Theory: New Donk City's Extended Locations

Abstract

New Donk City from Super Mario Odyssey is the same location as Big-City from Donkey Kong (1994), Big Ape City from Donkey Kong Land and the city in Donkey Konga 2 (including the Konga Land and Port City areas).

Additionally, the Forest from Donkey Kong (1994) is the setting of Donkey Kong Jr. (Arcade) and the Snowy Mountain from Donkey Konga 2 is the setting of the Mammoth Glacier and Alpine Peak tracks in Donkey Kong: Barrel Blast, as well as the setting for the Mario Kart DS track DK Pass and Mario Kart Wii track DK Summit.

For a deeper dive into this topic, please check out Lady Sophie's Marioverse Sightseeing's installment on New Donk City.

Argument 1: The Construction Site from Donkey Kong (Arcade) reappears in Donkey Kong (1994) and is shown to be next to Big-City.

Argument 2: Big Ape City is described as "Donkey Kong's [now known as Cranky Kong] favorite stomping ground, Big City." in Donkey Kong Land's instruction manual. It is reached from DK Island via zeppelin. New Donk City is also described as having a historical link to the events in Donkey Kong via the New Donk City Festival and also official Twitter posts.^[1]^[2]^[3]

Argument 3: All four locations are large urban areas filled with skyscrapers and various recurring construction equipment such as red girders, wooden barrels, oil barrels, ladders and hammers. New Donk City is described as being constantly under construction, with "cranes, girders, and manholes scattered everywhere."

Argument 4: The main singleplayer mode of Donkey Konga 2 has DK performing on the streets of the city. New Donk City is known for being strongly associated with music, with the New Donk City Festival and plenty of street performers.

Argument 5: The Forest stage 2-4 in Donkey Kong (1994) bears a striking resemblance to the Vine Scene level in Donkey Kong Jr. (Arcade) Additionally, the Forest world itself is shown to be directly next to Big-City.

Argument 6: Snowy Mountain, Mammoth Glacier, Alpine Peak, DS DK Pass, Wii DK Summit are all located on snow-covered mountains with ski lifts and winter villages, with Mammoth Glacier and Alpine Peak specifically being said to be located on the "Snowy Mountains course". Despite DS DK Pass and Wii DK Summit having very light DK theming, they are named after him, perhaps due to their proximity to New Donk City and the surrounding areas with many DK-themed locations.