Donkey Kong Island & Emerald Rush: How is the Bananza DLC?

Have you already finished Donkey Kong Bananza? Do you have the last levels set aside to finish calmly in a moment of relaxation? We're sorry to disrupt your plans, but surprisingly during the last Direct a few days ago, Nintendo announced and released a DLC for Donkey Kong Bananza titled DK Island & Emerald Rush. And to find out what's new, you need to have finished the game. 

How to access DK Island & Emerald Rush content

Jokingly, but not too much, it can be said that the first challenge DK Island & Emerald Rush presents to the player is the access gate to its content. To reach the new explorable area and the challenges it hosts, as already mentioned, it is necessary to have completed Bananza, thus having reached the credits. After purchasing and installing the DLC, however, the game gives you no indication on how to access the new content, and the corresponding item in the main menu refers to the shop, while only on the DLC page on the Nintendo website can you find more in-depth information. 

In reality, DK Island can also be visited before finishing the adventure, by talking to Squawks in the circuit level. In this case, however, you will only be able to visit a dreamlike version of DK Island, without access to the Emerald Rush. To test yourself in collecting emeralds, however, you need to talk to any of the Venerables present in the game after the credits and then use the Mother Eel to head to DK Island. Here, follow the NPC instructions to meet Void again!

The Emerald Rush of DK Island 

Who would have thought that after defeating him, Donkey Kong would end up becoming an employee of Void? Yet, due to a small misunderstanding, that's exactly what happened, and now Donkey will have to collect the green emeralds discovered by VoidCo on DK Island to enrich his greedy owner. The first collection takes place on DK Island and consists of nine consecutive rounds during which we will have to collect a certain number of emeralds, in any way. It doesn't seem difficult, given that the island is overflowing with veins gushing from the ground and enemies to defeat to accumulate more emeralds, but Void's demands are substantial, and sooner or later it will be necessary to resort to some help, also because that scoundrel Void cancels all of DK's abilities at the beginning of each challenge. 

And the help comes quickly by collecting emeralds through a system (obviously valid only within the Emerald Rush challenges) similar to the upgrades in Vampire Survivor, to use a mainstream example: for every so many emeralds collected, we can choose between three different options consisting mainly of bonuses or multipliers for collecting the emeralds themselves. Since the challenges do not all take place on DK Island (excuse the small necessary spoiler, you would have discovered it at the end of the first challenge), choosing the right upgrade and fixing the trio of options that will accompany us until the last round becomes fundamental to maximize the collection. To be clear, some upgrades provide boosts for eliminating a type of enemy that might not be present in the level you are in. Another detail, excess emeralds collected are saved for the next round. All small variations that, however, make each run different from the previous ones. 

Emeralds alone, however, are not enough: in the challenge scenarios, there are also special bananas that can reconstruct your Abilities one by one, obviously transforming them into new special Abilities designed to help you in the challenges. And in the same way, in the Emerald Rush locations, there are also alternative versions of the other collectibles useful for unlocking ornamental elements. 

So, how is DK Island & Emerald Rush?

The question is legitimate, and the first answer is: strange; in the sense that it's strange to find a DLC just two months after the launch of the base game, and it's equally strange that such an early DLC requires game completion. Regarding the content, the discussion can be divided into two: DK Island is an additional location, disconnected from the main adventure, where you are happy to rediscover those tropical colors the series had accustomed us to, and you can scrape together some Banandium when you're a bit short, perhaps through bonus stages. The Emerald Rush, on the other hand, represents the main course of the DLC, the famous roguelite mode that had been talked about for some time, and that's exactly what it is: an addition detached from the main story that offers a few more hours of Donkey Kong Bananza and destruction to those who need it. Viewed from this perspective, it is understandable why the DLC is only accessible after the credits, because it is expressly designed for those who are still not satiated with the destruction mechanic. For everyone else, DK Island & Emerald Rush can still be a pleasant pastime, which also offers a good level of challenge compared to the ups & downs of the base game, but ultimately optional, adding or subtracting nothing from the overall Bananza experience. If, however, you couldn't wait to further destroy the scenery and especially you are obsessed with virtual collecting (or completionism), step right up, DK Island & Emerald Rush is designed for you.