In an interview with IGN, Donkey Kong Bananza director Kazuya Takahashi and producer Kenta Motokura ( Super Mario Odyssey ’s director) were asked why Pauline is riding on DK’s back in the game. Their answer was a perfect window into how game development often seems to work at Nintendo,

Donkey Kong Bananza is the gorilla's first 3D platformer since 1999's Donkey Kong 64 and the first to be internally developed by Nintendo since 2005's Donkey Kong Jungle Beat. In our preview, it was confirmed that it is being developed by the same team behind Super Mario Odyssey.

A DK movie is just the icing on the cake for Kong. The fan-favorite character is having quite the year, with the highly anticipated upcoming Nintendo Switch 2 game, Donkey Kong Bananza, coming out on July 17, 2025. The game follows Kong and Pauline as they set out to recover stolen banana diamonds from a gang of evil apes.

Donkey Kong Bananza spoilers are being spread online, after early copies of the game have turned up in the hands of several fans.

Donkey Kong Bananza’s director has said he’s aware of occasional performance issues spotted by the press, and said the development team has “prioritized fun and playability”. Speaking to Spanish outlet La Vanguardia, Nintendo ’s Kazuya Takahashi was asked about frame drops the interviewer noticed when playing the game.

As a longtime fan of games Donkey Kong, Donkey Kong Jr., and 1994 Game Boy game Donkey Kong, I’m going to approach the events of Bananza as the next major milestone in that fran