Donkey Kong Bananza Player Deciphers Secret Glyphs Within the Game

In Short:

• A dedicated Nintendo fan claims to have cracked the glyphs featured in early Donkey Kong Bananza footage
• Words such as “Exchange,” “Welcome,” “Item,” “Store,” and “Outfit” were reportedly identified in the glyphs
• Donkey Kong’s newest adventure, Bananza, debuts on Switch 2 on July 17

An eagle-eyed fan has reportedly uncovered the meanings behind several glyphs in Donkey Kong Bananza’s trailers. This marks one of many high-profile releases for the Nintendo Switch 2.

Nintendo’s next-gen console hits shelves June 5, and Donkey Kong Bananza lands shortly after on July 17, 2025,  the first major Donkey Kong release in over ten years.

The early footage suggests Donkey Kong Bananza is taking cues from Super Mario Odyssey, giving DK a wide-open world full of secrets, foes, and collectible Golden Bananas

Donkey Kong’s new quest involves battling the evil VoidCo.—a band of rogue apes—to recover his prized bananas. Alongside him are newcomers like Odd Rock, whose chatter guides the way, and returning characters like Cranky Kong and a Pauline look-alike.

With anticipation building, fans are poring over every bit of Donkey Kong Bananza footage available, YouTuber 2Chrispy among them, hoping to uncover more hints about the game.

After noticing hidden hieroglyphs scattered throughout Donkey Kong Bananza’s landscapes, the fan set out to decode them. In their most recent video, they reveal the results of a month-long decoding effort, having translated several signs from the game’s first trailers and Nintendo Treehouse stream.

Fan Translates Donkey Kong Bananza’s Secret Language

According to 2Chrispy, there are seven concealed glyphs in Donkey Kong Bananza’s first trailer, and they kicked off their translation by decoding one to guide their work on the rest.

By compiling Donkey Kong-centric terms, they identified the phrase “Chip Exchange” as it appeared in the recent Donkey Kong Bananza Nintendo Treehouse livestream.

Seeing a sign with an icon resembling the banana chips collected by Donkey Kong, they interpreted it as the word “Exchange.”

Having one translation to guide them, 2Chrispy dove into decoding the rest of the game’s hidden messages by recognizing repeated patterns in the letters yet to be deciphered.

Using an online word finder with the letters they’d decoded, 2Chrispy found one sign reading “Welcome,” and by tracing over a screenshot, figured out that another sign stands for “Ice.”

Their continued analysis revealed words such as “Item,” “Stop,” “Store,” and “Outfit” in the hidden signs. 2Chrispy admits the translation process is still underway, with some letters still a mystery before Donkey Kong Bananza arrives.

Donkey Kong Bananza

Also Read: Donkey Kong’s Original Appearance Hasn’t Disappeared