaints.

To be perfectly honest, the game went from a 10/10 for me around the mid-game to a 9.5/10 once I'd finished playing. Still an incredible game - but there are defo bits I won't look forward to so much when replaying.

@Buizel I actually agree with nearly everything you've said, well done. Groove layer was one of my favorites simply for the music and the twist. But the length of the final boss was kind of disappointing to me honestly. It was a 10/10 for me halfway through as well. Then slightly dipped as time went on.

Agreed that the end drags on quite a bit. Of course it doesn't help that I was trying to power through the end late at night and finish the story before I went to bed, but still that entire end game segment feels like it's an entire game session all to itself. I am a bit mildly bothered that Tempest Layer feels like the beginning of the end as @Buizel mentions, but I'm more irritated by how much longer the game lasts after K. Rool shows up. There were multiple times where I kept thinking "Okay, the game's over right? RIGHT?" and the game just keeps going. Planet's Core felt like it dragged for a long while as it was a very long gauntlet of Kremlings, and then I finally get to K. Rool and think "Okay, final boss, great". And then the game feels like it's going to end but then you get to the Kredits and I'm thinking "Oh no, don't tell me" and then you have the section where you fend off K. Rool while the Banandium Root is sending you to surface. And then you finally get to the surface and think "Are we done now finally?" and no, you're STILL not done because K. Rool takes over New Donk City and then you have one more level and then fight K. Rool again in the King of Rot transformation. And ONLY after all of that does the game FINALLY, mercifully end. It also doesn't help that the two main K. Rool battles are no cakewalk, especially the second one which gives little room for error. I died about 10 times on the first one trying to adapt to it and another 20+ on the second because it was just so demanding. So yeah, I really wish they'd have trimmed that part of the story down a bit. In a vacuum they're all good twists but there's just too many of them dragging on for too long.

@Bolt_Strike well said. My exact thoughts as well. I did do well on that first fight though. The second one was tough as nails and I also trying to finish before bed. Stayed up til 1am trying to roll credits and finally did 🤣

@Buizel
Yea I pretty much agree with all of that. A little bit different order and maybe trim on Nintendo’s end would have kept this absolutely outstanding all the way through for me.

As it is, still a genre-defining game that deserves to be played all throughout this gen.

@Bolt_Strike Yeah I somewhat agree with a lot of this. I really had a great time w/ the ending sequence but it did drag - especially for a platformer. I'm used to playing a lot of other games that drag out the ending quite a bit - hell, Persona 5 is one of my favourite games of all time - so I basically go in expecting it these days - but it was notable here. Personally I think in isolation it wouldn't have been so bad - I'd maybe have cut down that final fight a little - it's more the context in which it happened (i.e. everything in my previous post) that makes it more notable IMO (the game already running out of steam I guess?). If the game hadn't already felt like it was ending 5 hours prior it would've been fine.

Although again to reiterate what @rallydefault is saying - this is minor nitpicking IMO. The game is fantastic, defo one I'll come back to, and probably my favourite DK game. Can't wait to see what Nintendo does next with this series.

Just finished the game and my inner child is so happy right now! DKC 3 was one the first games I ever played and this game hit the perfect nostalgia notes while bringing something new to the series.

My only question is how come DK doesn’t seem to recognize you-know-who and vice-versa? Not that DK series is famous for its storytelling but still.

@RenanKJ They both recognized one another. You can tell from their animations in cutscenes.

@RenanKJ @VoidofLight
There is actual dialogue that shows they do, too.

@VoidofLight I thought so at first, but then the lack of further reactions or dialogues made me question it.

@rallydefault Really? I missed it then. Is it part of the story or an optional conversation?

@RenanKJ
He refers to DK as “monkeys,” which to me implies he knew the whole family and the history of the games.

I guess he could have been grouping DK and Pauline and calling just the two of them “monkeys,” but that would be kinda weird and it didn’t strike me that way.

I'm gonna have to disagree with what seems to be the consensus on this thread and say I liked the length of the game. Typically I am very much the type to call out a game for overstaying its welcome, but Bananza just didn't for me. All the way through the end credits it had loads of new mechanics, unique levels, and fun challenges to the point I wouldn't have minded if it went a little longer thh. It felt like a buffet that kept bringing out more and more delicious stuff just when I thought I had tried everything it had to offer. The 100% is VERY tedious though.

He did, through his mannerisms. The aggression on his face and "ready to fight" pose when he lays eyes on the kroc is enough to clue you in that this is someone DK immediately recognizes as a familiar threat.

Cranky even kinda foreshadows it in his speeches he gives- although it’s hard to really pick up on because most of the rants are the same few lines copied and pasted until the end.

@VoidofLight Yeah, Cranky's speeches is one reason K. Rool's return was totally predictable, those hints were about as subtle as a flashing neon sign. But it is weird how they don't directly acknowledge DK directly. You'd think DK would be at the forefront of their mind considering how DK and his family have spoiled his plans 4 times, that apparently means nothing I guess?

I agree.
Just finished it today. Loved it.
I want a sequel.

Funny choice of words given what happens.

Vengeance wasn't really on the top of his priorities list. I mean, he didn't even expect the ape to show up, let alone free him. It's fair to assume he didn't think DK's meddling wouldn't matter too much. Once he got his mitts on the Root and its wishing power, dude probably figured he'd won at that point.

Oh lol. Pun not intended but I wish I'd thought of that.

Ehh, he should've known to be wary of DK, I don't think this is that understandable.