Nintendo is making a bold move with the redesign of Donkey Kong, which was first spotted by fans during the gameplay reveal of Mario Kart 9 at the Nintendo Switch 2 event. For years, even decades, Donkey Kong has maintained a consistent look across various games including Mario Kart 8, Mario Tennis, and Donkey Kong Country Returns. However, Nintendo is now introducing a new design that fans believe echoes the style seen in the highly successful The Super Mario Bros. Movie.
While the revamped look for Donkey Kong was initially showcased in Mario Kart 9, Nintendo has since expanded this design to a range of new merchandise. As reported by Nintendo Life, Reddit user cookiemaster221 shared images of the new products, commenting, "History is being rewritten in front of our very eyes."
History is being rewritten in front of our very eyes
byu/cookiemaster221 indonkeykong
The merchandise showcases a more approachable version of Donkey Kong, with his typically furrowed brow now softened. In the Reddit comments, user SmallBlueSlime noted, "They're giving him the Kirby treatment, but backwards. Instead of making him angry, they're making him chill." Other fans expressed mixed feelings about the change. One user lamented, "I'm gonna miss that eyebrow looking down. Always made DK seem both kind and strong," while another supported the new look, saying, "It's alright in my opinion. They probably did it to make him look more goofy and less angry."
Since the brief glimpse in Mario Kart 9, where Donkey Kong appeared in only a few scenes and not in great detail, fans have been eager for more. They will likely get an extended look at the redesigned Donkey Kong in action during the upcoming Nintendo Direct in April, which will focus on the Nintendo Switch 2.
The console reveal trailer for the Switch 2 offered only a few hints about the new hardware, focusing primarily on its appearance. It confirmed that the Switch 2 will be mostly backwards compatible, introduced a mysterious new button on the Joy-Cons, and validated a theory about using the controller as a mouse.
