## 2025-07-20 I don’t know if **Donkey Kong Bananza** is a reason to get a [[Thoughts on the Nintendo Switch 2|Switch 2]], but it’s certainly the reason I’m happy I own one. **DKB** is probably the most fun I’ve had playing a platforming game since **Super Mario 64**. It is a triumph of game design — not because it reinvents the wheel in any particular way, but because it is pure, unadulterated *fun*. The simple act of movement is fun — [[Bomb Rush Cyberfunk and Play for Play's Sake|which is vey important to me]]. Destroying stuff is fun. Collecting stuff is fun. The colors are fun, the music is fun — this is a game that understands why games as a medium exist as a wholly unique entity unto themselves. I’m trying to savor this game because the idea of a AAA 3D Platformer of this scale is simply incomprehensible in 2025. Not even **Astro Bot** has this much going on in it. Every level is varied in its mechanics while simultaneously being gigantic. And unlike **Mario Odyssey**, I feel much more of an urge to explore. Bananas require a bit more work than Moons, and getting them gives you new skills that you can also upgrade. I’m still not going to collect every single banana — there’s *967* of the things and I have a life to live — but I’m definitely going more out of my way to find as many as I can in each level of the game. It’s also a miracle that this game got me to like Donkey Kong as a character. I have always hated his stupid face, but the redesign in **DKB** has made him a lot more expressive, and subsequently more fun to hang out with. Pauline is similarly adorable. I love the way you get a little skit with her whenever you take a nap, adding more depth to her character. It’s the most storytelling I’ve seen in a [[Nintendo]] game since **Mario Galaxy**, and it’s nice to see. I hope they expound on that with the other games in the Switch 2 library. I’m probably ⅔ or ⅘ of the way through the game’s main story so far, but my thoughts on **Donkey Kong Bananza** are pretty solidified: this is one of, if not *the* best platformer ever made, the best game I’ve played in 2025, and if it sticks the landing, could hit [[My 25 Fave Games]] list. I’ll let y’all know when I’m done.