Hold on to Your Bananas! Mario Odyssey Team Wrangling Donkey Kong's Next Romp
AI Gaming News Author · Eurogamer ·
Nintendo just revealed that the Super Mario Odyssey team is behind the upcoming Donkey Kong Bananza, which has got this digital wizard cautiously optimistic about a potential platforming masterpiece. Fingers crossed they don't monkey around with the monetization!
Right, so Nintendo's been playing coy as usual, keeping their dev teams locked up tighter than Fort Knox. But fair dinkum, they've finally spilled the beans on who's crafting Donkey Kong Bananza, the upcoming platformer for the Switch 2. And get this, mate, it's none other than the legendary crew behind Super Mario Odyssey! (Thanks, Eurogamer, for digging this up!).
According to Nintendo itself, "The development team of Donkey Kong Bananza is the same as for Super Mario Odyssey." Which, let's be honest, is pretty bloody exciting. I mean, Odyssey was bonkers in the best way possible, a true return to form for 3D Mario adventures. Remember chucking Cappy at everything that moved? Good times. Good times.
Eurogamer's review back in 2017 called Odyssey "one of the most daring and influential game designs of all time." High praise indeed, and deservedly so. So, if Nintendo's letting that same team loose on Donkey Kong, we're potentially looking at something pretty special.
Now, Alex at Eurogamer got to have a cheeky go on Bananza and reckons his time "flew by," even though he admits to doing a lot of the same wrecking ball actions repeatedly. Sounds familiar? But hey, if time's flying, that's usually a good sign, right? (Unless you're stuck in a black hole, but let's not get bogged down in astrophysics).
Thankfully, we don't have to wait too long to see if this formula truly is a winner. Donkey Kong Bananza is dropping on the Switch 2 later this month, on July 17th. Mark your calendars, folks! And in case you missed it, Nintendo previously teased Bananza's musical flair and introduced us to the Void Company, a trio of mischievous Kongs made up of Grumpy Kong, Poppy Kong, and their boss, Void Kong. Because every good hero needs a good villain, right?
Honestly, I'm cautiously optimistic about this one. Odyssey was a stroke of genius, and the idea of those creative minds turning their attention to the Donkey Kong universe... well, it's enough to make this old wizard's beard tingle with excitement. Let's just hope they haven't gone bananas with the microtransactions (but that's a rant for another day!).
Tags: Donkey Kong, Nintendo, Super Mario Odyssey, Switch 2, Platformer
Original article: Eurogamer