Nintendo is making a bold move with a fresh redesign of Donkey Kong, first noticed by fans in the *Mario Kart 9* gameplay preview shown during the Nintendo Switch 2 reveal event. For years—some might say decades—Donkey Kong has kept the same recognizable appearance across titles such as *Mario Kart 8*, *Mario Tennis*, and *Donkey Kong Country Returns*. However, it seems Nintendo is ready for a change, adopting a new visual style that many believe draws inspiration from the highly successful *The Super Mario Bros. Movie*.
While this updated look was initially only visible in *Mario Kart 9*, Nintendo has now expanded the redesign into official merchandise. As reported by Nintendo Life, Reddit user cookiemaster221 shared images of these new products, stating, “History is being rewritten in front of our very eyes.”
“History is being rewritten in front of our very eyes”
— byu/cookiemaster221 on r/donkeykong
The collection reveals a softer, friendlier version of Donkey Kong, most notably marked by a smoother, less furrowed brow. One commenter, SmallBlueSlime, noted, “They're giving him the Kirby treatment, but backwards. Instead of making him angry, they're making him chill.”
Fan reactions have been mixed yet lively. “They really are dead set on redesigning DK,” one user commented. Another fan added, “I'm gonna miss that eyebrow looking down. Always made DK seem both kind and strong.” Meanwhile, some players appear to welcome the change, with one supporter saying, “It's alright in my opinion. They probably did it to make him look more goofy and less angry.”
This latest merchandise offers the clearest view yet of the updated design, especially since Donkey Kong’s brief appearance in *Mario Kart 9* didn’t give fans much to go on. More detailed gameplay featuring the redesigned character is expected to arrive in April, when Nintendo plans to host a Switch 2-focused Nintendo Direct.
In anticipation of that event, the recent console reveal trailer gave only a few hints about the upcoming hardware, focusing instead on the Switch 2’s physical design. It did confirm, however, that the system will maintain mostly backward compatibility, feature Joy-Cons with an intriguing new button, and support a rumored functionality allowing the controller to be used as a mouse—something that appears to be completely accurate.
