It is one of those heated debates that usually happen in such an intense and loyal community as Nintendo. Since the breakthrough and great success of the Mario movie, fans have been talking about the particular design change of its most iconic characters, particularly Donkey Kong, who has an aesthetic and facial elements quite different from the usual in recent times, leaving mixed opinions.
The debate took a new twist when Donkey Kong Bananza was unveiled, the first big Donkey adventure since Tropical Freeze (in 2014) and the first in 3D since Rare made Donkey Kong 64 (in ’99). Fans found that the design of the video game was the same as the movie, implying a kind of “canonization”, leaving some grumbling opinions that the movie had influenced the video game in such a way. But Nintendo does not give stitch without thread, and sometimes we forget the amount of time that a video game can be in development: it has been just the other way around.
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It has been in an Ask the Developers, the format that continues the tremendous legacy of the Iwata Ask, when Bananza producer (and Mario Odyssey Director), Kenta Motokura along with several members of the development, was asked about the design of the film and the coincidence with what was seen in Bananza’s Kong, to which he answered without hesitation: “Donkey Kong Bananza sparked the creation of a design which I think better conveys the new Donkey Kong.”
“That was a hot topic of discussion”
“Donkey Kong began life in the arcades as Mario’s nemesis, but since then he’s had many guises depending on the game, be that a cool, rugged king of the jungle or a lovable goofball. So, rather than just giving him a simple design update, we strove for a design that would get to the core of what makes Donkey Kong who he is, bringing out his unique characteristics and appeal.”
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Motokura adds that they interviewed veteran illustrators who had worked with the character since its inception. “We also interviewed people who’d drawn illustrations of Donkey Kong from way back to preserve the image of Donkey Kong in the mind of his creator, Miyamoto-san,” he says.
The process was not without minute details. “We got no shortage of advice. From general guidance regarding his body frame and unique facial expressions, right down to the smallest detail, like how his pointy hairdo is essential…but you can’t make it too long,” Watanabe joked amid laughter shared with the rest of the team.
One of the keys to the redesign was to adapt Donkey Kong to a modern three-dimensional environment. “Also, as we were testing out various moves with a temporary character model in the early phases of development, it became apparent how much bigger Donkey Kong is than Mario, giving him a considerable on-screen presence,” Watanabe details. “This meant we could properly showcase a wide range of facial expressions, and by combining them with powerful moves, we felt we could create something new in terms of game feel, too.”
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Motokura also notes that paying attention to how the character looks from behind, the most common view in a 3D game, was critical. “The back view of Donkey Kong just looks like a mass of brown fur, which would make for a monotonous visual if we simply rendered him in 3D. That inspired us to make some creative adjustments to his outfit, such as giving him britches and suspenders. We also made his fur look rich and thick.”
Beyond the video game, Donkey Kong has recently appeared in The Super Mario Bros, Movie (2023) and in Mario Kart World, but this new installment represents a total reinvention of the base design. “While overhauling the design, we returned to where it had all started,” Watanabe concludes. “We took Miyamoto-san’s original Donkey Kong as the basis, adding design elements from Donkey Kong Bananza here and there.”
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