Summary
The official MyNintendoStore has released some new merchandise that adds more evidence thatDonkey Kongis getting a big redesign ahead of theSwitch 2’s launch.
Earlier this month, Nintendo finally did what we’d all been waiting for most of 2024 for it to do -officially unveil the Nintendo Switch 2. Beyond a slick new design,magnetic Joy-Cons that everyone thinks will break, and a date to wait for, there wasn’t much to say about the console itself, andmost of the discussion has been to do with the next Mario Kart that was teased.
Nintendo showed usjust enoughof Mario Kart 9 to get the discussion wheels turning, leading fans to completely pick the trailer apart.Aside from the massive track size and potential returning characters, the biggest talking point of the whole thing was surprisingly enough Donkey Kong, who looks very different this time around.
Donkey Kong’s New Look Spotted On The Nintendo Store
While it’s true that all of the characters inMario Kart 9have adifferent, more cartoony art style than they did in MK8, it stands out the most for Donkey Kong, who looks a lot more squished than he ever has. Donkey Kong’s new look seemed to indicate that the ape was going to be getting a proper redesign for the Switch 2’s lifetime, something that’s since been backed up by merch.
As reported by Nintendo Life earlier this week, My Nintendo Store recently added some new Donkey Kong themed items, presumably to go along with therenewed interest in the character thanks to Donkey Kong Country Returns HD. The items are fairly inconspcious and include things like charm straps, calendars, and stickers, but they do have one interesting detail.
A close peek at the new items reveals that Donkey Kong has a subtle new lookthat is more in line with what we saw in the Mario Kart 9 trailer. While his proportions are all the same, Donkey Kong looks a lot less angry than he did with his Rare design and now has a happy sheen to his eyes.
The differences are made much clearer thanks to a Reddit post by cookiemaster221, who compared one of the new renders to how Donkey Kong used to look. It’s very subtle and minor, but it seems that Nintendo really is making an effort to make DK look different and presumably more family-friendly.
