Shigeru Miyamoto explains why Donkey Kong’s design has changed

Donkey Kong Bananza is one of the biggest titles coming to Nintendo Switch 2 this year. While it won’t be available at launch, its July 17, 2025 release is highly anticipated by fans eager to experience Donkey Kong’s return to 3D gameplay.

One of the most surprising aspects of the game is Donkey Kong’s new design, which moves away from the ‘Donkey Kong Country’ style and instead embraces a look closer to the original arcade version.

In an interview with IGN, Shigeru Miyamoto explained the thought process behind the redesign.

Miyamoto’s vision for Donkey Kong

Miyamoto emphasized that he still plays an active role in character creation at Nintendo.

“When it comes to character design and working with them, I’m still very involved,” he said.

Reflecting on the original ‘Donkey Kong Country’, Miyamoto recalled working with Rare to create the game. Later, when Nintendo sought to evolve Donkey Kong, they developed ‘Donkey Kong Jungle Beat’, collaborating with the Super Mario 3D team, including Yoshiaki Koizumi, who worked on ‘Super Mario 64’.

Why the redesign happened

Miyamoto explained that advancements in technology allowed Nintendo to make Donkey Kong more expressive.

“We looked back at Rare’s design and reevaluated: What can we do with Donkey Kong’s look? Then, when it came to the movie, we decided to move forward with this new-generation Donkey Kong,” he said.

Interestingly, the new Donkey Kong design was finalized before the release of ‘Super Mario Bros.: The Movie’, meaning it wasn’t just a response to the film’s success.

Regardless of initial reactions, fans will soon get to experience Donkey Kong in a brand-new adventure, something that hasn’t happened since 2014.

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