The obsessive lengths that people go to sate their nostalgia are a tale as old as time, but this time around, we have a modern twist to the story. An influencer from Portland, Oregon, followed a trend where people painted their Donkey Kong Bananza cartridges yellow to mimic old N64 Donkey Kong cartridges. Sadly, this not only ruined the Donkey Kong cartridge but also his Nintendo Switch 2 because it got stuck inside.
This experiment was brought to you by TikTok user and gamer/influencer, Gardner Hartung from Portland, Oregon. After painting the Donkey Kong Bananza cartridge yellow like the old Donkey Kong game cartridges, Gardner now couldn’t fit the thing into the Switch 2’s cartridge slot. Off camera, however, it appears he kept trying to force in the cartridge and succeeded, but now, the cartridge is stuck in the Switch 2, basically breaking the cartridge slot.
“Update: (not a joke) the game is now stuck inside of my Switch 2,” Gardner followed-up
Hence, Gardner essentially sacrificed his $500 Switch 2 console along with a $70 game simply because he was dissatisfied that Nintendo didn’t color the cartridges the same as the old N64 cartridges. That isn’t to say Gardner didn’t try prying out the stuck painted cartridge. In his latest update, he tried to yank the cartridge out using pliers.
The first yanking didn’t work, so Gardner had to douse the stuck cartridge slot with alcohol to hopefully melt off some of the paint, and it seems to have worked since he managed to yank it out. He will need to hope that the alcohol dries properly or that his Switch 2’s cartridge slot isn’t ruined.
That’s One Way to Brick a Switch 2
Despite managing to salvage his possibly ruined Switch 2 console and definitely ruined Donkey Kong Bananza cartridge, his viewers have joked that Nintendo might brick the Switch anyway, given their draconic licensing and usage policies. People have thus clowned the gamer about the matter.
“i dont know how but nintendo is gonna sue you,” laughs weishaupt
“If Nintendo sees this, they’re gonna brick your console😭” says oranges
It’s possible that Gardner’s Switch 2 could still work, though only digitally from now on. Some people have told him that he should’ve just asked someone to 3D-print a yellow cartridge for him or perhaps he should’ve sanded down the original cartridge before spray-painting it so it wouldn’t be thick.
Regardless, we all can learn a lot from Gardner’s nostalgia-driven actions and how they affect his habits towards Nintendo. And Gardner himself has learned a valuable lesson about modifying pricey gaming hardware.
