Donkey Kong Bananza is everything I've ever wanted. As Nintendo’s number two guy, Donkey Kong has had a weird life. Since the original arcade game, the series has gone through peaks and valleys. We had Donkey Kong, followed by an 11-year hiatus after whatever the hell Donkey Kong 3 was, and then the incredible duo of DK94 and Donkey Kong Country revived the series for the late '90s. Then the big ape was sent to the spinoff mines before Retro once again revived the series for Donkey Kong Returns and the almighty Tropical Freeze, and after releasing one of the best 2D platformers ever, the series once again disappeared for 11 years before resurfacing for Donkey Kong Bananza.
What I’m trying to illustrate is that being a Donkey Kong fan is suffering. And even with the redesign, a prominent role in the Mario movie (with an apparent movie of his own coming), a theme park expansion, and rumors that the Mario Odyssey team was working on a DK game, I still didn’t believe. But when that Nintendo Direct ended and we saw the opening of what was obviously going to be the game I was most excited for – a new 3D Mario. It wasn't until I saw the monkeys mining – yes, there were bananas and minecarts all over the trailer; my dumb ass just didn't catch on – that I thought that this might be the time. It was – and it was better than I'd ever dreamed it could be.
