Topic: Donkey Kong Bananza

@Dev-N Nah, I think that's just a lighting effect. Notice many of the pics where he looks "orange" are during sunset and other such scenarios where his fur might be reflecting light. I don't think this is hinting towards some sort of gameplay mechanic, at best they might be trying to hint towards dynamic time of day (and I'm not even sure it's doing that since the same levels seem to have the same time of day).

Although I'm not big on DK's new look, this was a showstopping announcement.

For the first time since 1999, we get to a new DK 3D platformer.

Long live collect-a-thons!

I'll be honest, I wasn't chuffed with DK's new look from the Mario Kart World teaser a few months ago. But it has grown on me. This game was a highlight for me today! I was thinking we're overdue for a new Donkey Kong game after briefly firing up Tropical Freeze on my Wii U last weekend.

I love his new look, honestly. Mix of old-school with the modern movie.

@jump Do it… Do it!

On Topic: this one surprised me. I’m not a DK (or 2D Mario) fan but at first I thought this was a new 3D mario and then my brain said DK64 sequel. And then seeing the destructive environments and the colorful landscape and at that point I was like “whatever this is, I am buying it”.

I think people are being too melodramatic about the lack of Rare-era concepts, as if Nintendo is permanently abandoning those ideas. It's one thing to be disappointed in a lack of certain characters, but it's stupid to act like Nintendo's erasing that part of DK'S legacy out of spite.

Hey lookit! 'sa Cranky Kong!

I'm surprised that a 3D Mario game hasn't been announced in the Switch 2 direct, but this is still appreciated for sure. It's been so long since Donkey Kong had his last platforming adventure, and Bananza looks great. Can't wait to play this one, and Donkey Kong's new character design has also been growing on me.

Day 1 for me. Donkey Kong will forever hold a special place in my heart. Did not see this coming at all.

@N00BiSH I know it would seem like heresy that i liked DK's new look but the expressions were just oozing with style. And that just made me like his new design more.

...DK's look isn't doing it for me, I mean...yeah I get it, old-school DK, whatever. I just, prefer modern DK, I hope he comes back.

Watching the Treehouse stream, I even saw Cranky and he looked...unchanged...just seeing him next to the new DK look is just, weird. lol

On the topic of his design, I don’t know if I’m just an easy to please person when it comes to DK or platformer games, but I absolutely enjoy his newer design, and it just has wayyyyy more expressiveness and cartooniness than before.

I don’t really mind them making his personality a bit more sillier on top of his more silly look. Seeing them redesign him was a surprise, but I like both the Rare and old-school designs equally, plus the cartoony expressions on the new design are kind of reminding me of how cartoony Rare’s platformer characters were animated. I wonder if this will be his design from now on, given it’s also being used in MKW. I assumed that the new design was a one-off when they showed MKW months ago, but after seeing Bananza, it feels like there is a good chance the new design will be used more from now on…

@Pastellioli given that they're updating the designs of the Mario cast, it's very likely that they're going to stick with this new design for a while, which is fine, because I think it's a solid design - I'd even argue it's more of a hybrid of both DK's designs than it is a full-on throwback.

@N00BiSH Yeah, I am fine with the redesigns because they also have a lot of personality and fun, especially DK’s retro-inspired design and how the trailer for Bananza showed off a lot more personality with him and his design. Plus I also don’t mind the more fantastical-looking setting and elements in the game too.

A lot of people say DK’s newer design looks bad or off, and I can get people being really used to the Rare design, but I think the retro design is nice, and there are other video game character redesigns out there that actually look bad. I definitely don’t mind a lot of the Mario characters getting redesigns or tweaks to their current designs.

They put up the gameplay videos from the Treehouse stream up separately, so I figured why not put them here:

So, if we get a new Smash Bros game, we can expect the new DK to feature. Granted, he's not as menacing as the usual one.

The rumors were true. The game looks UNBELIEVABLE

I'm only a medium Donkey Kong fan, but after watching the treehouse, this game looks phenomenal. I could imagine ending up liking it more than Odyssey. I wish this game came in a Switch 2 bundle rather than Mario Kart.

The outdoor sections do look a lot like "Tears of the Donkey Kong".

@StuTwo I got Forgotten Land vibes just stretched out