Poll: Has Donkey Kong Bananza Made You Feel Ill?

I suffer with this on certain games, but it's usually down to the engine. Duke Nukem 3D 20th Annivesary (or whatever it is called) does it to me within minutes of playing, Ion Fury and a lot of the Nightdive games, such as Quake, Quake 2 and the Turok trilogy.

Hopefully this won't be the case here.

Yup. Giest game ever to do it. Mostly the first day though. I guess my brain now has gone bananas.

No, but in general only FPS games mess with me.

Mirror’s Edge just likes to beat my senses up.

Ooh.
This actually puts me off buying. I do. Badly. Don't do well on buses and cars. I am reading a lot about this. How strange!

I get motion sick very quickly and I did not have any problems so far with DK Banaza after about 15h of playtime

@Medic_alert Interesting you should say that, as I've only experienced that with The Last Guardian too. I've restarted it three times and never finished it for that reason.

@9_10DOH64 There's definitely some Donkey Kong Country music in the game.

I mean the game is subject to frantic camera moves and sometime makes you lose track of where you are exactly. That's only when you start going crazy and digging out of the beaten path and trying weird stuff. Otherwise it's fine but it's true that it can be chaotic if you are the kind of gamer who likes to try breaking the game or finding other paths and things like that. So that might be the issue.

Haven't had any problem with it myself though.

@AlexOlney

want to truly get down with the motion sickness

ooh-wah-ah-ah-ah!

I’m susceptible to motion sickness in gaming. The first time I played DKB I had trouble with it, but I went into the options and slowed the camera speed down. Since then it’s improved 90%.

@9_10DOH64 Then you’re not listening. I’m on the two ‘The Divide’ worlds, and can think of three, full tracks that I’ve heard from the original DKC so far, and another from its sequel.

I think I got a bit dizzy at one point, but I haven’t played the game enough to really know for certain if it’s going to be an issue for me. I mean, the last game I got really sick from playing was the original Spyro trilogy (not the Reignited version) on my PS3; because I got motion sickness so bad from those games, it took me FOREVER to beat them. The Reignited Trilogy didn’t give me the same problem, so I was able to breeze through the games.

@9_10DOH64 I've already heard three full recreations from DKC1 & 2 brother, start looking for those challenge rooms

@9_10DOH64 There is, check again.

Struggling more with the colour scheme. That's hurting my eyes. Nice looking game with ugly colours

@9_10DOH64 Well, the 2D challenges certainly sounded like DKC to me. As a side note, Wise doesn't have to be contracted in order for his music to be used.

@9_10DOH64 Donkey Kong looks amazing, you can't play through the whole game and still thinks his design looks bad. His new design allowed the animators a greater range of freedom. I have taken so many screenshots of his various expressions they were so entertaining. You even have the Bananza DK as your avatar image. Weird hill to die on there.

The game is full of Country references, and retro references, musical or otherwise. It's a full on celebration of Donkey Kong history. Once again, another weird hill to die on.

As for the article, I do experience motion sickness sometimes, but zero with Bananza. I think playing Pokémon Violet on the big lake was the last time I felt motion sickness. I think I was shiny hunting there but the FPS was so bad I started feeling sick.

I feel a bit ill today, but only because I stayed up until 2AM playing this game 🤣

I don’t have a switch 2 but I did play the demo of this game at an in store kiosk and I actually noticed how much the camera moved around. It definitely has something to do with the alternating between open and confined spaces, at least I think. I’m not surprised it’s making some people sick. I might be affected to if I played long enough as I do sometimes have this issue.

Some fps games make me want to hurl. I never had an issue with motion sickness in other game genres. When I get a chance to play DK, I hope I'll be fine. I feel bad for people who are having issues

The only game that ever made me feel sick was Star Wars Bounty Hunter on Game Cube. Thankfully I could return the game. A shame because I did enjoy the 30 minutes that I managed. I might even buy the Switch version once it gets cheap and hope I don't suffer on a modern TV or even handheld.

@MathByThePixel hahaha yes I have played wayyy tooo much also!!

Strange though, I have troubles with my eyes/dizziness with a lot of games (especially fps and VR stuff), but somehow DKB is alright for me.

I don't do high frame rate so I am fine.

I did experience some discomfort with the default settings, but turning the screen shake down helped considerably and I've been fine since.

Just curious, can unstable fps make you dizzy?

It hasn't made me motion sick at all, but I think I'm really lucky in that I've never suffered with motion sickness; not in moving vehicles, VR, nothing. I sympathise with those who do though. This game in particular looks like it'd be a nightmare if you're sensitive to sudden or erratic camera movements.

I haven't experienced any motion sickness with the game. The only game I can think of that ever made me feel sick was Tomb Raider III on the PS1 when I was a child and since then I've never played it again.

