Nintendo has just announced a special Direct showcase dedicated to Donkey Kong Bananza, an upcoming Switch 2 exclusive, taking place this Wednesday, June 18, at 6:00 am (PT) / 9:00 am (ET).
With the new console now on the market, major first-party releases are already lining up, and one of the most anticipated is the 3D platforming action adventure set to debut on July 17.
The 15-minute presentation was first revealed via the Nintendo Today! app and will focus solely on Donkey Kong Bananza, meaning no other other Switch 2 titles will be featured during the stream.
In Donkey Kong Bananza, the legendary ape returns with a fresh look and an all-new mission: to recover his stolen bananas from the greedy Void Company. This time, he’ll descend into a sprawling underground world, using his raw strength to demolish everything in his path.
“Bash through just about anything with the raw power of Donkey Kong! Crash through walls, carve tunnels with your fists, punch straight down into the ground, and even tear off chunks of terrain to swing around and throw in groundbreaking exploration,” reads the official game description. “The more you smash, the more areas open up for you to move through.”
We first caught a glimpse of DK’s new look in January during a brief cameo in the Mario Kart World teaser. But Nintendo did not explain this creative choice until recently, when company legend Shigeru Miyamoto said that the development team wanted something “more expressive” when reimagining the iconic gorilla.
In an interview with IGN, Miyamoto assured that he still has an active role when it comes to creating characters and explained the rationale behind the redesign.
“When we were talking about trying to create new versions, evolving Donkey Kong, we created the game called Jungle Beat. We worked together with the team that made 3D Mario. With the technology that was available at the time, we were able to make Donkey Kong more expressive,” he noted. “And going back to the design that Rare came up with, we reevaluated; what can we do with the design to make it more expressive? And then when it comes to the movie, we decided to move forward with this new generation Donkey Kong design.”
Donkey Kong Bananza will retail for $70, and the digital version will require 10 GB of free space.