Category: Blog

I’d like you to consider this a “yes … and” piece to complement Joe’s post. I’m just trying to contradict what he’s saying, but I’m just trying to give some context to initiatives and opportunities where AI can make a difference for people with disability. To be clear, I’m not saying that there aren’t true threats or pressing problems with AI that need to be addressed; there are, and we’ve needed to address them, like, yesterday; instead, I want to take a moment to talk about what’s possible so that we can get there one day.

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Joe’s article spends a lot of time examining how computer vision models can create other words. He raises a lot of appropriate points regarding the state of the world right now. And while computer-vision concepts continue to improve in the quality and complexity of information in their information, their benefits aren’t wonderful. He argues to be accurate that the state of image research is currently very poor, especially for some graphic types, in large part due to the lack of context-based analysis that exists in the AI systems ( which is a result of having separate “foundation” models for text analysis and image analysis ). Today’s models aren’t trained to distinguish between images that are contextually relevant ( which should probably have descriptions ) and those that are purely decorative ( which might not even need a description ) either. However, I still think there’s possible in this area.

As Joe points out, human-in-the-loop editing of ctrl text should definitely be a factor. And if AI can intervene to provide a starting place for alt text, even if the rapid might say What is this BS? That’s not correct at all … Let me try to offer a starting point— I think that’s a win.

If we can specifically station a design to examine image usage in context, it might help us more quickly determine which images are likely to be elegant and which ones are likely to need a description. That will help clarify which situations require image descriptions, and it will increase authors ‘ effectiveness in making their sites more visible.

While complex images—like graphs and charts—are challenging to describe in any sort of succinct way ( even for humans ), the image example shared in the GPT4 announcement points to an interesting opportunity as well. Let’s say you came across a map that merely stated the chart’s name and the type of representation it was:” Pie chart comparing smartphone use to have phone usage in US households making under$ 30, 000 annually.” ( That would be a pretty bad alt text for a chart because it would frequently leave many unanswered questions about the data, but let’s just assume that that was the description in place. ) If your website knew that that picture was a pie graph ( because an onboard model concluded this ), imagine a world where people could ask questions like these about the creative:

• Do more people use smartphones or other types of smartphones?
• How many more?
• Is there a group of people that don’t fall into either of these buckets?
• How many people are that?

For a moment, the chance to learn more about images and data in this way could be revolutionary for people with low vision and blindness as well as for those with various forms of color blindness, cognitive disabilities, and other issues. It could also be useful in educational contexts to help people who can see these charts, as is, to understand the data in the charts.

What if you could ask your browser to make a complicated chart simpler? What if you asked it to separate a single line from a line graph? What if you could ask your browser to transpose the colors of the different lines to work better for form of color blindness you have? What if you demanded that it switch colors in favor of patterns? That seems like a possibility given the chat-based interfaces and our current ability to manipulate images in modern AI tools.

Now imagine a purpose-built model that could extract the information from that chart and convert it to another format. Perhaps it could convert that pie chart (or, better yet, a series of pie charts ) into more usable ( and useful ) formats, like spreadsheets, for instance. That would be incredible!

Matching algorithms

When Safiya Umoja Noble chose to put her book Algorithms of Oppression, she hit the nail on the head. Although her book focused on how search engines can foster racism, I believe it’s equally true that all computer models have the potential to foster conflict, prejudice, and intolerance. Whether it’s Twitter always showing you the latest tweet from a bored billionaire, YouTube sending us into a Q-hole, or Instagram warping our ideas of what natural bodies look like, we know that poorly authored and maintained algorithms are incredibly harmful. Many of these are the result of a lack of diversity in the people who create and build them. There is still a lot of potential for algorithm development when these platforms are built with inclusive features in mind.

Take Mentra, for example. They serve as a network of employment for people who are neurodivers. Based on more than 75 data points, they match job seekers with potential employers using an algorithm. On the job-seeker side of things, it considers each candidate’s strengths, their necessary and preferred workplace accommodations, environmental sensitivities, and so on. On the employer side, it takes into account each work environment, communication strategies for each job, and other factors. Mentra made the decision to change the script when it came to the typical employment websites because it was run by neurodivergent people. They use their algorithm to propose available candidates to companies, who can then connect with job seekers that they are interested in, reducing the emotional and physical labor on the job-seeker side of things.

More people with disabilities can be used to create algorithms, which can lessen the likelihood that they will harm their communities. That’s why diverse teams are so crucial.

Imagine that a social media company’s recommendation engine was tuned to analyze who you’re following and if it was tuned to prioritize follow recommendations for people who talked about similar things but who were different in some key ways from your existing sphere of influence. For instance, if you followed a group of nondisabled white male academics who spoke about AI, it might be advisable to follow those who are disabled, aren’t white, or aren’t men who also speak about AI. If you followed its advice, you might gain a more in-depth and nuanced understanding of what’s happening in the AI field. These same systems should also use their understanding of biases about particular communities—including, for instance, the disability community—to make sure that they aren’t recommending any of their users follow accounts that perpetuate biases against (or, worse, spewing hate toward ) those groups.

Other ways that AI can assist people with disabilities

If I weren’t attempting to combine this with other tasks, I’m sure I could go on and on, giving various examples of how AI could be used to assist people with disabilities, but I’m going to make this last section into a bit of a lightning round. In no particular order:

preservation of voice You may have been aware of the voice-prescribing options from Microsoft, Acapela, or others, or you may have seen the VALL-E paper or Apple’s announcement for Global Accessibility Awareness Day. It’s possible to train an AI model to replicate your voice, which can be a tremendous boon for people who have ALS ( Lou Gehrig’s disease ) or motor-neuron disease or other medical conditions that can lead to an inability to talk. We need to approach this tech responsibly because it has the potential to have a truly transformative impact, which is why it can also be used to create audio deepfakes.
• voice recognition is. Researchers like those in the Speech Accessibility Project are paying people with disabilities for their help in collecting recordings of people with atypical speech. As I type, they are actively seeking out people who have Parkinson’s and related conditions, and they intend to expand this list as the project develops. More people with disabilities will be able to use voice assistants, dictation software, and voice-response services as a result of this research, which will result in more inclusive data sets that will enable them to use their computers and other devices more easily and with just their voices.
• Text transformation. The most recent generation of LLMs is quite capable of changing existing text without giving off hallucinations. This is incredibly empowering for those who have cognitive disabilities and who may benefit from text summaries or simplified versions, or even text that has been prepared for Bionic Reading.

The importance of diverse teams and data

We must acknowledge that our differences matter. The intersections of the identities we exist in have an impact on our lived experiences. These lived experiences—with all their complexities ( and joys and pain ) —are valuable inputs to the software, services, and societies that we shape. The data we use to train new models must be based on our differences, and those who provide it to us need to be compensated for doing so. Inclusive data sets produce stronger models that promote more justifiable outcomes.

Want a model that doesn’t demean or patronize or objectify people with disabilities? Make sure that you include information about disabilities that has been written by people with a variety of disabilities in the training data.

Want a non-binary language model? You may be able to use existing data sets to build a filter that can intercept and remediate ableist language before it reaches readers. Despite this, AI models won’t soon replace human copy editors when it comes to sensitivity reading.

Want a copilot for coding that provides recomprehensible recommendations after the jump? Train it on code that you know to be accessible.

I have no doubts about how dangerous AI will be for people today, tomorrow, and for the rest of the world. However, I also think that we can acknowledge this and make thoughtful, thoughtful, and intentional changes in our approaches to AI that will reduce harm over time as well. Today, tomorrow, and well into the future.

Thanks to Kartik Sawhney for assisting me with writing this article, Ashley Bischoff for her invaluable editorial assistance, and of course Joe Dolson for the prompt.

I’ve been fascinated by movies since I was a child. I loved the heroes and the excitement—but most of all the stories. I aspired to be an artist. And I believed that I’d get to do the things that Indiana Jones did and go on fascinating experiences. Yet my friends and I had movie ideas to make and sky in. But they never went any farther. However, I did end up working in user experience ( UI). Today, I realize that there’s an element of drama to UX— I hadn’t actually considered it before, but consumer research is story. And to get the most out of customer studies, you must tell a compelling story that involves stakeholders, including the product team and decision-makers, and piques their interest in learning more.

Think of your favorite film. It more than likely follows a three-act construction that’s frequently seen in movies: the layout, the conflict, and the resolution. The second act shows what exists now, and it helps you get to understand the characters and the challenges and problems that they face. The issue begins in Act 2, which introduces the issue. Here, issues grow or get worse. The solution comes in the third and final work. This is where the issues are resolved and the figures learn and change. This architecture, in my opinion, is also a fantastic way to think about consumer research, and it might be particularly useful for introducing user research to others.

Use story as a framework for conducting research

It’s sad to say, but many have come to see studies as being dispensable. Research is frequently one of the first things to go when finances or deadlines are tight. Instead of investing in study, some goods professionals rely on manufacturers or—worse—their personal judgment to make the “right” options for users based on their experience or accepted best practices. That might lead to some clubs getting in the way, but it’s too easy to overlook the real problems facing users. To be user-centered, this is something we really avoid. User study improves style. It keeps it on record, pointing to problems and opportunities. Being aware of the problems with your goods and taking action can help you be ahead of your competition.

In the three-act structure, each action corresponds to a part of the process, and each part is important to telling the whole story. Let’s examine the various functions and how they relate to consumer analysis.

Act one: layout

The basic study comes in handy because the layout is all about understanding the background. Basic research ( also called conceptual, discovery, or original research ) helps you understand people and identify their problems. Just like in the movies, you’re learning about the difficulties users face, what options are available, and how those challenges impact them. To do basic research, you may conduct cultural inquiries or journal studies ( or both! ), which may assist you in identifying both problems and opportunities. It doesn’t need to get a great investment in time or money.

What is the least sustainable ethnography that Erika Hall can do is spend fifteen minutes with a consumer and say,” Walk me through your day yesterday. That’s it. Current that one ask. Locked up and listen to them for 15 days. Do everything in your power to protect both your objectives and yourself. Bam, you’re doing ethnography”. According to Hall, “[This ] will likely prove quite fascinating. In the very unlikely event that you didn’t learn anything new or helpful, carry on with increased confidence in your way”.

This makes sense to me in all its entirety. And I love that this makes consumer studies so visible. You don’t need to create a lot of paperwork; you can only attract people and do it! This can offer a wealth of knowledge about your customers, and it’ll help you better understand them and what’s going on in their life. Understanding where people are coming from is what action one is really all about.

Maybe Spool talks about the importance of basic research and how it may type the bulk of your research. If you can supplement what you’ve heard in the fundamental studies by using any more user data that you can obtain, such as surveys or analytics, to make recommendations that may need to be investigated further, you might as well use those that can be drawn from those that you can obtain. Together, all this information creates a clearer picture of the state of things and all its deficiencies. And that’s the start of a gripping tale. It’s the place in the story where you realize that the principal characters—or the people in this case—are facing issues that they need to conquer. This is where you begin to develop compassion for the characters and support their success, much like in films. And finally partners are now doing the same. Their business may lose money because users can’t finish specific tasks, which may be their love. Or probably they do connect with people ‘ problems. In any case, action one serves as your main strategy to pique the interest and interest of the participants.

