From Odyssey Team to Ape Adventure
When Donkey Kong Bananza first surfaced, gamers immediately connected the dots to Super Mario Odyssey's development team. While that connection proved accurate, whispers about it starting as Odyssey DLC or sequel turned out to be just that - whispers.
In an exclusive IGN interview, producer Kenta Motokura (who previously directed Super Mario Odyssey) pulled back the curtain on Bananza's genesis. The project kicked off when Nintendo's executive Yoshiaki Koizumi directly approached the Odyssey team with a bold proposal: to craft a 3D Donkey Kong adventure.
The Great Ape Resurrection
When pressed about why Nintendo chose to revisit Donkey Kong after two decades since Jungle Beat (the last internally developed DK title), Motokura offered an intriguing perspective: "With Nintendo's rich roster of characters, we're constantly evaluating which franchise would create the most excitement at any given moment. Though," he quickly added with a smile, "you'd really need to ask Mr. Koizumi for his exact thinking."
Consulting the Legends
The development journey began with two crucial consultations. First, the team sought wisdom from Donkey Kong's creator himself, Shigeru Miyamoto. "Mr. Miyamoto emphasized showcasing DK's raw power through signature moves like his thunderous hand slaps and powerful breath attacks," Motokura recalled.
They also turned to Koizumi, Jungle Beat's director, who highlighted DK's unique physiology. "Those long, powerful arms became a focal point - a fundamental difference from Mario's more versatile but less brawny movement," Motokura explained.
The Voxel Revolution
Meanwhile, an Odyssey programmer's voxel experiments were reshaping the game's direction. These 3D building blocks (which had made cameos in Odyssey's cheese-digging and snow-crunching mechanics) were being pushed further - allowing players to reshape environments in dramatic ways.
"The magic happened when we combined DK's brute strength with this voxel tech," Motokura revealed. "Suddenly we had our core gameplay - destruction on a massive, physically satisfying scale that only DK could deliver."
The full interview with Motokura and director Kazuya Takahashi dives deeper into Bananza's place in DK lore and its next-gen Switch 2 ambitions. Catch our complete coverage and hands-on impressions via the links below.
