Over a decade after his last outing and over 25 years since his last 3D one, Donkey Kong makes his triumphant return in Donkey Kong Bananza with a new design, a new sidekick in the form of a teenage Pauline, and a new moveset that enables him to smash pretty much every single surface and terrain in the game's vast underground world.
It also manages the unlikely feat of tying together the franchise's arcade, Rare, Jungle Beat, and Retro Studios eras into one cohesive whole, albeit at the cost of many heated debates over whether it's a prequel or sequel to Super Mario Odyssey.
Revisional Differences#
v1.0.0#
The original release.
v1.1.0#
Released July 16, 2025, one day prior to the game's launch.
- "GameShare (Local User)" and "GameShare (GameChat)" were added as options for "Co-op Play" in the Pause menu.
v2.0.0#
The first major update, released September 12, 2025. Added the "DK Island & Emerald Rush" paid DLC.
- DK Island has been added as an explorable area if the DLC is purchased. Players can travel to DK Island by speaking to Squawks in the Racing Layer before clearing the game, or by striking the Warp Going after clearing it.
- After reaching DK Island, the player can play Emerald Rush, a rougelike minigame, by talking to Void Kong.
- The number of Banandium Chips that can be stored has been increased from 9,999 to 99,999.
v2.0.1#
Released September 23, 2025. The following bugs were patched:
- The player could not get a disc as a reward for collecting all the balloons in the Bananza Rehearsals. If this error occurred, players could obtain the disc by entering the Rehearsal after installing the update.
- Some of Pauline's shouts wouldn't play when the Switch 2's language setting was set to "English (UK/Australia)" and Pauline's voice in "Options" was set to "Same as system."
v2.0.2#
Released October 21, 2025. The following bug was patched:
- In 2.0.0 and 2.0.1, Pauline's voice sometimes would not play when obtaining a fossil.
v3.0.0#
Released December 21, 2025.
- Thai has been added as a supported language.
- "Camera auto-follow feature" was added to "Options" in the Pause Menu, and made it so that you can set it ON/OFF.
v3.1.0#
Released January 21, 2026.
- Polish has been added as a supported language.
v3.2.0#
Released February 24, 2026. Addressed unspecified issues to improve the gameplay experience.
Emerald Rush Events#
Since October 28, 2025, monthly events have been held in the Emerald Rush mode, during which the player can obtain collectible statues that are otherwise unobtainable.
- Chip Fever: Lasted from October 28 to November 3, 2025, in DK Island. The following statues were obtainable:
- Enguarde
- Kong Bananza
- So Strong It's Funny: Lasted from November 25 to December 1, 2025, in the Hilltop Layer. The following statues were obtainable:
- Chunky Kong
- Lanky Kong
- Dig the Beat: Lasted from December 16 to 22, 2025, in the Landfill Layer. The following statues were obtainable:
- Ninja Kong
- Ghastly King
- Freeze Break: Lasted from January 20 to 26, 2026, in the Freezer Layer. The following statues were obtainable:
- Tucks
- Lord Fredrik
- Ostrich Riches: Lasted from February 17 to 23, 2026, in the Forest Layer. The following statues were obtainable:
- Expresso
- Ostrich Bananza
- Unyielding Strength: Lasted from March 31 to April 7, 2026, in DK Island. The following statues were obtainable:
- Wrinkly Kong
- Tiny Kong
- Rattlin' Snake Bananza: Lasted from May 12 to 19, 2026, in the Radiance Layer. The following statues were obtainable:
- Rattly
- Snake Bananza
- Kong Bananza Returns: Lasted from June 9 to 16, 2026, in the Canyon Layer. The following statues were obtainable:
- Tiki Goon
- Tiki Tong
- Elephant Bananza Stampede: Lasted from July 14 to 21, 2026, in the Tempest Layer. The following statues were obtainable:
- Ellie
- Elephant Bananza
- Bobbing for Baubles: Lasted from August 4 to 11, 2026, in the Resort Layer. The following statues were obtainable:
- DK Coin
- Kiddy Kong
- Lagoon Dash: Lasted from August 25 to September 1, 2026, in the Lagoon Layer. The following statues were obtainable:
- Winky
- Zebra Bananza
- Bananza Antics: Lasted from September 22 to September 29, 2026, in the Feast Layer. The following statues were obtainable:
- Candy Kong
- Funky Kong