All things considered, it seems safe to say that fans don’t appreciate Nintendo’s price antics lately. The recent Nintendo Direct confirmed the most expensive amiibo of all time, a $70 Super Mario Galaxy collection, and now a $20 Donkey Kong Bananza DLC two months after launch. That’s not inherently a problem – Bananza was in development for quite some time, given that it started out as a Switch 1 game. That said, the Nintendo Direct doesn’t do a very good job of telling you what the DLC actually is. From the previews, you would think DK Island is Donkey Kong Bananza’s version of the Mushroom Kingdom. And in many ways, it is – but it doesn’t have any Banandium Gems or fossils, nor any collectibles other than new outfits tied to the titular Emerald Rush mode. In other words, DK Island is essentially a big, pretty set piece – it’s nice to look at and fun to explore for a few minutes, but there’s not really anything of substance within.

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Donkey Kong Bananza 2.0.0 update out now, patch notes

Posted on 3 months ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Switch 2 | 0 comments

Going along with DLC just revealed for the game, Donkey Kong Bananza has received a new 2.0.0 update.

Support for the DLC is naturally the big feature here. On top of that though, Nintendo has increased the Banandium Chips cap to 99,999. Other unspecified changes are also included, so you’ll want to install the update when you can.

Here’s the official rundown from Nintendo;

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Donkey Kong Bananza reveals DK Island and Emerald Rush DLC, demo out today

Posted on 3 months ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Switch 2 | 0 comments

New DLC is on the way to Donkey Kong Bananza with DK Island and Emerald Rush DLC. This will be available starting today. On top of that, a free demo hits the Nintendo eShop today.

Courtesy of Nintendo, we have the following details about the DLC:

More: DLC, Donkey Kong Bananza, September 2025 Nintendo Direct, top

Nintendo experimented with adult Pauline in Donkey Kong Bananza

Posted on 4 months ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Switch 2 | 0 comments

Donkey Kong Bananza introduced young Pauline into the mix, but it turns out that Nintendo originally experimented with the adult version of the character that fans were previously familiar with.

That information comes from an interview with Japanese magazine Nintendo Dream. During that discussion, producer Kenta Motokura indicated that the team wanted to feature Pauline early on, “but we could not find a way for her to fit well into the gameplay.” Later on, the character was made younger as it was more natural for her to be on DK’s back that way.

Below is our translation of the excerpt regarding adult Pauline in Donkey Kong Bananza:

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Super Mario Odyssey vs. Donkey Kong Bananza – comparing the games, deciding which is better

Posted on 4 months ago by Ethan in Features, Switch, Switch 2 | 0 comments

Donkey Kong Bananza has been out for over a month now, and it’s been met with glowing reviews and plenty of excitement. I gave it a great score in my own review, but after writing it there was one specific question on my mind – is it better than Super Mario Odyssey? In a way, you could say comparison is the thief of joy, but this gave me an excuse to replay both Odyssey and Bananza to form a conclusive answer. And by “conclusive answer”, I mean “an opinion backed up by a couple thousand words’ worth of explanations”. So today, we’re doing a Super Mario Odyssey vs. Donkey Kong Bananza analysis, comparing their strengths and weaknesses, and seeing which one comes out on top – if any. Do keep in mind that we’ll eventually discuss spoilers for both games, so you might want to bookmark this post and come back later if you’re trying to avoid Donkey Kong Bananza’s ending details.

More: Donkey Kong Bananza, highlight, Super Mario Odyssey, top

Here’s something you may not have noticed about what can happen when DK dies in Donkey Kong Bananza

Posted on 4 months ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Switch 2 | 0 comments

Donkey Kong Bananza has a special death Easter egg that you may not have noticed. We at least didn’t know about it initially, and in looking into this, it seems a bunch of other players were unaware as well.

We’ll be going into light spoiler territory, so keep that in mind before proceeding. We’re not covering anything story-related, but we will reference one of the final layers in the adventure.

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Nintendo Switch Online adds Donkey Kong Bananza icons

Posted on 4 months ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Switch 2 | 0 comments

July 16: It’s that time once again: a new Nintendo release comes with the latest set of icons on Switch Online, this time for Donkey Kong Bananza.

The first set is now available, lasting until July 23. Nintendo Switch Online members can spend their Platinum Points on various icons on a weekly basis. New icons will go up every Wednesday (Thursday for those in Europe) until August 13 at 6 PM PT / 9 PM ET.

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Tetris 99 announces 48th Maximus Cup with Donkey Kong Bananza theme

Posted on 5 months ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Switch | 0 comments

Nintendo is preparing a 48th Maximus Cup which can provide players with a new Donkey Kong Bananza theme, it’s been announced.

This is actually the first promotion of the Nintendo Switch 2 era. However, the rules are the same as usual. You’ll just need to reach 100 points (higher placement in matches gives more points) in order to unlock the Donkey Kong Bananza theme in Tetris 99. It will have background art, music, and Tetrimino designs based on the title. This goes without saying, but you’ll need a Nintendo Switch Online membership in order to play.

More: Donkey Kong Bananza, Tetris 99

Donkey Kong Bananza player beats the game with 0 bananas collected

Posted on 5 months ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Random, Switch 2 | 0 comments

Donkey Kong Bananza has tons of bananas to collect throughout its many layers, but one players has done what most probably haven’t – which is obtaining zero of them.

Akfamilyhome shared the feat on social media. At this point this is the first time we’re hearing about a player beating Donkey Kong Bananza with 0 bananas collected (at least in terms of sharing that accomplishment online and having it be widely recognized).

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How to farm Banandium Chips in Donkey Kong Bananza

Posted on 5 months ago by Ethan in Guides, Switch 2 | 0 comments

For those playing Donkey Kong Bananza, we’ve got a new guide that serves as a helpful way to farm Banandium Chips.

As you might expect from a collect-a-thon platformer, Donkey Kong Bananza takes quite a while to 100 percent complete. Even if you grab all static Banandium Gems, you won’t have enough Skill Points to max out your Skill Tree. For that, you’ll need to trade in Banandium Chips for extra Banandium Gems. You’ll earn a fair number of these just by playing through the game, but inevitably you’ll get to the point where you need to collect more.

We’ve tested several different methods and have settled on the fastest one – shout-out to Relative_Barber_1921 on Reddit for figuring this one out. The location of this method is one of the later layers in the game, so if you’re looking to avoid spoilers of all kinds, you might want to bookmark or remember this post and come back later.