We only saw a few glimpses of Donkey Kong in the recentNintendo Switch 2 reveal. The small, grainy images are all we got, and like with Bigfoot, it’s more than enough to turn heads.
It appears as though Donkey Kong has a new look in the upcoming Mario Kart title, the one that’s been dubbed ‘Mario Kart 9’ by fans. Current speculation is that the changes are based on the latestMario movie- but regardless of origin, the changes are clear.
“Bro looks like he’s seen something no one was ever supposed to see,” says the top comment on oneRedditthread discussing the change.
The remark comes from Donkey Kong’s biggest change: his eyes, and the dark area around them. But the adjustments don’t stop there: he looks rounder, more fluffy, and the hair atop his head looks de-emphasized.
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Obviously, we’ll need something less cryptid-esque to get a better idea of how far the changes have gone. But change has undoubtedly occurred, and people have… opinions.
“I will probably get used to it with time, but honestly, out of all the things that you could change about his design, changing his eyes to that feels a bit questionable.”
The user from the above quotesaid that the changes made Donkey Kong feel more cartoonish and out of place, likening it to something from Steamboat Willie.
Whether these changes, and the fan reception to them, will result in backpedaling akin to what we saw with the first Sonic movie, is hard to say. ButNintendowill almost certainly say, or show, something. A change like this, to a character this iconic, would be hard to sweep under the rug.
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The movie version of the Kong doesn’t look bad per se, but this Mario Kart version looks to be an even greater departure from the original.
In the above image, we can see the same layers of fluffier fur, but Donkey Kong remains strong and angular.
It could be possible that the pose in the Mario Kart teaser makes him look rounder than usual - he’s a big gorilla huddled into a tiny go-kart, after all - and if that’s true, we should expect a return to form during the game’s various animations. Especially the victory poses.
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This wouldn’t be the first time we’ve seen grainy trailer footage make a primate-inspired video game character look funny. Remember"Craig" memesfrom theHalo Infinitehype season?
In that case, the funky-looking Brute was a result ofwork-in-progress gameplay footage. Turns out, those “gameplay not final” disclaimers actually mean something.
Is it possible that this Kong’s funky look is a result of an unfinished game being shown off? Possibly, but since the changes look pretty fundamental, it’s unlikely. Odds are, we’re getting a whole new Donkey Kong in Mario Kart 9.
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