The Donkey Kong community is abuzz after one determined fan successfully decoded mysterious glyphs hidden in the Donkey Kong Bananza trailer, weeks ahead of the game’s official launch. YouTuber 2Chrispy took on the challenge after noticing strange symbols scattered throughout the footage shown during the game’s reveal and the Nintendo Treehouse livestream.
This discovery comes just in time, as anticipation builds for the Nintendo Switch 2, launching on June 5, followed closely by Donkey Kong Bananza on July 17. The game will mark DK’s first major appearance since Tropical Freeze in 2014.
A New Era for Donkey Kong
Donkey Kong Bananza introduces a more open-world gameplay structure reminiscent of Super Mario Odyssey. In this latest adventure, Donkey Kong must retrieve stolen Golden Bananas from a new villainous faction called VoidCo., while teaming up with quirky characters like a talking Odd Rock and reuniting with familiar faces including Cranky Kong and a mysterious Pauline-like girl.
Hidden Glyphs and the “Chip Exchange”
While many fans focused on gameplay mechanics and visuals, 2Chrispy was drawn to strange hieroglyphic signs appearing in various in-game scenes. In a detailed YouTube breakdown, they explained their month-long process of glyph decoding.
Starting with seven signs from the game’s initial reveal trailer, they used franchise-related terminology and cross-referenced footage from the Nintendo Treehouse livestream. The breakthrough came from a symbol resembling banana chips, which appeared near a location associated with a “Chip Exchange.” From there, they began mapping symbols to known terms.
This gives credibility to the idea that the glyphs may be a fully designed in-game language, hinting at hidden mechanics, locations, or even lore within the game world.
Fan-Driven Discovery Builds Hype
2Chrispy’s efforts have generated buzz across Reddit, YouTube, and fan forums, with others jumping in to help decipher the remaining glyphs. This kind of community-driven sleuthing only deepens the intrigue surrounding Donkey Kong Bananza and suggests Nintendo may have layered the game with secrets for dedicated players to find.
What This Means for Players
If this trend continues, fans could be looking at a rich narrative and puzzle layer within Donkey Kong Bananza—adding replayability and deeper exploration. With the Switch 2 set to debut soon, this decoding effort acts as a perfect teaser for what may be one of the year’s biggest Nintendo releases.
Whether you’re a longtime DK fan or new to the jungle, keep your eyes peeled for glyphs—you might just unlock something big.