Summary
The latestDonkey Kong Bananzateaser has a clue that Rambi the Rhino could be making a return appearance. A newDonkey Konggame was revealed during the Switch 2 Nintendo Direct livestream earlier this month, with a trailer of Nintendo’s great ape embarking on a new adventure to recover the Golden Bananas from the evil VoidCo.Donkey Kong Bananzais the first mainlineDonkey Konggame since 2014’sDonkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze, and it will launch on the Switch 2 on Jul 05, 2025.
Donkey Kong Bananzawill introduce plenty of new characters and enemies, such as the talking Odd Rock that guides DK on his journey against the sinister apes of VoidCo. A few familiar facesmight also be encountered inDonkey Kong Bananza, with many sources confirming that the elderly Cranky Kong will appear at some point. A since-removed promotional image on Nintendo’s Korean website also supposedly featured a girl resembling Pauline, the damsel in distress from the originalDonkey Konggame, who recently made a comeback of her own inSuper Mario Odysseyand later spin-offs.
Now, some fans think Rambi the Rhino could be returning to smash his way through enemies inDonkey Kong Bananza. The Nintendo Today mobile app recently posted a brief video ofthe redesigned Donkey Kongmaking funny faces, and the background music sounds suspiciously like Rambi’s theme fromDonkey Kong 64. Even Grant Kirkhope, the composer behindDonkey Kong 64’s iconic soundtrack, noted this on Twitter, believing that this is a sign that Rambi will appear inDonkey Kong Bananza.
Rambi Could Return in Donkey Kong Bananza
Rambi the Rhino first debuted in1994’sDonkey Kong Country, in which he used his horn and powerful charge to clear enemies and obstacles for Donkey Kong after being rescued by the great ape. He would return in most of the laterDonkey Kong Countrygames and make cameo appearances in a wide variety of connected titles and spin-offs, up to and including his likeness being used as an emblem inThe Super Mario Bros. Movie.
The apparent use of Rambi’s theme music in the latestDonkey Kong Bananzapromotional video doesn’t necessarily confirm that he will appear inthe latestDonkey Konggame, as it could just be a case of Nintendo reusing a familiar tune in an unrelated way. However, it would be interesting to see how Rambi’s charge abilities would factor intoDonkey Kong Bananza’s 3D gameplay, especially since the game will feature destructible environments in an open world similar toSuper Mario Odyssey.
