Donkey Kong is getting a big push at the start of the Nintendo Switch 2 era. The big ape will make an appearance in Mario Kart World next month, and in Donkey Kong Bananza in July. In both of those games, DK will be sporting a brand-new design that has proven somewhat controversial. In a new interview with IGN, Donkey Kong creator Shigeru Miyamoto was asked about the redesign, and shared some details about his involvement. This is not the first time DK has seen a major redesign, but Miyamoto has been involved every step of the way.
“So when it comes to character creation and working with characters, I still take an active role in that. And looking back to the first generation Donkey Kong Country, we worked with Rare to create Donkey Kong Country,” Miyamoto told IGN. “When we were talking about trying to create new versions, evolving Donkey Kong, we created the game called Jungle Beat. We worked together with the team that made 3D Mario. With the technology that was available at the time, we were able to make Donkey Kong more expressive. And going back to the design that Rare came up with, we reevaluated; 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.”
This partially confirms what many fans have long suspected: Donkey Kong’s new design is directly connected to the one that appeared in The Super Mario Bros. Movie. However, it sounds like Nintendo and Miyamoto had already created this new design for the Nintendo Switch 2 games, and decided to incorporate it into the movie ahead of time. Basically, fans that saw the movie were getting an early look at what Nintendo had been working on behind the scenes.
While fan reception has been somewhat mixed towards the Donkey Kong redesign, it will be interesting to see if opinions change once players have had a chance to experience it in the actual games. I got a chance to go hands-on with Donkey Kong Bananza last month, and can attest that the character is a lot more expressive than he’s been in past games. That lines up with Miyamoto’s goal, and it feels like a nice new beginning for one of Nintendo’s earliest characters.
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DK isn’t the only Kong that has been redesigned for the Nintendo Switch 2 era, as his partner Diddy has also seen some changes to his character model recently. These changes aren’t as major as the ones made to DK, but there are some notable differences. That could hint at Diddy appearing in Mario Kart World or Donkey Kong Bananza, but the character has not been confirmed for either game, as of this writing. Hopefully Diddy and other members of the Kong crew will have a role to play in the near future.
How do you feel about Donkey Kong’s recent redesign? Do you think the character is more expressive than in past games? Share your thoughts with me directly on Bluesky at @Marcdachamp, or on Instagram at @Dachampgaming!
The post Donkey Kong Creator Reveals Why the Character Got a New Design appeared first on ComicBook.com.
