While many viewers focused on the gameplay during the recent Donkey Kong Bananza trailer, one eagle-eyed fan noticed something more cryptic. YouTuber 2Chrispy spotted unusual symbols scattered throughout the environment and began a month-long effort to decode what he now calls the “Bananabet.”

Drawing inspiration from past Nintendo games like Zelda, which featured unique in-world alphabets, 2Chrispy approached the Bananza symbols as a potential substitution cipher. To his surprise, the characters did not represent a fictional language but instead matched letters from the English alphabet using unique graphical symbols.

Through careful cross-referencing and deduction, he has deciphered most of the symbols, confirming they spell coherent English words found on in-game signs. At present, only five characters remain unidentified: B, J, Q, V, and Z.

With nearly the entire alphabet mapped out and the game set to launch on July 17, fans now wonder if Nintendo will officially acknowledge the secret system—or if more hidden messages lie in wait.

Main image: youtube.com

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