Donkey Kong’s Redesign Seems To Go Beyond New Mario Kart

Donkey Kong could be headed for an overall redesign. Fans got a quick glimpse of the great ape in the Switch 2 demo reel with (what appears to be) Mario Kart 9, but it seems the new look for DK isn’t just for the game, but in merchandise as well.

It’s not the first time Donkey Kong has been given a facelift since his original design in 1981, which was more like King Kong, and then completely overhauled with Rare’s Donkey Kong Country franchise. His solo series gave him a necktie, a subtle hair wave, smaller nostrils, and a furrowed brow that always made him look slightly perturbed.

The new design leans more into his appearance in The Super Mario Bros. Movie, which eagle-eyed fans have noticed on Nintendo’s Japanese merchandise. The brow was scaled back, giving him a sort of kinder, rounder look. DK’s superfans on Reddit weighed in on the design with some not sure, while others were in favor of the new look.

“At first I was against the design change, however after looking at it more I agree that it better allows DK to convey facial expressions and emotion. Before DK just kinda always looked angry? The brow reduction allows a greater range of expression and honestly looks pretty good once you get over the initial surprise of the change,” one user said.

For now, it’s just Donkey Kong himself getting a new look though it’s unclear if Diddy Kong and the rest of the Kong family will be spared.