When partners begin to understand the value of basic research, that is open doors to more opportunities that involve users in the decision-making approach. And that can influence product groups ‘ focus on improving. This gains everyone—users, the goods, and partners. It’s similar to winning an Oscar for a film because it frequently results in a favorable and successful outcome for your item. And this can be an opportunity for participants to repeat this process with different items. The secret to this method is storytelling, and knowing how to tell a compelling story is the only way to entice partners to do more research.

This brings us to work two, where you incrementally review a design or idea to see whether it addresses the problems.

Act two: issue

Act two is all about digging deeper into the issues that you identified in action one. This typically involves conducting vertical study, such as accessibility tests, where you evaluate a potential solution ( such as a design ) to see if it addresses the problems you identified. The issues may include unfulfilled needs or problems with a circulation or procedure that’s tripping users away. More issues may come up in the process, much like in action two of a movie. It’s ok that you learn more about the characters as they grow and develop through this work.

Usability tests should generally consist of five participants, according to Jakob Nielsen, who found that that number of users can usually identify the majority of the issues:” As you add more and more users, you learn less and less because you will keep seeing the same things again and again… After the second user, you are wasting your time by observing the same findings regularly but hardly learning much new.”

There are parallels with storytelling here too, if you try to tell a story with too many characters, the plot may get lost. With fewer participants, each user’s struggles will be more easily recalled and shared with other parties when discussing the research. This can help convey the issues that need to be addressed while also highlighting the value of doing the research in the first place.

Usability tests have been conducted in person for decades, but you can also do them remotely using software like Microsoft Teams, Zoom, or other teleconferencing software. This approach has become increasingly popular since the beginning of the pandemic, and it works well. You might consider in-person usability tests like attending a play and remote sessions as more of a movie watching experience. There are advantages and disadvantages to each. Much more in-depth research is conducted on user experience. Stakeholders can experience the sessions with other stakeholders. Additionally, you get real-time reactions, including surprises, disagreements, and discussions about what they’re seeing. Much like going to a play, where audiences get to take in the stage, the costumes, the lighting, and the actors ‘ interactions, in-person research lets you see users up close, including their body language, how they interact with the moderator, and how the scene is set up.

If conducting usability testing in the field is like watching a play that is staged and controlled, where any two sessions may be very different from one another. You can take usability testing into the field by creating a replica of the space where users interact with the product and then conduct your research there. Or you can conduct your research by meeting users at their locations. With either option, you get to see how things work in context, things come up that wouldn’t have in a lab environment—and conversion can shift in entirely different directions. You have less control over how these sessions run as researchers, but this can occasionally improve your understanding of users. Meeting users where they are can provide clues to the external forces that could be affecting how they use your product. Usability tests in person offer a level of detail that is frequently absent from remote testing.

That’s not to say that the “movies” —remote sessions—aren’t a good option. Remote training sessions can reach a wider audience. They allow a lot more stakeholders to be involved in the research and to see what’s going on. And they make access to a much wider range of users in their own country. But with any remote session there is the potential of time wasted if participants can’t log in or get their microphone working.

You can ask real users questions to understand their thoughts and understanding of the solution as a result of usability testing, whether it is conducted remotely or in person. This can help you not only identify problems but also glean why they’re problems in the first place. Additionally, you can test your own hypotheses and determine whether your reasoning is correct. By the end of the sessions, you’ll have a much clearer picture of how usable the designs are and whether they work for their intended purposes. The excitement centers on Act 2, but there are also potential surprises in that Act. This is equally true of usability tests. Unexpected things that are said by participants frequently alter how you view things, and these unexpected developments in the story can lead to unexpected turns in your perception.

Unfortunately, user research is sometimes seen as expendable. Usability testing is frequently the only method of research that some stakeholders believe they ever need, and it’s too frequently the case. In fact, if the designs that you’re evaluating in the usability test aren’t grounded in a solid understanding of your users ( foundational research ), there’s not much to be gained by doing usability testing in the first place. Because you narrow down the subject matter of your feedback without understanding the needs of the users. As a result, there’s no way of knowing whether the designs might solve a problem that users have. In the context of a usability test, it’s only feedback on a particular design.

On the other hand, if you only do foundational research, while you might have set out to solve the right problem, you won’t know whether the thing that you’re building will actually solve that. This demonstrates the value of conducting both directional and foundational research.

In act two, stakeholders will—hopefully—get to watch the story unfold in the user sessions, which creates the conflict and tension in the current design by surfacing their highs and lows. And in turn, this can encourage stakeholders to take action on the issues raised.

Act three: resolution

The third act is about resolving the issues from the first two acts, whereas the first two acts are about understanding the context and the tensions that can compel stakeholders to act. While it’s important to have an audience for the first two acts, it’s crucial that they stick around for the final act. That includes all members of the product team, including developers, UX experts, business analysts, delivery managers, product managers, and any other parties who have a say in the coming development. It allows the whole team to hear users ‘ feedback together, ask questions, and discuss what’s possible within the project’s constraints. Additionally, it enables the UX design and research teams to clarify, suggest alternatives, or provide more context for their decisions. So you can get everyone on the same page and get agreement on the way forward.

Voiceover narration of this act is typically used with audience input. The researcher is the narrator, who paints a picture of the issues and what the future of the product could look like given the things that the team has learned. They offer the stakeholders their suggestions and suggestions for how to create this vision.

Nancy Duarte in the Harvard Business Review offers an approach to structuring presentations that follow a persuasive story. The most effective presenters employ the same methods as great storytellers: By reaffirming the status quo and then revealing a better way, they create a conflict that needs to be resolved, writes Duarte. ” That tension helps them persuade the audience to adopt a new mindset or behave differently”.

This type of structure aligns well with research results, and particularly results from usability tests. It provides proof for “what is “—the issues you’ve identified. And “what could be “—your recommendations on how to address them. And so forth.

You can reinforce your recommendations with examples of things that competitors are doing that could address these issues or with examples where competitors are gaining an edge. Or they can be visual, like quick sketches of how a new design could function to solve a problem. These can help generate conversation and momentum. And this continues until the session is over, when you’ve concluded by bridging the gaps and offering suggestions for improvement. This is the part where you reiterate the main themes or problems and what they mean for the product—the denouement of the story. The stakeholders will now have the opportunity to take the next steps, and hopefully the will-power to do so!

While we are nearly at the end of this story, let’s reflect on the idea that user research is storytelling. The three-act structure of user research contains all the components for a good story:

Act one: You meet the protagonists ( the users ) and the antagonists ( the problems affecting users ). The plot begins here. In act one, researchers might use methods including contextual inquiry, ethnography, diary studies, surveys, and analytics. These techniques can produce personas, empathy maps, user journeys, and analytics dashboards.

Act two: Next, there’s character development. The protagonists encounter problems and challenges, which they must overcome, and there is conflict and tension. In act two, researchers might use methods including usability testing, competitive benchmarking, and heuristics evaluation. Usability findings reports, UX strategy documents, usability guidelines, and best practices can be included in the output of these.

Act three: The protagonists triumph and you see what a better future looks like. Researchers may use techniques like presentation decks, storytelling, and digital media in act three. The output of these can be: presentation decks, video clips, audio clips, and pictures.

The researcher performs a number of tasks: they are the producer, the director, and the storyteller. The participants have a small role, but they are significant characters ( in the research ). And the audience is one of the stakeholders. But the most important thing is to get the story right and to use storytelling to tell users ‘ stories through research. In the end, the parties should leave with a goal and an eagerness to fix the product’s flaws.

So the next time that you’re planning research with clients or you’re speaking to stakeholders about research that you’ve done, think about how you can weave in some storytelling. In the end, user research is beneficial for everyone, and all you need to do is pique stakeholders ‘ interest in how the story ends.

Adapting Agencies for the AI Era written by John Jantsch read more at Duct Tape Marketing

Listen to the full episode: Overview On this episode of the Duct Tape Marketing Podcast, John Jantsch interviews Brent Weaver, CEO of E2M Solutions—the leading provider of white label WordPress, SEO, content, and AI solutions for agencies. Brent shares his view from the front lines of agency evolution as AI, automation, and changing client expectations […]

Adapting Agencies for the AI Era written by John Jantsch read more at Duct Tape Marketing

Listen to the full episode:

Picture this: Two people are conversing in what appears to be the same talk about the same pattern issue in a conference room at your tech company. One is talking about whether the staff has the proper skills to handle it. The various examines whether the answer really addresses the user’s issue. Similar place, the same issue, and entirely different perspectives.

This is the lovely, sometimes messy fact of having both a Design Manager and a Guide Designer on the same group. And you’re asking the right question if you’re wondering how to make this job without creating confusion, coincide, or the feared” to some cooks” situation.

The conventional solution has been to create a table with clear lines. The Design Manager handles persons, the Lead Designer handles art. Best, problem is fixed, best? Except that fresh organizational charts are fantasy. In fact, both roles care greatly about crew health, style quality, and shipping great work.

When you begin to think of your style organization as a style organism, the magic happens when you accept collide rather than fight it.

The biology of a good design team

Here’s what I’ve learned from years of being on both sides of this formula: consider of your design team as a living organism. The design manager has a focus on the internal safety, career advancement, team dynamics, and other aspects. The Lead Designer is more focused on the body ( the handiwork, the design standards, the hands-on projects that are delivered to users ).

But just like mind and body aren’t totally separate systems, but, also, do these tasks overlap in significant ways. Without working in harmony with one another, you didn’t have a healthier person. The technique is to recognize those overlaps and how to manage them gently.

When we look at how good team really function, three critical devices emerge. Each requires the collaboration of both jobs, but one must assume the lead role in maintaining that system sturdy.

Individuals & Psychology: The Nervous System

Major caregiver: Design Manager
Supporting position: Direct Artist

Signs, comments, emotional health are all important components of the nervous program. When this technique is good, information flows easily, people feel safe to take risks, and the staff may react quickly to new problems.

The main caregiver here is the Design Manager. They are keeping track of the team’s emotional state, making sure feedback loops are good, and creating the environment for growth. They’re hosting job meetings, managing task, and making sure no single burns out.

However, the Lead Designer has a significant encouraging position. They provide visual feedback on build development requirements, identifying stagnant design skills, and assisting with the Design Manager’s potential growth opportunities.

Design Manager tends to:

• discussions about careers and career development
• mental stability and dynamics of the group
• Job management and resource planning
• Performance evaluations and opinions management methods
• Providing understanding options

Direct Custom supports by:

• Providing craft-specific coaching for staff members
• identifying opportunities for growth and style ability gaps
• Providing design mentoring and assistance
• indicating when a group is prepared for more challenging tasks.

