Nintendo says Donkey Kong Bananza contains ‘hints’ to next 3D Mario

The next big Super Mario game will take some cues from Donkey Kong Bananza, but don’t expect it to ape Nintendo’s destruct-a-thon.

With the launch of the Nintendo Switch 2 out of the way, the next inevitable question is when we’ll see the next 3D Mario title.

Nintendo hasn’t officially announced a successor to 2017’s Super Mario Odyssey, but with a gap in this year’s Christmas schedule (and Pokémon Winds and Waves arriving in 2027), there’s mounting expectation that the company’s defining mascot will lead the charge.

However, if true, the developers behind both Super Mario Odyssey and Donkey Kong Bananza are trying to throw people off the scent, with new interviews implying that development isn’t very far along on Mario’s next big 3D outing.

Speaking at the Game Developers Conference (GDC), Super Mario Odyssey director Kenta Motokura, who served as a producer on Donkey Kong Bananza, explained how he expects elements from the latter to creep into the next 3D Mario.

‘Probably, we’ll see the same sort of phenomenon as we did when going from Super Mario Odyssey to Donkey Kong Bananza, where there were some ideas and development that acted as hints for the future developments of Donkey Kong Bananza,’ Motokura told GamesRadar+.

‘I do expect that will be the case where some ideas from Donkey Kong Bananza will provide future hints for our next project, as well.’

The main connective tissue between Super Mario Odyssey and Donkey Kong Bananza was the game’s structure, where you explore sandbox levels and collect large amounts of moons or bananas scattered throughout the environment.

It’s unclear if Nintendo would use this format again for the next 3D Mario, but Nintendo usually refreshes the formula to some degree with each entry (unless it’s a direct sequel, like Super Mario Galaxy 2). As such, it’s likely he’s referring to something else.

If DK’s destructability comes to mind, Motokura implies this won’t be a key feature in the next 3D Mario, as they want to ‘find the differences’ between the two IPs.

Speaking in the same interview, Motokura said Donkey Kong Bananza’s destruction mechanics were partly ‘motivated by us thinking about, ‘Well, what sort of things can a human not do? What sort of things could Mario not do? What scale of destruction would you see only from Donkey Kong as he’s punching rocks and that sort of thing?”

He added: ‘Certainly, you can have really fun experiences in Mario games and really fun experiences in Donkey Kong games. But we want to find the differences between those two IPs, and really bring that out, as variety for people to enjoy. And that goes to the style of play as well.’

The connective tissue remains a mystery then, but his comments suggest progress isn’t far along on the next 3D Mario. It’s possible Motokura is just being coy, although if a 3D Mario is planned for 2026, that means a separate team must have been cooking it in tandem with Donkey Kong Bananza’s development.

There is some creative overlap on the lead credits across Super Mario Odyssey and Donkey Kong Bananza, including Motokura and director Wataru Tanaka, but with almost 10 years between the two titles (and given how secretive Nintendo is), it’s difficult to tell if they have the capacity to form two separate teams.

For now, we’ll have to hope for some sort of answer at the next Nintendo Direct. At the moment, the company’s future slate for the Switch 2 includes Yoshi And The Mysterious Book, Fire Emblem: Fortune’s Weave, and Splatoon Raiders.

Email gamecentral@metro.co.uk, leave a comment below, follow us on Twitter.

To submit Inbox letters and Reader’s Features more easily, without the need to send an email, just use our Submit Stuff page here.

For more stories like this, check our Gaming page.