Donkey Kong Fan Paints Their Bananza Cartridge Yellow, Pain Inevitably Follows

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Who doesn’t love a little DIY arts and crafts project? They’re fun, they get you doing something, and most of the time, you’ll come out of it with something special, or at least a fun story. Unfortunately, this is the story of one fan’s Donkey Kong Bananza project gone horribly wrong, and while it can’t be fun for the poor guy at the center of it, watching it unfold sure has been pretty funny.

Recently, a TikTok user (via Kotaku) by the name of Gardner shared that they wanted to paint their Switch 2 cartridge of the critically acclaimed 3D platformer yellow. The rationale behind the move is a simple one rooted in nostalgia: Nintendo has previously released Donkey Kong games with banana-yellow cartridges, like Donkey Kong 64, which Gardner flashes on camera as a reference point in the first of two videos.

I can already hear everyone groaning and screaming at their screens. I was there too, but it’s worth it to enjoy the rest of this cringe-inducing ride.

Gardner then proceeds to crudely pry apart the crimson red Switch 2 cartridge, showing multiple failed approaches before it is finally cracked open. Once it is, they remove the card with the game files on it and take the spray paint can to each half of the cartridge casing. The first video ends as they piece it back together and insert the game in the console only to find it gets stuck about halfway through and can’t actually fit back into the slot.

One comment on the first video reads, “Seems like the paint might melt and stick in the system when it heats up. This feels like a bad idea.” If only that commenter knew how right they’d be within just 24 hours.

To make matters worse, Gardner returned with a second video a day later showing that despite the system’s resistance to the painted-over case, they insistently jammed the game in anyways, where it is now irretrievably stuck. They even take a pair of pliers to the system but simply cannot pull it out, instead chipping the yellow paint and even breaking the cartridge. Eventually Gardner relents, hilariously saying, “Without tagging Nintendo, somebody let me know what I should do to get it out of my system. Again, I’m chilling because I’m going to play the game for a while but I’d love your suggestions.”

As you might expect, Gardner’s ridiculous journey for a yellow Bananza cartridge has already gone viral. Some chimed in with what they believed to be advice, like multiple comments suggesting they should’ve just 3D printed a yellow case and reprinted the game’s art, but many of the commenters are also just poking fun at Gardner’s dedication and misfortune.

One comment simply reads, “It’s NOT THAT SERIOUS,” alongside a crying emoji. Another jokes, “Guy buys a Switch 2 with Donkey Kong built in!!!” The most devastating of the bunch simply says, “Is now a bad time to mention it isn’t even the right shade of yellow?” Ouch.

I guess the big takeaway here is that the next time you want to undertake a DIY project with your expensive gaming system, please just ask around the internet before doing a very costly amount of damage. I hope they’re really enjoying Donkey Kong Bananza, because that seems to be the only thing that Switch 2 is going to be playing for the foreseeable future.

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