Nintendo: Donkey Kong Bananza Was a Switch 1 Title

Donkey Kong Bananza, launching next week, is a Nintendo Switch 2 exclusive title, though it wasn't always planned that way. The developers revealed that the game was originally envisioned for the Nintendo Switch 1.

In a new interview with IGN, producer Kenta Motokura explained that development initially started on the Nintendo Switch 1. However, as the team advanced the "voxel" technology powering Bananza's destruction mechanics, it became evident that the Nintendo Switch 2 was the ideal platform for fully realizing this innovation.

Director Kazuya Takahashi elaborated by introducing the concept of "continuity of destruction"—a core design philosophy in Donkey Kong Bananza. This approach encourages players to destroy parts of the environment, receive rewards, and then discover new destructible areas with further incentives. Takahashi noted that the Nintendo Switch 2 hardware enabled the team to expand on this philosophy.

“Developing for the new hardware allowed us to craft an incredibly diverse range of materials and implement large-scale environmental transformations,” he said. “Since destruction is central to gameplay, we wanted to preserve the moment a player looks at terrain and wonders, 'Can I break this?' That sense of surprise is powerful, and the Switch 2 delivered it best.

“It wasn't just the processing capabilities of the Switch 2 that opened up intriguing possibilities; the hardware itself introduced features like mouse support. This lets a second player in co-op mode control Pauline's vocal blasts or use DK Artist, a mode where you sculpt expansive voxel sets.”

This development path mirrors that of another first-party Nintendo Switch 2 title, Mario Kart World. Before its release, we learned that Mario Kart World also began development on the Nintendo Switch 1 before transitioning to the Switch 2 to better support its open-world design and 24-player multiplayer.

We discussed a range of Bananza-related topics with Motokura and Takahashi, including the game's original concept and the reasoning behind Pauline's 13-year-old portrayal. You can read the full interview here and check out our hands-on preview of the game here.