Nintendo Finally Came Back to Donkey Kong

Donkey Kong Bananza is finally out, and for the first time in decades, it actually feels like Nintendo cares about Donkey Kong again. That alone is a big deal. After years of the franchise bouncing between external studios – Rare, Retro, Paon, Namco – Bananza was built by one of Nintendo’s top internal teams, the same group behind Super Mario Odyssey. It’s the kind of move fans have waited years to see, and it immediately raises the stakes.

Because here’s the thing: when Nintendo makes Donkey Kong games itself, they hit differently. You don’t even need to look that far back to see why. Just revisit Donkey Kong ’94 on Game Boy, a title that often gets overlooked but arguably deserves to sit alongside Nintendo’s best. It’s the clearest example of what Donkey Kong can be when he’s not treated like a side project.

Nintendo Finally Came Back to Donkey Kong

Nintendo at Its Most Inventive?

If you’ve never played Donkey Kong ’94, it’s worth fixing that. What starts as a faithful recreation of the 1981 arcade classic suddenly turns into a massive, 100-level puzzle-platformer that never stops throwing new ideas at you. It’s tight, clever, and constantly evolving in a way that still puts modern platformers to shame.

The game isn’t interested in spectacle or speedruns – it’s built around smart, compact levels that make you think. You’re constantly learning new mechanics, working out puzzles, and finding new ways to use Mario’s surprisingly athletic moveset. Moves like the backflip and side somersault actually made their debut here, long before Super Mario 64.

This was Nintendo doing what it does best: exploring a simple idea to its limits, then going beyond. It wasn’t flashy, but it was bold. And most importantly, it felt personal. Donkey Kong ’94 didn’t come from a license or a mandate. It came from Nintendo asking itself, “What if we took this seriously?”

Nintendo Finally Came Back to Donkey Kong

Bananza a Step in the Right Direction?

That’s what makes Bananza so exciting. You can already see that same creative energy showing up. The character design has more personality again – closer to the mischievous, animated ape from Donkey Kong ’94 than the more stoic look of the Tropical Freeze era. The gameplay leans into variety, mixing physicality, humor, and expressive mechanics in a way that suggests Nintendo’s putting real thought behind this version of DK.

And it’s about time. For years, Donkey Kong’s felt like a legacy brand Nintendo wasn’t quite sure what to do with. He had his moments – the Country series, Jungle Beat, Tropical Freeze – but none of it felt like a consistent vision. Bananza might finally be the start of one.

Nintendo Finally Came Back to Donkey Kong

Stop Treating Donkey Kong Like a Side Gig

The most frustrating thing about Donkey Kong’s history is how often Nintendo has sidelined him. He helped put the company on the map. He gave Mario his first role. But somehow, he’s never gotten the same level of attention or respect.

That’s what makes Donkey Kong ’94 so important – it’s proof that Nintendo can make a brilliant Donkey Kong game when it actually tries. And now that Bananza is here, there’s no excuse to retreat. No more farming out the series. No more decade-long gaps. Donkey Kong deserves to be part of Nintendo’s main creative lineup, right alongside Mario, Zelda, and Kirby.

Bananza shouldn’t be a one-off. It should be a reset – a new standard. And if Nintendo wants to know how to build on it, it should look back to 1994. That game still has more heart and inventiveness than most modern platformers. It showed what Donkey Kong could be, and Bananza proves the timing is right to build on that vision.

Nintendo finally showed up for Donkey Kong. The only question now is whether it’ll stick around.