Technologies

Donkey Kong Bananza Is Satisfyingly Smashing Madness

DK is exactly what the Switch 2 needed to give gamers a glimpse of what Nintendo may have coming.

Summers are about big, fun, mind-numbing movies. Great escapes in the best of ways. I need that right now, and maybe you do too. I’m happy to say that Donkey Kong Bananza is here to whisk you off to multilevel worlds of satisfyingly smashing madness, to cheer you up and give you an excuse to punch the heck out of things. It’s a game my 12-year-old son has loved playing along with me, although I’ve had to find ways to wrestle the game back to play for myself.

I was wowed by Bananza during an early preview a few weeks ago, but after a few weeks of play at home, it’s even better. This is my favorite Switch game since… I have no idea when. Maybe since Super Mario Odyssey.

The catch is that you need the new Nintendo Switch 2 console to play it. Donkey Kong Bananza won’t work on the original Switch — or on any other gaming device. Of course, that’s the whole idea.

Nintendo needed home run games for its new Switch 2 console, and it hit a grand slam with the new Donkey Kong. I still haven’t finished the game, but I already know it’s the best reason to buy a Switch 2 yet.

Donkey Kong Bananza is available for $70 from Nintendo.com and other retailers. We’re also keeping track of Nintendo Switch 2 restocks if you’re still seeking a console.

Smashing story with co-op options

In a lot of ways, Bananza feels like Zelda and Mario met in the middle.

The story’s weird, but what Mario (or Nintendo) game isn’t? Donkey Kong’s world has been threatened by a sinister bunch of apes, after a large meteor knocks a mining company deep into the planet’s core. The adventure involves diving down into those sublevels — it’s Donkey Kong Hollow Earth, or Journey to the Center of the Kongiverse. The big difference in this game is that you can destroy just about anything, burrowing and tunneling throughout the game’s large 3D maps.

Technically, this isn’t a true collaborative co-op game, but there’s a mode where Pauline — a young girl who mysteriously fell from the sky and becomes Donkey Kong’s friend — can throw her voice, literally, at things to destroy them. A second player takes over as Pauline and aims and shoots words at enemies, and can absorb material powers from nearby rocks and objects. It’s more engaging than the hat-throwing co-op in Odyssey.

You can Game Share Bananza with a local Switch 2 or Switch 1 in co-op mode to play on two screens, or just play on one. For this review, I wasn’t allowed to Game Share to a second Switch.

The Mario mojo

Bananza is made by the Super Mario Odyssey team, and its 3D platforming feels like a Mario sequel. You can wander through large but still self-contained sublevels that remind me of the Kingdoms in Super Mario Odyssey. As you descend to new levels, the characters you meet and the level’s game mechanics shift up a bit. The levels aren’t as drastically different or quite as weirdly whimsical as the ones in Odyssey, but they feel a lot busier.

Jumping and punching are the main ways to control things, but there are plenty of other moves. There’s also a skill tree of abilities to unlock and power up, which uses points you accumulate by collecting giant, crystal bananas (just go with it). Donkey Kong can also buy new outfits, much like Mario Odyssey, but these outfits (or pieces of outfits) give extra perks, like cold resistance or faster energy recovery.

Each of the levels has goals and sub-bosses to fight, but also secret subchallenges to discover — some of them 3D, some 2D side-scrolling. There are other things to find, in every direction, on any potential hillside or surface, if you just pummel your fists and dig. The free-digging usually involves either finding more crystal bananas or various-sized fossils, which can be collected and redeemed for costumes. There’s gold to accumulate, too, which acts as general currency. But even as I rush to the next goal on any level, I’m equally tempted to just start digging around and see what’s going on somewhere else.

The Zelda zeitgeist

Here’s where Bananza really starts to feel like a lower-key Zelda game, especially when it comes to finding characters and following sub-missions. You can talk to lots of the strange characters in each sublevel, and some share important news. You’ll get directed to a particular goal, and on a 3D map, you can track your progress or warp to other spots. But as the game’s progress starts to wind up and down through sublevels, it begins to feel a lot more quest-y than any Mario game.

Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom kept coming to mind for me. That game’s vast overworld and underworld — and its various ways of finding passages between — is very much like Bananza. Also, like recent Zelda games, you can climb just about anywhere (or surf chunks of rock you rip out of the ground). The outfit perks feel Zelda-like, and so does the game’s sense of real-time, chaotic physics. Some puzzles involve understanding the environment and manipulating it, much like I did many times in Tears.

There’s also a sense of persistence in Bananza. You can create little home bases that let you rest up and change outfits. You’ll meander off and come back to locations. Mario Odyssey had some of this too, but Bananza feels more lived in.

Unlike recent Zeldas, though, this game’s challenges are relatively contained. You won’t have long lists of subquests or stories to lose track of. After spending months away from Zelda, and coming back not remembering what I was meant to do next, I appreciate Bananza’s simpler vibe.

