Donkey Kong Bananza Looks Like The Mario Odyssey Successor No One Expected  Hands-On Impressions - GameSpot 1 1 - video Dailymotion

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00:00Donkey Kong Bonanza has so many wild aspects going for it.

00:04The terrain deformation, the Kong transformations, the tween Pauline sidekick, that it's easy

00:09to overlook the basics.

00:12This is a new 3D platformer from the team behind Super Mario Odyssey, arguably one of

00:17the best of its genre.

00:19It's hard to see how those disparate elements come together from a distance, but an extended

00:24hands-on showed me how all the pieces gel together to make a new experience that feels

00:29like a next step for the Odyssey team.

00:33And even reminiscent in some ways of 3D platforming's earliest routes on the Nintendo 64.

00:42The comparison to N64 platforming route struck me as I explored the final biome of my hands-on

00:47session, a woodland area surrounded by a poison lake.

00:51This is one of many sub-levels in Bonanza, but each layer of the Hollow Earth that serves

00:56as its setting is its own stand-alone stage.

01:00When you jumped into a painting in Super Mario 64 or landed in a new kingdom in Super Mario

01:04Odyssey, you are presented with an open world in miniature, each with its own threats and

01:10rules and mechanics.

01:12There is always a joy to finding the contours of each space and learning it inside and out.

01:17Donkey Kong Bonanza looks like it is carrying forward this design philosophy with new layers,

01:23in a very literal sense.

01:29The story revolves around burrowing deeper into the planet's core as DK and his companion

01:34Pauline search for the power to make a wish.

01:40Stages are built around deformable terrain that DK can shape by punching his way forward,

01:45downward, or upward, digging through solid rock to uncover secrets or open new paths.

01:51The stages are built as large, bespoke hubs, and after completing the story objective,

01:57you open an entrance to a deeper layer.

02:00Each environment is packed with secrets to uncover and elements to explore, and then you

02:04burrow deeper into the world's crust and start familiarizing yourself with the next.

02:10Building an environment rich with secrets and things to do while also centering around terrain

02:14deformation might seem like a contradiction in terms, but Nintendo has found clever ways to

02:20gate your progress so that you can't simply punch your way through every problem.

02:25Some materials are too tough for even the mighty Donkey Kong and require explosive materials

02:29to penetrate, while other times, challenges might revolve around climbing upwards, riding minecarts,

02:36or following a trail of corrupted, and hard as steel, impenetrable land back to its source

02:42to destroy it in open-sealed passageways.

02:45There's something so satisfying about the tink-tink-tink of gold that pops up as you dig

02:49through solid rock, and DK has a grounded slap move that quickly gathers it all for you.

02:55Yahoo!

02:56Yahoo!

02:57Yahoo!

02:58Yahoo!

02:59Yahoo!

03:00Yahoo!

03:01Bonanza's free-form approach makes each environment its own little playground of mechanics to explore,

03:07lands to destroy, bases to build, and things to find.

03:11Large, crystalline bananas are often buried deep in the rock with subtle visual cues that

03:17prompt you to dig in the right direction.

03:19Finding a set number of bananas grants you a skill point to upgrade Kong's abilities,

03:24like a charge punch.

03:25The creativity that you can apply to exploring the environment also goes for combat.

03:30Sure, some enemies will fall to your basic punches, but others will need you to chuck a

03:36hunk of a rock at them, or destroy their armor with an explosive, or even punch one enemy

03:42into another.

03:43At one point I faced a boss, an encounter with Grumpy Kong, and accidentally burrowed slightly

03:49beneath him and then punched upwards at his unarmored underside.

03:54And it worked!

03:55I was excited to find that this weird, probably not intended approach was rewarded.

04:00There are also minecart segments.

04:03They were fully 3D with camera control, and at one point the minecart circled around an

04:09armored enemy as I chucked bombs to dismantle it.

04:13It felt like a respectful homage to similar segments in classic DK games, while also doing

04:19something new with the idea.

04:21Similarly, there are optional battle segments to earn extra bananas, which weren't terribly

04:27difficult, but provided a change of pace from exploring.

04:31If all this makes the experience sound deadly serious, don't worry.

04:35Nintendo emphasized during a short presentation that silliness is considered one of DK's core

04:40character traits.

04:42And that shines through in everything, from the story presentation to the power-ups to DK himself.

04:48To give you some idea, the Elder Kong who teaches you about Bonanza transformations is a massive

04:53monkey who also mentions that he's an aspiring DJ.

04:58You unlock your first ability by fetching a record for his turntable, which prompts an extended,

05:03affably goofy musical number from Pauline.

05:07And it's Pauline's singing that actually activates your transformations when you've gathered enough

05:11energy.

05:13Heading gold is not just currency, as it also charges your Bonanza transformations.

05:19Wild, animal-themed super abilities that change DK's appearance and temporarily give him a specialized

05:25suite of powers.

05:28The preview demo included two such transformations.

05:30The first, the Kong Bonanza, turns DK into a hulking silverback gorilla, complete with a banana

05:37headdress that looks inspired by Dragon Ball's Super Saiyans.

05:41It essentially turns him into the Incredible Hulk of the Kong world, strong enough to punch

05:46through harder materials and much more destructive.

05:49The other, the Ostrich Bonanza, can be described only as an ostrich who got swole as hell.

05:58It's still recognizably DK with his massive gorilla muscles, but also vaguely ostrich-like

06:03thanks to a beak.

06:06His feathers are just his fingers, splayed out wide, and then supplemented with an array

06:11of bananas.

06:12I laughed aloud seeing it for the first time, and was that much more motivated to find crystal

06:17bananas in ostrich form so that I could see him strike a pose.

06:22As you might suspect, the ostrich form specializes in fluttering across gaps, and can be upgraded

06:28to glide once you run out of flutter energy.

06:31Each Bonanza transformation has its own upgrade path.

06:35While those were limited to only a few nodes during my preview session, they may expand

06:39further as you progress through the game.

06:42Either way, it looked like there is lots of room to upgrade both Kong and all of his special

06:47transformations, which is more than enough motivation to explore every environment to

06:52its fullest and find every banana.

06:55And even in a lengthy hands-on preview session, it felt like I was only scratching the surface.

07:01This was only a few of what looks to be many more layers in the full game, and each one

07:07is its own open environment to explore.

07:10I didn't have time to wrang all the secrets and surprises out of any of the layers in my

07:15limited time, but they were all full of playful new mechanics and ideas.

07:21Donkey Kong games have always been solid and sometimes even fantastic platformers, but

07:26they've rarely felt so ambitious.

07:30Donkey Kong Bonanza appears to be massive in scope, with mechanics that reward curiosity

07:35and experimentation.

07:37The Nintendo Switch 2 isn't getting a new 3D Mario near launch like some may have hoped,

07:43but Donkey Kong appears primed to fill the gap with the next evolution of Odyssey's ideas.

Donkey Kong Bananza Looks Like The Mario Odyssey Successor No One Expected Hands-On Impressions - GameSpot 1 1

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