Nintendo is making waves with a fresh redesign of Donkey Kong, first spotted by fans during the gameplay reveal of Mario Kart 9 at the Nintendo Switch 2 event. For years, even decades, Donkey Kong has maintained the same iconic look across various games such as Mario Kart 8, Mario Tennis, and Donkey Kong Country Returns. However, Nintendo is now shifting gears towards a design that echoes the charm seen in the highly successful The Super Mario Bros. Movie.

While the revamped Donkey Kong was initially only seen in Mario Kart 9, Nintendo has now unveiled an array of merchandise featuring this new look. As reported by Nintendo Life, user cookiemaster221 shared images of the products on Reddit, stating, "History is being rewritten in front of our very eyes."

History is being rewritten in front of our very eyes

byu/cookiemaster221 indonkeykong

The new merchandise displays Donkey Kong with a more approachable appearance, characterized by a softened, less furrowed brow. Commenter SmallBlueSlime noted, "They're giving him the Kirby treatment, but backwards. Instead of making him angry, they're making him chill." Other fans weighed in with mixed feelings, with one saying, "They really are dead set on redesigning DK," while another lamented, "I'm gonna miss that eyebrow looking down. Always made DK seem both kind and strong." Yet, a supporter of the new design remarked, "It's alright in my opinion. They probably did it to make him look more goofy and less angry."

Since the brief glimpse during Mario Kart 9, where Donkey Kong appeared in just a few scenes, fans are eager for more. An extended look at the redesigned Donkey Kong in action is expected in April during Nintendo's Switch 2-focused Nintendo Direct.

The console reveal trailer for the Switch 2 hinted at several new features, confirming that the hardware is mostly backwards compatible, the Joy-Cons include a mysterious new button, and a theory about using the controller as a mouse seems accurate. These developments have fans buzzing with anticipation for what's to come.