A whole new yet familiar feel

Most importantly, Bananza just feels fresh. I get a little tired, sometimes, of diving back into new Zeldas and Marios that layer legends on top of legends. Donkey Kong’s universe is different from previous Kong games, especially the giant, wrinkled Elders who preside over subworlds like spirits, granting extra transformation powers. This is where the «Bananza» name comes in.

Accumulating enough gold triggers a chance to become a spirit animal. There’s a Bananza version of Kong that has stronger punches, an ostrich that can fly and drop egg bombs, and a zebra that can run fast over ice and water. (I haven’t unlocked any others yet.)

After a week-plus of playing, I’m still consistently surprised by what I’m encountering. But I’m also finding it familiar and comfortable, just like a big summer movie. And that’s what this is: Nintendo’s big blockbuster summer game, one of the best I can remember. Something I don’t want to end, and I’m glad to have more to explore.

I’m also surprised by other things: there’s no online mode, which I don’t mind but feels surprising after Super Mario Wonder’s clever additions. The game download size is only 8GB, shockingly small compared to Switch 2 launch games like Cyberpunk 2077, which were nearly 60GB. I was getting worried about how much storage space I’d have on the Switch 2 over time, but if more games are like Bananza, things will be OK.

My youngest son was instantly interested in Bananza, so much so that he didn’t want me playing without him. I had to, though, so I could carve enough time out to play. We’re going to backtrack and play again, and he’ll start playing, too. Will Bananza feel as replayable and infinitely fun as many of Nintendo’s best? I can’t entirely tell yet, but there’s already so much I’ve skipped over in so many levels, I don’t doubt it. There’s also a 3D art mode thrown in as a bonus where you use the Joy-Cons to sculpt and paint ape heads and bunches of bananas.

Donkey Kong makes it worth buying a Switch 2

Bananza is a great sign for where Nintendo’s heading with the Switch 2. It feels like a more evolved version of many Switch games of the past, but just like Mario Kart World, the other major Switch 2 exclusive, it takes the good ideas even further. Bananza is also an extension of Nintendo’s universe, including the Super Mario Movie, which has a Donkey Kong that looks like this one, and Super Nintendo World, which has a Donkey Kong land, too. And yes, Super Nintendo World’s Donkey Kong Power-Up bands even work like Amiibo with this game.

This is a game as vibrant and kinetic as Sony’s fantastic Astro Bot and similarly full of things to search for and do. In comparison, Super Mario Odyssey now seems surprisingly quiet and chill.

And yes, this game is worth getting a Switch 2 for — that was the idea all along. It’s nice to see that Nintendo really pulled it off, though. Combined with Mario Kart World, this is a heck of a one-two punch. I’d still love a proper 3D Mario sequel someday, but Bananza is practically that right now.

Technologies

Nintendo’s Pokemon Legends: Z-A Is a Hit. Just Ask My Kid

Pokemon Legends: Z-A has sucked my family in, and I can’t get my Switch controller back from my son.

I’d love to tell you all about Pokemon Legends: Z-A, arriving this week, and what it’s been like to play on the Nintendo Switch 2. I can mostly do that — but for most of the past five days, it hasn’t really been me playing. What started as co-playing together quickly turned into my kid taking over completely as he got hooked. And honestly, I’d say that’s a good sign.

Nintendo makes a lot of Pokemon games, too many for me to keep track of. But Legends Z-A is the first that’s Switch 2-optimized, although you can play on original Switches, too. I can’t tell you what that’s like, though — my early review access limited me to playing Pokemon Legends: Z-A on the Switch 2 only at home. I was doubtful about how much a city-based game would truly feel like a must-have experience, but so far it’s already become one of my favorite Pokemon games ever.

I’ll let my son tell you. He’s gotten deep into the trading card game and has played most of the recent Pokemon titles over the past year, and he says this is his favorite so far. When I asked him why, he said it’s because the game completely rethinks how battles work. The quick, real-time system feels more immediate and far less sluggish than in past Pokemon games. Plus, he’s loving the story… and honestly, so am I.

A city full of surprises

My son loves the «peculiar» storyline, the fast-paced battles (which he now wants in every Pokemon game) and the constant sense of surprise while exploring Lumiose City.

All of Pokemon Legends: Z-A (at least from what I’ve seen in my 10-plus hours so far) takes place entirely within Lumiose City — a Paris-like metropolis where the CEO of a company called Quasartico Inc. is planning to rebuild everything into a new world where Pokemon and humans can better coexist. The setup reminded me of the Detective Pikachu movie during my demo a few weeks ago, and it turns out my instincts were right.

Pokemon roam in wild zones within the city, occasionally spilling into urban areas, while mysterious rogue «Mega Evolution» Pokemon have begun appearing and threatening the city’s calm. There’s clearly a deeper mystery at play, and while I’m still uncovering it, I won’t spoil anything here.

