Which skills to unlock first in Donkey Kong Bananza

The skill tree, once belonging to the RPG genre, has infiltrated its way into almost every modern game, and Donkey Kong Bananza is no exception. With a plethora of skills to unlock (even from the very start of the game), it’s important to know which skills will benefit you the most when beginning your playthrough.

Which skills to upgrade first in Donkey Kong Bananza 

In general, Donkey Kong Bananza is a fairly easy game, so I recommend holding off on the combat-related skills for now, as they won’t prove nearly as useful as some of the other skills available. Instead, it’s best to focus on skills that will make exploration and puzzle-solving easier. To obtain a skill point, you need to collect five bananas, which is why this first skill is the most important one to upgrade immediately. 

Better Sonar 

The absolute must-unlock skill is Better Sonar. This skill will allow you to detect hidden items from farther away when pressing the Hand Slap button. The initial range is quite small, so it can be easy to miss bananas or fossils that may be hidden away within rock. You definitely want to make finding bananas as easy as possible, as you’ll need them to continue leveling up. Fossils are important to find as well, as these are the currency used for buying style changes from the style shop, which can give Donkey Kong different buffs.

You can upgrade Better Sonar up to level 3, which will give you a maximum of a 160 percent increased range for the Hand Slap ability. It is essential to upgrade this ability as much as possible first, as it will make exploring much quicker and easier, especially in the more open areas you’ll encounter later.

Bananergy 

Bananergy is a great skill to upgrade as it will allow you to stay in a Bananza for much longer. Bananzas are special abilities that you unlock throughout the game, and are needed to complete specific challenges you’ll encounter.

The default duration for Bananzas goes by fairly quickly, and attempting to do everything you need to while in a Bananza can sometimes require you to transform multiple times in a row, with each transformation costing some of your gold. Upgrading Bananergy will allow you to increase the time spent in a Bananza up to 130 percent if leveled up to its maximum. The added duration makes a huge difference in the efficiency of completing puzzles and challenges.

Punch Power 

Punch Power is important to level up quickly, as it will allow you to continue to break through terrain at a smooth pace as you travel to zones with stronger rock. Punch Power can be upgraded up to four times, with each level allowing you to break a stronger rock with fewer punches.

As you move lower into the underground and progress through the story, the terrain will become tougher and tougher. Keeping Punch Power leveled up adequately will make it easier to get through this new terrain. You may not need the extra power now, but it’s good to be prepared.

After upgrading these three skills to their maximum, you can pretty much upgrade any skill that works best with your playstyle. Prioritizing Better Sonar, Bananergy, and Punch Power at the start will make the rest of your Donkey Kong Bananza playthrough be a much smoother experience.

To make sure you’re getting the most out of DK’s latest adventure, check out more of our Donkey Kong Bananza coverage.

Josh is a writer from Maryland with an admiration for horror, indie games, and anything with a great story. The first game he fell in love with was Kingdom Hearts on the PS2. Today, you’ll find him online raving about Final Fantasy, Resident Evil, or the hot new indie game of the week. You can find him on Twitter @JTheMogul.