Overpriced or Fair? Donkey Kong Bananza DLC Verdict (DK Island & Emerald Rush)
Next, we’ve been playing the DK Island and Emerald Rush DLC. The surprise DLC for DK Bonanza adds a whole new island, although I say that pretty liberally, along with a whole new game mode being Emerald Rush DLC. I streamed it for a couple of hours. I know you’ve been playing it even more than me, and I want to talk about that. I think there are some things worth discussing here, whether good, bad, or somewhere in between. Nick, let’s start off with you, but I know you’re a little bit maybe a little bit more positive about this game or the DLC than I am. What do you think of it? How you been enjoying it? I I’ve been really liking it so far and I didn’t know what to go or what kind of expecting going into it because like they just randomly showed it during the direct. I was like does this game really need DLC this soon after its release because the game I 100%ed it like a few weeks after launch and now I’m playing DLC for it. So I was kind of blown away by that and again like I’m playing through the Emerald Rush mode and the more I play it the more I enjoy it. But yeah, what are your thoughts on it? Yeah, I’m not quite as favorable. Uh you know I thought there were some interesting ideas there. I think the island itself is actually really cool in terms of visuals. Like, you know, it definitely threw me back to the era, but it’s hard to also not see it as a a little bit cynically because like it’s very surface level in that that’s literally all there is. There is no actual gameplay tied to the island outside of that weird mysterious figure that you know the deforming banana thing which I have no idea what you even do with there. But outside of that, like it’s all just going around collecting gold and seeing like a handful of Easter eggs based on the classic games, which don’t get me wrong, I like them, but at the same time, I can’t help but remember that South Park member bberries episode where it’s like, remember this? Remember the good times? Like, yeah, I do. And I would love there to be some more good memories to go along with this, but there isn’t. Like, it’s all very, very surface level, literally, because it’s on the surface in this case. No pun intended. Yeah, exactly. And uh like I, you know, again, I appreciate it. like it’s clear that some love and care went into it. But, you know, when you’re asking $20 for this, you know, along with a new new uh rogike mode, which, you know, could be good, but maybe not because I feel like it’s kind of a niche, you know, more of a niche game mode for those uh for people like myself perhaps, especially when it’s pretty different to the core game of Donkong Bonanza. I don’t know. Oh, I feel like it’s a steep ask, especially when you compare it to like, you know, previous DLCs or even how Nintendo handled things before like with Mario Oasi where, you know, we got a similar kingdom in the form of the Mushroom Kingdom and similar DLC with Luigi for free, you know. No. So, the thing is, like you said, I think it’s for a niche kind of audience, right? And Donkey Kong, if you didn’t love the base game as is, like I I think $20 asking for more, which seems like it should have been included in the base game is kind of like a steep ask, right? And especially that I thought this would have been in the base game, right? Because if you go back, if you complete the game and you talk to Grumpy Kong in Inca Isle, like he asks you if like, “Oh, you want me to build you a project?” He builds you the project. And once he’s done, he’s like, “Oh, it’s like a challenge run mode or something.” Like, “Oh, that’s awesome.” And I and I do it for the first time. I’m like, “Wait a minute.” And I do it again. I’m like, “Oh, no. The enemies are all in the same like places, so it’s not really much of a challenge. It’s just doing the same thing over and over again, and there’s not much of a difference between those runs.” And then then the room next to it is also like the boss rush run or mode which is super simplistic because the bosses in the game are pretty simple to take over. So something like this I thought would have been there in the base game because I thought that’s what Grumpy Kong was kind of building the whole time. So yeah. And going back to what you were saying like what are you kind of like missing here? What’s this kind of missing? Yeah. I I was a little disappointed by the the challenge run levels within DK Island like when you punch down you go into a room and it’s just those gold challenge runs from the base game. I thought it’ be something themed like maybe Donkey Kong 64 or maybe you get like a new weapon like you pick up Donkey Kong’s coconut gun and you’re like shooting around like that or maybe