The Muscular System: Design, Design, and Execution

Major caretaker: Lead Designer
Design Manager supporting part

Strength, cooperation, and skill development are the hallmarks of the skeletal system. When this technique is healthy, the team can do complicated design work with precision, maintain regular quality, and adjust their craft to fresh challenges.

The Lead Designer is in charge of everything here. They are raising the bar for quality work, providing craft instruction, and ensuring that shipping work is done to the highest standards. They’re the ones who can tell you if a design decision is sound or if we’re solving the right problem.

However, a significant supporting role is played by the Design Manager. They’re making sure the team has the resources and support they need to perform their best work, such as proper nutrition and time for an athlete recovering.

Lead Designer tends to:

• Definition of system requirements and design standards
• Feedback on design output that meets the required standards
• Experience direction for the product
• Design choices and product-wide alignment
• advancement of craft and innovation

Design Manager supports by:

• ensuring that all members of the team are aware of and adopting design standards
• Confirming that the right course of action is being taken
• Supporting practices and systems that scale without bottlenecking
• facilitating team-wide design alignment
• Providing resources and removing obstacles to outstanding craft work

The Circulatory System: Strategy &amp, Flow

Shared caretakers: Lead Designer and Design Manager, respectively.

The circulatory system is about how decisions, energy, and information flow through the team. When this system is healthy, strategic direction is clear, priorities are aligned, and the team can respond quickly to new opportunities or challenges.

True partnership occurs in this area. Although both roles are responsible for maintaining the circulation, they both have unique perspectives to offer.

Lead Designer contributes:

• The product fulfills the user’s needs.
• overall experience and product quality
• Strategic design initiatives
• User needs for each initiative are based on research.

Design Manager contributes:

• Communication to team and stakeholders
• Stakeholder management and alignment
• Team accountability across all levels
• Strategic business initiatives

Both parties work together on:

• Co-creation of strategy and leadership
• Team goals and prioritization approach
• organizational structure decisions
• Success frameworks and measures

Keeping the Organism Healthy

Understanding that all three systems must work together is the key to making this partnership sing. A team will eventually lose their way despite excellent craftmanship and poor psychological safety. A team with great culture but weak craft execution will ship mediocre work. A team that has both but poor strategic planning will work hard on the wrong things.

Be Specific About the System You’re Defending.

When you’re in a meeting about a design problem, it helps to acknowledge which system you’re primarily focused on. Everyone has context for their input.” I’m thinking about this from a team capacity perspective” ( nervous system ) or” I’m looking at this through the lens of user needs” ( muscular system ).

This is not about staying in your path. It’s about being transparent as to which lens you’re using, so the other person knows how to best add their perspective.

Create wholesome feedback loops

The partnerships that I’ve seen have the most effective partnerships that create clear feedback loops between the systems:

Nervous system signals to muscular system:” The team is struggling with confidence in their design skills” → Lead Designer provides more craft coaching and clearer standards.

Nervous system receives the message” The team’s craft skills are improving more quickly than their project complexity.”

We’re seeing patterns in team health and craft development that suggest we need to adjust our strategic priorities, both systems say to the circulatory system.

Handle Handoffs Gracefully

When something switches from one system to another, this partnership’s pivotal moment is. This might occur when a design standard ( muscular system ) needs to be implemented across the team ( nervous system ) or when a tactical initiative ( circulatory system ) requires specific craft execution ( muscular system ).

Make these transitions explicit. The new component standards have been defined. Can you give me some ideas for how to get the team up to speed? or” We’ve agreed on this strategic direction. From here, I’ll concentrate on the particular user experience approach.

Stay curious and avoid being territorial.

The Design Manager who never thinks about craft, or the Lead Designer who never considers team dynamics, is like a doctor who only looks at one body system. Even when they are not the primary caretaker, great design leadership requires both people to be as concerned with the entire organism.

This entails posing questions rather than making assumptions. ” What do you think about the team’s craft development in this area”? or” How do you think this is affecting team morale and workload”? keeps both viewpoints present in every choice.

When the Organism Gets Sick

Even with clear roles, this partnership can go wrong. Here are the most typical failure modes I’ve seen:

System Isolation

The Design Manager ignores craft development and only concentrates on the nervous system. The Lead Designer ignores team dynamics and only concentrates on the muscular system. Both people retreat to their comfort zones and stop collaborating.

The signs: Team members receive conflicting messages, poor morale, and poor communication.

Reconnect with other people’s goals in the treatment. What are you both trying to achieve? It’s typically excellent design work that arrives on time from a capable team. Discover how both systems accomplish that goal.

Poor Circulation

There is no clear strategic direction, shifting priorities, or accepting responsibility for keeping information flowing.

The symptoms are: Team members are unsure of their priorities, work is duplicated or dropped, and deadlines are missed.

The treatment: Explicitly assign responsibility for circulation. Who is communicating with whom? How frequently? What’s the feedback loop?

Autoimmune Response

One person feels threatened by the expertise of the other. The Design Manager thinks the Lead Designer is undermining their authority. The Design Manager is alleged to believe that the Lead Designer doesn’t understand craft.

The signs: defensive behavior, territorial disputes, team members stifled in the middle.

The treatment: Remember that you’re both caretakers of the same organism. When one system fails, the entire team suffers. The team thrives when both systems are strong.

The Payoff

Yes, this model calls for more interaction. Yes, it requires that both parties be confident enough to assume full responsibility for team health. But the payoff is worth it: better decisions, stronger teams, and design work that’s both excellent and sustainable.

The best of both worlds can be found in strong people leadership and deep craft expertise when both roles are healthy and effective together. When one person is overly sick, on vacation, or overworked, the other can help keep the team’s health. When a decision requires both the people perspective and the craft perspective, you’ve got both right there in the room.

Most importantly, the framework is flexible. You can apply the same system thinking to fresh challenges as your team expands. Need to launch a design system? Both the muscular system and the nervous system are more prevalent in the work environment and communication, and the design manager is more focused on the implementation and change management.

The End result

The relationship between a Design Manager and Lead Designer isn’t about dividing territories. It’s about multiplying impact. Magic occurs when both roles are aware that they are tending to various components of the same healthy organism.

The mind and body work together. The team receives both the craft excellence and strategic thinking they need. And most importantly, users benefit from both perspectives when they receive the work.

So the next time you’re in that meeting room, wondering why two people are talking about the same problem from different angles, remember: you’re watching shared leadership in action. And if it’s functioning well, your design team’s mind and body will both become stronger.

As a solution developer for too many years, I can’t recall how many times I’ve seen promising ideas go from being heroes in a few weeks to being useless within months.

Financial items, which is the area of my specialization, are no exception. It’s tempting to put as many features at the ceiling as possible and expect something sticks because people’s true, hard-earned money is on the line, user expectations are high, and crowded market. However, this strategy will lead to disaster. Why, you see this:

The fatalities of feature-first growth

It’s easy to get swept up in the enthusiasm of developing innovative features when you start developing a financial product from scratch or are migrating existing user journeys from papers or telephony channels to online bank or mobile applications. They may believe,” If I may only add one more thing that solves this particular person problem, they’ll enjoy me”! But what happens if you eventually encounter a roadblock as a result of your security team’s negligence? don’t like it? When a difficult-fought film fails to win over viewers or fails owing to unanticipated difficulty?

The concept of Minimum Viable Product ( MVP ) is applied to this. Even if Jason Fried doesn’t usually refer to this concept, his book Getting Real and his audio Rework frequently discuss it. An MVP is a product that offers only sufficient value to your users to keep them interested, but not so much that it becomes difficult to keep up. Although the idea seems simple, it requires a razor-sharp eye, a ruthless edge, and the courage to stand up for your position because it is easy to fall for” the Columbo Effect” when there is always” just one more thing …” to add.

The issue with most fund apps is that they frequently turn out to be reflections of the company’s internal politics rather than an experience created exclusively for the customer. This implies that the priority is to provide as many features and functionalities as possible to satisfy the requirements and desires of competing inside sections as opposed to a distinct value statement that is focused on what people in the real world actually want. These products may therefore quickly become a muddled mess of confusing, related, and finally unlovable client experiences—a feature salad, you might say.

The significance of the foundation

What’s a better course of action then? How may we create products that are user-friendly, firm, and, most importantly, stick?

The concept of “bedrock” comes into play here. The mainstay of your product is really important to consumers, and Bedrock is that. The foundation of worth and relevance over time is built upon it.

The rock has got to be in and around the standard cleaning journeys in the world of retail bank, which is where I work. Individuals only look at their existing account once every five minutes, but they also look at it daily. They purchase a credit card every year or every other year, but they at least once a month examine their stability and pay their bills.

The key is in identifying the main tasks that individuals want to complete and therefore persistently striving to make them simple, reliable, and trustworthy.

How can you reach the foundation, though? By focusing on the” MVP” strategy, giving ease the top priority, and working toward a distinct value proposition. This means avoiding pointless extras and putting your people first, making the most of them.

It also requires some nerve, as your coworkers might not always agree on your eyesight at first. And in some cases, it might even mean making it clear to clients that you won’t be coming over to their home and prepare their meal. Sometimes you may need to use the sporadic “opinionated user interface design” ( i .e. clunky workaround for edge cases ) to test a concept or to give yourself some room to work on something more crucial stuff.

Functional methods for creating financially successful items

What are the main learnings I’ve made from my own research and knowledge, then?

1. What trouble are you trying to solve first, and make a distinct “why”? Who is it for? Before beginning any project, make sure your vision is completely clear. Make certain it also aligns with the goals of your business.
2. Avoid putting too many features on the list at again; instead, focus on getting that right first. Choose one that actually adds benefit, and work from that.
3. When it comes to financial items, clarity is often more important than difficulty. Eliminate unwanted details and concentrate on what matters most.
4. Accept ongoing iteration as Bedrock is a powerful process rather than a fixed destination. Continuously collect customer feedback, improve your product, and work toward that foundational state.
5. Stop, look, and listen: Don’t just go through with testing your product as part of the delivery process; test it frequently in the field. Use it for yourself. Work A/B tests. User opinions on Gear. Speak to users and make adjustments accordingly.

The “bedrock dilemma”

This is an intriguing conundrum: sacrificing some of the potential for short-term progress in favor of long-term stability is at play. But the reward is worthwhile because products built with a focus on rock will outlive and surpass their rivals over time and provide users with long-term value.

How do you begin your quest to rock, then? Get it gradually. Start by identifying the underlying factors that your customers actually care about. Concentrate on developing and improving a second, potent function that delivers real value. And most importantly, check constantly because, whatever you think, Abraham Lincoln, Alan Kay, or Peter Drucker are all in the same boat! The best way to foretell the future is to build it, he said.

