Nintendo Reveals How Donkey Kong Bananza Would Have Looked as a Switch 1 Game

Nintendo has fixed fans a uncommon peek down its improvement curtain, with a glimpse astatine however upcoming Switch 2 platformer Donkey Kong Bananza would person looked connected Switch 1.

As antecedently revealed by IGN, Donkey Kong Bananza primitively began arsenic a Switch 1 project, earlier Nintendo realised the game's destruction-heavy enactment required amended hardware with beefier method specs.

Donkey Kong Bananza shaper Kenta Motokura has present confirmed Bananza switched from being successful improvement for Switch 1 4 years ago, backmost successful 2021, aft moving into method "challenges". To exemplify his point, Nintendo has published a mates of examination images, showing however the crippled looked moving connected Switch 1, compared to its Switch 2 counterpart.

"We primitively began processing Donkey Kong Bananza connected Nintendo Switch, but we ran into immoderate challenges," Motokura said, arsenic portion of a caller Ask the Developer Q&A. "I deliberation it was astir 2021 erstwhile we started to deliberation astir moving improvement to Switch 2."

"It was wide that the representation disposable connected Switch [1] would conflict to grip that load," added programming manager Wataru Tanaka, "and we felt that manifesting the immense measurement of terrain that we did successful this crippled mightiness person been unachievable connected that platform.

"With the determination to Switch 2, we gained not lone much representation but besides greater processing capacity. That gave america the state to incorporated gameplay ideas we'd antecedently abandoned due to the fact that they were excessively demanding. When we got down to trying it, we discovered that not lone could it grip the dense processing requirements, but it besides ran astatine 60 fps."

Donkey Kong Bananza Switch 1 and Switch 2 examination screenshots. Image credit: Nintendo

As seen successful the supra screenshots, the determination to Switch 2 enabled Nintendo to adhd galore much objects to Bananza's levels, multiplying the fig of things DK tin destroy. And, of course, the improved processing powerfulness of Switch 2 ensured the game's demolition elements was handled much easily, with less frame-rate drops (although some, Nintendo has acknowledged, are inactive present).

Bananza's voxel-based demolition is an improvement of the interactive terrain recovered wrong a fewer levels of Super Mario Odyssey, though Nintendo has said its 3D Mario squad lone began experimenting with the exertion halfway done Odyssey's development.

Still, caput to Odyssey's Luncheon Kingdom to play with food rocks, oregon the icy drifts Mario tin plow done successful the game's Snow Kingdom, and you'll spot the precursors to Bananza's voxel-based demolition astatine play.

A Goomba with disembodied arms launches a chunk of stone into the air. Image credit: Nintendo

When moving to enactment connected Bananza, its improvement squad initially utilized the Rayman-like disembodied arms of Super Mario Odyssey brag Knucklotec and stuck them connected a Goomba to astir simulate the benignant of gameplay they wanted for Donkey Kong. Nintendo has published a look astatine this excessively — spot supra — which is reasonably stunning to see. Already, this powered-up Goomba is susceptible of ripping disconnected chunks of the situation with its bare, disembodied hands, and hurling said chunks into different parts of the situation to make holes.

"In Super Mario Odyssey, there’s a brag called Knucklotec who attacks Mario with elephantine hands," Tanaka explained. "The programmer who created him tried attaching those arms to a Goomba arsenic an experiment. The Goomba could smash terrain, teardrop disconnected pieces to usage arsenic weapons, and propulsion them. Those actions felt amazingly satisfying, and we got a consciousness that this destruction-based gameplay could beryllium a compelling halfway mechanic."

"The results of our tests showed that destruction-based gameplay could work, and it was a bully lucifer for Donkey Kong’s tremendous strength," Motokura added. "We felt that the conception and the halfway gameplay had clicked into place."

Elsewhere successful the aforesaid Q&A, Nintendo discussed however Bananza volition beryllium thing of a template for the character's 3D platforming aboriginal games, splitting DK's appearances successful 2D and 3D titles.

Tom Phillips is IGN's News Editor. You tin scope Tom astatine [email protected] oregon find him connected Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social