When the Nintendo Switch 2’s Direct Showcase streamed, everyone was hoping for a new 3D Mario title. After all, the last one that came early into the main console’s life cycle was heralded as one of the best 3D platformers of all time by so many — myself included. At first, the teaser that ended up closing the showcase and showing off Donkey Kong Bananza appeared like it might be Super Mario Odyssey 2, the game players have waited for for almost a decade now.
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There was understandably a bit of disappointment when Kongs showed up in the teaser and when it was Donkey Kong breaking through the wall instead of Mario. However, with the game officially out and getting critical and fan acclaim, it’s clear that it wasn’t an oversight by Nintendo. It’s also clear that Bananza is an Odyssey 2 equivalent anyway.
How Donkey Kong Bananza Mirrors Mario Odyssey
In many ways, Donkey Kong Bananza mirrors Super Mario Odyssey, which isn’t a bad thing when you’re talking about one of the best games of all time and the fact that the same development team worked on both titles for Nintendo. Clearly, there are going to be some similarities; you can only do so much with a 3D platformer starring an iconic Nintendo character.
The gameplay is also similar. Donkey Kong explores different parts of his world in search of a rare item. For Mario, that was moons. For DK, it’s bananas. In both games, they are sometimes hidden in difficult and interesting ways so that players are forced to explore and try things out.
And perhaps the most fun aspect of both games has nothing to do with that or any bearing on the game. Collecting fossils to change Donkey Kong’s outfit (or Pauline’s) or fur color is the equivalent of Mario’s coin-restricted outfits in Odyssey. And they may be the best part of both titles.
The graphics are pretty much the same, too. The Switch 2 can handle a bit more, but that’s largely going to supporting the destruction of virtually everything, so the two games look similar despite eight years of difference. There’s a reason people initially thought the first teaser was actually for Super Mario Odyssey 2.
Donkey Kong Bananza Does Some Things Better than Odyssey
Obviously, there are some similarities. While it’s hard to pick which one is a better overall game (on one hand, Bananza has more to do and refined gameplay, but Odyssey had this novel idea first and changed the field), it’s fair to say that a sequel to a game needs to improve on some things. Since we can pretend that Donkey Kong Bananza is more or less a reskinned sequel to Super Mario Odyssey, we can also point to what the latest game does better.
The core mechanic is stronger in Bananza. Smashing the terrain to bits fits narratively with the story being told, and it’s just more enjoyable. Donkey Kong can endlessly smash things up to find fossils, gold, bananas, and chests. Mario could only explore so much using Cappy, although being able to control different enemies and items was incredible. You can spend an eternity in a sublevel of Bananza, something that wasn’t true for Odyssey and is a big reason there are a few more hours of content this time around.
The story, speaking of, is also better. There’s not as much emotional depth in Odyssey since it’s just another iteration of Bowser stealing Princess Peach. We’ve seen that time and again, so it’s not as emotional even with the added layers of storytelling this time around.
But in Donkey Kong Bananza, we get to see two characters undergo some development. Pauline gets most of it, going from shy, quiet Pauline to a version of the character we first met in Odyssey. The relationship between the two is also much better than the relationship between Mario and Cappy.
Finally, the boss fights are more varied. For the most part, Mario had to hit his bosses three times, which is standard fare for a Mario title. In Donkey Kong Bananza, the bosses require different skills to be utilized virtually every single time. They’re all very different, which is a huge addition to the game.
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Image Courtesy of Paramount -
Image Courtesy of Big Finish Productions.