Episode 4 of Alien: Earth has trailers in this article. No Mysterious project can possibly recover the feeling of cosmic scary upon seeing H. R. Giger’s extract for the first time. But Noah Hawley, the father of the prequel series Alien: Earth, went for the eye when it came time to design a circle of brand-new monsters. ]… ]

The first article on Den of Geek was Alien: Earth’s Eyeball Monster Taps Into Primal Worries.

Nintendo‘s breakthrough name was never Mario Bros. or The Legend of Zelda, but somewhat Donkey Kong, with the eponymous monkey headlining the agency’s 1981 arcade game that helped Nintendo create a prominent hold in the American gambling industry. Since then, Donkey Kong has become a fixture for the business, either as a supporting figure for Mario-led outfit game or as a member of his own collection of starring titles for Nintendo‘s numerous portable and home consoles. This has continued into the company’s fledgling Nintendo Switch 2 era, with the console’s Donkey Kong Bananza the most positively buzzed-about title from the Switch 2’s launch library.

Although Donkey Kong’s number of games he primarily stars in aren’t quite as prolific as some of his other Nintendo counterparts, he has a long history in the video game industry. With that said, Donkey Kong has starred in at least one game on virtually every major Nintendo system and remains a cornerstone property for the company. Without including his supporting character ensemble appearances, these are the top ten Donkey Kong games.

10. Donkey Kong 64 ( 1999 )

We’re starting off this list with a relatively divisive entry, as many have not inaccurately derided 1999’s Donkey Kong 64 as an overstuffed collect-a-thon on the Nintendo 64. To the credit of many critics, the game does allow you to replay many of the same levels with different characters, which the 2004 Super Mario 64 DS also did without much controversy, but that overlooks the point. Indeed, not only catapulting Donkey Kong and his friends into the world of 3D platforming, Donkey Kong 64 rose above its contemporaries in the genre.

Donkey Kong 64 has an underappreciated depth, particularly in its rich level design and atmospheric musical score, which was composed by Grant Kirkhope. What a lot of retrospective reviews also don’t take into account is that there was a ton of 3D platforming slop flooding the market after the success of Super Mario 64 and Banjo-Kazooie, slop that Donkey Kong 64 clearly stood a cut above during its release. Donkey Kong 64 certainly has its flaws, but it still deserves much more love or at least a less dubious reputation than it does these days.

9. Donkey Kong Jungle Beat ( 2005 )

Nintendo home consoles have a longstanding legacy of quirky peripherals, a tradition that was continued by the Nintendo GameCube at the dawn of the 21st century. In 2004’s Donkey Kong Jungle Beat, the peripheral was given a more optimized gameplay experience after introducing the DK Bongos, a bongo drum peripheral for the GameCube and 2003’s Donkey Konga. The game continues the rhythm-based gameplay from Donkey Konga, albeit within a side-scrolling platformer controlled by the drums.

Jungle Beat is one of the most playable Donkey Kong games in terms of difficulty and places the DK Bongos at their logical apex. More than just providing a unique mechanic in moving across the levels, there is something fundamentally cathartic about pounding on a set of bongos to pummel an imposing boss. Given the possibilities presented by Nintendo’s continued motion control support, Donkey Kong Jungle Beat, a forgotten Donkey Kong entry due to its signature peripheral, should receive an update.

8. Donkey Kong vs. Mario vs.

While Mario and Donkey Kong may be nominal buddies now, palling around throughout various Nintendo sports titles, Mario Kart, and Mario Party, there was a time when they were bitter rivals. The spiritual follow-up to Donkey Kong from 1994 is Mario vs. Donkey Kong for the Game Boy Advance, which brings that antagonistic past to life. The game’s offbeat story has Mario own and run his own toy factory, which is raided by Donkey Kong for the factory’s popular line of wind-up Mini-Mario figures.

Mario vs. Donkey Kong raises the bar from the traversal and puzzle-solving gameplay from the 1994 Game Boy game, adding a fresh dimension with the presence of the Mini-Marios that must be navigated safely. The game received a surprise remake on the Nintendo Switch in 2024, making the controls more intuitive to the modern console while significantly upping the technical presentation. While we’re certainly happy that Donkey Kong and Mario once again play nice, Mario vs. Donkey Kong is a fresh take on one of video game’s oldest conflicts.

7. ( 2010 ), Donkey Kong Country Returns

After completely revitalizing the Metroid franchise, developer Retro Studios did the same for Donkey Kong with 2010’s Donkey Kong Country Returns for the Wii. Returning to the side-scrolling platforming that made Rare’s original Donkey Kong Country trilogy such a big hit on the Super Nintendo, the game features Donkey and Diddy Kong taking on a brand-new Tiki Tak Tribe. In a change-up from previous titles in the series, the game also allows for two-player simultaneous co-op, with the second player controlling Diddy.

Donkey Kong Country Returns is a welcome, hurm, return to form for the franchise, though there are some flaws in its execution. Boasting a faster pace than the original trilogy, the Wii revival is markedly more difficult than many games in the series, something that highlights how frustrating the console’s motion controls can be. Although the game’s gameplay flaws are still present, the slightly improved remasters on the Nintendo 3DS and Switch don’t significantly improve the overall experience.

6. Dixie Kong’s Double Trouble in Donkey Kong Country 3! ( 1996 )

One final Donkey Kong Country game for the SNES was released in 1996’s Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong’s Double Trouble, which was released at the tail end of the Super Nintendo’s lifecycle and after the Nintendo 64 had already been released. Just as Donkey Kong Country 2 ditched Donkey Kong himself, its sequel also discards Diddy, replacing him with the new playable character Kiddy Kong. In a northern region with its geography inspired by Scandinavia and Canada, Dixie and Kiddy set out to save Donkey and Diddy from Baron K. Rool.

Though Donkey Kong Country 3 may be the weakest entry of the original trilogy, it is by no means a bad game and brings some fresh changes to the series, specifically, an open hub map and vehicles. Even with the protagonist swap to introduce Kiddy, the game just doesn’t feel as inspired as its two predecessors. A solid if seemingly obligatory coda to the original Donkey Kong Country trilogy, Donkey Kong Country 3 retains the core appeal as it goes through well-worn territory.

5. Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze ( 2014 )

Cranky Kong, who has been relegated to being a supporting character for years, makes his playable debut in 2014’s Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze for the Wii U, joined by a returning Dixie. The game has Donkey Kong’s birthday party interrupted by the attacking Snowmads, an army of arctic animals plotting to conquer Donkey Kong Island and plunge it into endless winter. The Kongs fight their way back to the island’s center, overthrow the Snowmads, and defrost their home from its slushy condition.

Tropical Freeze is an all-around improvement over Donkey Kong Country Returns, significantly refining the gameplay mechanics and level design. The difficulty is unchanged at the same time as it was when the overall number of levels dropped from its predecessor. A solid addition to the series, the definitive Tropical Freeze experience is its enhanced remaster on the Nintendo Switch, adding Funky Kong as a playable character.

4. Donkey Kong Country ( 1994 )

The original Donkey Kong Country was a huge deal when it debuted on the Super Nintendo that year, to anyone who was present and playing video games in 1994. With its crisp, pre-rendered graphics, there was nothing else that looked that good on the console market at the time, helping steer the industry towards more 3D aesthetics. The plot of the video game is straightforward: King K. Rool storms Donkey Kong Island and plunders the enormous stash of bananas, prompting the ape and his nephew Diddy to retrieve their purloined fruit.

If it was just about that initial wow factor from its pre-rendered presentation, we wouldn’t still be talking about Donkey Kong Country over 30 years after its launch. Beyond its stunning visuals, the game completely redefined Donkey Kong and made him a core Nintendo trademark. That legacy stems from a combination of impressive technical presentation, an instant-classic score composed primarily by Grant Kirkhope, and an engaging side-scrolling platformer experience that this first game all brings to the table.

3. Donkey Kong ( 1994 )

Donkey Kong on the Game Boy, which was released in 1994, appears to be a smoother, more intuitive adaptation of the popular 1981 arcade game of the same name. However, after completing the four levels from the arcade title, the 1994 game expands into a full-on adventure as Donkey Kong kidnaps Mario’s girlfriend Pauline again and hightails it across 97 additional levels in nine-themed worlds. Donkey Kong Jr. and the mustached plumber acquire a new set of moves to keep up with the apes while battling to stay one step ahead of Mario.

The Game Boy Donkey Kong is a love letter to both the original arcade and its 1982 sequel Donkey Kong Jr. while ambitiously building upon these foundations. The game is more of a puzzle-solving experience than a platforming one at its core, with the level design demonstrating this more as players advance. That helps elevate 1994’s Donkey Kong tremendously from similar games in the franchise and a refreshing twist on a familiar premise.

2. Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy’s Kong Quest ( 1995 )

If Donkey Kong Country had radically altered the way we thought of side-scrolling platformers, its 1995 follow-up Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy’s Kong Quest used that as a starting point for the creation of the ultimate side-scrolling Donkey Kong experience. As the title suggests, Diddy steps up as the protagonist, teaming up with his newly introduced girlfriend Dixie Kong to rescue Donkey from Kaptain K. Rool. The pair uses their unique abilities to cross 52 levels and rescue Diddy’s uncle on Crocodile Isle before heading to the pirate warlord’s hideout on Crocodile Isle.

Donkey Kong Country 2 is one of those cases where bigger does actually mean better, with more secrets, more animal buddies to temporarily control, and more enemy types to take down. More ambitious levels are being created, and how much more complex and richer each play is for Diddy and Dixie than its predecessor is due to how they are each played. An all-around improvement over the original Donkey Kong Country, the sequel stands as the apex of side-scrollers and one of the best games that developer Rare ever made.

1. Donkey Kong Bananza ( 2025 )

Donkey Kong Bananza, which was released a full month after the Nintendo Switch 2’s launch, outperformed Mario Kart World in terms of gameplay. This praise is well-earned, with Donkey Kong Bananza successfully catapulting its heroic ape into a full-on 3D platformer experience built around the character’s notable strength by placing him in destructible environments. No matter how much money the environment costs, Donkey Kong and a teenage Pauline battle the evil VoidCo mining company, which is attempting to extract Banandium Gems from Ingot Isle.

From its immersive level design, side-scrolling detours straight out of the original Donkey Kong Country in a fun and emotional tribute, and a redesigned Donkey Kong character design with plenty of personality, Donkey Kong Bananza repositions DKas a marquee Nintendo franchise. Bananza is just a lot of fun despite its celebration of Donkey Kong’s entire history, which is incredibly cathartic. This game lets players go nuts and bash and smash everything around them. Donkey Kong Bananza is Nintendo’s best 3D platformer since at least 2017’s Super Mario Odyssey, and it is the most unashamedly enjoyable Donkey Kong game ever. It is a subtle rehash of what is possible for a Donkey Kong game.

The post Donkey Kong Video Games Ranked from Fun to Absolute Bananas appeared first on Den of Geek.

