As one can expect with a franchise that has been running as long as the Super Mario series has, the cast of characters in it has seen a wide variety of iterations over the years. From all the way back to the arcade origins of Donkey Kong and Jumpman to where things are now, the path to reach this point has been a winding road of design variance. Despite this, for most of recent memory it feels as if the characters’ designs and proportions have finally been set in stone; their appearances finalized, so to speak. That is, until recent entries in the greater Mario franchise have started breaking the mold.
The beginning years of the Super Mario series naturally saw the most unique designs for the characters. Many of the illustrations from the time were based on very minimal 2D sprites, so the depictions tend to vary a lot from different artists. By the time 3D became the standard for the series though, it seemed like that variance slowed down dramatically. The success of the New Super Mario Bros. series in particular set the course for what felt like a more sanitized era of the franchise, with a large percentage of new entries following that art style and the cast themselves largely remaining identical in future appearances. That’s where the story would have ended had things not changed, as it seems that with recent titles Nintendo feels more open to experimenting with these well-worn designs.
The first major sign of change to come was the release of Super Mario Bros. Wonder in late 2023, in which for the first time in over 20 years, a new 2D Mario game deviated from the style set by the New Super Mario Bros. series. This would follow with Princess Peach: Showtime! in early 2024 slightly changing Peach’s design as well, and even going as far as to use her appearance from The Super Mario Bros. Movie for the box art. Given the movie’s massive success, it’s no surprise that it would have some lasting effect on the video game franchise, and that leads directly to the next iteration on Mario’s modern renaissance. During the long-awaited Switch 2 reveal, a brand-new Mario Kart game was shown off in passing, and the first thing many noticed was the character redesigns, especially Donkey Kong, who looks particularly similar to his film iteration.
Now to be fully transparent, this iteration of Donkey Kong is likely not strictly based on the Mario movie; both the movie’s design as well as the new one seen in Mario Kart seem to be based on Donkey Kong’s depictions in early concept art prior to Donkey Kong Country. There’s also a striking resemblance to Donkey Kong Jr.’s appearance in Super Mario Kart, which also shares that classic look and feel. It isn’t just Donkey Kong though; the whole cast seems to be stylized in a new way. The other changes are more subtle and harder to pinpoint, but many draw comparisons to Mario Kart 64, particularly with Bowser’s more menacing, toothy grin. As a whole though, the roster seems more cutesy, with features being more exaggerated across the board to feel fresh and distinct.
Donkey Kong Game Boy artwork from 1994
As of now, it’s hard to gather much about the style and direction of the series going forward. The footage available for the new Mario Kart is very limited, and only a small handful of characters are even clearly visible. With Super Mario Bros. Wonder and now a new Mario Kart both iterating on the character design for the series, future installments of the franchise could see a return to what 2D Mario used to be with each new entry having a fresh and distinct style to it. The next 3D Mario on Nintendo Switch 2, in particular, may take the series in a visual direction we’ve never seen before. Of course, it’s just as likely that things will eventually settle down again and a new standard style will fall into place, but only time will tell if that ends up being the case. For now, let’s take these new designs as a breath of fresh air and eagerly await what the Switch 2 era of Super Mario has in store.
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Written by Abbie Maxwell
Lifelong Nintendo fangirl, Abbie holds a special place in her heart for video games. She has always strived to provide tips and tricks to make the experiences of those who share her passions that much better.
