Donkey Kong Bananza Reveals First Look at Diddy and Dixie Kong

Since the Nintendo Switch 2 era began, fans have been wondering about the fate of Diddy Kong. Donkey Kong’s longtime pal has been notably missing from most games showcased on the new system, including Mario Kart World and Donkey Kong Bananza. However, Nintendo rectified the latter during today’s Nintendo Direct presentation. While Diddy Kong did not show up until very late in the livestream, the beloved character managed to make some quick appearances alongside Dixie Kong. The two could be seen at a couple of points, including a sequence where they rode on a rhino while DK and Pauline presumably rode Rambi.

Unfortunately, that brief appearance doesn’t offer any hints about the role Diddy Kong will play in the game. Diddy has been DK’s sidekick since the original Donkey Kong Country‘s release back in 1994, and the character has been a fan favorite ever since. In fact, Diddy has proven so popular that he’s actually been the star of his own games, such as Diddy Kong Racing. There were a lot of concerns that Nintendo might be avoiding using the character, but those fears might have been put to rest following today’s Nintendo Direct.

While Diddy’s appearance in Donkey Kong Bananza is cause for excitement, it seemed inevitable that the character would make an appearance somewhere. After all, Nintendo went through the trouble of giving him a new design to match the one given to Donkey Kong, so we knew he would be used somewhere. As for Dixie, her appearance in today’s livestream went pretty quick, but it seems Nintendo has largely stuck to the design that first appeared in Donkey Kong Country 2, which should make a lot of fans happy.

Outside of those two Kong characters, today’s trailer confirmed the return of Rambi, as well. There had been some big hints that the rhino would make his return, but we have now officially seen him in Donkey Kong Bananza, where he’ll be appearing alongside Cranky Kong. At one point, the Nintendo Switch 2 game was starting to feel like a big reboot of the Donkey Kong series, but with so many familiar faces making a comeback, it does seem like Nintendo is honoring what came before in a big way.

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As if all of that wasn’t enough to excite fans of the Super Nintendo games, Donkey Kong Bananza will see other callbacks to that era. The original trailer for Bananza showed 2D stages based on the Donkey Kong Country series, and today’s Nintendo Direct offered a more in-depth look. There will also be plenty of familiar sounds; while past Donkey Kong composers David Wise and Grant Kirkhope previously stated that they will not be involved with the game, several remixes of their music could be heard today, including a new take on the infamous DK Rap.

Are you looking forward to playing Donkey Kong Bananza when it gets released next month? How happy are you to see Diddy Kong in the game? Share your thoughts with me directly on Bluesky at @Marcdachamp, or on Instagram at @Dachampgaming!