He’s the leader of the bunch, you know him well, but where is Donkey Kong in the roster of Mario Kart World? When you load up the game and try to find the newly-redesigned DK, you may be disappointed to not be able to find him. Luckily, you can find him without too much trouble! Here’s what you need to know to unlock Donkey Kong in Mario Kart World, which tracks he’s best on, and what karts you should use when playing as him.
How to Unlock Donkey Kong in Mario Kart World
To unlock Donkey Kong, you only need to complete the Mushroom Cup in the Grand Prix mode. It might seem like a massive oversight to not have Donkey Kong unlock for completing the Banana Cup, but considering the Mushroom Cup culminates in the track DK Spaceport, it’s a good place to find him.
Placement is irrelevant here; you only need to complete the grand prix to qualify. Whether you end up in first place or 24th, you’ll be able to add DK to your playable roster. You might want to try playing the cup again if you ended up in 24th, though.
Which karts are best for Donkey Kong?
There are at least four karts that will serve Donkey Kong well against other racers. Chagrin’ Truck is easily one of the fastest, but the Baby Blooper sacrifices top speed for some increased handling you may find useful. Following these two karts, the Reel Racer and Stellar Sled offer a nice combination of speed and handling.
Donkey Kong Unlockable Costumes
Unfortunately, as if making him unlockable wasn’t enough, the DK disrespect continues with his unlockable costumes. He has one costume for players to find out in the open world. This puts him barely above minor drivers like Cow and Snowman, and below the main cast of characters. I don’t know how it happened that costumes for King Boo somehow rank above the ape that started it all, but here we are.
Donkey Kong’s only unlockable costume is All-Terrain. You can find it by eating quite a few different foods from around the map; try out a variety and you’re bound to find it before long. It’s a great looking costume. Just try to block out any memories it surfaces of 2022’s disappointing Mario Strikers: Battle League.
What tracks favor Donkey Kong?
For the most part, other heavy-class characters like Bowser might be the pick to hit the best times. But tracks like Crown City, Desert Hills, Wario Shipyard, Koopa Troopa Beach, Dandelion Depths, Choco Mountain all typically favor the heavy class, so Donkey Kong should perform well here.
Mario Kart World is available now on Nintendo Switch 2.