Donkey Kong Bananza's reward for 100 percent completion is a disappointment, to say the least. Donkey Kong Bananza is the latest 3D platformer from Nintendo, and it is absolutely stuffed with collectibles for players to hunt down. There are 777 bananas to find, 696 fossils to dig up, and 110 music discs to collect. Needless to say, finding absolutely everything in Donkey Kong Bananza is no easy feat, and while the journey is a blast, it's hard not to be disappointed with the reward at the end of it all.
This article contains SPOILERS for Donkey Kong Bananza
Beating Donkey Kong Bananza's main story leaves players with a satisfactory ending that wraps up the core conflict, but separates Donkey Kong and Pauline. As players dig into the endgame, Donkey Kong and Pauline are quickly reunited and start a brand-new post-game adventure. Donkey Kong Bananza's post-game challenges are some of the toughest in the game, and accessing them all means collecting at least 600 bananas. But even after all that, most Donkey Kong Bananza players will still have even more to do. Doing it all is plenty of fun, but I wish that there was a greater reward for doing it.
Donkey Kong Bananza 100% Completion Reward
Donkey Kong Bananza's reward for getting 100% completion is a slightly different ending and a new look for the balloons that save DK from falling off cliffs, reminiscent of how the balloons looked in the Donkey Kong Country games. It's possible there's more to it that has yet to be discovered, but it seems that's it. Considering the sheer time investment it takes to 100% Donkey Kong Bananza - it took me about 50 hours - to get so little in return is a letdown. I was expecting some kind of grand finale in the form of a secret level or a more worthwhile ending. Unfortunately, getting 100% in Donkey Kong Bananza left me feeling a little hollow, and it continues a trend I wish Nintendo would stop.
Donkey Kong Bananza isn't the only Nintendo game to feature a big letdown after getting 100%. Breath of the Wild has a similar issue, with Nintendo making the reward for getting all the Korok Seeds in the game a joke. I wish that these games doled out more exciting rewards for those willing to put forth the extra effort to do absolutely everything.
Even though getting 100% in Donkey Kong Bananza is a bit of a letdown, the game itself is still one of the best releases of the year. Donkey Kong Bananza is the best Switch 2 exclusive to date and will keep players entertained for hours on end. But if you've completed the main game and are wondering if getting 100% is worth it, the answer is only if you're still having fun hunting everything down. If getting all the bananas and fossils isn't fun anymore, then you can rest assured that you're not missing out on all that much.
-
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
