Donkey Kong has looked pretty much the same since Rare put out Donkey Kong Country in 1994, but it looks like Mario Kart 9 might be a turning point for the character, as he now resembles his Super Mario Bros.

Mario Kart fans are divided over the huge change to Donkey Kong's design that makes the character look like he does in the new Mario movie.

During the Switch 2 reveal, Nintendo teased the next entry in its Mario Kart series. We likely won’t know more details about the follow-up to Mario Kart 8 until Nintendo’s Switch 2 Direct event in April,

Since his debut Donkey Kong's character design has remained fairly unchanged, but his 'new' look isn't quite as fresh as you might expect. Seemingly taking inspiration from the animated aesthetics of the 2023 Super Mario Bros.