Gameplay based on destruction, but carefully considered
Getting a behind-the-scenes look at major video game studios is pretty rare, and it’s even more so when it comes to Nintendo. This is why these types of conferences are particularly valuable. They serve above all to inspire other developers (while obviously allowing Nintendo to advertise), but they also represent a golden opportunity for enthusiasts to understand how these extraordinary games are imagined, as well as the technologies implemented to make them a reality.
The interest is all the greater asThis is the team behind the excellent Super Mario Odyssey. Having not been able to attend the conference ourselves, we must rely on the feedback of those who had the chance to listen religiously to all this valuable information.
As a reminder, in Donkey Kong Bananzait is possible to destroy a large part of the environment. But the goal is not simply to sow chaos. The developers explain that they worked in depth on the visual aspect and the feeling of satisfaction linked to destruction. The idea is simple: destroying something is more fun when the object feels sturdy, detailed, and carefully crafted. In short, it is more satisfying to destroy something beautiful.
The development team also seems to have particularly appreciated the use of voxel technology, which allows the environment to be represented in the form of small manipulatable blocks (Minecraft being the best known example). According to Nintendo, Donkey Kong Bananza levels contain 347 million individually destructible voxels.
This approach allows dynamic environmental interactions, progressive and realistic destruction, as well as great freedom of action for players. The developers also explain that this technology is based on experiments carried out during the development of Super Mario Odyssey, in particular through various tests linked to advanced environmental interactions. This aspect had already been mentioned in an episode of “The developers have the floor”, published on the official Nintendo website in July 2025.
An idea inspired by a world of Super Mario Bros.
The development team also sought to reconnect the gameplay with Nintendo’s heritage. According to an anecdote told on site by Nintendo producer Kenta Motokura (reported by gamefile.news)the main idea of Donkey Kong Bananza was said to have been partly influenced by Super Mario Bros.’ iconic first underground level, World 1-2where it was notably possible to create a shortcut on the ceiling by breaking the blue bricks.
“I have loved this scene since I was a child. You can interact with almost anything that appears on the screen, and depending on how you do it, there are several ways to progress. »
Back when Motokura and his team were working on Super Mario Odyssey on Switch in 2017, they were considering implementing a destructible rock. It cracked when hit and gradually changed appearance as Mario smashed it with a hammer.
Kenta Motokura wasn’t sure if that was enough, however. He explains that he then remembered the famous underground level 1-2 of Super Mario Bros. Super Mario Odyssey engineers, encouraged to imagine a more spectacular approach to destruction, then designed a new way for this crackable rock to work. In the final version of the game, it was possible to throw a hammer at a block of yellow rock and gradually chip it.
This idea particularly excited Motokura. It proposed a game design approach where the character could interact with an entire surface of an object, rather than with a single specific point, which made it possible to affect several areas at the same time. It is this concept that would have helped launch the creation of Donkey Kong Bananza on Nintendo Switch 2.
Collective work also played a major role according to Nintendo. Donkey Kong Bananza thus represents the culmination of an accumulation of ideas from several generations of Nintendo games.
On a personal level, Donkey Kong Bananza is one of our “GOTYs” of the year 2025 and further proof of the creativity that characterizes Nintendo’s big productions, as well as its great capacity to always renew itself. Do not hesitate to consult our test to find out more.