I usually turn off motion blur and other camera effects if I can though as I find they can often make me feel a bit wonky.

Cases like these though do make me wonder why Nintendo is still one of the holdouts in giving accessibility options. Many games these days allow you to dial in loads of settings to make the game feel right to you and all I've really been able to do is move the jump button to B which should have been the default anyway. A to jump is mental.

I remember getting motion sickness the first time i played Mario 64. Of course that was likely because my brain was having difficulty processing what i was seeing due to the fact it was the first time i saw a fully 3D videogame. I got used to it after the first week though.

I suffer badly from physical motion sickness (brain surgery, goop in my head, waves, etc) and a lot of things trigger it off.
Mario Kart World, for example, I can play happily on 50cc, but bump me up to 100cc, and nausea-rama!

For the majority of this game, I've surprisingly been ok, but yesterday I had a couple of boss battles which seemed to start spinning the camera around and around in ways that the earlier ones hadn't. Those had to be dealt with a good hour's rest in-between them!!
Incidentally, I still haven't 100%'d Mario Odyssey, for the same reason. Towards the end, the boss battles got more and more spinny.

Now and then the camera gets a bit wonky and i get a little crosseyed but nothing big

Not motion-sick, but the camera controls and the particle effects can be quite overstimulating at times

Eat more Dramamine bananas

I've found myself a little sensitive to this in other recent games (Metaphor: Refantazio and Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 come to mind, also the 60 fps update to Pokemon Scarlet/Violet) and tbh it's largely something that bothers me about first-person games. But not once did it cross my mind with DK. Camera was a bit of a bother at first though.

5% is quite a shocking proportion to find the game unplayable due to motion sickness though. I hope this isn't representative.

Yep, stayed up 'til midnight to play it at launch and had to quit playing a half hour in because I got cold & sweaty along with a headache and felt like I was going to throw up. Still felt like it when I woke up for work. On my way home, I stopped picked up some Dramamine. I now pop two of them before I play it for the first time each day.

I'm 20+ hours in now, at Sublayer 1200 and done 100% of everything you can do up to that point. Not really enjoying it all that much, though. Way too much emphasis on destroying and not nearly enough on platforming. None of the challenges are uh... challenging. Would've much rather been swinging from vines, as well as riding mine carts and launching out of barrels for platforming purposes, not teleporting to another part of the map purposes.

Usually anything with motion controls with a first-person view messes me up — As much as I enjoyed it, the Metroid Prime Trilogy on Wii really did a number on me after a certain length of play time.

YES! I got motion sickness immediately while playing ingot isle. The swinging camera angles and disorientation when you punch a tunnel out of rock is very unsettling. I stopped doing unnecessary breaking and switched to hand held mode and it helped me though.

Thankfully I don't suffer from motion sickness of any sort, but the camera flailing wildly now and then makes for a somewhat jarring experience now and then.

Nope. Only certain VR games make me nauseous. That and certain gamers' comments.

I have not played Bananza, but there was one game that gave me motion sickness in the past and it was Gears of War.

@Ryu_Niiyama same I only get this with FPS games sometimes…

DK has been fine!

Definitely experienced it at the beginning due to the constant camera fluctuations between open and enclosed spaces, but thankfully immediately went away once I stepped into the first proper layer.

Nope, I've never had motion sickness playing any game in the 30 plus years I've been a gamer.

I can play games in a car, on a plane, in a train. You get the picture.

However, I have read that some people are complaining about the motion blur.
And a few other things while playing Donkey Kong Bananza, in handheld mode.

I'm assuming it's because of the poor screen quality of the Switch 2.
I have only been playing Donkey Kong Bonanza. In docked mode on my OLED TV and it looks great. Minus the over bright looking HDR, which I just turn off.

Personally, this game has too much button mashing for me to ever consider wanting to play it with the Joy-Cons. It's perfect for the Pro Controller and the back buttons. That's for sure. But that's besides the point.

Luckily, I have been fine.

Super Mario 64 still is very difficult for me to play. I always get sick after only a few minutes.

I haven’t had issues, but could see a problem if I went crazy with the map or the camera.

Parents, probably don’t watch your young kids play. 😉

I’m prone to motion sickness but it’s usually first person games. I’ve not had problems with this but I can see why people are struggling. The camera angle is very narrow at times.

Most of us are made of sterner stuff, it seems.

Generally I struggle with FPS (except Metroid prime games for some reason) but this is the first time I recall it happening in a third person game/platformer. Was really frustrated, but the next day, loaded up and was fine. I’m sure it must be something with the first isle and nowhere else in the game.

Its nothing new.

Some people get nauseous over fast camera swings and different camera perspectives.

