Summary
- Change the jump button to improve gameplay control.
- Stick to story quests until reaching the Kong Elder.
- Exploit challenges to collect Banandium Chips quickly.
Donkey Kong Bananza is Donkey Kong’s wildest adventure yet. The game begins with Donkey Kong getting sucked into the depths of the Earth, losing his banana hoard to the villains (as usual). Along the way, he meets a rock, Odd Rock, who then gets transformed into Pauline.
Best Donkey Kong Game On Every Nintendo Console
Donkey Kong was the game that made Nintendo a household name, and all these years later, he has made an impression on each of Nintendo's consoles.
Pauline wants to go to the surface and be a singer, while Donkey Kong just wants his bananas back. Together, they can accomplish their goals one smackdown at a time. That’s the general plot of Donkey Kong Bananza, so let’s get into some gameplay elements everyone should be aware of. Every good action platformer requires a few pointers about its gameplay for beginners to peruse at their leisure.
7 Change The Jump Button
A Good Option To Start
One thing that may feel off when players start is the jump button. It is naturally assigned to the A button on the Switch 2 controller, which is odd considering most Nintendo games, including Mario titles, typically assign jump to the B button.
Thankfully, this can be changed in the menu, which will swap A’s functionality to B’s and vice versa. For other options, it’s recommended to play Donkey Kong Bananza on Normal for difficulty. However, if that proves too hard, difficulty can be changed in the menu at any time.
6 Follow The Story
Unlock Kong Bananza
Even before players pick up Odd Rock, the game is pretty open. Players can control DK with ease, smashing through layers upon layers of rock to amass a substantial collection of Gold, Banandium Chips, and more. As freeing as it is, it’s recommended to stick to story quests until players make it to the Kong Elder in the Lagoon Layer, which is where the game truly begins.
How to Get All Bananas in Lagoon Layer Challenge Course 3 (Pop Party) in Donkey Kong Bananza
Here's how to find all bananas and balloons in the Kong Bananza: Pop Party course in Lagoon Layer.
Here, Odd Rock will become Pauline, who can now guide DK better without her voice being muffled. Also, players will unlock Donkey Kong Bananza’s first Bananza Power, Kong Bananza, which will power DK up into a super being. It will become easier to smash through terrain in this mode, saving players a lot of time in the long run, which is why they should make a beeline for the Kong Elder before getting too immersed in the open world.
5 What Is And Isn’t Randomized
Wading Through Collectibles
This may not click with players right away, but a good portion of the resources in Donkey Kong Bananza are randomized. Gold and Banandium Chips, for example, along with chests and the items they contain, like Red Balloons or treasure maps.
Banandium Gems and Fossils are not randomized and have set locations on each map Sublayer. Therefore, if players are worried about collecting everything, they at least don’t have to stress about Gold and Banandium Chips in Donkey Kong Bananza, as they are abundant and will replenish over time.
4 Exploiting Challenges
Get Banandium Chips Quickly
Challenges are a fun way to test out skills in Donkey Kong Bananza, from taking down enemies, to platforming trials, to uncovering hidden objects, and more. Some of these Challenge levels have Banandium Chips, which will respawn every time players hop in. If players discover a trial with an abundance of them, they can exploit Challenges to rake in tons of Banandium Chips.
For example, the Challenge called Thorny Hill Speed Surf is located toward the end of the Hilltop Layer, and players can very easily amass about thirty Banandium Chips on each run. Banandium Chips can be exchanged to get Banandium Gems, and five of those will level DK up and grant him a Skill Point.
3 Skill Pointers
Know When To Level Up
If players are good about picking up Banandium Chips and finding Banandium Gems hidden in Donkey Kong Bananza’s worlds, they can level up pretty quickly. An obvious go-to first purchase is to increase DK's health. Most Skill Point nodes, like the health upgrade, can be leveled up multiple times to increase their value.
Getting better sonar is also useful for finding items hidden in rocks, along with beefing up DK’s strength to break through rocks more quickly. Players can always save Skill Points, too, and it’s encouraged in any game with a skill tree not to spend them randomly. Players never know when the need will arise for a certain ability, like enhanced surfing or flight.
2 Take Notes On Hard-To-Reach Places
The Metroidvania Trick
Donkey Kong Bananza features a well-defined map that players can zoom in and out of in great detail. It will even mark whether the terrain has been destroyed or not. That said, the map can’t help with everything, which is why manual note-taking is encouraged.
Donkey Kong Bananza: Lagoon Layer SL 102 Banandium Gem Locations
Lagoon Layer SL102 holds 5 Banandium Gems, some easy, others well hidden. Here’s how to find all.
If a Banandium Gem or something else is hard to reach and players can’t figure out how to get to it, take a screenshot. It’s a good way to remember to return to a place once a new Bananza Power or skill is unlocked. It’s a habit a lot of Metroidvania fans get into to save on backtracking.
1 Items And Costumes
Prepare For All Situations
While players can find items in chests, they can also be purchased from the Stuff Shop. Gold may be precious at first, but players will soon have an abundance to spend however they please. They should always have Apple Juice, which can revive DK after death, and the aforementioned Red Balloons, which can save DK from falling into pits.
Another shop, the Style Shop, will take Fossils as currency. Most gear for DK and Pauline will increase their stats, such as swimming speed or how many chests players can find while digging. Players should pay attention to gear for specific Sublayers, as they can often reduce harmful effects like poison in the Forest Layer.
-
OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 91 /100 Critics Rec: 99%
- Released
- July 17, 2025
- ESRB
- Everyone 10+ / Fantasy Violence, In-Game Purchases
- Developer(s)
- Nintendo EPD
- Publisher(s)
- Nintendo
WHERE TO PLAY
