Donkey Kong Bananza Wiki

Donkey Kong Bananza

Donkey Kong Bananza is a 3D action-adventure platformer developed by Nintendo EPD and published by Nintendo as a Nintendo Switch 2 exclusive, released worldwide on July 17, 2025. Donkey Kong digs down through the layered interior of the planet after meeting a young Pauline, smashing through almost every surface in the environment on a journey that starts on Ingot Isle and descends layer by layer toward the planet core. The central hook is total destructibility: walls, floors, cliffs and buried rock give way under DK's punches, so the player carves a route instead of following a fixed path. Along the way DK collects Banandium Gems, the power source that the VoidCo corporation is strip-mining, and unlocks Bananza transformations that turn him into animals such as a zebra, an ostrich, an elephant, a snake and a giraffe, each with a different way of moving and breaking terrain. Every layer closes with a boss fight against VoidCo, and Pauline's singing frames the story beats as the pair work their way back toward the surface.

• Total Terrain Destruction - Almost every surface in the game can be broken. Punching a wall opens a tunnel, punching the floor drops DK into the space below, and cliffs, rock shelves and buried structures all give way, so routes are carved rather than followed and hidden pockets of treasure sit behind scenery that looks solid.
• Bananza Transformations - DK can take on animal forms that each rewrite how he moves and fights. The Kong Bananza is the default power form, while the zebra, ostrich, elephant, snake and giraffe forms trade punching for charging, gliding, spraying terrain, climbing and stretching reach.
• Banandium Gems - The main collectible of the campaign and the resource VoidCo is mining. Gems are awarded for boss fights, challenges and exploration, they gate progress deeper into the planet, and hunting the optional ones is the backbone of completion.
• Layered Descent - The world is a stack of themed layers under Ingot Isle, each with its own terrain, hazards, creatures and Bananza form. Progression is vertical: clear a layer, beat its VoidCo boss, and the way down opens.
• Digging And Route Finding - Because terrain is destructible, players can burrow around obstacles, tunnel under hazards and break into sealed rooms, which turns exploration into a search for weak points rather than a hunt for the intended path.
• VoidCo Boss Fights - Each layer ends with a confrontation against VoidCo, the corporation digging up the planet for Banandium. The fights are the main skill checks of the campaign and the points where new Bananza forms are earned.
• Pauline As Companion - Pauline travels with DK and rides along during traversal, and the story is built around getting her back to the surface. Her singing is used to frame key story beats rather than as a combat system.