Nintendo is making waves with a fresh redesign of Donkey Kong, first spotted by fans in the gameplay reveal of Mario Kart 9 during the Nintendo Switch 2 event. For years, even decades, Donkey Kong's iconic design has been a staple in games like Mario Kart 8, Mario Tennis, and Donkey Kong Country Returns. Now, Nintendo is steering towards a new look that many fans believe echoes the successful style seen in The Super Mario Bros. Movie.
Although the revamped Donkey Kong was initially glimpsed in Mario Kart 9, Nintendo has now unveiled a new line of merchandise featuring this updated design. As reported by Nintendo Life, Reddit user cookiemaster221 shared images of the products, remarking, "History is being rewritten in front of our very eyes."
History is being rewritten in front of our very eyes
The new merchandise showcases a more approachable Donkey Kong, highlighted by a softer, rounded brow. Commenter SmallBlueSlime observed, "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. "They really are dead set on redesigning DK," one user noted, while another lamented, "I'm gonna miss that eyebrow looking down. Always made DK seem both kind and strong." However, a supporter of the new design said, "It's alright in my opinion. They probably did it to make him look more goofy and less angry."
Since the brief appearance in Mario Kart 9, this merchandise provides the clearest view yet of Donkey Kong's redesign. Fans can expect a more detailed look in April when Nintendo hosts a Switch 2-focused Nintendo Direct.
The console reveal trailer for the Switch 2 offered only a few glimpses of the new hardware, focusing more on its aesthetics. It confirmed that the Switch 2 will be mostly backwards compatible, introduced a mysterious new button on the Joy-Cons, and validated theories about using the controller as a mouse.