Low FPS can also cause this but DK doesn't suffer from that.

Its not unique to this game.

I mostly get motion sickness by the source engine (Portal, Half-life 2). I can understand how DKB can make people dizzy, but I have thankfully not experienced any symptoms.

@AlexOlney

...dont remind me...

@Markiemania95 exactly. There’s references to, the majority of the soundtrack, just isn’t Donkey Kong

@Johnny44 there isn’t.
The majority of the soundtrack is just not Donkey Kong.

@Jack_Goetz exactly, the small little puzzle rooms have nods to it. But the main soundtrack and sound to the game, just isn’t Donkey Kong

@Mesozoic_Masquerade I’ve picked a hill to die on? 😂
My avatar is Donkey Kong, as it’s my favourite Nintendo franchise and the icon is built from what’s available on the Online builder. I’ve also used it here, as it’s the game I’m playing right now.
I’ve said it’s a great game, I’ve said I like it.
What I’m saying is, is that it feels so far removed from Donkey Kong Country, the best play forming series ever, that it just feels short changed after I’ve waiting over a decade for a DKC sequel.

This game literally didn’t even need to use DK, it would have worked with anything IP. If anything it would have worked better as a reboot of Wrecking Crew.

DK turning into different beats like the WereHog Sonic is just wrong, as it totally bypasses the supporting cast from DKC that’s been around for 30 years.

Rambi appears in Bananza, but disappointing that he’s just stood there. Like Yoshi being in Mario, but you can’t ride him.

I’m not slagging the game off, I’m still playing it now. 😂
I’m saying it’s an underwhelming outing for DK, and would have been better utilised with a different IP.
For a DK game there’s just too much missing, and too much new.

That usually happened on my Nintendo 3DS, but only when I was playing Metroid Prime. Otherwise, it was good.
I usually get a bit sick when playing VR games, otherwise I don’t get sick at all. Even DK here is as cool as a breeze.

@9_10DOH64 That’s not what we were talking about though. You said there is no Music from that game in Bananza, but there is.

The camera is very very bad in this game, it’s disappointing Nintendo didn’t find a better way or decide, frankly, it wasn’t good enough for release in its current form. A real let down given the rest of the game is good.

In addition to the article notes, reducing camera sensitivity can further mitigate the motion sickness.

All that said, real let down. And nowhere near covered enough. It’s not a footnote that the camera is ‘sometimes a bit iffy’ or similar. It’s absolutely broken with a core gameplay mechanic. Leaving players confused, falling to their death, and motion sickness. Not a minor problem.

@eaglebob345 yah those pesky weak people born with a physiological difference. Sturdier stuff, what a ridiculous comment.

@Johnny44 I said except for little bits here and there.
Donkey Kong had a soundtrack all the way through that is distinctly DK and has a sound to it, that is completely part of the aesthetics to the whole game.
This soundtrack is just nothing, but has small uses of DKC sound that doesn’t do it any justice at all.

The first appearance of a mine cart, I thought YES finally!!
Then it literally rolled me for 3 seconds down to another island, and that was it 😂
😔

No problems for me, but I have yet to play it in a car so we will see how it goes when I do! That said, I have gyro on, and it is not working... Anyone know a fix? It is'nt the controllers, as they work find in Splatoon and TotK, but I am at my wits end!

@9_10DOH64 No, there is a whole song in there!

A WHOLE song?
Still a LONG way short of a whole game.
I obviously haven’t got to that 1 level yet. B it that still means 95% of the game, or even more, is the wrong sound.

Oh god I thought I was the only one experiencing it. Now granted it's not as bad as how I get with 1st person games, but I have been getting lightheaded if i try moving the camera too quick or when moving quickly....

However having played for a couple of days now, the symptoms have grown to be less harsh

Its pretty bad for me. I've only experienced this on VR games and FPS games that play sub-30fps.

Was not expecting it. Really hoping tweaking settings will fix it, but honestly, it made me feel so bad I have not really wanted to go back.

@Aphonic The Nintendo Master Race... this literally always comes up with FPS discussion, at least one a-hole N fanboy (the toughest people in the world of course lol) will just call everyone suffering from motion sickness liars or p#ssies. Wonder if he'd have the gall to actually go in that thread and tell everyone that or just sh@t-talk them behind their backs from his safe-space.

Interestingly I had a bit while playing in handheld, but not on the TV

@Aphonic Sterner stuff, for one thing. Also, it's obviously a joke. We're all limp-wristed basement dwellers with back problems. Some of us just don't get motion sickness and some of us do, no big deal.

I got a slight bit dizzy in the first level or two, but it isn’t as bad anymore. Think I got used to it.

