Nintendo’s upcoming Donkey Kong Bananza, slated for release this Thursday, July 17th, on the Switch 2, wasn’t always destined for the next-gen platform. A recently published developer interview sheds light on the game’s evolution, revealing a pivotal decision that significantly impacted its development. This all changed, because according to Kenta Motokura, producer, the project began its life as a title for the original Switch.
The transition, which occurred around 2021, stemmed from challenges encountered by the development team—the same minds behind Super Mario Odyssey. The core issue? The ambition of the game outstripped the capabilities of the original Switch hardware.
Art director Daisuke Watanabe elaborated on the initial approach: “We first looked into how we could upgrade what we’d originally built for Switch to take advantage of Switch 2.”
“One of the most obvious improvements was that we could place far more objects in the environment than before… It convinced us that this game would be even more fun if we developed it for Switch 2.” – Daisuke Watanabe, Art Director
The team soon realized that the Switch 2 wasn’t just an upgrade; it was a necessity to realize their vision. It unlocked potential they hadn’t thought possible.
One of the core gameplay mechanics of Donkey Kong Bananza is its destructible environments. This, however, placed immense strain on the Switch’s system memory. Game director Wataru Tanaka explained the technical hurdles:
Common Misconception: Voxel technology is easily implemented across different platforms. Factual Correction: The memory demands of voxel-based destruction scale exponentially in 3D environments. New Understanding: Optimizing voxel density for performance is a major challenge in game development.
“So doubling all three dimensions [width, height, and depth in voxels compared to width and height in pixels] gives you 2 x 2 x 2, or eight times the data,” he said. “It may sound simple to just ‘double something,’ but the reality is that memory usage, voxel density, and all kinds of processes end up gobbling up eight times the resources. It was clear that the memory available on Switch would struggle to handle that load, and we felt that manifesting the huge volume of terrain that we did in this game might have been unachievable on that platform.”
The limitations weren’t purely about visual fidelity. They directly impacted gameplay. Actions like large-scale explosions or the collapsing of structures were deemed too demanding for the original hardware. The Switch 2 provided the necessary processing power and memory to bring these ideas back to the fore.
Here’s a summary of the key factors that drove the transition to Switch 2:
- Increased environmental detail and object density
- Implementation of large-scale destructible environments
- Higher frame rates (targeting 60 FPS)
- The ability to incorporate more ambitious gameplay features like dynamic destruction
Beyond the technical aspects, the shift to Switch 2 also had a psychological impact on the development team. “Things we’d given up on, like explosions flinging large objects or causing them to collapse, were now possible,” Tanaka added. “Designers could also place as many objects as they wanted. There were so many moments when we thought to ourselves, ‘Now we can really do this.’”
According to Watanabe, the Switch 2 didn’t just enable the game to run; “it unlocked the game’s full potential , no, it made the game possible.”
The decision to move Donkey Kong Bananza to the Switch 2 wasn’t just a technical one; it was a creative one. It allowed the developers to realize their vision without compromise, delivering a more ambitious and visually stunning experience. On a recent forum, a poster said “It changed how I see things,” remarking on the improved graphical fidelity on the game after seeing the trailer. This enthusiasm is reflected across social media, with users posting about the release date on X.com, or sharing gameplay speculation in Facebook groups. On instagram, one user commented “Can’t wait for DK!”.
Of course, there are concerns. Some potential buyers express worry that the shift to Switch 2 will mean a higher price point for the game, or that they simply won’t be able to get ahold of the new console in time for the release. The game’s succcess will depend on both the game and the consoles avaliability.
With the game’s launch just days away, the anticipation is building. Players are eager to experience the destructible world of Donkey Kong Bananza, a game that owes its existence to the power of Nintendo’s next-generation console.