Donkey Kong Bananza just went from looking like a neat new spin-off for Nintendo’s long-standing ape to one of the Switch 2's first killer single-player exclusives. A 15-minute dedicated Nintendo Direct showed off stunning levels and more mechanics, collectibles, and secrets than you could shake a golden banana at. From environmental destruction to ancient Kong power transformations, Bananza looks like it’s pulling out all the stops. We still don’t know who’s making it, but it’s looking like the Super Mario Odyssey launch year successor some (read: me) had been hoping for . I’m now a Bananza believer. Here’s everything we just learned about Nintendo’s next big 3D adventure.

The skies are beautiful but each new level in Donkey Kong Bananza is actually taking DK deeper underground. What he’ll discover in the planet’s core remains to be seen. Some big bananas will probably be involved, though.

As previously leaked in cover art, Pauline, the original damsel in distress Mario tries to save (steal?) from the arcade Donkey Kong game is DK’s companion in Bananza . She explodes from a rock and wants to be a singer. I’m sure the game will do wonders for the infamously convoluted Donkey Kong timeline .

The big gimmick in Bananza is that DK can break the environment to dig underground, throw giant chunks of rock, and create new structures on which to climb, jump, and get to where he’s going. Fortunately, there’s a reset button if you ever go too crazy.

How exactly are you expected to find all those collectibles if they’re hidden almost anywhere in the environment, including deep underground? One of DK’s most important new abilities looks to be sonar that gives him brief banana-vision whenever he slaps the ground.

In addition to ground pounds and throwing stuff, DK can also use chunks of rock to get a second jump in the air. It’s an obvious analogue to Mario using Cappy for a second jump in Super Mario Odyssey . I’m sure speedrunners will find some wild ways to exploit the character’s ever-expanding move set.

It’s unclear what role exactly the Naked Snake/Big Boss of the Donkey Kong universe will play, but it looks like players will run into him frequently during their adventure. I’m sure he’ll have tons of helpful advice. Maybe he’ll help DK with his budding record collection (you can collect music tracks to play on a record player back at camp as you explore).

Donkey Kong’s number one sidekick and their cousin made a quick cameo in the Direct but weren’t called out by name. Maybe they only make a small appearance in various challenge levels. Here’s hoping you can actually unlock them as playable allies some point during the game.

In addition to all of his other abilities, Donkey Kong can also harvest bananergy from collecting gold nuggets to transform into ancient creatures, including birds, zebras, and a much bigger Kong that can break larger rocks. The different transformations can even be chained together to reach hard-to-get-to spots on the map.

Called the Void Company, it consists of Grumpy Kong, Poppy Kong, and Void Kong and is hell-bent on sucking up all the golden bananas on Ingot Island. A blue overalled laborer trying to fight corporate goons for an equal share of the land’s riches? Has Nintendo gone woke?

Not surprisingly, each level of Ingot Island looks like it will culminate in a new boss fight as you face some contraption or monstrosity left behind by the Void Co. to stall DK’s journey. This time around, however, they look a lot like the boss fights in Super Mario Odyssey , with giant monsters zooming around big arenas as DK tries to bob and weave before finding an opening to smash them.

Challenge courses hidden throughout the game are reminiscent of both older Donkey Kong games’ bonus stages and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild ’s shrines. While some are puzzle-oriented 3D courses, others are 2D side-scrollers with mine carts or barrels, including a callback to Donkey Kong Country 2 's Bramble Blast.

You earn skill points that can be used to upgrade health and abilities like DK’s sonar ability for detecting treasure from farther away. Fortunately it doesn’t look too involved. No “+10 percent DPS” buffs to weigh between.

Like the best Donkey Kong Country games, Bananza seems stuffed to its eyeballs with things to collect, including gold that can be used to buy items as well as fossils and other currencies with which you can purchase stuff like new outfits which give Donkey Kong special buffs. One portion of the Direct showed clothes for swimming and for cold climates. It’s giving Link tunic vibes.

A testament to Bananza ’s scale is that it will have its own fast-travel system, both between levels and within them. Players can bring up a map to select specific checkpoints they want to return to, where perhaps they can use new abilities to reach areas that were previously inaccessible. Is the return of 3D Donkey Kong also the return of DKvania?

Similar to Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury , which let a second player control Bowser Jr. in the open-world Switch spin-off, Bananza will let a second player control Pauline and use her music abilities to stun enemies that are in DK’s way. The Switch 2 game also supports wireless play with an older Switch for someone to control Pauline that way as well.

Like most games, Bananza will let you pause to take a meticulously calibrated photo of the scene in front of you, but there’s also a sculpting mode that takes advantage of the Joy-Con mouse controls. It looks like a version of the main menu from Super Mario 64 , except with paint and clay you can use to build your own face. Maybe it’s a tease for a full-blown sequel to Mario Paint coming sometime down the road!

A new amiibo featuring DK and Pauline will be released alongside Bananza that will unlock a special outfit for the young singer. Existing figures will spawn regular spheres to aid players along their journey, while Donkey Kong-specific amiibo like King K. Rool will unlock exploding golden KONG tiles modeled after the collectible letters in the DKC games.