Metro Kingdom
| Metro Kingdom | |
|---|---|
| Type | Kingdom/City |
| Size | "Ridonkulous" |
| Debut | Super Mario Odyssey |
The Metro Kingdom is one of the kingdoms within the world of the Super Mario series that were featured in Super Mario Odyssey. It consists of one vast metropolis, known as New Donk City. It is also notable as having been retroactively established as the setting of Donkey Kong.
Information[edit]
Known as The Big Banana and the city that never leaps, New Donk City was a sprawling city supported by a power structure that drew energy from many Power Moons. This power was mostly generated at an underground power plant. The city was known for its tall skyscrapers, and its tallest one was New Donk City Hall, which acted as a symbol of the city. The city was also known for constantly having some construction and development projects underway (one of which had been the setting of Donkey Kong), which did not even use safety rails. The locals were apparently used to this.
Their currency consists of portrait-stamped coins bearing images of the mayor's face on one side and city hall on the other. New Donk City's industry is said to rely on information and advertisements. The city is also known for its lively community of street performers, and their popularity has caused demand to fall for theater space around the city. Still, some theaters run features apparently based on Donkey Kong and Super Mario Bros.. The city is also known for being the origin of the Crazy Cap company and houses their flagship store in a former theater venue. The city regularly holds festivals which celebrate the city's history (in a the form of several 8-bit environments based on scenarios from Donkey Kong) with musical performances.
Its population consists mostly of ordinary humans, who are referred to as New Donkers. Rather than being ruled by any monarchy, New Donk City is governed by a mayor who essentially also acts as the authority of the Metro Kingdom. During the time of Super Mario Odyssey, Pauline acted as its mayor. She was very popular and beloved by the populace, and despite her dislike for machines she did her best to keep the city's power going. The city faced a crisis during Odyssey when Bowser and his minions attacked. They used a [[Enemies in Super Mario Odyssey|Mecha Wiggler[[ to drain energy through city hall and filled the city with posters for Bowser's upcoming wedding. Mario eventually arrived and defeated the Mecha Wiggler, driving Bowser's group out of the city. Afterwards, Mario helped to fully bring the power grid back online and was honored at the next festival.
Locations[edit]
One notable thing about this city is that its street names and establishments are all named after different Donkey Kong-related characters, mostly relating to the Donkey Kong Country games:
- Diddy's Mart
- Dixie Street and Dixie Theatre
- Cranky Avenue
- Candy Cafe
- Tiny's Piroshskis
- Squawks Park and Squawks Park Street
- Expresso Espresso and Expresso Street
- Rambi Street
- Rattley Street
- Krool Avenue
- Banana Bagels
Other Appearances[edit]
Video Games[edit]
- In the new versions of Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker for Nintendo 3DS and the Switch, a level is included that is based on New Donk City.
- New Donk City will be featured as a stage in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.
Trivia[edit]
- It is based on New York City, which was Mario and Luigi's home in other versions of canon, combined with Donkey Kong references. Its nicknames are also references to nicknames for New York City: the Big Apple and the city that never sleeps.
- The appearance of New Donk City Hall is based on New York's Empire State Building. Also visible in the city's backdrop are structures resembling the Chrysler Building and the Brooklyn Bridge.
- The city contains advertisements for the original Donkey Kong arcade game, using its actual artwork. There is also some graffiti in the city based on that art as well.
- With this kingdom/city being established as the setting of Donkey Kong, it seems to solidify even further that Mario and Luigi have spent all of their lives in the world containing the Mushroom Kingdom, rather than spending their early lives in an equivalent of "the real world" as in other media versions.
- Donkey Kong Land had previously included a city called Big Ape City, which had itself been implied to be the setting of Donkey Kong.