A poster on the Famiboards forums noticed this week that the Nintendo Switch news channel showed off new artwork for Diddy Kong, and while the differences may be small in the grand scheme, they make the old, Rare-era Diddy look weird by comparison. Diddy Kong’s new look now includes a full mouth of teeth, the apparent removal of the Nintendo “racetrack” logo from his signature cap, and more realistic looking toes. Diddy’s pot belly has also been raised a bit, so it’s clearer where his tummy ends and his fur begins.
Here’s an early look at the new Diddy Kong, via Famiboards poster Professor Chops:
Compare that to this 2023 artwork of Diddy Kong from Mario Kart 8 Deluxe’s Booster Course Pass:
The “new” Diddy Kong hews more closely to his Donkey Kong Country appearances than that of his brief cameo in The Super Mario Bros. Movie. Yes, he had a full set of pearly whites in Nintendo and Illumination’s animated film, but the cinematic version of Diddy appeared slightly more muscular, had eyes that were set apart, and sported a basketball-style jersey, as opposed to a tummy-accentuating crop top.
This isn’t the first time we’ve seen Diddy with teeth, though. While many of his video game appearances render him toothless, Diddy Kong’s second amiibo, from the Super Mario collection, shows the younger DK with chompers — something the Diddy amiibo released as part of the Super Smash Bros. collection didn’t.
All of this is to say that Diddy Kong has teeth now, and for the foreseeable future, no longer has to gum all of his food. Perhaps we’ll see more of this toothy Diddy in upcoming Nintendo Switch 2 games Donkey Kong Bananza and Mario Kart World, though the character hasn’t been confirmed to appear in either title just yet.
