There’s a new voice for Donkey Kong–one of Nintendo’s biggest mascots. The credits for Donkey Kong Bananza unveil that Kouji Takeda is the person behind the titular ape. It’s actually not Takeda’s first time voicing Donkey Kong, with previous experience on the Japanese dub of The Super Mario Bros. Movie as well as last month’s Mario Kart World.
According to IGN, Takeda has replaced Takashi Nagasako, who voiced Donkey Kong for over two decades. Meanwhile, there’s a new voice for Pauline as well in Donkey Kong Bananza, with Jenny Kidd taking over the English role from Kate Higgins, who had voiced her in Super Mario Odyssey.
Nintendo has seemingly been switching many of the voice actors behind the company’s collection of characters over the past few years. For instance, recently Princess Peach and Toad voice actor Samantha Kelly says she was replaced after 18 years with Mario Kart World. In 2023, Charles Martinet stepped back from voicing Mario after being behind the character since Super Mario 64 in 1996. Last month, Martinet explained that he won’t say anything weird as Mario for fans to preserve the character’s “integrity.”