As of right now, there are 947 Star Trek shows streaming, totaling 820 days of viewing time, from Star Trek: The Original Series to Star Trek: Weird New Worlds. There are also 13 theatrical Star Trek movies in circulation, plus one direct-to-streaming movie, which rack up another roughly ]… ]

Does Star Trek Also Need a Franchise in Film? The Eternal Discussion appeared initially on Den of Geek.

Donkey Kong, the titular ape headlining the bank’s 1981 arcade game, helped Nintendo create a popular foothold in the American gaming industry. It wasn’t Mario Bros. or The Legend of Zelda that were Nintendo‘s breakout titles. Since then Donkey Kong has become a fixture for the business, either as a supporting figure for Mario-led outfit matches or his own collection of starring trophies across Nintendo‘s many household and portable computers. The company’s burgeoning Nintendo Switch 2 period has seen this, with Donkey Kong Bananza the most talked-about name in the Switch 2 build collection.

Donkey Kong has a longstanding record within the video game industry, though the number of activities that he generally stars in aren’t quite as talented as some of his other Nintendo rivals. Having said that, Donkey Kong has appeared in at least one sport on nearly every major Nintendo console and continues to be a key asset to the business. Here are the leading 10 best Donkey Kong game ranked, not counting his supporting figure opera performances.

10. Donkey Kong 64 ( 1999 )

Many people have no poorly demonized the 1999 film Donkey Kong 64 as an stuffed collect-a-thon on the Nintendo 64, so we’re starting off with a somewhat controversial access. To this popular criticism’s funds, the activity does have you record many of the same levels with various characters—something 2004’s Super Mario 64 DS even did without as much backlash—but that overlooks the stage. In fact, Donkey Kong 64 surpassed its contemporaries in the genre, not only catapulting Donkey Kong and his friends into the world of 3D platforming.

There is an under-appreciated depth to Donkey Kong 64, particularly in its rich level design and atmospheric musical score composed by Grant Kirkhope. After the success of Super Mario 64 and Banjo-Kazooie, slop that many retrospective reviews don’t take into account also, which was a ton of slop that Donkey Kong 64 clearly stood a cut above when it first came out. Certainly not without its flaws, Donkey Kong 64 deserves far more love than it gets these days, or at least a less dubious reputation.

9. Donkey Kong Jungle Beat ( 2004 )

The tradition of quirky peripherals that were present in the Nintendo GameCube at the beginning of the 21st century is still present in the Nintendo home consoles. After introducing the DK Bongos, a bongo drum peripheral for the GameCube and 2003’s Donkey Konga, the peripheral was given more optimized gameplay experience in 2004’s Donkey Kong Jungle Beat. The game moves in a side-scrolling platformer controlled by the drums, continuing the rhythm-based gameplay from Donkey Konga.

One of the most accessible Donkey Kong games in terms of difficulty, Jungle Beat takes the DK Bongos to their logical apex in usage. There is something fundamentally cathartic about pounding on a set of bongos to defeat an intimidating boss, in addition to providing a unique mechanic for moving across the levels. A forgotten entry in the Donkey Kong franchise because of its signature peripheral, Donkey Kong Jungle Beat should receive an update given the possibilities through Nintendo’s continued motion control support.

8. Mario vs. Donkey Kong ( 2004 )

There was a time when Mario and Donkey Kong were bitter rivals, even though they may now be merely pals playing various Nintendo video games like Mario Kart and Mario Party. That antagonistic history is revisited in 2004’s Mario vs. Donkey Kong for the Game Boy Advance, the spiritual successor to 1994’s Donkey Kong on the original Game Boy. Mario owns and runs his own toy factory, which Donkey Kong raids for its well-known line of wind-up Mini-Mario figures, according to the game’s offbeat plot.

Mario vs. Donkey Kong ups the ante from the puzzle-solving gameplay and traversal present in the 1994 Game Boy game, adding a new wrinkle with the presence of the Mini-Marios which have to be navigated to safety. The Nintendo Switch received a surprise remake in 2024, significantly improving the technical presentation and making the controls more user-friendly for the contemporary console. While we’re certainly happy that Mario and Donkey Kong play nice again these days, Mario vs. Donkey Kong is a fresh take on one of gaming’s oldest beefs.

7. Donkey Kong Country Returns ( 2010 )

Developer Retro Studios did the same for Donkey Kong with the Wii’s Donkey Kong Country Returns in 2010 after completely revitalizing the Metroid franchise. Returning to the side-scrolling platforming that made Rare’s original Donkey Kong Country trilogy such a major success on the Super Nintendo, the game has Donkey and Diddy Kong take on a new villain, the Tiki Tak Tribe. In a change from the previous series titles, the game also allows for two-player simultaneous co-op, with the second player controlling Diddy.

Donkey Kong Country Returns is a welcome, hurm, return to form for the franchise, although not without a few bumps in its execution. The Wii revival has a faster pace than the first three games, which highlights how frustrating the console’s motion controls can be. The game received slightly enhanced remasters on the Nintendo 3DS and Switch, upgrading the visual presentation, though its gameplay flaws are still present and these remasters don’t add all that much to the overall experience.

6. Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong’s Double Trouble! 1996 )

At the twilight of the Super Nintendo’s lifecycle, and after the Nintendo 64 had already launched, Rare released one final Donkey Kong Country game for the SNES: 1996’s Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong’s Double Trouble! In the same way that Donkey Kong Country 2 removed Donkey Kong himself, its sequel also removes Diddy, making him the new playable character Kiddy Kong. Together, Dixie and Kiddy set out to rescue Donkey and Diddy from Baron K. Rool in a northern region with its geography inspired by Scandinavia and Canada.

Although Donkey Kong Country 3 may be the series ‘ weakest entry, it still manages to be a good one and introduces some interesting additions, most notably an open hub map and vehicles. But the game just doesn’t quite feel as inspired as its two predecessors, even with the protagonist swap to introduce Kiddy. Donkey Kong Country 3 retains the core appeal as it traverses stale territory in Donkey Kong Country 3, a strong but seemingly obligatory coda to the original Donkey Kong Country trilogy.

5. Tropical Freeze ( 2014 ): Donkey Kong Country

Relegated to being a supporting character for years, Cranky Kong makes his playable debut with 2014’s Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze for the Wii U, joined by a returning Dixie. The attacking Snowmads, an army of arctic animals plotting to conquer Donkey Kong Island and plunge it into the unending winter, interrupt Donkey Kong’s birthday party. The Kongs battle their way back to the heart of their native island, defeat the Snowmads and defrost their home from its newly icy condition.

Tropical Freeze significantly improves the gameplay mechanics and level design compared to Donkey Kong Country Returns. At the same time, the difficulty remains as high as ever while the overall number of levels is reduced from its predecessor. The definitive Tropical Freeze experience is enhanced by the Nintendo Switch’s improved remaster, which adds Funky Kong as a playable character.

4. Donkey Kong Country ( 1994) )

To anyone who was around and playing video games in 1994, the original Donkey Kong Country was a huge deal when it debuted on the Super Nintendo that year. There was nothing else that looked that good on the console market at the time thanks to its crisp, pre-rendered graphics, which helped orient the industry towards more 3D aesthetics. The game’s story is simple: King K. Rool raids Donkey Kong Island and steals Donkey Kong’s vast stash of bananas, prompting the ape and his nephew Diddy, in his first appearance, to recover their purloined fruit.

We wouldn’t still be talking about Donkey Kong Country 30 years after its launch if it had only had that initial wow factor from its pre-rendered presentation. But more than just its eye-catching visuals, the game completely redefined Donkey Kong down to his character design and reestablished him as a core Nintendo property. This first game brings together impressive technical presentation, an instant-classic score composed primarily by Grant Kirkhope, and an engaging side-scrolling platformer experience that all others combine to create a legacy.

3. Donkey Kong ( 1994 )

Initially 1994’s Donkey Kong on the Game Boy looks and feels like a smoother, more intuitive port of the classic 1981 arcade game of the same name. The 1994 video game turns into a full-on adventure after completing the four levels of the arcade title, which includes 97 more levels in nine different worlds. Joining Donkey Kong in trying to stay one step ahead of Mario is Donkey Kong Jr. while the mustached plumber gains a new set of moves to keep up with the apes.

While ambitiously building upon these foundations, The Game Boy Donkey Kong is a love letter to both the original arcade and its 1982 sequel Donkey Kong Jr. At its core, the game is more of a puzzle-solving experience than a platforming one, with that distinction more evident in the level design as players progress. That provides a fresh take on a well-known premise and a significant improvement over the franchise’s 1994 version of Donkey Kong.

2. Diddy’s Kong Quest, Donkey Kong Country 2, and Donkey Kong Country 2 ( 1995 )

If Donkey Kong Country revolutionized the way we looked at side-scrolling platformers, its 1995 sequel Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy’s Kong Quest used that as a springboard to make the ultimate side-scrolling Donkey Kong experience. As the title suggests, Diddy steps up as the main character, working with his recently engaged girlfriend Dixie Kong to save Donkey from Kaptain K. Rool. The duo travel to the pirate warlord’s hideout on Crocodile Isle where they each use their unique abilities to traverse 52 levels and rescue Diddy’s uncle.

Donkey Kong Country 2 is one of those situations where bigger does actually mean better, with more secrets, more animal companions to temporarily control, and more enemy types to defeat. The level design is more ambitious and just how differently Diddy and Dixie each play make for a much deeper and richer experience than its predecessor. The sequel stands as the apex of side-scrollers and one of the best games that developer Rare has ever made. It is an overall improvement over the original Donkey Kong Country.

1. Donkey Kong Bananza ( 205 )

Released a full month after the Nintendo Switch 2’s launch, Donkey Kong Bananza became the most buzzed-about game from the console’s library, even over Mario Kart World. Donkey Kong Bananza successfully transformed its heroic ape into a full-fledged 3D platformer experience based on the character’s veritable strength by placing him in destructible environments, earning both praises. The game has Donkey Kong travel to Ingot Isle to harvest Banandium Gems, teaming up with a teenage Pauline against the sinister VoidCo mining company eager to obtain the Banandium Root, no matter the cost to the environment.

Donkey Kong Bananza repositions the marquee Nintendo franchise, starting with the immersive level design, side-scrolling homages straight from the original Donkey Kong Country in a fun and moving tribute, and a redesigned Donkey Kong character with plenty of personality. But for all its celebration of the entire history of all things Donkey Kong, Bananza is just a lot of fun, with its key gameplay mechanic of literally tearing through environments being incredibly cathartic. In this game, players can go crazy and smash everything in their path. A subtle reinvention of what’s possible for a Donkey Kong game, Donkey Kong Bananza is Nintendo’s best 3D platformer since at least 2017’s Super Mario Odyssey, and the most unabashedly fun Donkey Kong game in, well, ever.

On Den of Geek, Donkey Kong video games were first ranked among absolute bananas.

