Summary
-
Donkey Kong's iconic design appears to be getting a major makeover for the Switch 2.
-
Recent footage of the unannounced Mario Kart game for the upcoming console shows an obvious character redesign.
-
The artist behind the longest-running Donkey Kong appearance supports the change.
Character designer behind Donkey KongThe longest-running reviewer has shared his feelings about the apparent redesign the iconic Nintendo character will see on Switch 2. Donkey Kong has undergone three major makeovers since his world debut in 1981, and respected character designer Kevin Bayliss is now weighing in on the latest changes .
Bayliss, hired by Rare as lead character artist in 1987, is credited with developing Donkey Kong Country characters, including an overhaul of the protagonist from his antagonistic 8-bit role to his new heroic persona on the SNES. The first part of this series was released in 1994, and although there have been minor changes since then to keep up with graphical advances, Bayliss' design has remained the standard for Donkey Kong for 30 years.

Relatives
The 14 best Donkey Kong games, ranked
Nintendo's Donkey Kong has been around for a while and has been involved in a variety of memorable adventures.
Another change appears to be on the horizon for the great ape. After months of speculation, Nintendo officially unveiled the Switch 2 console in a trailer released earlier in January. While most of this trailer focused on the hardware, it also showed off footage from what appears to be an unreleased Mario Kart a game with big changes to the Donkey Kong design. While this new design has much rounder, bulkier features and a nicer demeanor than its now 30-year-old guise, Baileys seems very receptive to the change. The designer expressed his thoughts in a Twitter reaction to a fan video that borrowed live-action footage Super Mario Bros. 1993 film to detail the changes. “I love it – it's really funny! – Everything is changing! – Changes are good,” the message reads in part.
The iconic designer of Donkey Kong likes the character's new look
After being promoted to art director, Bayliss left Rare in 2005 after more than 17 years with the company. He worked at Playtonic, the creator of games such as Game Lil Gator and Yuka-Layli series, over the past 10 years. However, its classic design archetypes for Donkey Kong Country characters stretched to 2025 with the release Return of Donkey Kong County HD January 16.
As for the new design for Donkey Kong, it could be Nintendo's attempt to bridge the gap between its games and movies by forming a more unified multimedia franchise. Several comparisons have been made between the version of Donkey Kong in the Switch 2 trailer and the character voiced by Seth Rogen in Movie Super Mario Brothers from 2023, for example, rounder eyebrows, larger forearms and fists, and more defined eyes.