As the release of Donkey Kong Bananza approaches, Nintendo EPD has opened up about the design philosophy and technical challenges behind the game in a new interview. Speaking to La Vanguardia, producer Kenta Motokura and director Kazuya Takahashi shared fresh insight into the upcoming Nintendo Switch 2 exclusive, emphasizing that gameplay satisfaction, particularly the joy of destruction, was the team’s primary focus, even if it came at the cost of occasional frame rate dips.
The development team made it clear that destruction is not just a feature, but the central theme around which the entire game is constructed. “Absolutely,” Motokura said when asked whether destruction was a core design goal. “The entire team decided early on that destruction would be the central theme of the game. All gameplay elements were developed around that idea.”
Takahashi expanded on the challenge this introduced, especially when designing levels that could be almost entirely demolished. “One of our major challenges was level design,” he noted. “Especially the underground levels, where players can dig through terrain to uncover power-ups. We implemented an underground camera system to make this excavation experience more immersive. This digging-reward loop is one of our biggest technical achievements.”
Although the destructible environments may remind some players of Minecraft, Motokura clarified that no specific title influenced the game’s vision. Instead, the game’s roots go back to shortly after the release of Super Mario Odyssey in 2017, which was developed by the same Nintendo EPD division. Originally planned for the first Switch, the project shifted to the Switch 2 as its scope expanded. “To support large-scale destructible environments and ensure visual continuity, we needed the power of Switch 2,” Takahashi explained.
Performance, while generally solid, has drawn some early attention due to noticeable frame rate drops during certain segments. Takahashi acknowledged this, explaining that some of it is actually deliberate. “Some visual effects like slow motion are intentional to emphasize impacts,” he said. “Also, voxel-based destruction can cause performance dips during large-scale changes. We prioritized gameplay satisfaction over perfect performance in those moments.”
Set for release on July 17, 2025, Donkey Kong Bananza is a 3D platformer that follows Donkey Kong and a young Pauline as they journey underground to reclaim stolen banana-shaped diamonds from a group of villainous apes. The game features sandbox-style level design, building on mechanics established in Odyssey, while introducing dynamic terrain destruction as a core part of both progression and discovery. Players can forge paths, uncover hidden items, and reshape the environment in real time using Donkey Kong’s raw strength.