The game seems to mostly involve a journey to level up in rank from Z to A by battling various Pokemon trainers, but that’s not the whole story. There’s a group of friends you hang out with at a local hotel, along with research missions you have to carry out. Side quests are everywhere. The city, though it can feel a bit sparse at times, stretches all the way up to its rooftops, where all sorts of hidden spots are waiting to be discovered. It feels like a living maze, and one I’m still navigating.

And the city’s always changing, too. Wild zones keep multiplying, and from day to night the city’s dynamics shift. Battles take place at night, with trainers gathering in new pop-up spots each time. It’s not as lively as I’d hoped — this isn’t Grand Theft Pokemon — but the cozy, vibrant world still makes me daydream about what a real-life Universal Pokemon theme park could someday look like.

The Pokemon shine

I keep reminding myself to take extra time to discover and level up my Pokemon. At least that’s what my son’s telling me to do. He loves how many Pokemon can become Mega Evolved in this game, and how much fun the battle moves are to pull off. I’m happy he’s happy. I thought I’d get lost in the RPG aspects of the game, but I think the real-time Pokemon battles put me in a looser state of mind, more able to explore and not feel locked down into systems and rulesets. Swapping Pokemon battle moves and reassigning them to buttons is easy, too.

The stronger focus on trainer battles — and the sheer variety of Pokemon capable of mega evolving — gives the game more of that classic, Pokemon-centered energy than Pokemon Legends: Arceus ever did. I found myself more excited to see how different Pokemon looked and behaved than to uncover new realms to explore. After all, for all of Lumiose City’s secrets, you’re spending a lot more time roaming one massive location than in any other Pokemon game I can remember. Thankfully, the visual upgrades on the Switch 2 make those Pokemon look fantastic in battle.

I do want to spend more time in Lumiose City, though, and can’t help but wonder if this is a glimpse of how all Pokemon games will keep evolving. It’s hard to say, since Legends games like Z-A and Arceus have been more experimental than the rest of the series. But, like Arceus, Z-A is now one of my favorite Pokemon games on Switch. And on Switch 2, it plays smoother and feels better than any Pokemon game ever has before.

Technologies

iPhone 17 Preorders Spike and Overall Phone Sales Aren’t Slowing Down Despite Tariffs

Global smartphone shipments saw a notable increase in the third quarter of 2025. Plus, preorders for Apple’s new iPhone 17 beat out the iPhone 16.

Despite tariffs and market uncertainty, global smartphone shipments increased 2.6% in the third quarter of 2025, compared to the same time last year, according to the International Data Corporation. Additionally, preorders for the iPhone 17, which launched last month, outpaced last year’s iPhone 16.

These increased sales include premium phones like the latest iPhones and Samsung foldables, suggesting yet again that pricier phones still sell in periods of economic strain. It’s a remarkable achievement, says IDC senior research director Nabila Popal, citing shrewd financing options as the reason people keep buying these high-end phones, which cost anywhere from $800 to nearly $2,000.

«[Phone makers] have mastered the art of innovation not only in hardware and software to entice upgrades but also in removing purchase friction. They have flawlessly combined cutting-edge devices with innovative financing models and aggressive trade-in programs that make the upgrading decision a ‘no-brainer’ for consumers,» Popal said in an IDC press release.

Apple sold 58.6 million iPhones this quarter, an increase of 2.9% over the same period in 2024, with more preorders for the iPhone 17 series than its predecessor. But Samsung wasn’t far behind, with its Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Galaxy Z Flip 7 selling better than all of the company’s prior foldables. The company still reigns atop the phone market with 61.4 million phones sold, representing 19% of the market in the third quarter of this year — an increase of 6.3% from the same period last year. Meanwhile, Apple lands slightly behind Samsung with 18.2% market share this quarter.

The other phone makers trailing Apple and Samsung are, in order: Xiaomi, with 13.5% of the market; Transsion, with 9%; and Vivo with 8.9%. The remaining companies in the phones industry, from Chinese stalwarts like Oppo and Honor to Motorola and Google, make up the remaining 31.4% of the market for the quarter. All told, 322.7 million phones were sold, up from 314.6 million in the third quarter of 2024, according to IDC.

IDC’s findings for the third quarter continue the small but steady growth of phone sales over the year, including a modest 1% increase in the preceding three months — which includes the April deadline when President Donald Trump unveiled sweeping tariffs. In the second quarter, IDC cited midrange devices like Samsung’s Galaxy A36 and other phones that started incorporating AI. But even persistent tariffs haven’t slowed down people’s appetites for pricier phones in the third quarter.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Tuesday, Oct. 14

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for Oct. 14.

Looking for the most recent Mini Crossword answer? Click here for today’s Mini Crossword hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Wordle, Strands, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Today’s Mini Crossword has an odd vertical shape, with an extra Across clue, and only four Down clues. The clues are not terribly difficult, but one or two could be tricky. Read on if you need the answers. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword

Let’s get to those Mini Crossword clues and answers.