Nintendo Confirms Donkey Kong Bananza Was Initially a Switch Exclusive

Donkey Kong Bananza, set to launch next week, is now a Nintendo Switch 2 exclusive—but it didn’t start that way. According to the game’s development team, the project initially began as a Nintendo Switch 1 title.

In a recent interview with IGN, producer Kenta Motokura revealed that development commenced on the original Nintendo Switch. However, as the team advanced their proprietary “voxel” technology—central to Bananza’s dynamic destruction mechanics—it became evident that the full potential of the system could only be realized on the more powerful Nintendo Switch 2.

Director Kazuya Takahashi expanded on this, introducing the concept of “continuity of destruction”—a core design philosophy in Donkey Kong Bananza. This approach guides players to destroy part of the environment, earn a reward, and uncover new areas ripe for destruction, creating a satisfying chain reaction of cause and effect. The team believed this concept could be significantly enhanced on the upgraded hardware.

“The Nintendo Switch 2 allowed us to implement an incredibly diverse range of materials and enable large-scale environmental transformations,” Takahashi explained. “When destruction is the heart of your gameplay, one crucial moment we wanted to preserve is when a player looks at a section of terrain and wonders, Can I break this? That sense of surprise and discovery is powerful—and it’s best achieved on the Switch 2.”

He also highlighted that it wasn’t just the console’s processing power that influenced the decision. The Switch 2’s new features, such as mouse support, opened up unique gameplay possibilities. For example, in co-op mode, a second player can use mouse controls to manage Pauline’s vocal blasts. Additionally, the mode DK Artist lets players sculpt vast voxel-based environments with precision, a feature made feasible by the upgraded hardware.

Interestingly, Donkey Kong Bananza isn’t the only first-party title to make this transition. Mario Kart World, another flagship Switch 2 release, originally started development on the Nintendo Switch 1 before moving to the newer platform to better support its expansive open-world design and 24-player online multiplayer.

For more insights from our conversation with Motokura and Takahashi—including the game’s origins and the reasoning behind Pauline’s 13-year-old portrayal—read the full interview [here], and explore our hands-on preview of Donkey Kong Bananza [here].