Donkey Kong Bananza: DK Island and Emerald Rush Is A Worthwhile Way To Continue DK's Newest Adventure

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Having been brought up on Nintendo, it's fair to say that I have a particular fondness for their ability to surprise and delight, even if the initial premise seems particularly bewildering and unexpected. Be it various iterations of well-established franchises, such as The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and it's sequel, Tears of the Kingdom, focusing on wildly different mechanics than those found in the 30 years prior, or seemingly strange gameplay mechanics, at least upon their first anouncemen, such as the introduction, and subsequent use, of Cappy in Super Mario Odyssey and his ability to possess nigh-on anything. Nintendo certainly isn't afraid to stretch its creative limbs and explore, creating genius new playgrounds as it goes.

Donkey Kong Bananza is one such example of Nintendo doing the unexpected, not only in their revisiting of Donkey Kong in a 3D space after nearly 26 years, since the release of Donkey Kong 64 on the Nintendo 64 in 1999, but also in their particular fondness for utter destruction. I got to review Bananza when it first came out but a couple of months ago, and whilst I found myself conflicted with said destruction, I summarised the experience thus:

Even after my 16 or so hours completing the game, with many a Banana left to find, I'm still not entirely sure how I feel about the freedom said destruction feels, and whether the various trade-offs were worth it. There's a lack of purposefulness when the many apparent and deliberate paths are eschewed in favour of wanton destruction, even despite the enjoyment that such creative freedom allows, with perceived "shortcuts" galore being created. Still, regardless of all the above, Bananza presents a fantastic tour de force from the newly designed Donkey Kong with some of the most rewarding gameplay around. Hyperbole, this is not; even in spite of my early trepidations and latter uncertainty, Donkey Kong Bananza sets a new high for not only the character - one that has so famously stayed (and continuously delivered) in 2D locales - but for the 3D platforming genre as a whole. While my wants and wishes may skew to the more "traditional" side of offerings, ala Mario's many outings in the last two decades, there's clearly a lot for Mario et al to learn from here, too. And that should excite us all.

Little did I think that we would be experiencing more Donkey Kong in such a short space of time, then, with the addition of the DK Island and Emerald Rush DLC, a $20 pack launched day and date with its surprise announcement. What's more, then, would be that the primary focus of this DLC would be a new roguelike take on Bananza, focusing on collecting an ever-increasing amount of emerald ore for Void Kong, one of the antagonists of the base game. Fossils littered around whichever layer you find yourself on act as modifiers, giving you emerald ore-oriented perks, hastening the rate at which you collect said ore, with the perks expiring at the end of each run. 

It's enjoyable and, surprisingly, feels a natural fit in DK's ever-so-destructible world. It's an actual test of the game's deep movement systems, and while mastering the various intricacies isn't necessarily mandatory, it is definitely beneficial. The potential of multiple builds achieved through the copious collection of fossils is indeed impressive, but, as is the way with roguelikes, it's more than feasible for a less-than-ideal assortment of upgrades to appear before you, putting a halt to your ore-collecting dreams and desires. Nevertheless, Nintendo has truly captured the essence of the ever-popular roguelike genre, and achieving that in the form of Donkey Kong, no less, is as surprising and "peak Nintendo" as I see Nintendo being for the immediately foreseeable future.

This all being said, the second half of the DLC, the inclusion of the DK Island, is not quite as satisfying as the first. Simpler in nature, this is the nostalgia-inducing DK Island, as seen and experienced in many titles, albeit in various forms, with very few bells and whistles outside of said nostalgia. Acting as a hub for both the introduction to the Emerald Rush game mode and as a place to house various statues, DK Island presents itself as something that should have been included with the base game, ala Princess Peach's castle in the aforementioned Super Mario Odyssey. Instead of being a welcome surprise, it's hard not to feel swindled considering the price of entry, and, despite the superb game mode acting as the other, better half of this pack, it cheapens the experience somewhat.

Whether that's a universal feeling for those more au fait with Donkey Kong than I, I can't say, but I can only presume it may sting just that bit more with such a meaningful locale being locked behind a paywall that no amount of beautiful Banadium Gems can unlock. Were the two halves separate, with the cost associated with each being split fairly based on what you were receiving, it would be easy to recommend Emerald Rush for a lesser amount, whilst suggesting you abstain from DK Island unless you were all but the most devout of DK fans. With such a reality or option not presenting itself to us (yet), it's harder to consider this a must-buy, but an enjoyable purchase nonetheless, should you bite the banana-shaped bullet.

Donkey Kong Bananza: DK Island & Emerald Rush is available for $19.99 on the Switch 2 eShop.

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