Donkey Kong Bananza Direct live: Pauline has been officially confirmed for the next Nintendo game
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There will even be a skill tree in the game! Letting you unlock new abilities and upgrade your stats and existing powers.
On top of challenge modes, there will be some side-scrolling stages too! that’s great news, and I’m excited to dive back into some classic Kong action.
We’ve got some more details on the villains now: Grumpy Kong, Poppy Kong, and Void Kong.
Pauline will also be voice acted in cutscenes it seems. I’m not sure how to feel about this one, but I’m interested to see what the storytelling is like.
You can swap between transformations on the fly, which is a pretty cool idea!
Some more abilities now, Kong Bananza, Zebra Bananza, and Ostrich Bananza. They’re very powerful but temporary and can be triggered if you collect enough gold.
We’re seeing lots of NPCs, who seem eager to chat with Kong.
Cranky Kong is also going to be in the game, which is going to be huge news for all the Cranky-heads out there.
We also learned about our first Pauline ability – she can apparently sing which serves as a navigational aid as floating music notes show you the way to go.
We’re seeing over more new moves now, with many focusing on how Donkey Kong can interact with his fully destructible environment.
Here are some of the highlights shown off so far…
We’re seeing plenty of smashing, as you would probably expect, and plenty new moves from Donkey Kong.
That’s the reveal I was predicting alright!
That little rock creature is in fact a younger Pauline, who bursts out of the rock early in the game. Pauline is apparently trying to return to the surface, and will accompany Donkey Kong on his adventure.
Our first shot of the stream here, we’re seeing Donkey Kong approaching a little purple rock creature with some strangely emotional music in the background.
Are we about to get a big reveal?
The stream is beginning!
Fasten your seatbelts, the stream is starting!
This is your last chance to tune in if you don’t want to miss anything, so get the YouTube page up quick.
Time check: just ten minutes left!
There is now just ten minutes to go until the stream begins. Don’t worry if you won’t be able to catch it live, I’ll be bringing you a steady stream of live reactions right here in text form…
Plot details are scarce (expect this to change soon), but we do know a little bit about the villains in Donkey Kong Bananza.
They’re a group called Voidco and seem to be some kind of mining company. We’ve seen three members so far, each with unique designs, that will presumably be in-game bosses that you will have to defeat.
The core conflict of the game comes from Voidco’s theft of some newly discovered golden banana gems. The events of the game see Kong attempting to get them back and if there’s one thing I’ve learned throughout the Donkey Kong series, it’s that messing with Kong’s bananas is a very bad idea.
We could see some new cover art
Following on from my predictions about the reveal of a Pauline character in this stream, I also think we will likely see some new cover art for the game.
I’m not expecting anything drastic, but right now there is a conspicuous blank spot above Donkey Kong’s left shoulder on the box.
It’s occupied by this small purple rock creature, but I suspect that that’s just a placeholder for Pauline. This would line up with the leaked image from Korea and, honestly, make for a more attractive looking package.
Time check: just 45 minutes to go!
Time is passing and the Donkey Kong Bananza Direct is getting nearer, with just 45 minutes left to go.
Now is the time to make sure that you have done everything that you need to ahead of the event.
I would normally recommend stocking up on drinks and snacks for the stream, but given this one is so short at just 15 minutes I don’t think that will be necessary this time around. Still, a little glass of water definitely won’t hurt – so do grab one now if you’re feeling thirsty.
If you’re simply desperate to play Donkey Kong Bananza, then you’ll likely be pleased to hear that the game is already up for pre-order!
It costs $69.99 / £64.95 at Amazon right now for a physical copy. I’d recommend picking it up if you already know that you want the game, and want to maximise your chances of having it in your hands on the release day.
If you pre-order at Amazon in the US or UK, you will be covered by the pre-order price guarantee – which basically means that you will pay the lowest possible price if it changes ahead of the release day.
You can see the full terms and conditions on the site.
When is Donkey Kong Bananza coming out?
Donkey Kong Bananza is set to release on July 17, 2025.
The game is going to be a Nintendo Switch 2 exclusive title, so those still using a Nintendo Switch console will not be able to play it unless they upgrade.
Time check: just 75 minutes to go
The stream is set to begin at 6AM PT / 9AM ET / 2PM BST. This means that there is just one hour and 15 minutes (75 minutes total) to go until it’s underway.
We know that the stream is only going to be 15 minutes long, so make sure to keep an eye on the time if you don’t want to miss it!
How about some unfiltered gameplay?
Trailers are all well and good, but Nintendo has also released a lengthy gameplay video showing off the game. It was part of the Nintendo Treehouse: Live stream, and lets you see the very start of the game.
Catch up with the previous trailer
Haven’t seen much of Donkey Kong Bananza so far?
You should definitely take a look at the latest trailer, which was shown off back in the Nintendo Switch 2 Direct.
It gives you a good idea of what to expect from the game, which seems very similar to Super Mario Odyssey in structure.
We see plenty of Donkey Kong smashing all kinds of objects, so expect destruction to be a very big focus.
But what kind of role could this young Pauline play?
My personal prediction is that she might be a companion character, potentially following Donkey Kong around and assisting in his adventure.
Her younger appearance might be a sign that she will take on an almost Diddy Kong-like role, riding around on Donkey Kong’s back and maybe even granting the player a few abilities when she’s there.
Users on the forum spotted that she is wearing a bracelet made of purple rocks in the banner’s artwork. This will probably be part of the game’s plot, which we already know will prominently feature rocks and a mining motif.
Will we see Pauline?
You might have missed this, but the Nintendo Korea page may have accidentally leaked something about the game weeks ago.
Some key art was visible on a website banner, showing Donkey Kong and what looked like a younger version of Super Mario character Pauline. This was quickly replaced by a version that lines up with the game’s regular cover art (where the Pauline character is replaced by a purple rock creature) but not before users on the forum ResetEra spotted it.
This has prompted a fair amount of speculation that Pauline will feature prominently in the game. If you remember the original Super Mario Odyssey reveal, Nintendo deliberately kept the character Cappy hidden – revealing them at a later date.
This could also be the case here, with Pauline potentially revealed as part of the stream today.
Save the stream in advance
Here’s a top tip that applies to basically any event that is streamed live.
Generally, YouTube allows you to wait for the broadcast a few hours before it begins – which is perfect if you want to keep it open in a separate browser window so that you definitely don’t miss it.
Alternatively, you could bookmark the page in advance and come back later when the start time arrives.
I’ve embedded today’s stream below, so that you can do just that.
Hello and welcome to the start of my live coverage of the upcoming Donkey Kong Bananza Direct.
There’s not long to go until the stream begins now, so sit back as I deliver a steady of updates, predictions, and everything that you need to know in the build-up to the event!
Refresh 2025-06-18T13:11:56.471Z (Image credit: Nintendo) There will even be a skill tree in the game! Letting you unlock new abilities and upgrade your stats and existing powers. 2025-06-18T13:11:09.263Z (Image credit: Nintendo) On top of challenge modes, there will be some side-scrolling stages too! that’s great news, and I’m excited to…