The announcement that basketball star Travis Kelce and music image Taylor Swift are engaged to be married is a geological event for a specific segment of the populace. How else could you explain the combination of such gigantic numbers? It’s old news for some people, at least when they enjoy watching hero movies. After all, those of]… ]

The first article on Den of Geek: The Best Power Partners Weddings in Comics History appeared second.

Nintendo‘s breakthrough name was never Mario Bros. or The Legend of Zelda, but somewhat Donkey Kong, with the eponymous monkey headlining the agency’s 1981 arcade game that helped Nintendo create a prominent hold in the American gambling industry. Donkey Kong has since grown a device for the company, whether playing in Mario-led outfit games or his own collection of starring games for Nintendo‘s numerous portable and home consoles. This has continued into the bank’s budding Nintendo Switch 2 time, with the game’s Donkey Kong Bananza the most favourably buzzed-about name from the Switch 2’s start library.

Although Donkey Kong’s number of games he primarily stars in aren’t as many as some of his other Nintendo counterparts, he has a long history in the video game industry. With that said, Donkey Kong has starred in at least one game on virtually every major Nintendo system and remains a cornerstone property for the company. Without including his supporting character ensemble appearances, these are the top ten Donkey Kong games.

10. Donkey Kong 64 ( 1999 )

We’re starting off this list with a relatively divisive entry, as many have not inaccurately derided 1999’s Donkey Kong 64 as an overstuffed collect-a-thon on the Nintendo 64. The game does, to the credit of many critics, allow you to replay many of the same levels with different characters, which was also done without the same amount of backlash in Super Mario 64 DS‘s 2004 version, but that ignores the point. Indeed, not only catapulting Donkey Kong and his friends into the world of 3D platforming, Donkey Kong 64 rose above its contemporaries in the genre.

Donkey Kong 64 has an underappreciated depth, notably in its rich level design and atmospheric musical score, which was composed by Grant Kirkhope. What a lot of retrospective reviews also don’t take into account is that there was a ton of 3D platforming slop flooding the market after the success of Super Mario 64 and Banjo-Kazooie, slop that Donkey Kong 64 clearly stood a cut above during its release. Donkey Kong 64 deserves far more love than it receives these days, or at least a less dubious reputation, despite its many flaws.

9. Donkey Kong Jungle Beat ( 2005 )

Nintendo home consoles have a longstanding legacy of quirky peripherals, a tradition that was continued by the Nintendo GameCube at the dawn of the 21st century. In 2004’s Donkey Kong Jungle Beat, the peripheral was given a more optimized gameplay experience after introducing the DK Bongos, a bongo drum peripheral for the GameCube and 2003’s Donkey Konga. The game continues the rhythm-based gameplay from Donkey Konga, albeit within a side-scrolling platformer controlled by the drums.

Jungle Beat is one of the most playable Donkey Kong games ever in terms of difficulty and logical usage. More than just providing a unique mechanic in moving across the levels, there is something fundamentally cathartic about pounding on a set of bongos to pummel an imposing boss. Given the possibilities presented by Nintendo’s continued motion control support, Donkey Kong Jungle Beat, a forgotten Donkey Kong entry due to its signature peripheral, should receive an update.

8. Donkey Kong vs. Mario ( 2004 )

While Mario and Donkey Kong may be nominal buddies now, palling around throughout various Nintendo sports titles, Mario Kart, and Mario Party, there was a time when they were bitter rivals. The spiritual follow-up to 1994’s Donkey Kong on the original Game Boy, Mario vs. Donkey Kong, takes on that antagonistic past in 2004. The game’s offbeat story has Mario own and run his own toy factory, which is raided by Donkey Kong for the factory’s popular line of wind-up Mini-Mario figures.

Mario vs. Donkey Kong raises the bar from the traversal and puzzle-solving gameplay from the 1994 Game Boy game, adding a fresh dimension with the presence of the Mini-Marios that must be navigated safely. The game received a surprise remake on the Nintendo Switch in 2024, making the controls more intuitive to the modern console while significantly upping the technical presentation. While we’re certainly happy that Donkey Kong and Mario once again play nice, Mario vs. Donkey Kong is a fresh take on one of video game’s oldest conflicts.

7. Donkey Kong Country Returns ( 2010 )

After completely revitalizing the Metroid franchise, developer Retro Studios did the same for Donkey Kong with 2010’s Donkey Kong Country Returns for the Wii. The game features Donkey and Diddy Kong confronting a new villain, the Tiki Tak Tribe, who is returning to the side-scrolling platforming that made Rare’s original Donkey Kong Country trilogy so popular on the Super Nintendo. In a change-up from previous titles in the series, the game also allows for two-player simultaneous co-op, with the second player controlling Diddy.

Donkey Kong Country Returns is a welcome, hurm, return to form for the franchise, though there are some flaws in its execution. Boasting a faster pace than the original trilogy, the Wii revival is markedly more difficult than many games in the series, something that highlights how frustrating the console’s motion controls can be. The game’s visual presentation was slightly improved thanks to slightly improved remasters on the Nintendo 3DS and Switch, even though its gameplay flaws are still present, and these remasters don’t really improve the overall experience.

6. Dixie Kong’s Double Trouble in Donkey Kong Country 3! ( 1996 )

In the twilight of the Super Nintendo’s lifecycle and after the Nintendo 64 had already launched, Rare released one more Donkey Kong Country game for the SNES: Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong’s Double Trouble! Just as Donkey Kong Country 2 ditched Donkey Kong himself, its sequel also discards Diddy, replacing him with the new playable character Kiddy Kong. In a northern region with its geography inspired by Scandinavia and Canada, Dixie and Kiddy set out to save Donkey and Diddy from Baron K. Rool.

Though Donkey Kong Country 3 may be the weakest entry of the original trilogy, it is by no means a bad game and brings some fresh changes to the series, specifically, an open hub map and vehicles. Even with the protagonist swapping to introduce Kiddy, the game just doesn’t feel as inspired as its two predecessors. A solid if seemingly obligatory coda to the original Donkey Kong Country trilogy, Donkey Kong Country 3 retains the core appeal as it goes through well-worn territory.

5. Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze ( 2014 )

Cranky Kong, who has been relegated to being a supporting character for years, makes his playable debut in 2014’s Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze for the Wii U, joined by a returning Dixie. The game has Donkey Kong’s birthday party interrupted by the attacking Snowmads, an army of arctic animals plotting to conquer Donkey Kong Island and plunge it into endless winter. The Kongs fight their way back to the center of their home island, defeat the Snowmads, and defrost their home from its recently icy condition.

Tropical Freeze is an all-around improvement over Donkey Kong Country Returns, significantly refining the gameplay mechanics and level design. The difficulty is unchanged at the same time as it was before, and there are fewer levels overall. A solid addition to the series, the definitive Tropical Freeze experience is its enhanced remaster on the Nintendo Switch, adding Funky Kong as a playable character.

4. Donkey Kong Country ( 1994 )

The debut of Donkey Kong Country on the Super Nintendo in 1994 was a huge deal to anyone who was present and playing video games that year. With its crisp, pre-rendered graphics, there was nothing else that looked that good on the console market at the time, helping steer the industry towards more 3D aesthetics. The plot of the video game is straightforward: King K. Rool storms Donkey Kong Island and plunders the enormous stash of bananas, prompting the ape and his nephew Diddy to retrieve their purloined fruit in his first appearance.

If it was just about that initial wow factor from its pre-rendered presentation, we wouldn’t still be talking about Donkey Kong Country over 30 years after its launch. Beyond its stunning visuals, the game completely redefined Donkey Kong and made him a core Nintendo trademark. That legacy stems from a combination of impressive technical presentation, an instant-classic score composed primarily by Grant Kirkhope, and an engaging side-scrolling platformer experience that this first game all brings to the table.

3. Donkey Kong ( 1994 )

Donkey Kong on the Game Boy, which was released in 1994, appears to be a smoother, more intuitive adaptation of the popular 1981 arcade game of the same name. However, after completing the four levels from the arcade title, the 1994 game expands into a full-on adventure as Donkey Kong kidnaps Mario’s girlfriend Pauline again and hightails it across 97 additional levels in nine-themed worlds. Donkey Kong Jr. joins Donkey Kong in attempting to stay one step ahead of Mario while the mustached plumber learns a new set of moves to keep up with the apes.

The Game Boy Donkey Kong is a love letter to both the original arcade and its 1982 sequel Donkey Kong Jr. while ambitiously building upon these foundations. The game’s underlying structure is more of a puzzle-solving experience than a platforming one, with the level design demonstrating this more as players advance. That helps elevate 1994’s Donkey Kong tremendously from similar games in the franchise and a refreshing twist on a familiar premise.

2. Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy’s Kong Quest ( 1995 )

If Donkey Kong Country had changed the way we thought of side-scrolling platformers, its 1995 sequel Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy’s Kong Quest used that as a starting point for the ultimate side-scrolling Donkey Kong experience. As the title suggests, Diddy steps up as the protagonist, teaming up with his newly introduced girlfriend Dixie Kong to rescue Donkey from Kaptain K. Rool. The duo travels to the hideout of the pirate warlord on Crocodile Isle where they each use their distinctive abilities to cross 52 levels and save Diddy’s uncle.

Donkey Kong Country 2 is one of those cases where bigger does actually mean better, with more secrets, more animal buddies to temporarily control, and more enemy types to take down. More ambitious levels are being created, and how differently Diddy and Dixie each play affect one another creates a much richer and deeper experience than its predecessor. An all-around improvement over the original Donkey Kong Country, the sequel stands as the apex of side-scrollers and one of the best games that developer Rare ever made.

1. Donkey Kong Bananza ( 2025 )

Donkey Kong Bananza, which was released a full month after the Nintendo Switch 2’s launch, rose to the top of the console’s game list, even surpassing Mario Kart World. This praise is well-earned, with Donkey Kong Bananza successfully catapulting its heroic ape into a full-on 3D platformer experience built around the character’s notable strength by placing him in destructible environments. No matter how much money the environment costs, Donkey Kong and a teenage Pauline battle the evil VoidCo mining company, which is attempting to extract Banandium Gems from Ingot Isle.

From its immersive level design, side-scrolling detours straight out of the original Donkey Kong Country in a fun and emotional tribute, and a redesigned Donkey Kong character design with plenty of personality, Donkey Kong Bananza repositions DKas a marquee Nintendo franchise. Bananza is just a lot of fun despite its celebration of the entire history of Donkey Kong, with its key gameplay mechanic of literally tearing through environments being incredibly cathartic. This game lets players go nuts and bash and smash everything around them. Donkey Kong Bananza is Nintendo’s best 3D platformer since at least 2017’s Super Mario Odyssey, and it is the most unashamedly enjoyable Donkey Kong game ever. It is a subtle rehash of what is possible for a Donkey Kong game.

The post Donkey Kong Video Games Ranked from Fun to Absolute Bananas appeared first on Den of Geek.

