JazzRave

As someone that’s been a lifelong fan of the series, this game was a major letdown. I played the demo a few times before finally committing to the big purchase, and I feel like most of my time playing was pretending I was having fun, rather than having fun itself. Everything that Bananza does, Odyssey does better. The banana gems don’t incentivize progression, so completing missions and actually advancing through a level falls solely on how many stats you want. Often these stats don’t even matter or make a difference and virtually none of them are required to progress (whether it be transformation upgrades, or basic things such as health and punch strength). Take Odyssey for example; the moons (while there is an insane amount to collect); a portion are required to advance to the next area. It makes sense to say “hey stick around, complete some challenges, enjoy the world, and when you’re ready you can move on” as opposed to shoe-horning progression into ANOTHER collectible with no rhyme or reason. A lot of the sub layers are forgettable at best, with one of them feeling like a standard tutorial for the game halfway through your playthrough. Painting DK and giving him new colors was cute in the beginning, but as you progress the colors seem to repeat themselves or struggle to differentiate from previous ones you unlocked (including multicolored patterns). I’m almost positive I have 3-4 shades of purple, all extremely slight shades brighter or darker. Unnoticeable in game. The smashing is tiresome, it’s recommended by a lot of players NOT to smash everything you see for a better experience, but at the end of the day that’s saying “hey don’t play the game, just play the game”. I don’t know what this game was aiming for, but aside from a few nostalgic nods this feels like an underperforming tech demo that fails to awe people with the “impressive design” it boasts when it fails CONSTANTLY to retain frames and performance while playing it. At the tempo we receive games in this day and age, it’s safe to say this might be the main representation of Donkey Kong for this generation. And if that’s the case, I’m signing out of the franchise for good. I can’t beat my chest any longer to a game that’s outclassed by platformers that game nearly 30 years before it