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Subscribe from just £3 Takes you closer to the games, movies and TV you love Try a single issue or save on a subscription Issues delivered straight to your door or device From£9.99Subscribe now The Fantastic Four: First Steps Donkey Kong Bananza Switch 2 Starter Pack Recommended reading Donkey Kong Donkey Kong Bananza features a young Pauline, immediately raising lore implications and many questions about the very serious DK timeline Donkey Kong My Donkey Kong Bananza playthrough is being haunted by the remains of numerous iconic enemies and allies from classics like Donkey Kong Country Donkey Kong Donkey Kong Bananza is the perfect time to bring back an AWOL villain, and I'm already uncovering conspiracies that say our favorite crocodile will turn up Donkey Kong Donkey Kong Bananza takes notes from the best Mario and Zelda games: it has its own shrines, you can totally destroy levels, transform into animals, and dive into the underground Donkey Kong Donkey Kong Bananza reveals a co-op multiplayer mode that sure looks like something the Mario Odyssey team would cook up Donkey Kong Donkey Kong Bananza's "rich and thick" hero isn't butt-naked this time around because Nintendo was "conscious" of how he looked "from the back" Donkey Kong After being MIA from Mario Kart World and Donkey Kong Bananza trailers, Nintendo confirms Diddy Kong is still kicking with a new design his original creator says looks "better than ever" Platforming Games Donkey Kong Donkey Kong Bananza I beat Donkey Kong Bananza feeling 100% confident about Pauline's true identity, but now I'm deep in a rabbithole of fan theories and I don't know what to believe anymore Dustin Bailey 22 July 2025 Who is Pauline, really? When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. (Image credit: Nintendo) Ever since the full reveal of Donkey Kong Bananza, we've had one big question: why is Pauline a child? I played the game ahead of launch for our Donkey Kong Bananza review, and I finished it feeling very confident that I understood the nature of Pauline's identity. But now that the game's actually out and the DK fandom at large has started to finish it, a tidal wave of new fan theories has got me questioning everything. Obviously, this means we're about to talk major spoilers for Donkey Kong Bananza, so if you haven't yet finished the game – and you care about preserving the surprises the plot has in store – this is your cue to go smash some more bananas. Prior to the launch of Bananza, we – that is, Nintendo fans who care about the Mario and Donkey Kong lore – understood Pauline to be the same kidnapped woman, often known as Lady, from the original arcade Donkey Kong game. That Donkey Kong would morph into Cranky Kong, grandfather of the DK we've been familiar with since the Donkey Kong Country series. You may like Donkey Kong Bananza features a young Pauline, immediately raising lore implications and many questions about the very serious DK timeline My Donkey Kong Bananza playthrough is being haunted by the remains of numerous iconic enemies and allies from classics like Donkey Kong Country Donkey Kong Bananza is the perfect time to bring back an AWOL villain, and I'm already uncovering conspiracies that say our favorite crocodile will turn up How, then, could a 13-year-old Pauline team up with the current Donkey Kong, occasionally meeting up with a very well-aged Cranky Kong, in Bananza? Well, throughout the game, you'll hear young Pauline make reference to her grandma. During scenes where she naps with DK, Pauline will talk about how her grandmother's love of music inspired her. "Ah," I thought to myself, "obviously this young Pauline must be the granddaughter of the original Lady, just as DK is the grandson of Cranky Kong!" Young Pauline picked up her love of music from OG Pauline, and her post-game quest to put on a big performance in New Donk City was born out of love for her grandma, whose musical talents were displayed with Jump Up, Super Star in Super Mario Odyssey. Aw, so sweet. (Image credit: Nintendo) After reading far too many posts on the Donkey Kong subreddit, I am forced to conclude that I was a damn fool, holding beliefs so absurd, I may as well have been claiming that the Mushroom Kingdom is flat. Everyone seems willing to acknowledge that OG Donkey Kong's distressed damsel, Lady, is a separate character from our modern Pauline, but there's another possibility, and one that's quickly taken hold in the fandom. Young Pauline isn't a separate character from modern, adult Pauline – she's Lady from the original DK, who's separate from any modern incarnation. Donkey Kong Bananza is not a sequel to Super Mario Odyssey, but rather a prequel, telling the story of how that Pauline rose to prominence as the musical mayor of New Donk City. Sign up to the GamesRadar+ Newsletter Weekly digests, tales from the communities you love, and more Contact me with news and offers from other Future brandsReceive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsorsBy submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. That would make the entire Donkey Kong series, from Donkey Kong Country through DK64 and even Bananza, a prequel to the entire Super Mario series. It would also mean that Jumpman, the arcade protagonist we've believed to be Mario this entire time, isn't actually Mario at all. Modern Donkey Kong, Pauline, and Mario would, in fact, be the descendants of Cranky Kong, Lady, and Jumpman. (Image credit: Nintendo) While parts of this fandom theory started making me question myself, the idea that Jumpman and Mario are separate characters is where it breaks down for me, and I find myself returning to the original theory I felt was obvious while playing Bananza for myself. Jumpman and Lady are simply the old versions of Mario and Pauline. Young Pauline, as we meet her in Donkey Kong Bananza, is the granddaughter of the Pauline we've always known. It's clean. It's simple. It doesn't require retconning every single Donkey Kong and Mario game of the past 40 years to make the timeline work. And yet… suddenly I'm thinking of