As you might’ve read elsewhere on the site, I really rather like Donkey Kong Bananza. It’s a tremendously creative and clever take on DK as a character, and does a great job of both expanding the existing DK universe and building something all-new for a younger generation – one that’s also about to get to know DK’s world properly for the first time, given this is all just in time for an upcoming movie. It’s brilliant.
With that being said, I nevertheless have a bone to pick with Nintendo. I’m now going to say something that inevitably only a limited portion of readers will understand:
I know, I know. Some of you have probably clicked away already. Bye, suckers. But those who remain: I promise you that I’m not about to wax lyrical about how wonderful it is having kids. But having a gamer-in-waiting tearing around the house meant I did approach DK Bananza with a different eye.
To my kid, Mario is first and foremost a movie character. He hails from the same mysterious land as Elsa and Mirabel and whoever else. Sonic, too – we’ve watched the surprisingly funny Sonic Boom together. Thanks to the Mario Bros. Movie she loves ‘the monkey’, and ever since I showed her the Nintendo Direct she’s been fascinated with the idea of Bananza. “OH, he’s got a Princess friend!” she exclaimed at the Pauline reveal. My heart melted. In the DK Bananza review period, she has been watching me play it and even playing it a little herself – as much as someone so little can play a quite mechanically complex game, anyway.