you see like Cranky Kong or or Lanky Kong or Funky Kong or Tiny from previous games in some of these challenge runs. Like it’s shocking that they they’re not here on the island. Yeah. I mean I I like what they’re what is there I do appreciate as a longtime Donkey Kong fan. But then it’s also hard not to see like how much more how much farther they could have taken it, right? Because again it’s not really a level. It’s more like just an explorable museum almost if you will where you can, you know, interact with it at the same time. There’s no actual gameplay there except for those challenge rooms you mentioned which aren’t even bespoke to it. So like what would have been amazing is if like yeah if you went around the island itself and maybe within each area like that would correspond to a level in the original game. Maybe there’s a new stage based around that whether 2D or 3D, you know, maybe you could take on like the armadillo boss from Jungle Japes or whatever. Like that would be amazing. Or even like you go to the like there’s a Kroll like ship like it’s crashed here and that’s freaking awesome except for the fact there’s nothing to do on it, you know, and they had like a challenge stage where maybe Krule again in 2D or maybe even just had a throwback level to that to these ship stages, you know, like anything like anything any kind of gameplay or even we talked before about how Chunky Kong is effectively dead. He’s like the only Kong with no references. What if there’s like a like a light story here like hey we know Chunky Kong is missing. Can you go find him? and he’s like hidden in different layers kind of like Cranky Kong is for the main game. Like I don’t know. There’s so many more things they could have done here to make it a meaningful gameplay environment instead of just being like a a a sandbox. Even put and even saying that it’s like very, you know, it’s not even that much of a sandbox. It’s a sandbox in the same sense every other stage is. But even the other stages have multiple layers. This one just has the one. And again, it’s cool. I love the music. Like some fun throwbacks. I appreciated them, but not $20 appreciated. But of course, to be fair, there is more than just the island itself. There is the Emerald Rush DLC, as you mentioned, which for those who don’t know, it is kind of like a rogue light in that you go through it. It’s basically a high score run. You try and get as many emeralds as possible, increase your score along the way. There’s different challenges you can take on to increase your score as well. You can get skills and upgrade your skill tree uh as you go through it. And um those enhance your abilities, of course, allowing you to score more points. Um so, that all seems neat. I know that or you know, on the surface seems neat at the least. I know that did speak to you, right, Nick? you like you you seem to have a a lot of fun in this new mode, I believe. Yeah, because I I’m a huge fan of Donkey Kong Bonanza, 100% of the game. So, I was addicted to that gameplay. So, like I said previously, like I just wish there was something more that I can play over and over again with this gameplay. And this is what Emerald Rush is, right? Nintendo did it with Side Order with Splatoon 3, and I absolutely love that game mode. I don’t know which one I love more. I think maybe side order because like what we were talking about before with Side Order, you your skills carry on to the next run. So you inherently get better and better every time. Unlike Donkey Kong Bonanza, it’s more so you learning the map and figuring out where things are on the map because that’s what I noticed after the first couple runs are that the fossils are always in the same location. So it’s like, “Oh, I wish they were in different spots so I can challenge myself and look in different areas of the map, but they’re always going to be in the same run. So I mean, some people might enjoy that because it might help them like I guess uh what’s the word I’m looking for? Navigate or what is it? Like um I’m trying to think of the word to look for, but whatever. Yeah, it helped them get better at their runs uh on and on from there. But yeah, so all in all with Emerald Rush, I’m I’m enjoying it because again, like I was looking for that just constant constant flow of Donkey Kong gameplay and this is what it’s kind of given it to me. You know what I something you said about the the map design actually makes a little bit more annoyed in hindsight because for me so a couple things real quick. People may already know that I wasn’t a huge fan of DK Bonanza. I know I’m like one of the few people that didn’t love it. So that’s obviously affecting to a degree my perception of the base game because or not not the base game, the DLC because