Donkey Kong Bananza arrives next week, and we’ve just uncovered the developers behind this bold new 3D adventure. It’s the same team responsible for Super Mario Odyssey—a detail astute fans spotted through subtle UI hints and contextual clues in the trailers.
Now that we know who’s behind the game, it’s time to dive into a flood of questions.
I sat down with Kenta Motokura, the game’s producer, and Kazuya Takahashi, the director. You might recognize Motokura’s name—he directed Super Mario Odyssey and has been a key figure in numerous Nintendo titles since joining as a 3D character artist during the GameCube era. His credits include Super Mario Sunshine, Pikmin, Donkey Kong Jungle Beat, Super Mario Galaxy, Super Mario Land, and Super Mario 3D World on Wii U. As for Takahashi, he’s a newer addition to Nintendo, having joined in 2020, but brings experience in open-world design that he says offers some fascinating insights for Bananza.
We’ve already shared some key takeaways from this conversation, including how the game came to be, where it fits in the Donkey Kong series, and why it’s a Nintendo Switch 2 exclusive. But the full interview is packed with even more revealing details—below is the complete exchange.
Responses have been lightly edited for clarity.
