The next big Switch 2 exclusive Donkey Kong Bananza is playable on Switch 1 after all, you just need a friend kind enough to share it to your dusty old relic of a console

Donkey Kong Bananza screenshot of DK with his purple companion Odd Rock sitting on his shoulder
(Image credit: Nintendo)

Like it's 1996 all over again, Nintendo is really about to make me ask my big brother if I can play the next big Switch 2 exclusive, Donkey Kong Bananza, because I'll need his fancy new console's GameShare feature to play it on my stupid old Switch 1.

Because there's a seven-year age gap between me and my older brother, making everything he ever did cool as hell by default, I now have a career in video games that he's indirectly responsible (at fault?) for. Everything he played, I also had to play.

But, unfortunately for my kid self, that meant having to timidly knock on his door and ask if I could play his N64 every time a new game came out – and almost 30 years later, I'm about to be forced into the same situation.

As revealed in today's Direct, Donkey Kong Bananza supports local and online co-op and, via the Switch 2's GameShare feature, lets Switch 1 players to join the fun as Donkey Kong's companion Pauline with a Switch 2 player as their domineering host. The only caveat is that it only works locally with Switch 1, while two Switch 2 players can link up online.

I'll get a Switch 2 eventually, probably whenever Metroid Prime 4 comes out, but come Donkey Kong Bananza's July 17 release date, it looks like I'll be knocking on big bro Jon's door yet again.

Hopefully I'll have my own console by the time these upcoming Switch 2 games launch.

Jordan Gerblick

After earning an English degree from ASU, I worked as a corporate copy editor while freelancing for places like SFX Magazine, Screen Rant, Game Revolution, and MMORPG on the side. I got my big break here in 2019 with a freelance news gig, and I was hired on as GamesRadar's west coast Staff Writer in 2021. That means I'm responsible for managing the site's western regional executive branch, AKA my home office, and writing about whatever horror game I'm too afraid to finish.

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