There seems to be a rise in popularity of both old school platformers and crossover-like spinoffs. As a franchise with a strong history in both types of games, Donkey Kong has plenty of potential in the modern era. If Nintendo is currently refusing to revisit the platformer series, it may be either due to limited internal interest in such a project or a lack of ideas. There is one potentially effective way to entertain Donkey Kong fans as the gap between Tropical Freeze’s release and the next platformer’s announcement gets bigger. Indeed, Nintendo could revisit the concept of a Donkey Kong-themed racing game.
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A Modern Donkey Kong Racing Game
The Donkey Kong name is not foreign to the racing genre whatsoever. Donkey Kong himself has been in every Mario Kart game except Super Mario Kart, which has Donkey Kong Jr. in its roster. Ironically, the tie-wearing ape has yet to star in a traditional kart racer of his own. Instead, Diddy Kong was the one to get his own kart racing game during the Nintendo 64 era, and only a couple of years after his introduction.
A Donkey Kong racer was planned for the GameCube, but was ultimately scrapped. Donkey Kong Barrel Blast for the Wii was the franchise’s first true attempt to assemble all the series regulars for racing escapades, only for the public to dismiss it as mediocre because of its gimmicky controls. Since then, nothing racing-related has even been hinted at in talks about the future of Donkey Kong. Additionally, the Kremlings introduced in Barrel Blast have since been reduced to minor cameos in subsequent appearances.
A new Donkey Kong racing game would simply need to go back to the basics. When the Wii came out, motion controls were a novelty and there was pressure to shoehorn them into every game on the console. Now, while Nintendo still implements at least some form of motion control in its recent systems, there is no need to force them on games that don’t need them, especially due to the Switch’s compatibility with so many controllers. A future Donkey Kong racer would not have to follow up what Barrel Blast tried to do. It can assert its own direction and feel fresh.
Regarding the characters, a Donkey Kong racing game should simply assemble all the major Kongs from the Super Nintendo series and Donkey Kong 64, as well as important Kremlings like K. Rool, regular Kritters, Klump, and Krusha. One notable thing done by Donkey Kong Barrel Blast was the return of Lanky Kong. Another racer could easily give obscure Kongs like Chunky and Swanky the same treatment. Additionally, with Donkey Kong Country Returns and Tropical Freeze having entered the picture, there are countless possibilities regarding stages and items. From the original Donkey Kong Country’s legendary minecart levels, to Returns’ memorable silhouette stage, a Donkey Kong racer would not be limited to the famous Jungle Japes.
Overall, Donkey Kong, as a character, does not need to rely on Mario and pals for an enjoyable racing experience. His own series has plenty of characters, powerups, and set pieces to work with. Whether Nintendo wants to give the idea a shot or not, it is good to know that if Donkey Kong were to return without a platformer, a racing game could keep fans occupied in the meantime.
No known Donkey Kong game is in development.
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