Donkey Kong Bananza gives one of Nintendo’s oldest icons a new lease on life — aside from Mario, DK’s the only one that’s been there since the very beginning. It feels like the latest in a long line of innovative platformers from Nintendo. But perhaps the most crucial part of Bananza is the tech behind it, the downright impressive destruction mechanics that let you shape and mold the world how you see fit. Bananza feels like a game that simply wouldn’t have been possible on the first Switch, even though it did start its life as one. And the way it redefines Donkey Kong feels like the perfect opportunity for Nintendo to do that same thing with its other icons — especially a certain fox that’s been on sabbatical for far too long.
It’s been nearly a decade since the last Star Fox game, with Star Fox Zero all the way back in 2016. The Wii U game, while having some interesting ideas, was received quite poorly and for good reason. The GamePad controls were a bit of a mess, and because the game stuck so firmly to tying everything to the GamePad, the overall experience suffered.
