Amid all the chatter about Donkey Kong’s revamped appearance in Donkey Kong Bananza, one creative artist decided to take a different approach by imagining what the iconic character might have looked like in the upcoming Switch 2 game had Nintendo stuck with their classic design.
Felipe Valdés shared their thoughts on this by posting on April 20, mentioning, “I’m not a fan of DK’s portrayal in Bananza, so I reworked some of his more peculiar expressions to align closer with Rare’s original design.” They eagerly sought feedback from their followers.
The modifications focused on resizing Donkey Kong’s overly large mouth and giving his relaxed eyebrows a firmer, more defined look.
In Bananza, Donkey Kong is portrayed as an expressive, playful character. Valdés, however, aimed to recreate the tougher, vintage vibe reminiscent of classic games like Donkey Kong Country. Personally, I lean toward the nostalgic charm of the old-school style, even though I do admire Nintendo’s efforts to inject a fun, ape-like personality into Bananza’s animations.
Of course, these creations by Valdés are still images. Despite their appeal, the older design might not have meshed well with the artistic direction Nintendo pursued for Bananza. While I appreciate Valdés’ dedication and talent in this passion project, we must recognize that crafting a video game involves complexity far beyond aesthetic tweaks. While some might favor Donkey Kong’s former look, we shouldn’t undervalue the hard work of the Bananza development team. The game’s design still shines impressively.
