Donkey Kong Bananzahas just confirmed that Pauline is back in the latest Nintendo Direct livestream. WhenDonkey Kong Bananzawas first announced in April, fans quickly took notice of a mysterious girl accompanying DK on his latest quest to obtain the legendary Golden Bananas in some leaked key art. Many began to theorize that the game could actually be a prequel to 2017’sSuper Mario Odyssey.
The girl in question looked suspiciously like Pauline, the damsel in distress who first appeared in theoriginalDonkey Kongarcade game. Once Princess Peach took over as Mario’s primary love interest, who tends to get captured in eachMariogame, Pauline started appearing less and less - that is, untilSuper Mario Odyssey, where she was reintroduced as the mayor of New Donk City. Since then, Pauline has shown up in spin-offs likeSuper Smash Bros. Ultimate,Super Mario Party Jamboree, and the recently releasedMario Kart World.
Today, Nintendo revealed a wealth ofnew information aboutDonkey Kong Bananzain a special Nintendo Direct, including an official confirmation that the girl in the promotional artwork is indeed Pauline. More specifically, she is the strange, stone-like creature Odd Rock, who helps DK on his journey. At one point near the beginning of the newDonkey Kong Bananzatrailer, her rocky shell breaks open during an encounter with a gigantic gorilla, revealing the young Pauline underneath.
Donkey Kong Bananza Trailer Confirms Young Pauline
The narration reveals that while DK is simply looking for abig banana horde inDonkey Kong Bananza, Pauline is trying to find a way home after being mysteriously transported to the underground world of Ingot Isle. Luckily for her, legend has it that anyone who reaches the planet’s core will have a wish granted, so she and DK embark on an adventure that will take them to the depths of the underground.
Most notably of all, Pauline is a child inDonkey Kong Bananza, while her previous appearances have depicted her as an adult woman. This seems to suggest thatDonkey Kong Bananzais a prequel to these past games, with many fans already drawing new theories about how it will connect to those old adventures at the end. If this is indeed the case, thenDonkey Kong Bananzacould put a whole new spinon the originalDonkey Kongand the rest of the series. Fans likely won’t know for sure howDonkey Kong Bananzarelates to past installments until the game launches on July 17.
