By the time I reached the fifth layer inDonkey Kong Bananza, I had already collected more bananas than there are Stars in the entirety ofMario 64.Without getting into exactlyhow longit takes to beat, that’s a small fraction of the way through the game, with hundreds more bananas left to find. I am normally a completionist when it comes to collectibles in games, especiallyNintendo franchises, but eventually found myself burnt out on chasing down all the stray bananas scattered through most of the levels. I would gladly take on the combat and puzzle-platforming challenges, but I was more enticed by the actual content of those challenges rather than the reward. It wasn’t long before I simply ignored stray bananas buried in the earth or sitting atop a high perch.
I could feel my inner child crying out for leaving these precious collectibles behind, but I realize now that Nintendo doesn’t treat collectibles the way it once did, so neither should I. This new philosophy has infected almost all Nintendo franchises now, and I don’t think I can stomach anotherSwitch 2game that makes collectibles feel so meaningless again.
More isn’t necessarily merrier
Some of the most ingrained memories for me as a kid playingOcarina of Timeare when I found a precious piece of heart. These were typically tucked away in hidden areas or locked off as rewards for specific challenges. As always, collecting four would grant you a new heart container — perhaps the most meaningful upgrade in the game outside of equipment. They were rare, making each one feel meaningful to get, even if it wasn’t the final one needed to get that new heart. The same can be said for Stars inMario 64.Stages only had around 5 on average, and none of them were just lying around for me to pick up just for walking by. 120 sounds like a lot, but when each one presents a challenge to collect, they never feel less special to grab.
I imagine the excitement I felt each time I managed to snatch a new Star or root out a piece of heart as a kid is what set me on the path to becoming a completionist. But right at the launch of the Switch, Nintendo seemed to completely flip its approach to designing collectibles.Breath of the Wildwas the canary in the coal mine, as it were, with 900 Korok seeds sprinkled around Hyrule.
This was one of many design changes that going open-world necessitated for Zelda, and I don’t think it was a poor one on its face. Yeah, it was the first time I decided early on that I wouldn’t even attempt to 100% complete the game, but treated that absurdly high number as a kind of design failsafe — players who explored the world naturally would always have plenty to find no matter which direction their curiosity took them. I don’t think it was necessarily made this way with the intention of most players feeling compelled to get them all, especially when you look at the joke of a final reward for getting all 900.
The problem lies in the fact that this new more is more mentality surrounding collectibles wasn’t contained toZelda’s open world games.Super Mario Odysseywas the first proper 3D Mario game since3DWorldand inflated the number of collectibles from the usual 120-ish to around 300 on the higher end on a first playthrough, to 880 unique Moons. But Mario hadn’t undergone a massive reinvention in the way Zelda had which made increasing the collectible count feel appropriate. To sell an amazing game very short, it is still a level-based platformer. The new levels are bigger, but they’re notthatbig, and Moons still act as progression tools.
Nintendo had to rework a lot of other aspects of a Mario game to make this change fit. Being kicked out of a level after collecting a Star or Moon was a long overdue upgrade, but Nintendo also had to cut the fanfare. Instead of a rewarding and celebratory animation as a reward for managing to get a Star,Odysseypauses for as brief a time as possible to avoid interrupting the flow of gameplay. It’s a better solution than keeping the longer animations, but a self-inflicted problem by cramming the game full of Moons. Without that struggle to find them or the feedback from the game cementing my achievement as something worthy of praise, collecting Moons started to feel only slightly more enticing than standard coins. How much could I care about them when I could literally buy a dozen from the shop in one go if I wanted?
It makes perfect sense thatBananzatreats its bananas this way after learning theOdysseyteam was behind it. To its credit,Bananzadoes at least attempt to give bananas a different function than Stars and Moons by making them act as upgrade points for DK’s stats and skills. But the core issue of importance remains. I’m still tripping over bananas and able to purchase them in batches at a shop. If bananas are meant to be the ultimate prize to chase, how come there are more of them than fossils?
There’s nothing wrong with taking this approach to collectibles. I think it made sense for Zelda, and I think it was a smart choice to try and shake up the platformer formula, even if it didn’t land for me. What I don’t want is for this to be the only approach Nintendo takes with platformers going forward. Go ahead and cram in tons of fossils, coins, and other supplemental collectibles if you want, but I need there to be at least one collectible that makes me feel excited to get again.
