Donkey Kong Bananza Happened Because Nintendo Exec Explicitly Requested It, Producer Reveals

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Approaching the June 17 debut of “Donkey Kong Bananza,” Nintendo has been disclosing additional information about the game, including the revelation that it was created by the same team behind “Super Mario Odyssey.” Only a few days after this announcement, producer Kenta Motokura has since confirmed that the development of “Bananza” stemmed from a request for the “Super Mario Odyssey” team to create a 3D “Donkey Kong” game.

In a chat with IGN, Motokura disclosed that Nintendo executive Yoshiaki Koizumi proposed a concept for a new Donkey Kong game that would be three-dimensional. It’s worth noting that since the release of Donkey Kong: Jungle Beat in 2004, most games in the Donkey Kong series have been side-scrolling platformers in a 2D format. However, these games have incorporated 3D graphics.

Since Nintendo boasts a rich roster of characters, we’re often thinking about when it would be ideal to develop a new game featuring one of these characters to satisfy our customers most effectively,” explained Motokura. “However, that’s merely my speculation. For the actual response, you should consult Mr. Koizumi.

Following conception of their upcoming project, Motokura shared that the team subsequently approached Shigeru Miyamoto, the genius behind Donkey Kong, to propose some original concepts. It was during this brainstorming session that they conceived the idea of granting exclusive powerful actions to Donkey Kong, given his inherent physical strength compared to Mario’s.

Speaking about Miyamoto, many ideas that surfaced revolved around distinctive actions a robust character such as Donkey Kong could perform, including the playful hand-slap or forcefully blowing air, he added.

In addition, I conversed with Mr. Koizumi, a former director on Jungle Beat. For him, one significant aspect that set Donkey Kong apart from characters like Mario was his extended, powerful arms. Thus, we focused on these unique traits of Donkey Kong and brainstormed ways to incorporate them into a fresh game.

As a passionate gamer, I can’t help but share an exciting moment from the development process of our favorite game. Motokura revealed that it was when one of the team members was tinkering with voxel-based technology that everything truly fell into place. Voxels, you see, are like 3D pixels and they’re crucial in games where altering or destroying the environment is a key gameplay aspect. Games such as Minecraft or Teardown are prime examples of this type of game design.

In the Luncheon Kingdom level of “Super Mario Odyssey”, this voxel technology is evident, as players are able to tunnel through certain portions of the cheese to bypass challenges.

In an exciting revelation, Motokura shared that when we understood how Donkey Kong’s unique traits – his immense strength and long, lanky arms – aligned with the potential of voxel technology, it became clear that this was a perfect fit for our game design concept. This harmony paved the way for us to explore destruction as a central gameplay mechanic in

The exciting game titled “Donkey Kong Bananza” will be available solely on the Nintendo Switch 2. To learn more about its cooperative play and the intriguing Challenge Course ruins, be sure to explore further details.

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2025-07-10 18:41