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

Nintendo is making a significant shift with Donkey Kong's redesign, which was first spotted by fans in the gameplay footage of Mario Kart 9 showcased during the Nintendo Switch 2 reveal event. Donkey Kong has retained the same iconic look across various games like Mario Kart 8, Mario Tennis, and Donkey Kong Country Returns for years, even decades. However, Nintendo is now steering towards a new aesthetic that many fans believe echoes the successful style seen in The Super Mario Bros. Movie.

Although the revamped Donkey Kong was initially only seen in Mario Kart 9, Nintendo has now unveiled a series of merchandise featuring this new design. As reported by Nintendo Life, user cookiemaster221 shared images of these products on Reddit, commenting, "History is being rewritten in front of our very eyes." The merchandise showcases Donkey Kong with a friendlier appearance, most notably with a softer, rounded brow. In the Reddit discussion, user SmallBlueSlime remarked, "They're giving him the Kirby treatment, but backwards. Instead of making him angry, they're making him chill." Other fans expressed mixed feelings, with one stating, "They really are dead set on redesigning DK," and another lamenting, "I'm gonna miss that eyebrow looking down. Always made DK seem both kind and strong." However, some fans support the change, suggesting, "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 is the best look fans have had at the redesign. An extended showcase of Donkey Kong in action is expected in April during a Nintendo Direct focused on the Switch 2. The console reveal trailer provided only a few hints about the Switch 2, focusing primarily on its appearance. It confirmed that the hardware is largely backwards compatible, introduced a mysterious new button on the Joy-Cons, and hinted at the possibility of using the controller as a mouse, a theory that appears to be accurate.