Fans have noticed the credits for Mario Kart World feature two Donkey Kong actors that aren’t in the game yet, as hopes raise for a Nintendo Direct annoucement.
Now that Mario Kart World and Donkey Kong Bananza are out it’s not entirely clear where the Switch 2 goes from here. Pokémon Legends: Z-A and Metroid Prime 4 are major new releases but they’re both cross-gen Switch 1 games.
Hyrule Warriors: Age Of Imprisonment and Kirby Air Riders have been announced but they’re clearly both lower tier releases. Not only is it unclear what the next big Switch 2 game will be but it’s also a mystery as to how Nintendo will treat Mario Kart World going forward.
Clearly it will get DLC at some point, but will it work the same as Mario Kart 8 or, as new rumours suggest, will it be treated more like a live service game, with regular updates used to promote other Nintendo games.
Nintendo, as ever, has said nothing, with no hint at any DLC at all. However, right from day one, players noticed that although even the most obscure character in the game has at least three costumes, Donkey Kong and Pauline only have two – their default and one other.
This seems very peculiar given how prominent Bananza has made the pair, but it’s so suspicious that many believe it’s an indication that more will be released in order to promote Bananza. But if that’s the case, why hasn’t it happened yet?
*** WARNING: Massive Donkey Kong Bananza spoilers beyond this point. Do not read on unless you’ve already beaten the game ***
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There is no current answer as to why Nintendo hasn’t announced new costumes for Donkey Kong and Pauline, but if they are going to do it then perhaps it will happen during the rumoured Nintendo Direct this month.
But while the costume situation remains a mystery, fans have discovered something in the credits of the game which seem to point at a different Bananza-related addition.
Eagle-eyed fans on Reddit noticed that the voice actors for main villain Void Kong and (this is the big spoiler!) King K. Rool are also credited in Mario Kart World.
None of the Mario Kart World credits indicate what roles any of the actors play but all of the existing characters in the game already seem to be accounted for, so it’s a mystery as to who Yuu Hayashi and Tsuguo Mogami are, or will be, voicing.
That doesn’t guarantee it’ll be Void Kong and King K. Rool but it is hard to imagine this is all a coincidence and they’re voicing two other completely different characters, that just don’t happen to have been announced yet.
What’s much harder to guess at is whether there might be other characters from Bananza coming to Mario Kart World and whether other characters will be added as they get new games.
Diddy Kong (who was already in Mario Kart 8), Dixie Kong, and Cranky Kong are also in Bananza but they’re all nominally part of the Super Mario universe. So what happens when Metroid Prime 4 comes out? Will Nintendo add Samus Aran to Mario Kart World at that point?
It’s impossible to say, but if there’s not some kind of annoucement at the next Nintendo Direct, whenever that might be, it would now be more surprising than if there is.
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