like Emerald Rush is more of that digging mechanic a lot more of it which I wasn’t already a huge fan of. But putting that aside, you know, the actual map itself again is cool, but uh I I like now I’m thinking Nick like with how the base or with like the levels in the base game, I often found myself like a little bit confused and turned around. I didn’t find the level design super clear. Whereas this this actually is a pretty clear level design. And now I wish like it’s like again I wish there was actual uh gameplay to accompany it because like it will work perfectly here. Anyways, that aside, um I can definitely see the merits of Emerald Rush. Like if I were super into um the kind of like replayable modes, which I can be at times, don’t get me wrong, if I enjoy the core gameplay, it might pull me in. Um I do like some of what they do, some of what they do here. You know, I I think the idea is fun and kind of also lends replay-ability to the existing other realms of which we now know there will probably be more added to the game because now you can play them in a kind of new way where you’re going for these high scores. And the fact that they’re all everything’s in the same spots again does make it so you can refine your gameplay over time. I think for me I I bumped up a couple up against a couple of things ignoring my, you know, dislike of the core gameplay. one is that you’re entering the menu a lot whether it’s like upgrading your skills uh upgra uh you know through the uh the ones you automatically get you know when you have to choose which one of the three you want or five or whatever it was or through the skill tree which you kind have to activate manually or even the map like teleporting around. you’re kind of using like the menus a lot. Just kind of took me out of the game play. But maybe that wouldn’t bother me so much if if it had been even more rog like like uh in that if you kept your abilities like I got pulled into uh what is it? Um vampire slayer. Is that what it’s called? I I a game I didn’t think I would get sucked into. It pulled me in hard, Nick. Because I think part of what makes it so compelling is you keep your upgrades between matches. You get better and better and better. You know, both through uh your skill sense, but also through your power sense. And here though, your skills are reset every time. And so it it made it hard for me to get invested into it, especially because all you’re playing against is your own high scores. There’s no like leaderboards or anything. And so it was hard for me to like feel much satisfaction when there’s no real progression. And I think that kind of really damaged um or kind of hurt what could have been a really compelling mode had they leaned into it where maybe, you know, they increase how long it takes to get those skills over time, but you keep them permanently so you can keep getting, you know, better and better at it. And that could help relieve or alleviate the uh concept flow of going into the menus, right? Because even at the higher levels, like there’s eventually a point where I got to where I couldn’t find any more emeralds on the map, and all I was going for was the challenges from void Kong. So to go to the challenges, like you see them at the top left of the screen, but to figure out where they are on the map, you should open up the map and then teleport to that area. So you’re, like I said, you’re constantly going into the menus eventually at a certain point because there’s not really anything else to do because you kind of destroy the entire map. So again, like have your your point of like, oh, maybe you carry your skills in between the rounds would kind of help fix that issue. But yeah, all in all, like I know we’ve been talking about nitpicking this, like I I’m still very enjoying it. I’m excited to see like what the final unlocks that you get from all this because I almost have all of them unlocked. Like after you complete a run, like Voyco gives you like a little sticker or stamp and there’s little check marks of things that you can unlock. And so far they’ve been pretty simple and straightforward. It’s like, oh, you get a new layer, you get an outfit for Pauline, you get a new music track, you get new perks to unlock throughout the uh the campaign or throughout the rush. Um, but yeah, I’m looking to see if there’s like anything else big outside of those that you can unlock. Who do you think would benefit most from this? And it doesn’t justify the $20. Like, I guess what would Yeah, go ahead. I was going to say I I would recommend this to someone that’s looking for more Donkey Kong Bonanza gameplay, right? Someone that 100% of the game, someone that’s like that loves 3D platformers and loves to kind of get everything in them. Because