Nintendo: $80 Games and Bananas (feat. Donkey Kong: Bananza)

I would definitely identify as a Nintendo fan. I have mentioned in previous pieces how the overwhelming majority of my exposure to gaming as a youth was through Nintendo. Gaming even back for me had a social element to it. I could talk about Pokémon or Zelda with my friends who were also playing these games. Being too young and too dumb to get out of Clock Town with my friends in The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask is definitely a core memory. I mention this to highlight that I have a clear nostalgic bias towards these games and this company. While I do greatly enjoy these characters and experiences that largely only Nintendo can provide, there are plenty of industry decisions that this company has made that have seriously negative impacts on consumers.

Nintendo was founded in 1889 as a playing card manufacturer. They were known for producing toys as early as the 1960s, but really hit the scene in the 70s as arcade games took the world by storm. Fast forward to the present, and Nintendo is one of the big three video game competitors out there, alongside Xbox and PlayStation. Presently, Nintendo does not lead the race in the highest level of graphics or fastest components. They target a level of quality and polish to their games coupled with unique intellectual properties (IPs) that lie exclusively with Nintendo in order to drive sales. Basically, while Xbox and PlayStation chase high framerates and resolution to run the most visually impressive games, Nintendo chases the gaming experience and works backward from there. There is no right or wrong answer to which company is doing the best/worst job right now. Everyone has a personal taste and history with video games that guides their decisions on what games to spend their time with and what platform is best suited for them. I split my time between PC gaming and playing on my Nintendo Switch 2 nowadays (I think I will be forever disappointed that ‘Super Nintendo Switch’ was not the name of this latest console).

As is the case with many electronics launches, the Switch 2 had limited supply upon launch. While there were reported instances of brick-and-mortar stores having units able to be bought on launch day (aside from pre-orders), that certainly was not the case for my area. While I would check stock occasionally, I was not very aggressive in my search. I was able to get one about a month after launch at retail price. Presently, there are multiple storefronts in my area where I have seen ample Switch 2 systems for sale.      

At the time of writing, the only notable exclusive titles for the Switch 2 are Mario Kart World (fun certainly, but not earth shattering) and Donkey Kong: Bananza.  The latter title was the reason I wanted to get a Switch 2 so early in the first place. Here is my complete playthrough of the game for anyone who wants to see my first-hand impressions:

Donkey Kong: Bananza was a nice reminder of why I play games. Having a fresh new world to run around in and explore as I saw fit was satisfying. This game tasks Donkey Kong with exploring various sub-layers of the planet to reach the planet core. Along the way, there are plenty of collectibles to find like gold, Banandium chips, and Banandium Gems. This game was developed by the same team responsible for the Mario Galaxy games, Mario Odyssey, Mario 3D World and Captain Toad Treasure Tracker. This is a very impressive lineage of games and Donkey Kong: Bananza fits right in. The Banandium gems are very similar to Mario Odyssey’s moons as they are littered all around the stages the player is tasked with exploring. I found that even though I was never specifically required to collect any of the Banandium gems to progress the story, I was magnetically drawn to them when I saw them lying around. There are sub-areas of the levels where a set number of Banandium gems can be found (usually 1 to 3 gems). While nothing required me to explore these stages, I largely could do so at my own pace. Seeing the curated mini-stages led to fun experiences and I especially enjoyed the 2D side-scroller sections reminiscent of the Donkey Kong Country series. It was a strange experience being surrounded by so many collectibles while the game let me decide what to pursue and what was not worth my time. While I have some issues with the game to elaborate on, I always got a hit of joy each time the “Oh, Banana” sound played when collecting a Banandium Gem.

My criticism of the game is that it largely fails to stick the landing. In the final sections of the game, I was supposed to unlock three gated areas by paying basically a toll. I arrived to this section with approximately 5,000 gold in my inventory. I could handedly afford the first gate at 1,000 gold. The next gate cost 5,000 gold, which I could no longer afford. I then had to return to previous sections of the game to grind gold to afford to pass. I finally return and pay the toll, only to be immediately met with a third and final gate costing a whopping 9,999 gold. I have absolutely no idea why this was a necessary inclusion in the game, but the thirty minutes I spent monotonously gathering the requisite payment is time I will never get back.

Another issue I have with the game is the handling of the final boss and boss fight. The antagonist that DK had been chasing the entire game is completely sidelined in the 11th hour. This was reminiscent of The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, where a very similar situation arises. The game seemingly could not decide when to end, having a boss fight, an end credits fake out, an escape sequence, followed by replaying the earlier boss fight again now with more frustration. It felt like the nonchalant vibes and format I was used to with the game was thrown out the window for a wild difficulty spike that, despite me overcoming it, felt unjustified.

