Today’s Nintendo Direct solely focused on Donkey Kong Bananza, the next major exclusive for Nintendo Switch 2. The game has been the subject of a lot of speculation since it was announced back in April, and today’s livestream only increased discussion among the Nintendo faithful. The stream began by confirming the identity of the new character, Odd Rock. As previous leaks indicated, Odd Rock is actually Pauline, the “damsel in distress” that debuted back in the original Donkey Kong arcade game. Pauline has appeared several times since her 1981 debut, but she’s significantly younger now than she was in 2017’s Super Mario Odyssey. At this time, it’s unclear why that is, but it could confirm a major fan theory.
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The theory in question is that Donkey Kong Bananza is actually a prequel to the entire series… and all of Mario continuity, for that matter. Nintendo has always played fast and loose when it comes to an actual franchise timeline, but a prequel would help to explain Pauline’s age. This seems to be the same character, too; Donkey Kong Bananza is putting a big emphasis on Pauline’s singing abilities. Pauline’s singing played a big part in her appearance in Super Mario Odyssey, as well as subsequent games. Making Bananza a prequel would make sense in that regard, except there are a lot of elements that don’t quite line up with what we know from the past.
Previous Donkey Kong Country games have suggested that Cranky Kong is the Donkey Kong that appeared in the original arcade series. Meanwhile, the current Donkey Kong is either his son (the former Donkey Kong Jr.), or his grandson. Nintendo hasn’t always been clear on that point, though The Super Mario Bros. Movie went with the latter explanation. If Donkey Kong Bananza really is a prequel to the rest of the series, it doesn’t explain why Cranky looks as old as he has in all of the game’s footage, or how Diddy Kong looks the same age as he does in games like Donkey Kong Country.
Another possibility is that there’s some kind of time travel involved in Donkey Kong Bananza. It wouldn’t be out of the question for Nintendo; Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time featured a time travel plot that saw the eponymous brothers allied with their baby counterparts. It’s worth mentioning that Donkey Kong Bananza‘s VoidCo villains seemed to display some kind of fantastical powers in our hands-on preview of the game back in April. It’s possible that their plot in the game has something to do with pulling a young Pauline forward in the timeline. If the villains see Donkey Kong as their biggest threat, tampering with time could be a way to try to stop the big ape. Of course, the younger Pauline could even be the daughter or a relative of the original.
The final possibility is that Donkey Kong Bananza is a complete reboot, disconnected from any previous game in the series, as well as the Mario franchise as a whole. That would be a little unusual given some of the connections we’ve already seen to Super Mario Odyssey, but Nintendo has done reboots in the past. The Star Fox games, in particular, have started over from scratch a few times. This would likely be the scenario that proves most disappointing to fans of the series, but it’s not like Donkey Kong has had an in-depth narrative to follow over the last four decades, either.
Whatever the case might be, Nintendo seems to have big plans for Pauline in the new Donkey Kong game. The latest Nintendo Direct showed that she’s fully voiced this time around, and it looks like she’ll be the one pushing the storyline forward as a result. The game will also feature multiplayer elements that allow a second player to control Pauline, which can be done in TV mode or through Nintendo Switch 2’s new GameShare feature. Nintendo even announced a new amiibo based on the game, which features DK and Pauline, and can be used to unlock a new outfit based on the latter character’s look in Super Mario Odyssey.
With Donkey Kong Bananza set to be released on July 17th, we should have some answers to these questions sooner rather than later. The 3D platformer is starting to get a lot more focus from Nintendo now that Mario Kart World has been available for a couple of weeks. Donkey Kong was largely neglected during the Switch era, with the character’s appearances relegated to remasters, remakes, and Mario family titles. Things have clearly changed with Nintendo Switch 2, as Donkey Kong Bananza could prove to be one of the biggest reasons to buy the new system.
Do you think Donkey Kong Bananza is a prequel to the rest of the Donkey Kong series? Or do you think something else weird is being planned by Nintendo? Share your thoughts with me directly on Bluesky at @Marcdachamp, or on Instagram at @Dachampgaming!
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