again, like if you look at DK Island on its own, it’s kind of like a upscaled trophy room if you want to call it that or like a museum. That’s kind of like Astrobots playroom. Oh, it’s that’s that’s one of the best comparisons, right? Like if you played Astrobot and you have the hub area where you see like the PlayStation in the middle and they’re building the rocket ship, that’s what it’s kind of like because you’re essentially getting all these trophies of characters or enemies that you’ve seen throughout the whole game and the only way you can interact with them is when you pick them up and ride them around like on a surfboard and they look super janky because they’re ginormous trophies. But yeah, that DK Island, Emerald Rush, if someone’s looking to just get more and more and more and more of that Donkey Kong gameplay which kind of works as a rogike. Yeah, those are the people that I’m kind of recommending it to. So yeah, again, like if you completed the game and you’re looking for more Donkey Kong, yeah, this is going to be up your alley. So do you think they should buy this instead of Silk Song for $20, Nick? Well, that’s the thing. I haven’t played Silk Song yet. So that’s the thing. That’s the thing, too. Okay, if you’re looking for a complete and insane challenge, this is what I’ve heard, buy Silkong, right? Because it is $20 and it might drive you crazy, but if you like that insane difficulty that like I guess not Metroid vanas are known for, some Metroid vanas are difficult, but more so like uh Soulslike games, then then go for Silk. If you want more Donkey Kong, you want something that’s that’s a little bit more relaxing and not going to drive you crazy, yeah, go for the DK Island and Emer DLC. It’s funny. It’s funny you call this relaxing because compared to Silk Song, it is. But by itself, also isn’t that relaxing, you know? Like, it’s pretty intense. So, it really does show like the value proposition and how it’s different for different people, you know. So, if you don’t like it, don’t buy it. If you don’t like what you see, don’t get it, you know. I do think it’s overpriced for what it is, but Nick, you clearly found value in it. So, and you would probably recommend this to people who who did like Dona or love Donka Bananza and want more of it and like that high score challenge type gameplay. Yeah, exactly. And it kind of ties into like the the 100% nature that I had for this game, right? Like I was just trying to collect every single thing in the game. And that’s the thing like when you do Emerald Rush and you complete it, you get the banana chips which you can spend on the island. You can spend the chips to buy the statues on the island. So, I’m excited to see more of these statues on the island because I hope there’s some hidden ones that we haven’t seen or maybe characters that we haven’t seen in the main game or in a game in a Donkey Kong game for a very long time that they get a statue. So, that’s what my goal is with this moving forward. But, yeah, I’m having a blast with it. Well, I’m glad to hear that, Nick. So, clearly uh the deal maybe Nintendo knows a custom race base better than we thought because it definitely appeals to some people. I’d be curious to know how many people actually end up picking it up. Um, but yeah, who knows? Chat, let us know though in the comments below. What do you think of the DLC? Have you played it? Are you enjoying it? Did you like DK Island? Do you like Emerald Rush? I want to hear about all of it in the comments below. Am I off base? Is Nick Is Nick the one that understands it? Let us know. So, with everyone, thank you for watching. Nick, where can people follow you at if they want more from you? Yeah, you can check out my personal channel. That’s Stefendo. Stfo. Go check it out. Definitely do. You’ll find links to that in the description below. With everyone, thank you for watching and we’ll catch you later. Bye.
Is the new Donkey Kong Bananza DLC worth your money, or is it overpriced? In this video, we dive deep into both DK Island and the brand-new Emerald Rush DLC, breaking down the content, price, gameplay, and whether it delivers value.
What do you think of the Bananza DLC? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!
Follow Nick @steftendo
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/GameXplain
YouTube Member: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfAPTv1LgeEWevG8X_6PUOQ/join
TIKTOK ➤ https://www.tiktok.com/@gamexplain
X: ➤ https://twitter.com/GameXplain
BLUESKY ➤ https://bsky.app/profile/gamexplain.bsky.social
INSTAGRAM ➤ https://www.instagram.com/gamexplain_official
TWITCH ➤ https://www.twitch.com/GameXplain
CREDITS ►
Video by: André https://twitter.com/andresegers
Thumbnail by: Tom https://twitter.com/ragintombo