@9_10DOH64 but it’s not the wrong sound. It’s the Bananza sound. This game is clearly not meant to be a DKC sequel or anything like it. They are using the IP in a fresh way and I think that’s a good thing. More people will try and like this and then go back and try the old gems. Sorry to hear it’s not what you were looking for, that’s always a bummer with an IP you love, but it IS a Donkey Kong game with Donkey Kong sound in its own fresh way.

I suffer from Banana fever: I want to play this game at all times.

I sense a new product opportunity for Nintendo: Bananza Barf Bags!

@9_10DOH64 Lol, ok….. 🤦‍♂️

@Reiditandweep Exactly, it’s something new that has a throwback and many nods to the orginals but it would be boring as hell if it were just the same old same old again.

@Johnny44 what is that even an answer to?

@MindfulGamer I do sometimes wonder if those Nintendo/Pokemon and other franchise-branded planes have themed barf bags, I imagine not but it would be good for vertical brand integration.

I don’t love the wording of the poll questions. I get motion sickness from playing it for any extended period, but I wouldn’t call it unplayable. I’ve taken to playing it farther away from my TV and that helps.I might have to try using my Relief Band while playing it. That helps with flying and such so maybe it would help with games.

I’m susceptible to this with some games. A lot of the older FPS games would become unplayable after awhile. The only time I’ve had it happen in DK is the couple of times I’ve been stuck underground and the camera can’t get a bead on my player position and I sort of have to spin and twist the camera view to adjust it. It passed quick enough, but it did happen a few times playing dig around aimlessly.

The intro level is very small and forces the camera to break. I found it only went into “underground” mode (camera shades background brown) and provides some distance between the frame and DK consistently when I got to the first world (Lagoon).

When the camera isn’t working correctly, not in underground mode, it’s very tight to DK, and it results in very rapid movement. Which causes me to feel disoriented. I won’t get into my exact eye condition, but I am more susceptible to motion sickness than probably the average person. I play FPS’ just fine and prefer to drive, rather than be a passenger in a car. If that context helps…

I certainly felt it in the intro level and I was a bit nervous to proceed, thinking this game might not be for me. Lucky, once I played more than an hour and got to stretch my legs and found the bigger levels, everything clicked, and I felt fine.

I’ve played the intro level and some of the lagoon world on a 55” C9 OLED. I played the rest on handheld mode. A total of 3-4 hrs of total playtime over two days. I don’t think the handheld screen / slow pixel response is the cause and I am curious how the camera affects others in the intro level…

@BigRed40

Exactly the same situation for me too

Only game to really do that to me was Chinatown Wars on DS. Had to return it.

Thankfully I never suffer from this, even when playing VR games

@9_10DOH64 You’ve changed the goalposts. First it was ‘it’s just a few bars’, to now ‘but it’s not the whole OST’. Why would anyone want the entire OST to be remixed from previous games? That would suck. Even Mario, probably the IP that remixes the largest amount of tracks from older games in its newer entries, still mostly introduces new songs with each instalment. I think we got what the vast majority of players were expecting and wanted, which is simply a handful of nostalgic remixes.

Can confirm that my significant other got so ill she almost had to vomit. Took a couple of hours to get better

Zero effect on me though

@Markiemania95 the first post was an exaggeration, call it being pedantic on your part, or exaggeration on my part, the point remains the same.
If you play ANY DKC game, the music all has a distinct and recognisable signature to it that is instantly DK as soon as you hear it.
All of that is missing. And it sounds nothing like a DK game. Except for a few things here and there. Close to 100% of the soundtrack is something totally different and is worse for it

So I played this at a kiosk at Target the other day and halfway through the 15 minutes I started feeling queasy. I blamed it on the cable forcing me to be too close to the tv. I really hope I can play this when I get round to buying it…
Ratchet & Clank Rift Apart was the first game that would consistently cause motion sickness and I really hope this one doesn’t do the same as I’m more interested in this game…

The last time I felt ill playing any game was in 1997 when I first tried Super Mario 64 with its insanely realistic 3D graphics. My brain has since gotten used to it.

Yes was particular bad in the first cramped zone. I adjusted the settings after googling if others felt the same. It helped a bit but cannot play for long periods of time - so its between 1 and 2 for me on the poll.

Strange, I suffer from Vertigo and get really bad travel sickness but have had no issues with DK. Choppy framerates and fast paced FPS are usually triggers for me.

Reddit is a total clownshow, to be fair.

The camera's pretty bad for what is a good game

I've played over 20 hours so far, but I haven't experienced any (motion) sickness/nausea at all.

Yep, after having now played it I instantly felt somewhat was amiss — turned motion controls off and after a few minutes I readjusted. It's definitely gyro/motion camera controls that does it — Splatoon affected me similarly with its motion aiming that took me ages to realise what the problem was.