There's also a sense of persistence in Bananza. You can create little home bases that let you rest up and change outfits. You'll meander off and come back to locations. Mario Odyssey had some of this too, but Bananza feels more lived in.

And while Bananza ’s connection to recent Mario games like Super Mario Odyssey are made clear, there are still important unknowns to address — like how does Bananza connect, if at all, to the events of the Donkey Kong Country games and, more importantly, is this even worth expending brainpower on?

The weird part is... Takeda voiced Donkey Kong in the Super Mario Bros. Movie as well (well spotted, IGN ). As you probably know, the movie role is actually voiced. Takeda's English-speaking counterpart is Seth Rogen. Takeda also "voices" Donkey Kong in Mario Kart: World, replacing Takashi Nagasako who had performed the role for over two decades.