Donkey Kong Jr., the arcade sequel where Jumpman clearly, obviously dies at the end. Could it be true then, that our modern Mario is a different character? What of the continued confusion over whether Cranky is actually DK's father or grandfather? Is it possible that there's some other factor we're not considering? Or is it possible that there is no answer, and Nintendo's simply spent decades building up all this lore without a plan for what to do with it in the end? I'm laughing at myself a bit now, but with the amount of love Bananza has shown for the DK games that have come before, I can't help but wonder how the devs themselves would answer. You know what I do understand? Bananas. Here's where to find Bananas in Donkey Kong Bananza. See more Nintendo Switch 2 News Nintendo Switch 2 Dustin Bailey Social Links Navigation Staff Writer Dustin Bailey joined the GamesRadar team as a Staff Writer in May 2022, and is currently based in Missouri. He's been covering games (with occasional dalliances in the worlds of anime and pro wrestling) since 2015, first as a freelancer, then as a news writer at PCGamesN for nearly five years. His love for games was sparked somewhere between Metal Gear Solid 2 and Knights of the Old Republic, and these days you can usually find him splitting his entertainment time between retro gaming, the latest big action-adventure title, or a long haul in American Truck Simulator. You must confirm your public display name before commenting Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name. Donkey Kong Bananza features a young Pauline, immediately raising lore implications and many questions about the very serious DK timeline My Donkey Kong Bananza playthrough is being haunted by the remains of numerous iconic enemies and allies from classics like Donkey Kong Country Donkey Kong Bananza is the perfect time to bring back an AWOL villain, and I'm already uncovering conspiracies that say our favorite crocodile will turn up Donkey Kong Bananza takes notes from the best Mario and Zelda games: it has its own shrines, you can totally destroy levels, transform into animals, and dive into the underground Donkey Kong Bananza reveals a co-op multiplayer mode that sure looks like something the Mario Odyssey team would cook up Donkey Kong Bananza's "rich and thick" hero isn't butt-naked this time around because Nintendo was "conscious" of how he looked "from the back" Latest in Donkey Kong Donkey Kong Bananza sicko paints his Switch 2 cartridge yellow "to match the aesthetic of Donkey Kong 64," and as someone who just unwrapped his Switch 2, what happens next is like a horror movie Donkey Kong Bananza wins the praise of Donkey Kong Country artists who also had the job of redesigning the ape 31 years ago: "Reunited at last!" Donkey Kong Bananza player spends over 4 hours pushing its destruction to the absolute limit by smashing up an entire level: "Well, that took a while" Move over Mario Kart World, Donkey Kong Bananza finally justifies my Nintendo Switch 2 purchase My Donkey Kong Bananza playthrough is being haunted by the remains of numerous iconic enemies and allies from classics like Donkey Kong Country Nintendo is probably regretting those Switch 2 mouse controls as players flock to Donkey Kong Bananza's artist mode to create penises and other cursed sculptures Latest in News New Vampire: The Masquerade Bloodlines 2 dev won't say exactly what happened in the 10 years since Helldivers 2 boss bought it at Paradox, just that "we basically started again": "The two games are not alike" With Steam players down over 90%, Splitgate 2 dev un-releases the game, lays off more staff, and plans to shut down OG servers as fans fear another live service death: "We understand it's our last chance" As the original Silver Surfer dies, Marvel Comics takes a step closer to the MCU with a replacement that's a lot closer to Fantastic Four: First Steps Assassin's Creed Shadows passed 5 million players, 2 billion stealth kills, and most importantly 38 million animals petted, which to Ubisoft has "delivered on expectations" Wonder Man gets a very meta promo as "Simon Williams" appears at the Fantastic Four premiere Donkey Kong Bananza sicko paints his Switch 2 cartridge yellow "to match the aesthetic of Donkey Kong 64," and as someone who just unwrapped his Switch 2, what happens next is like a horror movie GAME REVIEWS MOVIE REVIEWS Donkey Kong Bananza Review: "Destruction isn't just a flashy gimmick for the Minecraft generation, it's one of the best inventions Nintendo has had in years" Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 + 4 review: "A nostalgic, must-play hit for fans" College Football 26 review: “Thanks to rivalries and dynasty, this is the greatest show on turf” Mecha Break review: "This mech battler makes up for lacking customization with a varied roster that lets me live out my Evangelion fantasy" Death Stranding 2: On the Beach review: "This tarpunk delivery epic is more Metal Gear Solid than ever, for better and worse" The Fantastic Four: First Steps review: "An occasionally thrilling heroic adventure that sits safely within a B-tier MCU range" Superman review: "A triumphant reinvention and a promising start for the DCU" Jurassic World Rebirth Review: "An unscary sequel that needed a little more time in amber" M3GAN 2.0 review: "A bold sequel with a slightly underwhelming conclusion" 28 Years Later Review: "Enough terror, splatter and suspense to satisfy” Squid Game season 3 review: "A staggeringly excellent final season wraps up one of the greatest Netflix shows ever" Ironheart review: "A relic of Marvel's content-at-all-costs era" Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 3 review: "The show's most assured run of episodes to date" Doctor Who season 2, episode 8 spoiler review: 'The Reality War' is "a mix of the good, the bad, and the truly baffling" Doctor Who season 2, episode 7 spoiler review: 'Wish World' is "an exciting and ambitious" start to the season finale, with hints of WandaVision GamesRadar+ is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. 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