Nintendo Unveils Donkey Kong Redesign for Switch 2 and Mario Kart 9

Nintendo is making a significant shift with Donkey Kong's design, as fans noticed during the Mario Kart 9 gameplay reveal at the Nintendo Switch 2 event. For years, even decades, Donkey Kong has maintained the same iconic look across various games like Mario Kart 8, Mario Tennis, and Donkey Kong Country Returns. However, Nintendo is now introducing a new design that many believe echoes the style seen in the highly successful The Super Mario Bros. Movie.

While the revamped Donkey Kong was initially spotted in Mario Kart 9, Nintendo has since unveiled a series of merchandise featuring this new look. As reported by Nintendo Life, user cookiemaster221 shared these products on Reddit, 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 showcases Donkey Kong with a more approachable appearance, notably featuring a softened 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 expressed mixed feelings about the change. 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." However, some fans supported the new look, with one 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 very clearly, this merchandise offers the best look at the redesign yet. Fans can expect a more detailed showcase of Donkey Kong in action during the upcoming Nintendo Direct in April, which will focus on the Switch 2.

The console reveal trailer for the Switch 2 provided only a few hints about the new hardware, emphasizing its appearance. It confirmed that the Switch 2 is mostly backwards compatible, features a new mysterious button on the Joy-Cons, and supports a theory about using the controller as a mouse.