The reveal of new Donkey Kong Bananza details has Nintendo fans furiously speculating about the company's next big 3D platformer — and the return of company mascot Mario.
As revealed by IGN yesterday, Donkey Kong Bananza is being produced by Nintendo veteran Kenta Motokura, and directed by Kazuya Takahashi, a relatively recent addition to the company. Prior to Nintendo, Takahashi worked at Sega and Square Enix on franchises such as Sonic and Final Fantasy. Motokura, meanwhile, directed Super Mario 3D World and Super Mario Odyssey.
Nintendo confirmed to IGN last month that Bananza was being worked on by the team behind Super Mario Odyssey, without detailing exactly who. But now we know who the game's top developers are — and we even know why the game exists, as IGN was told the idea came from Odyssey producer and Nintendo legend Yoshiaki Koizumi.
And here's the part that now has fans wondering. If Donkey Kong Bananza exists because Koizumi asked the Mario Odyssey team to make a 3D Donkey Kong game but Koizumi isn't involved in his usual spot as either director or producer, then… well, what else could Koizumi be making?
One of Nintendo's most prolific creators, Koizumi has worked on every major Mario 3D platformer the company has made, acting as assistant director on Super Mario 64, director of Super Mario Sunshine and Super Mario Galaxy, then producer of Super Mario Galaxy 2, Super Mario 3D Land, Super Mario World and Super Mario Odyssey.
Koizumi also took on a major role around the launch of Nintendo Switch, acting as general producer for the hardware itself, and appearing as a regular face in Nintendo Direct broadcasts. Now, fans believe Koizumi's absence is a sign he's being saved up for something else: the next big 3D Mario.
"The fact that Koizumi (produced Galaxy 2, 3D Land, 3D World, and Odyssey) isn’t working on Bananza is proof enough that there’s a separate 3D Mario in development and that Bananza isn’t supposed to take Mario’s spot," wrote fan BiggieNephew in a post on X / Twitter.
"Do you think then Yoshiaki Koizumi is producing the next 3D Mario?" another fan said.
"YOSHIAKI KOIZUMI ISN'T THE PRODUCER NOR THE DIRECTOR OF BANANZA!" wrote a third fan, all in caps. "NEW 3D MARIO GAME FOR SWITCH 2 IS SAVED FOR NEXT YEAR, WAHOO! WE BOTH MARIO AND DK FANS CAN COEXIST TOGETHER HAPPILY AT THE START OF THIS NEW ERA OF NINTENDO! (I Hope…)"
Of course, the arrival of another 3D Mario game at some point is assured, and none of this speculation appears to be taking away from the fact that Donkey Kong Bananza looks set to be Nintendo's next big and very promising-looking new 3D platformer.
But the absence of a new 3D Mario around the Switch 2's launch, and an increasingly lengthy wait for a new 3D Mario — since Odyssey's launch back in 2017 — has inevitably sparked speculation, and a hope that, alongside the upcoming delights of Donkey Kong Bananza, Nintendo's next Mario outing is still not too far away.
Other Donkey Kong Bananza details revealed by IGN this week include the fact the game started life on Nintendo Switch 1, as well as fresh chatter from Nintendo on how Bananza fits into Donkey Kong canon.
Tom Phillips is IGN's News Editor. You can reach Tom at [email protected] or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social
