Super Mario Odyssey Could Hold the Key to Donkey Kong…

After over 25 years since his last 3D adventure, Donkey Kong Bananza is a fresh new take for Donkey Kong. While staying true to what made past games in the series beloved by so many fans, Donkey Kong Bananza isn’t afraid to shake up the formula and embrace change.

Though Donkey Kong Bananza experiments with refreshing new ideas, it’s easy to draw parallels between is and Super Mario Odyssey. The two games are intrinsically connected, and instead of trying to distance itself from Mario, Donkey Kong Bananza leans into its Odyssey ties and offers something new as a result. Donkey Kong Bananza is learning a lot from Super Mario Odyssey, and it could learn even more to secure a bright future.

Donkey Kong from Donkey Kong Bananza looking at Link from The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

Donkey Kong Bananza Looks a Lot Like Donkey Kong: Tears of the Kingdom

More details about Donkey Kong Bananza have come out, and it's starting to feel reminiscent of Link's latest adventure across Hyrule.

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By Devin Friend

Donkey Kong Bananza and Super Mario Odyssey Are Intrinsically Linked

Super Mario Odyssey Is Full of Content

When it originally launched, Super Mario Odyssey was already a game filled to the brim with content. Power Moons were scattered across every stage for players to find, and interacting with enemies using Super Mario Odyssey’s Cappy opened up more opportunities than any game in the series before. It was a true evolution of the Super Mario formula, and gave players enough reasons to keep coming back to it.

Following its launch, it was announced that Super Mario Odyssey would be kept alive with a content update. This added Luigi’s Balloon World to the game, an asynchronous multiplayer mode encouraging players to hide balloons around each of the game’s Kingdoms and race against the clock to find balloons hidden by others. Not only was it a great way to get the Super Mario Odyssey playerbase to connect with one another, but it also provided some much-needed variety to the game experience.

The mode was unlike the rest of Super Mario Odyssey, and the player-driven challenges were incentives to play in different ways.

DK Follows Odyssey’s Formula

It’s no secret that Donkey Kong Bananza shares DNA with Super Mario Odyssey. From the initial reveal trailer, it was clear to fans that Donkey Kong’s latest outing was developed by the same team as Super Mario Odyssey. Where Donkey Kong games of the past have deviated from the Super Mario formula, Donkey Kong Bananza is unafraid to show its Odyssey inspirations, resulting in an experience that feels completely new for the character.

The visual flair and toy-like game design philosophies of Super Mario Odyssey carry over well to Donkey Kong Bananza, altered to better suit the strong and destructive nature of the titular ape. New abilities found in Donkey Kong Bananza, like Turf Surf and the Bananza Transformations, feel at home in the Donkey Kong series, but are also reminiscent of the experimental gameplay of Super Mario Odyssey.

Donkey Kong Bananza also includes Pauline, who also featured in Odyssey, strengthening the connection between the two platformers. With Donkey Kong Bananza borrowing so many concepts from one of Mario’s past adventures, it wouldn’t be surprising if it took one more idea.

Donkey Kong Bananza Looks a Lot Like Donkey Kong: Tears of the Kingdom

More details about Donkey Kong Bananza have come out, and it's starting to feel reminiscent of Link's latest adventure across Hyrule.

Posts

By Devin Friend

Donkey Kong Bananza Needs Its Own Luigi’s Balloon World Mode

Donkey Kong Bananza is ripe for a content update of its own, similar to Luigi’s Balloon World. This wouldn’t necessarily need to be the same mode, either, instead creating something new to fit in with the Donkey Kong series. A lot of Donkey Kong Bananza’s gameplay revolves around causing as much chaos as possible, ripping chunks out of the level to use against enemies. An alternate mode should break up the pace of gameplay, giving players a rest from tearing through Donkey Kong Bananza’s intricately designed levels.

One idea could be to expand on Donkey Kong’s new Turf Surfing capabilities alongside Funky Kong. The new mechanic seems perfect for this character and could be used to encourage players to get creative with how they approach Turf Surfing. This could be a strictly offline mode where the player must race against Funky Kong across the many sublayers beneath Ingot Isle, but to invite more of a challenge, players could race against each other’s ghosts. Like with Super Mario Odyssey, an asynchronous multiplayer mode like this could put Donkey Kong Bananza players’ Turf Surfing skills to the test.

Another character that could be the star of a Donkey Kong Bananza content update is Wario. Though Donkey Kong and Mario’s inverted doppelganger rarely interact with one another, the premise of Donkey Kong Bananza presents a perfect opportunity for this to change. Throughout the game, players are actively searching for Banandium Gems, a golden banana treasure. As a character, Wario’s only concern is getting rich quickly through any means necessary, putting himself in dangerous situations for treasure. Having him compete with the player to collect treasure may feel out of place in any other Donkey Kong game, but here, Wario could be the ideal choice for Donkey Kong Bananza.

While it would be great for a Donkey Kong Bananza content update to take the opportunity of a new mode to add more fan-favorite Kongs of the past to the game, it could also use this to tie back to Super Mario Odyssey. In particular, Luigi’s Balloon World could return exactly as it was in Odyssey, altered to fit the new mechanics of Donkey Kong Bananza. Players could hide balloons underneath the terrain, or see how far out they can place their balloon before the timer runs out. It would be a great nod to Bananza’s predecessor and rewarding for fans of the Luigi’s Balloon World mode.

Donkey Kong Bananza is a nice change of pace from past Donkey Kong titles, offering new ideas without losing its sense of identity. There’s plenty in the game already for players to enjoy, but Donkey Kong Bananza following the path of Super Mario Odyssey with post-launch updates could give the game more replay value. Whether this would be an asynchronous multiplayer mode like Luigi’s Balloon World or something completely new, it would help to keep the game alive for a while after its initial release.

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