Donkey Kong Bananza — Review
Nintendo's first proper 3D Donkey Kong in over two decades. A genuine swing for the franchise, built around destructible terrain and Kong's full physical range.
2 min read
Franchise Hub
Donkey Kong
Nintendo's heavyweight platforming series — from Rare's Country trilogy to Retro Studios' revival and beyond.
Donkey Kong has had two very distinct creative eras, both excellent in different ways. Rare's Country trilogy in the 1990s gave the series its identity — heavy, weighty platforming with a distinctive visual style and what's still some of the best platform-game music ever composed. Retro Studios' Returns and Tropical Freeze revived that sensibility a decade later with sharper controls and some of the most confident level design on Wii / Wii U.
In between and around those peaks is a less consistent catalogue — 64 is iconic but unusual, the spin-offs are uneven, and the franchise has often gone quiet for years at a time. The current era is beginning to feel like another active stretch.
This hub covers reviews, retrospectives, and the broader platformer-craft case for why Donkey Kong still matters.
Key Games in the Series
Donkey Kong CountryDonkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong QuestDonkey Kong 64Donkey Kong Country ReturnsDonkey Kong Country: Tropical FreezeDonkey Kong Bananza
Donkey Kong Reviews
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