In a leaked poster for the new Switch 2 game Donkey Kong Bananza, we can recognize a familiar character from the Super Mario universe who mixes everything up. What's it all about?
Donkey Kong Bananza is one of the most anticipated games for the new Nintendo Switch 2, and a leaked poster from Nintendo of Korea features a familiar character that wasn't expected to be there.
Who Are We Talking About?
The poster, which was taken offline as quickly as it appeared, is very similar to the image that was published worldwide and which you can also find at the top of this article. However, there is one crucial difference: DK's tie has a child hanging from it who looks like Pauline. Her bracelet is very similar to the “odd rock” that can be seen on the official poster floating above Donkey Kong. Does this change the entire Donkey Kong timeline?
Who Is Pauline?
If you've been a fan of the Super Mario series for a while, you'll already know Pauline from Super Mario Odyssey. There, we can meet her as the mayor of New Donk City (as an adult woman). But some are unaware that Pauline already existed before Super Mario even became successful. Her first appearance is in the original Donkey Kong, as a damsel in distress who you, as Jumpman, have to rescue from the grip of the mean monkey. How could she appear as a child in Donkey Kong Bananza?
What Could This Imply?
Since we know from Rare's Donkey Kong Country that we actually encounter Cranky Kong in the arcade title, one could assume that this Bananza takes place before the original entry. The DK on the poster should therefore be CK, right? This assumption would make sense, but is contradicted by the fact that we encounter Cranky Kong in his old, bearded form in the Switch 2 game. So we can only speculate whether it really is Pauline on the poster, or if we'll get an explanation in-game.