Iconic voice behind Donkey Kong's "oh banana" says he only did it because he "got so sick of asking" others to do the voice acting, and he "never thought" Nintendo would still be using it 25 years later

As it turns out, he only did it because he was tired of asking everyone else to do the voice acting. "I asked people at Rare – does anybody want to voice a character? At the time, "Nintendo owned half of Rare," Kirkhope explains. "Oh banana" in particular has taken on a whole new life thanks to its inclusion in Donkey Kong Bananza. It's unclear if Donkey Kong Bananza is still using Kirkhope's old recording – if it is, the sound is heavily modulated – but the spirit is certainly there.