Donkey Kong's Banana Cipher Cracked Pre-Launch

Donkey Kong Bananza appears to feature a hidden language, and an ardent fan has already cracked the code before its official launch. Discover the details behind the mysterious banana alphabet and how this fan managed to unravel it.

Decoding Donkey Kong Bananza's Hidden Banana Alphabet

Ancient Monkey Scrolls

Although Donkey Kong Bananza hasn't been released yet, a devoted fan identified a secret banana-based writing system and successfully translated it. On April 27, a user named 2Chrispy posted a YouTube video titled "I Decoded the Ancient Monkey Scrolls of Donkey Kong Bananza," where he shared his journey of interpreting the so-called "Ancient Monkey Scrolls." This unique alphabet made appearances throughout the game’s trailers, gameplay demos, and official site.

Invented languages in video games are nothing new—Nintendo previously created one for The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, known as Hylian. Still, uncovering a secret language before a game even hits the market is quite extraordinary.

This accomplishment highlights the intense dedication of Donkey Kong fans—or perhaps just how eager they are for new updates. While the alphabet's accuracy still needs official confirmation, 2Chrispy's thorough investigation and logical approach make a strong case that he got the symbols just right.

Thanks, Chip Exchange

In his video, 2Chrispy broke down how he decoded each letter of the "bananbet," beginning with the phrase "Chip Exchange." When players pick up a Banandium Chip, a message prompts: "Trade these for bananas at any Chip Exchange." By carefully analyzing each frame of the trailers, he looked for the "Chip Exchange" location and considered whether its sign could offer the initial clues.

He noticed that the symbols on the sign corresponded to the number of letters in "exchange," and the repeated letter "e" aligned with his hypothesis. Using this foundation, he examined other symbols found in screenshots and trailers, relying on a word finder app to help complete the translation.

While this remains speculative for now, the sheer effort of combing through all available game materials is remarkable in itself. With fans growing increasingly eager for updates, discoveries like this may inspire them to search for more clues in existing trailers and screenshots.

Donkey Kong Bananza is scheduled to launch on July 17, 2025, exclusively for the Nintendo Switch 2. For the most current news about the game, take a look at our article below!