00:12Welcome to MojoPlays, and today we're taking a look at the 10 things you should know before
00:17buying and playing Donkey Kong Bonanza.
00:27Before we begin, we publish new videos all week long, so be sure to subscribe to MojoPlays
00:32and ring the bell to be notified about our latest videos.
00:44Story Bonanza's premise is a little unlike any of the previous Donkey Kong games. Remember
00:50all those minecart levels? Well, Nintendo is going hard on the mining theme with this one.
00:55DK and the denizens of Ingot Isle have been digging and digging and digging for a tasty
01:01new mineral known as Banandium. Unfortunately, this tasty treasure has attracted the attention
01:07of Voidco, a small band of malicious apes that have begun a crusade in sealing off and hoarding
01:14digging sites containing Banandium ores as much as possible. Donkey Kong's going to have to punch,
01:20toss, clap, and slam his way through layers of the planet if he is to stop Voidco.
01:34Donkey Kong's New Design
01:37Of course, the immediate question everyone had upon seeing Donkey Kong Bonanza was,
01:42why does he look so different? Indeed, there has been a lot of disdain towards his new redesign,
01:47but in all honesty, the discourse doesn't make a lot of sense. Nintendo has already stated why
01:53they've gone with his new look, the reason being to make DK more expressive. We would like to throw
01:59one other factor into this. Are we really the only people who saw this design and immediately
02:03recognized Donkey Kong from the original games in the 80s? Or just going to forget the classic
02:09Donkey Kong arcade cabinet art? Yeah, just saying. Total Destruction
02:24The biggest appeal in Donkey Kong Bonanza is the destructible environment. From all the footage
02:29Nintendo has shown, the world of Bonanza looks to be entirely destructible. Simply get your hands on a
02:35piece of the ground and you can tear out chunks to throw around or smack enemies with. Obviously,
02:41your destruction is going to be somewhat limited, as destroying literally the entire level is going
02:46to break the game in some way. Thankfully, you will be given a 3D map that will update as you
02:51change parts of the world, so if you get a little too crazy with the destruction and wind up getting
02:56lost in your own mazes of tunnels, you'll have something to refer to. Worst case, just keep digging
03:02until you find an exit. Total Traversal
03:08At first, the massive worlds might seem intimidating to explore, which is a fair assessment to make after
03:14the slightly more compact worlds of Super Mario Odyssey. Well, just as they did with Mario's 3D
03:20outing on Switch, Nintendo is giving Donkey Kong a solid assortment of traversal skills to make
03:26navigating easy and fun. You can barrel roll through terrain and climb just about any structure you see,
03:32all without the fear of an ever decreasing stamina meter. You may even be able to strengthen some of
03:38your traversal abilities once you start acquiring skill points. Total... clapping?
03:44Hand slap! Make some noise to collect scattered items!
03:48Now, with the amount of Banandium ores to collect and the seemingly endless nooks and crannies to uncover,
03:54it's easy to see how one might feel overwhelmed and fatigued by how long this game is looking to take.
04:00Luckily, this is yet another hurdle that is smaller than it seems. Donkey Kong Bonanza contains a clapping
04:06and slamming ability that gives DK a sort of echolocation ability. By clapping or slamming the ground,
04:13you'll be able to detect hidden items such as Banandium ores beneath surfaces. This mechanic alone
04:19is definitely going to make completing the game a lot easier.
04:28Terrain of Toys
04:30As you explore the many different layers of the world, you'll come across a wide variety of different
04:36rock types that'll change the way you interact with things. We have already seen one variant of
04:41rock be used as explosives and gold can be used in a similar fashion, but the direct we saw in
04:46June
04:472025 showed off a few more different types of rocks. You can use a chunk of ice to surf across
04:53or wash away
04:54lava, you can use soft sand rocks to build new structures such as bridges or towers, and then there are
05:01rainbow rocks that can help DK fly into the air. There's a good chance that those are the only
05:06kinds of rocks you'll see for the rest of the game, but we wouldn't be surprised if Bonanza is hiding
05:11just a couple more special minerals elsewhere. Oldies but goodies.
05:18Even though some diehard DK fans might not like the new look of the gorilla, Bonanza does pay tribute to
05:25Donkey Kong's decades-long history. For starters, the June 2025 Direct specifically acknowledged
05:31Cranky and Ramby's inclusion in Bonanza. However, there were a few shots where we saw Diddy and
05:37Dixie Kong hanging around. The love for DK digs deeper than just that though. A handful of songs are
05:44remixes of classic Donkey Kong themes, a few of which use the legendary tunes from SNES Donkey Kong Country
05:51games. And I gotta ask, did anybody else in here hear that new version of the DK rap? It slaps.
06:02The Wrath of Voidco
06:04We want to rewind back to the Voidco crew for just a brief bit of clarification and speculation.
06:11In the Direct, Nintendo briefly talked about what each member's role in Voidco is, but most of the
06:17gameplay shown was DK going against bigger baddies made of rock. That said, one might dismiss them as
06:24another rendition of the Brutals from Super Mario Odyssey. In that game, the Brutals were kind of quick
06:30and easy breaks from Bowser and some of the bigger bosses. The Voidco crooks may only fight DK directly
06:37as a last resort, say after a couple of other bosses created or influenced by them. We'll see though.
06:43Return of the Damsel
06:57Getting back on track with what we do know, Nintendo has already revealed the true identity of the
07:02mysterious Odd Rock. What was once a quirky purple pebble turns out to actually be the former damsel in
07:09distress, Pauline. And she's not a captive, nor is she a supporting character like she was in Super
07:15Mario Odyssey. Donkey Kong Bonanza is going to be the very first game where Pauline is actually a major
07:23character. I love to sing more than anything. I have this dream. Maybe if we get to the surface,
07:35you and me, we can make it more than a dream. With her powerful vocals, Pauline will be able to
07:41transform Donkey Kong into other animals, but a second player can take her role and use her voice to help
07:47destroy terrain and enemies. Honestly, it's really cool seeing her go from this forgotten character
07:54from an old arcade game into a major character for both Super Mario and Donkey Kong.
08:00My... own special... power?
08:07D-DK!
08:10And lastly, the launch. As we do with these kinds of videos, we'd like to end this with a brief
08:17prep
08:17on what to expect at launch. Donkey Kong Bonanza will launch for the Nintendo Switch 2 on July 17,
08:242025. The game will cost $69.99 USD at launch, $10 cheaper than Mario Kart World. The reason we
08:32mention this is because amid the kerfuffle surrounding Mario Kart World's pricing, Nintendo of America
08:38president Doug Bowser explained how the company was factoring all kinds of things into their approach
08:44to dynamic pricing. One of those key factors he mentioned was replayability. So if you're somebody
08:50who loves meaty open world games, loves 3D platformers, only plays games once and never again,
08:56or simply loves Donkey Kong, then $70 bucks might be worth it. Pre-orders are available right
09:02now and a special amiibo of DK and Pauline will be available at launch. But tell us, do you plan
09:09on getting Donkey Kong Bonanza as soon as it's out? I, for sure, am going to get the game and
09:15I'm
09:15going to try and hunt down that amiibo. That amiibo looks really, really cool.
09:24But let us know what you think down in the comments below and don't forget to subscribe to
09:28Mojo Mojo Plays for more great videos every day.
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