## 2025-07-20 I don’t know if **Donkey Kong Bananza** is a reason to get a [[Thoughts on the Nintendo Switch 2|Switch 2]], but it’s certainly the reason I’m happy I own one. **DKB** is probably the most fun I’ve had playing a platforming game since **Super Mario 64**. It is a triumph of game design — not because it reinvents the wheel in any particular way, but because it is pure, unadulterated *fun*. The simple act of movement is fun — [[Bomb Rush Cyberfunk and Play for Play's Sake|which is vey important to me]]. Destroying stuff is fun. Collecting stuff is fun. The colors are fun, the music is fun — this is a game that understands why games as a medium exist as a wholly unique entity unto themselves. I’m trying to savor this game because the idea of a AAA 3D Platformer of this scale is simply incomprehensible in 2025. Not even **Astro Bot** has this much going on in it. Every level is varied in its mechanics while simultaneously being gigantic. And unlike **Mario Odyssey**, I feel much more of an urge to explore. Bananas require a bit more work than Moons, and getting them gives you new skills that you can also upgrade. I’m still not going to collect every single banana — there’s *967* of the things and I have a life to live — but I’m definitely going more out of my way to find as many as I can in each level of the game. It’s also a miracle that this game got me to like Donkey Kong as a character. I have always hated his stupid face, but the redesign in **DKB** has made him a lot more expressive, and subsequently more fun to hang out with. Pauline is similarly adorable. I love the way you get a little skit with her whenever you take a nap, adding more depth to her character. It’s the most storytelling I’ve seen in a [[Nintendo]] game since **Mario Galaxy**, and it’s nice to see. I hope they expound on that with the other games in the Switch 2 library. I’m probably ⅔ or ⅘ of the way through the game’s main story so far, but my thoughts on **Donkey Kong Bananza** are pretty solidified: this is one of, if not *the* best platformer ever made, the best game I’ve played in 2025, and if it sticks the landing, could hit [[My 25 Fave Games]] list. I’ll let y’all know when I’m done. --- I actually finished it later in the evening and yeah this is effectively the perfect videogame. The kind of game that reminds you why you love videogames in the first place. Just absolute perfection from start to finish. I struggle to find any real cons in it. Maybe the post-game sucks? I’m taking a break before I do the rest of that, but what a ride. I *need* more 3D platformers with big budgets y’all. I’m begging and pleading and crying on my knees asking for more.