Nintendo has an extensive roster of mascots. Mario and his Mushroom Kingdom buddies still take center stage every year, and Zelda, Link, and the rest of Hyrule usually get second billing. But then there are characters like Donkey Kong, who are still universally loved, but who have taken more of a backseat in recent years. But Donkey Kong Bananza might have just broken that cycle for the primate.
After a decade of being relegated to the background, Nintendo’s oldest mascot finally takes the spotlight again in Donkey Kong Bananza, a game that’s received universal acclaim. Donkey Kong’s return to the fore has been long overdue, and thanks to one key element of its development, Donkey Kong Bananza is a particularly special homecoming.
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Though Donkey Kong has stayed on general audiences’ radars over the last decade or so, that’s not the result of any new mainline adventures starring the Nintendo mascot. Instead of getting any standalone titles of his own, Donkey Kong has primarily appeared in crossover games like Super Smash Bros. and Mario Kart World, along with HD remasters and ports of decade-old games like Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze and Donkey Kong Country Returns, the latter of which came to Nintendo Switch at the start of the year.
The last new mainline entry in the Donkey Kong franchise was Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze‘s original release for the Wii U all the way back in 2014. This means that Donkey Kong Bananza is the first new game to star the eponymous gorilla in over a decade, hence why its positive initial reception has been met with such celebration by long-time Donkey Kong fans.
Despite being one of Nintendo’s most enduring mascots, Donkey Kong has very rarely been a product of Nintendo’s own in-house studios. After birthing the franchise with the iconic Donkey Kong arcade game in 1981, Nintendo produced a handful of sequels also intended for arcade floors. In 1983, Nintendo delivered Donkey Kong Jr. Math, the last entry in the Donkey Kong franchise that it would personally develop for quite some time.
1994 saw Rare breathe new life into the franchise with the beloved Donkey Kong Country, and for the rest of the decade Rare essentially became the mascot’s sole developer. Namco took a spin with the franchise in the early 2000s with the Donkey Konga series. Paon made Donkey Kong Barrel Blast for the Wii in 2007. And Retro Studios delivered the series’ long-awaited return to form in 2010 with the release of Donkey Kong Country Returns, which Retro followed up in 2014 with Tropical Freeze.
Aside from the Mario vs. Donkey Kong spinoffs and 2004’s Donkey Kong Jungle Beat, Nintendo itself has not made a Donkey Kong game since the early 1980s. That is until now, with Donkey Kong Bananza being the product of Nintendo EPD, and more specifically, the same studio that made 2017’s Super Mario Odyssey.
Donkey Kong Bananza doesn’t just mark the first mainline entry in the franchise since 2014, it also marks the first time Nintendo has had sole control over a Donkey Kong entry in over four decades, and it’s a homecoming worth celebrating.
July 17, 2025
Everyone 10+ // Fantasy Violence
Nintendo
Nintendo
Single-player
