Nintendo Goes All In on Donkey Kong Redesign Seen in Nintendo Switch 2 and Mario Kart 9 First Look

Nintendo is making significant changes to Donkey Kong's design, as observed by fans during the gameplay reveal of Mario Kart 9 at the Nintendo Switch 2 event. For years, even decades, Donkey Kong has maintained the same iconic look across various titles including Mario Kart 8, Mario Tennis, and Donkey Kong Country Returns. However, Nintendo is now introducing a new appearance for Donkey Kong that many fans believe resembles the character's portrayal in the highly successful The Super Mario Bros. Movie.

Although the revamped Donkey Kong was initially only seen in Mario Kart 9, Nintendo has recently unveiled a series of merchandise that also features this new design. As reported by Nintendo Life, Reddit user cookiemaster221 showcased these products, stating, "History is being rewritten in front of our very eyes."

History is being rewritten in front of our very eyes

byu/cookiemaster221 indonkeykong

The new merchandise highlights a more approachable version of Donkey Kong, featuring a rounded, less furrowed brow. Commenter SmallBlueSlime noted, "They're giving him the Kirby treatment, but backwards. Instead of making him angry, they're making him chill." Other fans on Reddit expressed mixed feelings about the redesign. One user remarked, "They really are dead set on redesigning DK," while another lamented, "I'm gonna miss that eyebrow looking down. Always made DK seem both kind and strong." On the other hand, a fan supportive of the new look commented, "It's alright in my opinion. They probably did it to make him look more goofy and less angry."

This is the most detailed view fans have had of the redesign since its brief appearance in Mario Kart 9, where Donkey Kong was not shown prominently. An extended showcase of Donkey Kong in action is expected in April during a Switch 2-focused Nintendo Direct.

In anticipation of this event, the console reveal trailer for the Switch 2 provided only subtle hints about the new hardware. It confirmed that the Switch 2 is mostly backwards compatible, introduced a mysterious new button on the Joy-Cons, and supported a theory about using the controller as a mouse.