Fans noticed that in first footage for the new Mario Kart game, a “new” Donkey Kong is racing alongside Mario, Luigi, Peach, Bowser, and friends. He looks a little different from the Donkey Kong who appears in recent Donkey Kong Country games. This “new” Donkey Kong actually looks more like the version of the ape seen in The Super Mario Bros. Movie, which Donkey Kong creator Shigeru Miyamoto revealed to audiences in 2022.
“It’s been over 40 years since the release of the original Donkey Kong game, which was also my debut title,” Miyamoto said at the time. “We’ve also changed his design for the first time since he became a 3D model in the original Donkey Kong Country game. Some of you may have noticed, but for this movie, we’ve seized the opportunity to give him a comical personality and design reminiscent of the original character.”
So, yeah, the “new” Donkey Kong looks less like the version that Nintendo’s been using in the Donkey Kong Country games made by Rare and Retro Studios, and more like the movie version, which is based on older Donkey Kong arcade artwork. The modern Kong has a softer, less angular brow, more oval-shaped eyes that sit closer together, and an overall slightly more realistic look. The differences are subtle, but the Donkey Kong that will appear in the next Mario Kart definitely looks a little different from the same guy who appeared in Mario Kart 8.
Nintendo pulled a similar move with last year’s Princess Peach: Showtime! Eagle-eyed fans noticed that Nintendo subtly updated Peach’s look on the game’s box art at one point, tweaking her appearance to more closely match the princess’ look from The Super Mario Bros. Movie.
Donkey Kong’s new look arrives the same day that Nintendo is launching Donkey Kong Country Returns HD, a Switch re-release of the original Wii game. That release, notably overshadowed by the Switch 2 unveiling, makes the contrast a little more stark.
It’s unclear how widespread this new, Super Mario Bros. Movie-inspired redesign will spread, though; Nintendo and Universal Studios’ new Donkey Kong Country attraction, which opened at Universal Studios Japan last month, uses the older, Rare-inspired version of DK. We’ll see who else might have been updated when the Switch 2 — and hopefully Mario Kart 9 — is released later this year.
