Since New Super Mario Bros. in 2006, Nintendo has regularly released both 2D and 3D games starring the company’s mustachioed mascot. While 3D games like Super Mario Odyssey come out about once per system generation, fans are also still getting new 2D games like Super Mario Bros. Wonder. It seems the company plans on doing something similar with Donkey Kong. In a new Ask the Developer interview on Nintendo’s official website, Donkey Kong Bananza producer Kenta Motokura talked about the game’s origins, and a desire to create branching 2D and 3D video games that feature the character.
“Well now… In a long-running series, novelty and continuity are both important, but we wanted this title to fully convey the appeal of Donkey Kong as a character. Meanwhile, we thought that by creating something new, leveraging our experience developing 3D Mario games, we’d have the opportunity to create two separate branches – 2D Donkey Kong and 3D Donkey Kong – just as we did with Mario games. So, keeping in mind that this game will come to symbolize 3D Donkey Kong, and with the theme of bringing Donkey Kong’s strengths and new actions to the forefront, we thought the concept of ‘destruction’ would be a good fit,” said Motokura.
Donkey Kong Bananza marks the first 3D game to feature the character since DK64, which was released all the way back in 1999. Given how much time has passed, the developers of Bananza had an opportunity to reimagine the concept of 3D games featuring the character. In my time with the game so far, Bananza felt a lot less like that old N64 game, and a little closer to Super Mario Odyssey. That makes sense given that many of the same developers are working on Bananza, but there still seem to be a lot of familiar elements for fans of the series.
Prior to Bananza, Nintendo had largely stuck to making 2D Donkey Kong games, including 2010’s Donkey Kong Country Returns and Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze in 2014. Fans of those 2D games will be happy to hear that Nintendo isn’t abandoning that “branch.” Unfortunately, Motokura didn’t offer any hints about when we can expect the next 2D Donkey Kong, or who might be making it. With Retro Studios wrapping up Metroid Prime 4: Beyond, it’s possible we could see them make a third Donkey Kong Country, but that’s just speculation for now.
While Nintendo’s big icons all eventually made the jump from 2D to 3D games, it’s nice that we’re still getting adventures that harken back to the NES and SNES eras. Like Mario, Nintendo continues to offer new 2D entries in franchises like Zelda and Metroid. For those that prefer 2D over 3D, or like having both, it’s nice that the option will continue with the DK series. Of course, further 3D games could depend on the success of Donkey Kong Bananza. Hopefully we won’t be waiting another 26 years for a follow-up!
Are you happy that we’ll be getting 2D and 3D Donkey Kong games in the future? Do you plan on checking out Donkey Kong Bananza later this week? Share your thoughts with me directly on Bluesky at @Marcdachamp, or on Instagram at @Dachampgaming!
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