Nintendo is Doubling Down on Donkey Kong’s Controversial New Look

Posted by By our-little-miss-is-home January 28, 2025 39 Views 5 Min Read
Nintendo is Doubling Down on Donkey Kong's Controversial New Look



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Summary

  • Nintendo is embracing Donkey Kong’s new design with merchandise following his latest makeover for the Switch 2 generation.
  • Fans are divided over the revamped look, but many are accepting of Donkey Kong’s friendlier appearance.
  • The evolution of Donkey Kong continues as Nintendo updates his design for the new Mario Kart game, sparking debate among fans.

Nintendo seems to be going full steam ahead with Donkey Kong’s controversial new design, offering up various merchandise of his recently revamped look. When Nintendo finally revealed the Switch 2 console and the new Mario Kart game that is being developed for it earlier this month, fans quickly noticed something different about Donkey Kong. In the shown Mario Kart footage, the great ape seemingly has a new design that more closely resembles his look in 2023’s The Super Mario Bros. Movie, sporting a bulkier build, more rounded eyes, and a slightly different shade of fur.

This marks the third time that Donkey Kong has been significantly revamped since his arcade debut in 1981, and it didn’t take long for the internet to fill with reactions and arguments about his latest makeover. Some Nintendo fans have decried the change, while others are more accepting of Donkey Kong’s friendlier new design. Donkey Kong Country character artist Kevin Bayliss even weighed in on Donkey Kong’s new look, saying that he welcomes the change as something natural for a mascot as old as Nintendo’s beloved primate.

Donkey Kong 64 Key Art

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The Reportedly Canceled Donkey Kong Game Reveals the Need for a DK64 Successor

Rumors suggest that a new 3D Donkey Kong was once on the way before being canceled and, if true, its absence will certainly be felt.

Nintendo seems to agree with this sentiment, as a variety of new merchandise featuring Donkey Kong’s new Mario Kart design is being released on the My Nintendo Store. As reported by Nintendo Life, this includes an assortment of Donkey Kong-themed “charm straps” being offered in the US and UK Nintendo stores. Meanwhile, the Japanese online Nintendo store is selling a wider range of bookmarks, pencil cases, stickers, and more – all sporting Donkey Kong’s new design. Reddit user cookiemaster221 even compared some updated Nintendo Store artwork of Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong to a previous version with the former’s old look.

Nintendo is Selling Redesigned Donkey Kong Merch

It seems like much of the responders to cookiemaster221’s post are accepting of Donkey Kong’s new design, saying that the differences aren’t that radical and that the detractors are reacting over nothing. One even playfully compared DK’s friendlier face to Kirby’s calmer facial expressions in the original Japanese releases of his games, which are often edited to make the pink puffball look more aggressive in the Western releases.

Donkey Kong has seen plenty of evolution over the decades, going from an antagonist in his original arcade titles to a banana-loving hero in later games like Donkey Kong Country and Super Smash Bros. It looks like Nintendo has changed Donkey Kong once again for the forthcoming Switch 2 generation, even as fans debate which version of the classic platforming simian they prefer.

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