Performance issues did occur in some of the more intense sections of the game, usually where a lot of effects were happening on screen, like in boss fights. I do not want to put too much negative connotation on these stutters, because while watching back the footage, my capture card (which records at 60 frames per second) seems to have been largely unaffected. Things sometimes lag a tad in the recordings, but not nearly to the extent that I was seeing slowdown on my monitor while playing. This points to some issue between the Switch 2 and my monitor which I will have to investigate further. Considering that 99% of the game ran just fine for me, I am willing to worry about this another time. Notably, Donkey Kong: Bananza was developed solely for the Switch 2. There are several upcoming first-party Nintendo games announced for the remainder of the year which are launching both on the original Switch as well as Switch 2. Pokémon Legends: Z-A as well as Metroid Prime 4: Beyond will launch on both consoles and hopefully that means that there will be minimal performance issues on Switch 2 as these games need to run on the weaker hardware of the original Switch system.

My overall opinion of the Switch 2 at this point is mixed. I like the feel of the console and I certainly love how secure the new Joy-cons fit into the console. There is no wobble like on the original Switch and its update revisions. I like that the dock has built in USB ports and has the ability to directly plug in Ethernet cables like the Switch OLED. I am not a fan of the new dock design. The backplate comes off similarly to the Switch OLED model. While aesthetically it is appealing, the space for the wires on the backplate makes it cumbersome to put back on. I feel this is largely a step backwards from the original Switch dock which had a backplate on a hinge rather than a fully detachable one. I also was not a fan of the Switch UI. While I tolerate it, I was not thrilled when I found out that the Switch 2 would have a near identical operating system. There are a few new bells and whistles, and the eShop finally works as intended (Original Switch eShop riddled with performance issues). Largely, I find that the Switch 2 fixes a lot of the mistakes made throughout the iterations of the original Switch, but at $450, I can see how that would be a difficult barrier to entry for folks when many features are identical to the original Switch.

Videogames have always been an expensive medium. For years, the price of games was stagnant at $60. This is no longer the reality we live in. As companies seek out further profits, many sought to test the waters on increasing the price of a game. I can recall many instances of a ‘collector’s’ edition which would be $10-20 more expensive than the ‘standard’ edition. It would seem that these studios and companies discovered that people were in fact willing to pay more than $60 for a game. With inflationary forces at play, and a global pandemic, many companies inflated their prices of products. As supply chain issues resolved and the world returned to some semblance of normalcy, consumers did not see prices return to back to the previous levels. Now Nintendo has started raising its prices in kind. More than likely the potential US tariffs were pre-baked into the Switch 2 price at $450. Nintendo specifically announced that it would not be raising prices on the console after the tariffs went into effect, however, they slightly increased the prices of the controllers and accessories for the device at this point. Nintendo more quietly raised prices on its games. If you do not purchase the digital Mario Kart World bundle with your Switch 2, purchasing the game separately will set you back $80! Many other games such as The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, Donkey Kong: Bananza, Cyberpunk 2077, and even fucking Madden 26 launched as $70 dollar games. The jump from $60 to $70 is an increase of 16%. The jump from $60 to $80 is 33%. These titles, in my opinion, are not iterative enough to provide value to this increase in price. While I will continue to enjoy these Switch 2 titles as much as I can, I cannot recommend this platform wholeheartedly until these issues in the industry and with Nintendo specifically are addressed.

It’s not all doom and gloom. For those who still have an original Nintendo Switch, it seems that Nintendo has not forsaken you yet. While some content will be locked behind the Switch 2, many of the upcoming exclusive titles will also come to the original Switch at a lower price point. As long as you are having fun with the titles you choose to play, I do not see a problem with steering clear of the cutting edge releases until they prices fall or some discount or sale occurs. I have written extensively about cost-effective ways to build up a gaming library, so check out some of my other pieces for further tips and tricks.

I made a tier-list of Nintendo Consoles just for the fun of it. Please understand that I am a harsh grader. If I gave the console a B or higher, I think it is of great quality. The only device I awarded S-rank to was the New Nintendo 3DS XL as I have put countless hours into that device. With the closure of the Nintendo eShop on that device, I pursued unlocking the 3DS’s full potential with custom firmware that breathed new life into a device that was all but defunct in the eyes of Nintendo. I look forward to writing about that experience sometime in the future.

Thanks for reading!