Everything Announced at The Donkey Kong Bananza Direct

Warning! The following article will drive you BANANAS!

Nintendo released the most Ape-PEELing update on their newest Donkey Kong video game, Donkey Kong Bananza, revealing new details on the game’s mechanics, power-ups, abilities, and so much more.

Nintendo also released new information on the game’s story, according to Gematsu: “The Donkey Kong Bananza game kicks off in Ingot Isle, where the discovery of the century has just been made within its cavernous depths: golden bananas! This turns out to be excellent news for renowned banana fan Donkey Kong, who just happens to be there for this incredible find. However, just before DK can indulge in the gilded treats, a tempest sends him hurtling deeper into the depths of the planet. There, he meets a mysterious new ally in Odd Rock, who turns out to be a talented young singer named Pauline! Together, the pair explores the vast Underground World by smashing, crashing, jumping, and singing their way through it. A rollicking adventure you can play solo or in cooperative play with a friend, Donkey Kong Bananza gives you new ways to cut loose and unleash your inner Kong!” Donkey Kong Bananza will be available on the Nintendo Switch 2 on July 17th, Pre-orders are available now.

What’s new in Donkey Kong Bananza:

• Smashing and Bashing: Donkey Kong will be able to utilize powerful new abilities at his disposal, where he will be able to smash his way through obstacles, enemies, and even unearth discoveries! With Dive Punch, players will be able to drill deep into the earth, roll themselves over obstacles, and perform a Hand Slap to help locate hidden items. You can also tear off chunks of ground to either throw at enemies or ride on top of by Turf Surfing and more. These abilities can even be combined for maximum mayhem!
• Bananza Transformations: One of the craziest things to roll out from Donkey Kong Bananza has to be the new Bananza Transformations. Pauline can help enhance Donkey Kong’s Destructive Abilities and has the power to help the Strong Ape temporarily transform, thanks to her singing! First, collect gold for their Bananergy, which allows Pauline’s singing to activate the transformations, each with its specialties. Like Kong Bananza, that makes Donkey Kong super strong, Zebra Bananza which makes him faster and lets him dash for short distances, and Ostrich Bananza which allows DK to fly and drop Egg Bombs on enemies!
• Co-Op Play: When you share a Joy-Con 2 Controller with a friend, you and your friend can control DK and Pauline separately in local co-op mode. You’ll be able to unleash Pauline’s vocal blast by using the Joy-Con 2 Controller’s Mouse functionality! You can also use GameShare to share the game and play in cooperative play with another player locally even if they don’t have the game themselves and use GameChat to invite friends online to join you via voice or video chat.

• A Race to the Planet’s Core: Legends tell a tale that the Planet Core can grant your heart’s desire, so Donkey Kong and Pauline set off on a quest to reach it. Pauline hopes it will be able to return her to the surface, while Donkey Kong plans to wish for, you guessed it, more Bananas! But our heroes are quick to learn that they aren’t the only ones who are trying to reach the Planet’s Core, the Void Company is joining the race to the Planet’s Core for their nefarious ideas! VoidCo is an evil mining organization whose reach extends through every layer of the Planet, not only responsible for the banana-stealing maelstrom that sent Donkey Kong hurtling underground in the first place, but they are also responsible for turning Pauline into Odd Rock. As they dig deeper toward the Planet’s Core, Donkey Kong and Pauline must do whatever they can to get there first!
• All About the Collectibles: As players make their way to the Planet’s Core, they will discover useful items along the way, like uncovering golden bananas called Banandium Gems buried behind walls, under the ground, and sometimes right out in the open. Uncovering these Banandium Gems earns you Skill Points that increase DK’s power and even allows you to learn new Skills to add to your disposal. Players can also earn Banandium Gems through challenges like timed battles, side-scrolling stages, obstacle courses and more. You will also uncover banana slice-shaped items called Banandium Chips and gold nuggets called Banandium Gold. You can trade Banandium Chips for Banandium Gems at the Chip Exchange and Banandium Gold for useful items at the Stuff Shop. As you dig for these banana-shaped goodies, you may also discover Fossils. If you happen to find one during your excavations, take them to the Style Shops and trade them for different fashions for Donkey Kong and Pauline, almost all of which come with useful extra benefits, as well as fur colors for DK.

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• New and Familiar Faces: While Donkey Kong and Pauline are uncovering the Void Company’s villainous activity, DK and Pauline will encounter many inhabitants in the Underground World. Including the Giant Elders, familiar faces such as Cranky Kong and Rambi will show up as well. You’ll also come face to face with Grumpy Kong, Poppy Kong (very popular amongst the artist community when first introduced earlier), and others who work for VoidCo leader, Void Kong.
• Getaways and Eelevators: Finally, a pun that makes me “eel“ good. If you’re needing a break, or to wind down from the adventure then look no further with a nice comfy bed to help restore your energy. You’ll be able to choose some unique music to help you rest. And if you want to explore areas you’ve already been to with ease, use the Eelevators—subterranean eels that can carry you quickly from layer to layer.

• Creative Game Modes: We’re getting more ways to have fun in Donkey Kong Bananza with new Creative Game Modes. First up is Photo Mode, where you can change the in-game camera angle and adjust other settings to snap your ideal pic. Next, is DK Artist, where you can use the Joy-Con 2 mouse controls to take a break from the action and carve designs into stone. You can even change the lighting and add banana effects to give your masterpiece its finishing touches.
• Amiibo: It has been confirmed that Bananza will support Amiibo Mode! Our favorite new duo will have an amiibo figure, and it will be available on July 17. This allows you to unlock Pauline’s in-game Diva Dress early and receive KONG tiles with explosive power. Scan other Donkey Kong character amiibo figures and you will also earn gold KONG tiles. What’s more, if you scan any other available amiibo, you’ll receive a giant sphere of terrain material to aid you on your adventure!

Source: Gematsu

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