Donkey Kong, the studio’s 1981 arcade game, helped Nintendo become a significant force in the American entertainment sector, rather than Mario Bros. or The Legend of Zelda, Nintendo’s breakthrough name. Since then Donkey Kong has become a fixture for the business, either as a supporting figure for ]…]

The second post Donkey Kong Video Games Ranked from Fun to Absolute Bananas appeared on Den of Geek.

Nintendo‘s breakthrough name was never Mario Bros. or The Legend of Zelda, but somewhat Donkey Kong, with the eponymous monkey headlining the agency’s 1981 arcade game that helped Nintendo create a prominent hold in the American gambling industry. Donkey Kong has since grown a device for the business, whether playing in Mario-led opera games or his own collection of starring games for Nintendo‘s numerous portable and home consoles. This has continued into the bank’s budding Nintendo Switch 2 time, with the game’s Donkey Kong Bananza the most favourably buzzed-about name from the Switch 2’s start library.

Although Donkey Kong’s number of games he primarily stars in aren’t quite as prolific as some of his other Nintendo counterparts, he has a long history in the video game industry. With that said, Donkey Kong has starred in at least one game on virtually every major Nintendo system and remains a cornerstone property for the company. Not including his supporting character ensemble appearances, these are the top 10 best Donkey Kong games ever ranked.

10. Donkey Kong 64 ( 1999 )

We’re starting off this list with a relatively divisive entry, as many have not inaccurately derided 1999’s Donkey Kong 64 as an overstuffed collect-a-thon on the Nintendo 64. To the credit of many critics, the game does allow you to replay many of the same levels with different characters, which the 2004 Super Mario 64 DS also did without much controversy, but that overlooks the point. Indeed, not only catapulting Donkey Kong and his friends into the world of 3D platforming, Donkey Kong 64 rose above its contemporaries in the genre.

Donkey Kong 64 has an underappreciated depth, notably in its rich level design and atmospheric musical score, which was composed by Grant Kirkhope. What a lot of retrospective reviews also don’t take into account is that there was a ton of 3D platforming slop flooding the market after the success of Super Mario 64 and Banjo-Kazooie, slop that Donkey Kong 64 clearly stood a cut above during its release. Donkey Kong 64 deserves far more love than it receives these days, or at least a less dubious reputation, despite its many flaws.

9. Donkey Kong Jungle Beat ( 2005 )

Nintendo home consoles have a longstanding legacy of quirky peripherals, a tradition that was continued by the Nintendo GameCube at the dawn of the 21st century. In Donkey Kong Jungle Beat in 2004, the peripheral received more optimized gameplay experience after the release of the GameCube’s DK Bongos and the GameCube’s Bongo Drum Periphery in 2003. The game continues the rhythm-based gameplay from Donkey Konga, albeit within a side-scrolling platformer controlled by the drums.

Jungle Beat is one of the most playable Donkey Kong games in terms of difficulty and places the DK Bongos at their highest point of use. More than just providing a unique mechanic in moving across the levels, there is something fundamentally cathartic about pounding on a set of bongos to pummel an imposing boss. Given the possibilities presented by Nintendo’s continued motion control support, Donkey Kong Jungle Beat, a forgotten Donkey Kong entry due to its signature peripheral, should receive an update.

8. Donkey Kong vs. Mario vs.

While Mario and Donkey Kong may be nominal buddies now, palling around throughout various Nintendo sports titles, Mario Kart, and Mario Party, there was a time when they were bitter rivals. The spiritual follow-up to 1994’s Donkey Kong on the original Game Boy, Mario vs. Donkey Kong, takes on that antagonistic past in 2004. The game’s offbeat story has Mario own and run his own toy factory, which is raided by Donkey Kong for the factory’s popular line of wind-up Mini-Mario figures.

Mario vs. Donkey Kong raises the bar from the traversal and puzzle-solving gameplay from the 1994 Game Boy game, adding a fresh dimension with the presence of the Mini-Marios that must be navigated safely. The game received a surprise remake on the Nintendo Switch in 2024, making the controls more intuitive to the modern console while significantly upping the technical presentation. While we’re certainly happy that Donkey Kong and Mario once again play nice, Mario vs. Donkey Kong is a fresh take on one of video game’s oldest conflicts.

7. ( 2010 ), Donkey Kong Country Returns

After completely revitalizing the Metroid franchise, developer Retro Studios did the same for Donkey Kong with 2010’s Donkey Kong Country Returns for the Wii. Returning to the side-scrolling platforming that made Rare’s original Donkey Kong Country trilogy such a big hit on the Super Nintendo, the game features Donkey and Diddy Kong taking on a brand-new Tiki Tak Tribe. In a change-up from previous titles in the series, the game also allows for two-player simultaneous co-op, with the second player controlling Diddy.

Donkey Kong Country Returns is a good, hurm, franchise hurm, though its execution has some flaws. Boasting a faster pace than the original trilogy, the Wii revival is markedly more difficult than many games in the series, something that highlights how frustrating the console’s motion controls can be. The game’s visual presentation was slightly improved thanks to slightly improved remasters on the Nintendo 3DS and Switch, despite the game’s persistent gameplay flaws, and these remasters don’t significantly improve the overall experience.

6. Dixie Kong’s Double Trouble in Donkey Kong Country 3! ( 1996 )

One final Donkey Kong Country game for the SNES was released in 1996’s Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong’s Double Trouble, which was released at the tail end of the Super Nintendo’s lifecycle and after the Nintendo 64 had already been released. Just as Donkey Kong Country 2 ditched Donkey Kong himself, its sequel also discards Diddy, replacing him with the new playable character Kiddy Kong. In a northern region with its geography inspired by Scandinavia and Canada, Dixie and Kiddy set out to save Donkey and Diddy from Baron K. Rool.

Though Donkey Kong Country 3 may be the weakest entry of the original trilogy, it is by no means a bad game and brings some fresh changes to the series, specifically, an open hub map and vehicles. Even with the protagonist swap to introduce Kiddy, the game just doesn’t feel as inspired as its two predecessors. A solid if seemingly obligatory coda to the original Donkey Kong Country trilogy, Donkey Kong Country 3 retains the core appeal as it goes through well-worn territory.

5. Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze ( 2014 )

Cranky Kong, who has been relegated to serving as a supporting character for years, makes his Wii U playable debut in Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze in 2014. The game has Donkey Kong’s birthday party interrupted by the attacking Snowmads, an army of arctic animals plotting to conquer Donkey Kong Island and plunge it into endless winter. The Kongs fight their way back to the island’s center, overthrow the Snowmads, and defrost their home from its slushy condition.

Tropical Freeze is an all-around improvement over Donkey Kong Country Returns, significantly refining the gameplay mechanics and level design. The difficulty is unchanged at the same time as it was before, and there are fewer levels overall. A solid addition to the series, the definitive Tropical Freeze experience is its enhanced remaster on the Nintendo Switch, adding Funky Kong as a playable character.

4. Donkey Kong Country ( 1994 )

The original Donkey Kong Country was a huge deal when it debuted on the Super Nintendo that year to anyone who was present and playing video games in 1994. With its crisp, pre-rendered graphics, there was nothing else that looked that good on the console market at the time, helping steer the industry towards more 3D aesthetics. The plot of the video game is straightforward: King K. Rool storms Donkey Kong Island and plunders the enormous stash of bananas, prompting the ape and his nephew Diddy to retrieve their purloined fruit.

If it was just about that initial wow factor from its pre-rendered presentation, we wouldn’t still be talking about Donkey Kong Country over 30 years after its launch. Beyond just its stunning visuals, the game completely redefined Donkey Kong and established him as a key Nintendo trademark. That legacy stems from a combination of impressive technical presentation, an instant-classic score composed primarily by Grant Kirkhope, and an engaging side-scrolling platformer experience that this first game all brings to the table.

3. Donkey Kong ( 1994 )

Donkey Kong on the Game Boy, which was released in 1994, appears to be a smoother, more intuitive adaptation of the popular 1981 arcade game of the same name. However, after completing the four levels from the arcade title, the 1994 game expands into a full-on adventure as Donkey Kong kidnaps Mario’s girlfriend Pauline again and hightails it across 97 additional levels in nine-themed worlds. Donkey Kong Jr. and the mustached plumber acquire a new set of moves to keep up with the apes while battling to stay one step ahead of Mario.

The Game Boy Donkey Kong is a love letter to both the original arcade and its 1982 sequel Donkey Kong Jr. while ambitiously building upon these foundations. The game’s fundamentals are more of a puzzle-solving experience than a platforming one, with the level design demonstrating this more as players advance. That helps elevate 1994’s Donkey Kong tremendously from similar games in the franchise and a refreshing twist on a familiar premise.

2. Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy’s Kong Quest ( 1995 )

If Donkey Kong Country had radically altered the way we thought of side-scrolling platformers, its 1995 follow-up Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy’s Kong Quest used that as a starting point for the creation of the ultimate side-scrolling Donkey Kong experience. As the title suggests, Diddy steps up as the protagonist, teaming up with his newly introduced girlfriend Dixie Kong to rescue Donkey from Kaptain K. Rool. The pair uses their unique abilities to cross 52 levels and rescue Diddy’s uncle on Crocodile Isle before heading to the pirate warlord’s hideout on Crocodile Isle.

Donkey Kong Country 2 is one of those cases where bigger does actually mean better, with more secrets, more animal buddies to temporarily control, and more enemy types to take down. More ambitious levels are being created, and how differently Diddy and Dixie each play affect one another creates a much richer and deeper experience than its predecessor. An all-around improvement over the original Donkey Kong Country, the sequel stands as the apex of side-scrollers and one of the best games that developer Rare ever made.

1. Donkey Kong Bananza ( 2025 )

Donkey Kong Bananza, which was released a full month after the Nintendo Switch 2’s launch, outperformed Mario Kart World in terms of gameplay. This praise is well-earned, with Donkey Kong Bananza successfully catapulting its heroic ape into a full-on 3D platformer experience built around the character’s notable strength by placing him in destructible environments. No matter how much money the environment costs, Donkey Kong and a teenage Pauline battle the evil VoidCo mining company, which is attempting to extract Banandium Gems from Ingot Isle.

From its immersive level design, side-scrolling detours straight out of the original Donkey Kong Country in a fun and emotional tribute, and a redesigned Donkey Kong character design with plenty of personality, Donkey Kong Bananza repositions DKas a marquee Nintendo franchise. Bananza is just a lot of fun despite its celebration of the entire history of Donkey Kong, with its key gameplay mechanic of literally tearing through environments acting incredibly therapeutic. This game lets players go nuts and bash and smash everything around them. Donkey Kong Bananza is Nintendo’s best 3D platformer since at least Super Mario Odyssey and the most unashamedly enjoyable Donkey Kong game ever, a subtle rehash of what can be done for a Donkey Kong game.

The second post Donkey Kong Video Games Ranked from Fun to Absolute Bananas appeared on Den of Geek.

