Gamer Beats Donkey Kong Bananza Sans Bananas

Despite launching just a week ago, Donkey Kong Bananza has already seen an astonishing feat—a player completed the entire game without collecting a single banana.

AKfamilyhome shared this remarkable achievement on X/Twitter, stating: "Just cleared Donkey Kong Bananza with zero bananas. Surprisingly enjoyable challenge—recommend trying it as a New Game+ run after 100% completion."

What makes this accomplishment particularly impressive is that, unlike typical speedrunners who exploit glitches, AKfamilyhome achieved this through pure skill, deliberately avoiding bananas. This meant forfeiting permanent health upgrades and ability enhancements tied to skill points.

"I bypassed Zebra Bananza, missing the ostrich glide ability, but found alternate routes with precise movement," they explained. "Early game flows smoothly, mid-game requires creative skips, while the late game becomes intense—you'll die in just one or two hits."

"No special dialogue triggers for zero bananas, but there IS unique content if you complete the game without obtaining any Bananzas," they hinted.

Just beat Donkey Kong Bananza with 0 bananas
Honestly a fun challenge I recommended doing as a NG+ run after 100% pic.twitter.com/ZM1S82gkb4

— AK (@Akfamilyhome) July 27, 2025

In our IGN Donkey Kong Bananza review, we praised it as "Nintendo's first Switch 2 masterpiece—a revolutionary 3D platformer with fluid movement, dynamic abilities, immersive destructible worlds, and brilliantly designed challenges," awarding it a perfect 10/10 score.

The game launched last week as a Nintendo Switch 2 exclusive. For deeper insights, explore our developer interviews covering topics like the game's conceptual origins and its strategic Switch 2 exclusivity. Read the full interview here.

Meanwhile, speedrunners have already mastered sub-90-minute completions—how's your playthrough going?