A month ahead of the game's release, Nintendo premiered a Donkey Kong Bananza Direct today. Nintendo announced the news via the Nintendo Today app earlier this week, where the devs have been teasing the King of the Jungle's various new moves and abilities for a while.
Alongside Mario Kart World, Donkey Kong Bananza is one of the Nintendo Switch 2's huge launch titles, and it's also the first solo Donkey Kong game in over ten years, so saying that we're excited is a bit of an understatement. With the Donkey Kong Bananza release date just over a month away, the hype is definitely building.
The main reveal from the Direct is that DK's Odd Rock companion is actually a young version of the classic Mario character, Pauline. Earlier this year, an accidental leak from the Korean Nintendo account showed Pauline in the key art for Donkey Kong Bananza, but we didn't know what role she would play.
Donkey Kong has a range of new abilities in Donkey Kong Bananza, mostly based around smashing things, but he can also build structures, surf across the grass, and team up with Pauline to use the power of music. As the duo learns the elders' Bananza powers, Pauline can sing to transform DK into special forms. She also has full lines of dialogue!
As we suspected, this game is a spiritual successor to Super Mario Odyssey, opening up Donkey Kong's world like never before. It also seems to shake up the series' canon, as in the original Mario arcade game, it was actually a younger Cranky Kong who kidnapped Pauline as an adult.
This colorful and playful world looks jam-packed with content, including base building, costumes for Donkey Kong and Pauline that come with stat bonuses, a skill tree, and tons of collectibles. Donkey Kong Bananza also features two-player local co-op, where player two takes control of Pauline to release song blasts.
Not only does this game support GameShare between Nintendo Switch 2 consoles, but you can also share your adventure with players on the Nintendo Switch. Nintendo really pulled out all the stops with this one!
When was the Donkey Kong Bananza Direct?
Nintendo's Donkey Kong Bananza Direct premiered at 6am PT / 9am ET / 2pm BST on July 18, 2025. You can catch up on the showcase at the link below or on Nintendo's official YouTube channels.
Those are the highlights from the Donkey Kong Bananza Direct. If you're still exploring the new Mario game for the Nintendo Switch 2, Mario Kart World, be sure to consult our myriad of guides. We've covered the Mario Kart World costumes, Mario Kart World tracks, and how to unlock Mario Kart World's mirror mode.