Episode 4 of Alien: Earth has clues in this article. For the past 46 ages, the Alien company has been immortalized by the catchphrase,” In area, no one can notice you scream”. Just four episodes in, Noah Hawley’s Alien: Earth makes it abundantly clear that the mantra doesn’t apply to [ …] […]

The article Alien: World May Be Making Feel of the Alien Timetable After All appeared primary on Den of Geek.

Donkey Kong, the titular ape that dominated the 1981 arcade game that helped Nintendo firmly establish a foothold in the British entertainment sector, was Nintendo‘s breakthrough name rather than Mario Bros. or The Legend of Zelda. Since then Donkey Kong has become a fixture for the business, either as a supporting figure for Mario-led outfit matches or his own collection of starring trophies across Nintendo‘s many household and portable computers. The company’s burgeoning Nintendo Switch 2 period has seen this, with Donkey Kong Bananza the most talked-about name in the Switch 2 build collection.

Donkey Kong has a longstanding record within the video game industry, though the number of activities that he generally stars in aren’t quite as talented as some of his other Nintendo rivals. Despite all of that, Donkey Kong has appeared in at least one sport on almost every major Nintendo console. He has also remained a fundamental possession. Here are the leading 10 best Donkey Kong game ranked, not counting his supporting figure opera performances.

10. Donkey Kong 64 ( 1999 )

Many people have not inaccurately derided 1999’s Donkey Kong 64 as an overstuffed collect-a-thon on the Nintendo 64, so we’re starting off this list with a relatively divisive entry. To this common criticism’s credit, the game does have you replay many of the same levels with different characters—something 2004’s Super Mario 64 DS also did without as much backlash—but that overlooks the point. In fact, Donkey Kong 64 surpassed its contemporaries in the genre, not only catapulting Donkey Kong and his friends into the world of 3D platforming.

There is an under-appreciated depth to Donkey Kong 64, particularly in its rich level design and atmospheric musical score composed by Grant Kirkhope. Following the success of Super Mario 64 and Banjo-Kazooie, slop that Donkey Kong 64 clearly stood a cut above its peers was something that many retrospective reviews also fail to consider. Certainly not without its flaws, Donkey Kong 64 deserves far more love than it gets these days, or at least a less dubious reputation.

9. Donkey Kong Jungle Beat ( 2004 )

The Nintendo GameCube continued a tradition that existed with the Nintendo Home console at the start of the 21st century, which has a long history of eccentric peripherals. After introducing the DK Bongos, a bongo drum peripheral for the GameCube and 2003’s Donkey Konga, the peripheral was given more optimized gameplay experience in 2004’s Donkey Kong Jungle Beat. The game moves in a side-scrolling platformer controlled by the drums, continuing the rhythm-based gameplay from Donkey Konga.

One of the most accessible Donkey Kong games in terms of difficulty, Jungle Beat takes the DK Bongos to their logical apex in usage. There is something fundamentally cathartic about pounding on a set of bongos to pummel an intimidating boss, but more than just providing a unique mechanic in moving across the levels. A forgotten entry in the Donkey Kong franchise because of its signature peripheral, Donkey Kong Jungle Beat should receive an update given the possibilities through Nintendo’s continued motion control support.

8. Mario vs. Donkey Kong ( 2004 )

There was a time when Mario and Donkey Kong were bitter rivals, even though they may now be merely pals playing various Nintendo video games like Mario Kart and Mario Party. That antagonistic history is revisited in 2004’s Mario vs. Donkey Kong for the Game Boy Advance, the spiritual successor to 1994’s Donkey Kong on the original Game Boy. Mario owns and runs his own toy factory, which Donkey Kong raids for its well-known line of wind-up Mini-Mario figures, according to the game’s offbeat plot.

Mario vs. Donkey Kong ups the ante from the puzzle-solving gameplay and traversal present in the 1994 Game Boy game, adding a new wrinkle with the presence of the Mini-Marios which have to be navigated to safety. The Nintendo Switch received a surprise remake in 2024, significantly improving the technical presentation and making the controls more user-friendly for the contemporary console. While we’re certainly happy that Mario and Donkey Kong play nice again these days, Mario vs. Donkey Kong is a fresh take on one of gaming’s oldest beefs.

7. Donkey Kong Country Returns ( 2010 )

Developer Retro Studios did the same for Donkey Kong with the Wii’s Donkey Kong Country Returns in 2010 after completely revitalizing the Metroid franchise. Returning to the side-scrolling platforming that made Rare’s original Donkey Kong Country trilogy such a major success on the Super Nintendo, the game has Donkey and Diddy Kong take on a new villain, the Tiki Tak Tribe. In a change from the previous series titles, the game also allows for two-player simultaneous co-op, with the second player controlling Diddy.

Donkey Kong Country Returns is a welcome, hurm, return to form for the franchise, although not without a few bumps in its execution. The Wii revival, which has a faster pace than the first three games in the series, is markedly more challenging than many of the previous ones, which highlights how frustrating the motion controls on the console can be. The game received slightly enhanced remasters on the Nintendo 3DS and Switch, upgrading the visual presentation, though its gameplay flaws are still present and these remasters don’t add all that much to the overall experience.

6. Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong’s Double Trouble! 1996 )

At the twilight of the Super Nintendo’s lifecycle, and after the Nintendo 64 had already launched, Rare released one final Donkey Kong Country game for the SNES: 1996’s Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong’s Double Trouble! Diddy is replaced by the new playable character Kiddy Kong in the same way that Donkey Kong Country 2 did Donkey Kong himself. Together, Dixie and Kiddy set out to rescue Donkey and Diddy from Baron K. Rool in a northern region with its geography inspired by Scandinavia and Canada.

Although Donkey Kong Country 3 may be the series ‘ weakest entry, it still manages to be a good one and introduces some interesting additions, most notably an open hub map and vehicles. But the game just doesn’t quite feel as inspired as its two predecessors, even with the protagonist swap to introduce Kiddy. Donkey Kong Country 3 retains the core appeal as it traverses stale territory in a strong but seemingly obligatory coda to the original Donkey Kong Country trilogy.

5. Tropical Freeze ( 2014 ): Donkey Kong Country

Relegated to being a supporting character for years, Cranky Kong makes his playable debut with 2014’s Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze for the Wii U, joined by a returning Dixie. The attacking Snowmads, an army of arctic animals plotting to conquer Donkey Kong Island and plunge it into an endless winter, interrupt Donkey Kong’s birthday party. The Kongs battle their way back to the heart of their native island, defeat the Snowmads and defrost their home from its newly icy condition.

Tropical Freeze significantly improves the gameplay mechanics and level design compared to Donkey Kong Country Returns. At the same time, the difficulty remains as high as ever while the overall number of levels is reduced from its predecessor. The definitive Tropical Freeze experience is enhanced by the Nintendo Switch’s improved remaster, which adds Funky Kong as a playable character.

4. Donkey Kong Country ( 1994 )

To anyone who was around and playing video games in 1994, the original Donkey Kong Country was a huge deal when it debuted on the Super Nintendo that year. There was nothing else on the console market at the time that looked that good, thanks to its crisp, pre-rendered graphics, which helped orient the industry towards more 3D aesthetics. The game’s story is simple: King K. Rool raids Donkey Kong Island and steals Donkey Kong’s vast stash of bananas, prompting the ape and his nephew Diddy, in his first appearance, to recover their purloined fruit.

We wouldn’t still be talking about Donkey Kong Country 30 years after its launch if it had only had that initial wow factor from its pre-rendered presentation. But more than just its eye-catching visuals, the game completely redefined Donkey Kong down to his character design and reestablished him as a core Nintendo property. This first game brings together impressive technical presentation, an instant-classic score composed primarily by Grant Kirkhope, and an engaging side-scrolling platformer experience that all others combine to create a legacy.

3. Donkey Kong ( 1994 )

Initially 1994’s Donkey Kong on the Game Boy looks and feels like a smoother, more intuitive port of the classic 1981 arcade game of the same name. The 1994 video game turns into a full-on adventure after completing the four levels of the arcade title, which includes 97 more levels in nine different worlds. Joining Donkey Kong in trying to stay one step ahead of Mario is Donkey Kong Jr. while the mustached plumber gains a new set of moves to keep up with the apes.

While ambitiously building on these foundations, The Game Boy Donkey Kong is a love letter to both the 1982 sequel to Donkey Kong Jr. and the original arcade. At its core, the game is more of a puzzle-solving experience than a platforming one, with that distinction more evident in the level design as players progress. That significantly enhances the 1994 film Donkey Kong from earlier installments of the franchise and adds a fresh spin to a well-known premise.

2. Diddy’s Kong Quest, Donkey Kong Country 2, and 1995

If Donkey Kong Country revolutionized the way we looked at side-scrolling platformers, its 1995 sequel Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy’s Kong Quest used that as a springboard to make the ultimate side-scrolling Donkey Kong experience. As the title suggests, Diddy steps up to the role of the protagonist and teams up with his recently engaged girlfriend Dixie Kong to save Donkey from Kaptain K. Rool. The duo travel to the pirate warlord’s hideout on Crocodile Isle where they each use their unique abilities to traverse 52 levels and rescue Diddy’s uncle.

With more secrets, more animal companions to temporarily control, and more enemy types to defeat, Donkey Kong Country 2 is one of those situations where bigger does actually mean better. The level design is more ambitious and just how differently Diddy and Dixie each play make for a much deeper and richer experience than its predecessor. The sequel is a major improvement over the first Donkey Kong Country and arguably one of the best games ever created by developer Rare.

1. Bananza of Donkey Kong ( 2025 )

Released a full month after the Nintendo Switch 2’s launch, Donkey Kong Bananza became the most buzzed-about game from the console’s library, even over Mario Kart World. Donkey Kong Bananza successfully catapulted its heroic ape into a full-on 3D platformer experience built around the character’s notoriety by placing him in destructible environments is a well-earned accolade. The game has Donkey Kong travel to Ingot Isle to harvest Banandium Gems, teaming up with a teenage Pauline against the sinister VoidCo mining company eager to obtain the Banandium Root, no matter the cost to the environment.

Donkey Kong Bananza repositions DKas a marquee Nintendo franchise with immersive level design, side-scrolling detours straight from the original Donkey Kong Country in a fun and emotional tribute, and a redesigned Donkey Kong character design with plenty of personality. But for all its celebration of the entire history of all things Donkey Kong, Bananza is just a lot of fun, with its key gameplay mechanic of literally tearing through environments being incredibly cathartic. This game enables players to go crazy and smash everything in their path. A subtle reinvention of what’s possible for a Donkey Kong game, Donkey Kong Bananza is Nintendo’s best 3D platformer since at least 2017’s Super Mario Odyssey, and the most unabashedly fun Donkey Kong game in, well, ever.

The first post Donkey Kong Video Games Ranked from Fun to Absolute Bananas appeared on Den of Geek.