Summary
A redesignedDonkey Kongwill be making his video game debut via Mario Kart World next month, and then for the first time in his own game a month later inDonkey Kong Bananza. The redesign has divided fans of the video game icon, and now the man who created him and made the call on giving him a makeover has explained why it was time for a change.
IGNhad the opportunity to sit down with legendaryNintendodirector Shigeru Miyamoto to discuss all things Nintendo - apart from the biggest Nintendo thing of all, theSwitch 2, which he wasn’t allowed to talk about. He was, however, allowed to talk about Donkey Kong, touching on why the monkey has been redesigned ready for his big debut on Switch 2.
Miyamoto discussed one of the last times Donkey Kong underwent a design change, noting that forGameCube’s Jungle Beat, he worked with the 3D Mario team to make a more expressive DK. The aim with this 2025 redesign is very much in the same vein, with a pinch of influence from how the character looks inThe Super Mario Bros. Moviethrown in for good measure.
Interesting that the 3D Mario team helped with the last DK redesign when there’s a strong belief that the same team worked on Bananza.
Donkey Kong’s Creator Has Explained Why He Needed To Be Redesigned
It’s Long Overdue
“What can we do with the design to make it more expressive? And then, when it comes to the movie, we decided to move forward with this new generation Donkey Kong design,” Miyamoto explained. Donkey Kong looks very different in the movie than he does in recent video games, but starting with Mario Kart World, something closer to the movie design will be the one that’s also used in games moving forward.
Even though the new DK design won’t officially come into effect until June 5 and will be exclusive to games in which he stars on the Switch 2, his new look has already infiltrated the original Switch. You can still have Donkey Kong as your icon on Switch, but his old design has already beenreplaced with the new, more expressive (Miyamoto’s words, not mine)version prepped and ready for its official arrival on Switch 2.
Donkey Kong fans are, unsurprisingly, divided on whether or not the character needed a redesign. While there are many, myself included, who believe the new look is an upgrade, some are upset that any remnants of Rare’s version of Donkey Kong are now pretty much gone, something I imagine Nintendo has been conscious of throughout this change. On the bright side, for those who don’t like the new DK,Diddy Kong’s design appears to have been kept more or less the samefor Bananaza.
