When Donkey Kong Bananza was announced during last week’s Nintendo Switch 2 Direct, I silently poured one out for Super Mario Odyssey 2. It was the exclusive game many thought we’d see during the extensive showcase, but Nintendo caught us by surprise by instead revealing a new Donkey Kong experience that seeks to reinvent the character in some fantastic ways.
He’s wearing clothes for a start, despite a documented history of the Kong hanging dong in every single scenario possible. There is also an extensive focus on destruction in the game, with Donkey Kong able to punch his way through anything and everything as he molds the environment to his liking. Being able to pick up parts of the terrain and change their shape to fit the task at hand is wonderfully freeform for a Nintendo platformer like this one.
Collecting nuggets of gold, defeating enemies, and exploring massive levels already appears to be tons of fun, but what intrigues me most is the involvement of Pauline.
What Is Pauline Doing In Donkey Kong Bananza?
Following its reveal last week, eagle-eyed users perusing the Nintendo of Korea website noticed that it was displaying promotional key art for Donkey Kong Bananza that featured the younger version of Pauline instead of the talking purple gem creature found in other regions.
It has since been updated, meaning that this detail was unveiled earlier than planned and, in all likelihood, intended as a surprise to be shown closer to release. But knowing this, I’m so much more excited about Bananza than I was before. I love a bit of DK, but turning his new title into a buddy cop adventure with a little girl riding on his back like they’re Sully and Boo from Monsters Inc? Absolute cinema. As excited as I am though, it also raises some questions.
During last week’s Nintendo Treehouse Live, Donkey Kong stumbled upon a small purple rock creature that speaks, and also has the ability to sing alongside our hero. I reckon this Rock and Pauline are one and the same, as it would certainly explain why it has the ability to sing and appears on both variants of the box art. Maybe she is suddenly transformed and confides in Donkey Kong that she needs help returning to her human form.
Pauline is not only the mayor of New Donk City in Super Mario Odyssey, she is also a famous musician who serenades us during one of that game’s most memorable levels.
Whatever The Answer, It Makes This Switch 2 Exclusive So Much More Exciting
Pauline’s presence in the key art also makes me think she’ll change back to her human form sooner rather than later, and could spend large chunks of the experience cheering DK on as he smashes through environments to his heart’s content. Perhaps she’ll even have stealth or rhythm sections of her own in certain lessons, turning the duo into both a narrative and a mechanical double act. It gives heart to a character I’ve never felt particularly attached to in the past, with a new appearance that allows him to be more expressive than ever before.
I cannot get over how cute Pauline’s freckles are in the leaked key art, and how she grew older and started potentially covering them up with make-up.
I’m also eager to see exactly where the storytelling goes, because in my head, I picture it as a story where Donkey Kong finds Pauline, takes her under his wing, and does everything he can to get her home. As a younger version of the character, this takes place either years in the past or in an alternate universe to Super Mario Odyssey. I suppose the wider ramifications don’t really matter in a Mario game, but it’s fun to think about. The purple creature is seen on Donkey Kong’s back through most of the early gameplay we’ve seen so far, so if my theory is true, Pauline is going to be a very big part of this game.
And her presence alongside Donkey Kong makes perfect sense when you consider her own origins. First debuting in the original Donkey Kong in 1981, in which Mario (then known as Jump Man) needed to ascend a series of increasingly complicated platforms to rescue a damsel in distress, it wasn’t Peach he was saving, but Pauline. She and Donkey Kong’s origins are forever intertwined, and now this is being twisted into an entirely new tale that takes into account decades of progress.
Donkey Kong Bananza already looked amazing, but the inclusion of Pauline as a companion character to the titular ape takes it to a whole new level.
- Released
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July 17, 2025
- ESRB
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Everyone 10+ // Fantasy Violence
- Developer(s)
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Nintendo
- Publisher(s)
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Nintendo
- Number of Players
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Single-player