Nintendo’s Donkey Kong Bananza was initially speculated to be Super Mario Odyssey DLC or a sequel, but that’s not the case. In an interview with IGN, Donkey Kong Bananza producer Kenta Motokura revealed the game’s origin story. According to Motokura, Nintendo executive Yoshiaka Koizumi approached the team behind Super Mario Odyssey and asked them to work on a 3D Donkey Kong game.
Motokura attributed this decision to the fact that Nintendo has a vast array of characters to choose from and considers timing for new games carefully. He didn’t want to speculate about Koizumi’s reasoning but suggested it had to do with the right moment to create a new game with a specific character to please customers.
The Odyssey team approached Donkey Kong creator Shigeru Miyamoto to get ideas, focusing on unique actions like hand slaps and breath blasts. Director Kazuya Takahashi also highlighted the distinctive features of Donkey Kong’s longer arms as an important aspect to incorporate into the game.
Meanwhile, a programmer on the Odyssey team was experimenting with voxel technology, which allowed players to manipulate their environment in creative ways. Combining this tech with discussions about DK’s strength and abilities led to the development of the core destructive mechanics in Bananza.
The interview provides more insights into the game’s place in the Donkey Kong “canon” and its necessity for releasing on the Nintendo Switch 2.
Source: https://www.ign.com/articles/donkey-kong-bananza-exists-because-yoshiaki-koizumi-asked-the-mario-odyssey-team-for-a-3d-donkey-kong-game