Switch 2 Developers Highlight Performance Concerns — Donkey Kong Bananza Director Shares Challenges

Man, where to even start with this Nintendo Switch 2 hullabaloo? Developers are already feeling the pinch from the new console’s hardware quirks. I stumbled upon this amusing little tidbit in Spain’s La Vanguardia—thank you, WinFuture for the heads up. Kazuya Takahashi, the Donkey Kong Bananza wizard himself, apparently spilled the beans about some performance hiccups. It’s all thanks to this wild 3D voxel tech they’re using for the game’s breakable environments. Like, can you even imagine? A Nintendo bigwig basically admitting, “Hey, we might have traded in smooth performance for a bit of mayhem and fun.” Bold, if you ask me.

Okay, quick side note, there’s a video you really should check out (if you haven’t already) on this whole Donkey Kong Bananza chaos. It’s sitting right on YouTube, waiting for you to question all your expectations about gaming and life itself.

Anyway—wait, lost my train of thought there—oh yeah, so how did Donkey Kong Bananza end up on Switch 2? Good question. This rollicking 3D shindig was initially slated for the OG Switch. But with all this destructible madness—a bit reminiscent of the old Donkey Kong 64—they decided to hold off and throw it on the new console. So here we are, watching DK punch through walls and dig up tunnels like there’s no tomorrow. Must’ve been a tough call, pulling it back to soup it up for Switch 2.

So yeah, Takahashi also did this chat where frames apparently drop here and there. He talks about it all chill, like “Oh yeah, we threw in slow motion effects to make it pop more.” But then he admits—while winkingly hinting it’s not a big deal—that their fancy voxel engine kinda struggles with all the scenery mayhem. The man says, “Hey, it might stutter when the earth’s shaking, but we’re all about the fun ride.” Gotta respect that focus on having fun over all else, right?

And then I’m thinking, with Nintendo knowing these issues exist and all consoles being internet-tethered these days—patches will hopefully come rolling in. Or maybe they’ll tweak something technical, like, I dunno, bump up the DLSS or some such techy jargon.

Want to geek out more? Dive into our detailed Switch 2 review and hardware analysis from June. You’ll find all the nerdy deets about voxel engines. Fun fact: the first saw daylight on PCs way back in 1992 with Comanche: Maximum Overkill. Like, someone wrote that sucker in assembly language for top performance. Imagine that!

Oh, don’t forget—it’s all going down this Thursday, July 17. DM me your reactions to the game or if you just wanna scream into the void.

Catch us on Google News, too. We’ve got all the latest scoops, if that’s your thing.