Nintendo confirms Pauline’s age at Donkey Kong Bananza – leaving fans wondering if this is a prequel to Super Mario Odyssey and whether Mario will be a potential villain
Blog Andrew Joseph 19 Jun , 2025 0
Nintendo confirmed Donkey Banana Pauline's companion, Pauline, raises questions about the timeline of the young characters, and how Bananza's story will be combined with previous titles, such as Mario's original arcade game, DK is famously portrayed as the villain and Pauline is his kidnapper.
In the character profile Nintendo found on Donkey Kong Bananza’s Japanese website, Pauline is a “13-year-old girl who loves to sing. She used to live on the ground, but for some reason she was taken to the underground world and turned into a rock.”
Yesterday's revelation of this young Pauline, in Donkey Banana Nintendostrongly suggest that she is a music-loving character in Nintendo Switch Platformer Super Mario Odyssey, where adult Pauline is both the mayor of the new Donk City and the lead singer of the pop band.
Nintendo fans quickly highlighted what this might mean for Pauline’s overall timeline, and the atmosphere of DK and Pauline’s friendly team at Bananza’s is very different from the usual relationship between the kidnappers and victims. What will happen to DK, making him evil? Or have we made Pauline and DK’s friendship wrong over the years?
Donkey Kong Bananza sees two characters working together to help teenager Pauline surface in pursuit of her dream of becoming a world-renowned singer. Pauline's appearance as a singer in Odyssey shows that she did.
But while Bananza's story looks like a prequel to the Odyssey, the exact timeline here is unclear. Nintendo never said Pauline’s age in the Odyssey or any other appearance, so it is unknown how long these events took place.
But by connecting characters in these games through Pauline's musical ambitions, it also highlights the fact that Odyssey's Pauline does solve her kidnap by DK, which she calls “traumatic.”
Pauline has been kidnapped by DK many times over the years. Most notably, she was saved from the clutch of DK in the original Donkey Kong Arcade game, but then she was once again kidnapped by various pieces from the Mario vs. Donkey Kong 2 series.
In Mario vs. Donkey Kong 2: Minis in March, Pauline dares to pick gifts from Mario instead of DK and gets snatched away by Donkey Kong. In Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Mini march! Pauline is kidnapped by the irritated DK again, unhappy he missed the opening ceremony of the theme park.
Later Mario vs. Donkey Kong Kong series entries carry Pauline's interaction with DK from a kind perspective, such as in Mario and Donkey Kong: In a small dance party in the action, two teams host a mini-game there, and Mario vs. Donkey vs. vs. donkey kong: Tipping stars: Tipping stars, Tipping stars, and there, the lady plans Mario Mario Mario Mario Mario a surprising party.
What happens to the relationship between Sour DK and Pauline when Donkey Kong Bananza ends, transforming the ape from an allies to a kidnappers? Will we see the events of the original Donkey Arcade game happening inside Bananza, maybe Mario was on the day? Or have we been making mistakes over the years?
Some fans suggested that Bananza would turn the top of Mario Universe by revealing that DK and Pauline were actually friends – and that Mario has been a villain who effectively stole Pauline back when he just hangs out with Pal.
Hopefully when Nintendo launches Nintendo's next major Switch 2 release on July 17, 2025, everyone will be revealing everything.
Tom Phillips is the news editor for IGN. You can reach Tom at [email protected] or find him on the Blues @tomphillipseg.bsky.social