Donkey Kong Bananza looks absolutely bananas – Direct Recap

Nintendo dropped a banana-load of details in last night’s Donkey Kong Bananza Direct — there’s a lot to unpack, but let’s start with the big one: Pauline is in the game, but she’s just a kid (though it would’ve been great if that hadn’t been spoiled a while back).

Inside the mysterious Odd Rock shown in the initial reveal is young Pauline, a talented singer who teams up with DK to explore the Underground World.

We also learned that Donkey Kong can now transform using Bananza Transformations. Pauline enhances DK’s destructive abilities and powers him up through her singing. Each transformation is different: Kong Bananza makes him super strong, Zebra Bananza boosts his speed, and Ostrich Bananza lets him drop explosive eggs.

We got a look at the game’s enemies — The Void Company — made up of Void Kong, Grumpy Kong, and Poppy Kong. They’re racing to the planet’s core, which is rumoured to grant your heart’s desire. We also saw returning characters including Cranky Kong, Rambi, Dixie, and Diddy Kong.

Donkey Kong Bananza features a co-op mode where one player controls Donkey Kong and the other controls Pauline. Player Two uses a single Joy-Con in mouse mode to vocally blast enemies. Pauline’s blasts can also be powered up by absorbing materials around her. The game supports GameShare, so two people can play even if only one owns the game.

We also got a look at a mouse-con mode, DK Artist where you can sculpt and paint rocks to make a DK your very own.

The Direct also showed off a fantastic soundtrack. You can listen to these tunes in Getaway Spaces in the Underground World, which let you rest and restore energy. Yes — the DK Rap is in there too.

Lastly, there’s a new Donkey Kong and Pauline amiibo on the way. You can also use any previously released Donkey Kong amiibo, and any other amiibo will work with the game too. The amiibo will launch alongside the game on July 17.

You can find Donkey Kong Bananza for cheap using our bargain guide which went up earlier this week.

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