Donkey Kong Country designer Kevin Bayliss is continuing to heap praise on the big ape’s new look in Donkey Kong Bananza, praising the fur color for his redesign.
We saw Donkey Kong’s new design in a tiny snippet of Mario Kart World footage back in January, and since then people haven’t stopped talking about his Nintendo Switch 2 makeover. Kevin Bayliss – who was behind Donkey Kong’s first big redesign alongside Rare’s Donkey Kong Country – has been really positive about the design since it was first unveiled, and was celebrating the launch of the game with everyone else.
Now that he’s had some more time with the game, Bayliss has talked more about the design. In response to a fan saying their only critique of DK’s new design is the fur – which looks more orange than brown – Bayliss chimes in: “Looking at my original character, his color palette wasn’t good, and I’m not sure why I even made him brown – the gorilla I based him on was gray!”
Bayliss adds that “now Pauline is introduced into the character almost as an accessory, the whole palette needed a rethink, and I think Nintendo did an excellent job balancing the colors in this new version.”
I think there’s a lot to consider – looking at my original character, his colour palette wasn’t good, and I’m not sure why I even made him brown – the gorilla I based him on was grey! But now Pauline is introduced into the character almost as an accessory, the whole palette… https://t.co/PxJ6UDHAwOJuly 26, 2025
However, as some have noted, DK’s fur color is actually tied to the Bananergy meter in-game. When his meter is full, his fur glows much brighter, which looks more orange when used with his natural fur. However, since it’s very easy to have your Bananergy maxed out, it’s not surprising that people are thinking that’s his new color. Bayliss responds to this saying: “Good use of color as a gameplay element!”
But despite this feature, Bayliss notes “you have to consider his [sic] your character will look in the environment. I think my original blended in with the jungle palette, and it worked – but things are a lot more vivid and colorful in his new game so it’s understandable why his palette was updated!”
