Say Hello To Pauline In Donkey Kong Bananza

This one looks so much more creative than MKW… I wasn’t really into it from the previous previews… but after that Direct … it’s a system seller for me.
And in some parts it gave me Banjo Kazooie and Odyssey vibes….I’d rather have handcrafted levels with good design than tedious open worlds.

Even the amiibo looks great.

I was already gonna get the game regardless. But now I'm really hyped. This looks like it could potentially even surpass Mario Odyssey!

Pauline is a child and DK is a transforming beast of boundless kinetic energy.. nice

thatonlyraisesFURTHERquestions.gif

I am so sold on this game. I dont need to see any more of it, it is exactly what I hoped for. The addition of a 2nd player for my 5 year old to interact with sweetens the deal.

This game went from a day one buy to a pre-order for me. And I absolutely need that Amiibo!

Adorable (and an interesting way to "recontextulise the DK / Mario saving Pauline canon)... although saying that Cranky Kong was the OG DK wasn't he?

Ahhh... who cares.

Still can't quite get over her singing the original DK tune as a song too.

What an amazing direct! Sold.

I was on the fence, but now I'm sold.

Not a huge fan of all the singing stuff though.

Coop is pretty much what you'd expect from Nintendo at this point. Point and click. It's a shame we can't get two DKs or Diddy.

Pauline is a solid addition and overall outside of the coop aspect I really like the direction this game has gone in. Day 1!

I feel like such a dork saying this but how does this make any sense with the lore of Cranky Kong being the original arcade DK, which is seemingly referenced in this very game no less? Is time travel somehow involved???

This is definitely why DK and Pauline only have one costume each in MKW. They'll be getting a lot more.

Ok Pauline is a Child so is this a prequel of the original Donkey Kong? But Cranky kong was the original Donkey Kong and is in this game? What time line is this?

That was a great direct! The game looks absolutely fantastic and, while the first time it caught my attention, now I have no doubts that I'll get it regardless of reviews. I'm willing to bet that it will do great in that regard either way. Sculpt mode and amiibo functionality were very forgettable, but it really doesn't matter because after seeing the core gameplay I'm sure it's gonna be one of the best platformers ever.

That detail of her dress being torn to match the original Pauline design too!

....now why is she a child and how does this make sense?!

@cvrator explains the (thankful) lack of a "baby" pauline as well. hopefully Kid Pauline version will make the roster at some point down the line.

This looks awesome!
Do we get the point of Pauline being Oddrock for the first 5 minutes of the game?

Donkey Kong and Pauline being the two characters in Mario Kart World with one additional outfit should have been a CLUE but I completely missed it. I'm so excited for more Pauline.

@Splash_Woman I'm in your boat. I have always hated DK. I hated when DK Jr was put into Super Mario Kart, that's how far back my hate for DK goes. But the game looks great and Pauline is a part of the new DK canon girl power I'm in

Ugh ... Nintendo reverting back to sidekick characters .... no thanks. Was not a fan of the Direct ... showing my age but the the visuals were overwhelming and the narrator was annoyingly over the top.

This looks incredible and its brilliant to see Donkey Kong and Pauline back together after all these years. Does this mean it was actually Mario kidnapping her back in the original game?

I'm super excited for this, it looks like they're taking the best parts pf Odyssey and sprinkling a bit of Banjo Kazzoie magic on top

I did not expect her and Odd Rock to be one and the same.

I has been negative, I know...
I have now a Switch 2 which I were gifted by sheer "pity", I actually thanked no twice, but in the end I realized that you only lives once soooo.
So I can't complain about it anymore.

What a crazy difference compared with how it looked before, It is like an entirely new game now. I had literally no interest in the game before, but now I'm pretty interested in the game, not day one purchase still.

Titanic Scion is still my number one for Switch 2 this so far.

I can't wait to see the future of Switch 2 since this is just the beginning, just wait for some more years and we'll see the true insanity of Switch 2 then.

Oh my god... That chat on the direct on Youtube is beyond cancerous, like the majority of the internet, sadly I was a part of it, I knows! But there're many tens of millions of individuals which are much worser ones than me.

I'm really afraid of Monolith Soft's next game on Switch 2, now when they finally has real power to work with... My socks will 100% be flying off me then.

@HammerKirby Maybe Arcade Pauline is actually Bananza and Mario Odyssey Pauline's mom, too?

This Direct.. changed everything. I'm excited to play it as soon as I get a Switch 2.

@YunoboCo Your loss. This looks amazing.

Young Pauline and Cranky in the same game? The people who care about DK lore are in shambles right now.

And thus Donkey Kong lore became even MORE confusing.

But what is the lore of this game?! How can Pauline be a child right now when the Donkey Kong we’re playing as is supposed to be the grandchild of the Donkey Kong that kidnaps her as an adult? Or are we playing as Cranky Kong while he was originally Donkey Kong? THEN WHO IS CRANKY KONG IN THIS GAME?! Is Donkey Kong a title rather than a name? brain melts

Meanwhile, at Nintendo: Lol, we’re not thinking about it this deep. Just laugh at funny monkey and have fun

You can see they really tried to cater to all of the DK audiences with NPC looking Rare as hell and musical references to DKC and level design looking like classic DK. This plus the super Odyssey vibe cranked up to 11 of having cutscenes looking almost like pixar stuff and themed songs. You can definitely expect a movie at some point it looks like it's been made easy to adapt.

It's a huge crossover. And it seems to work too.
I mean you can see it's not going to be Country in 3d but it looks very good nonetheless. Actually the direct was so great it opened the floodgates of hype and expectations for me way wider than they originally were for that game. It better deliver now!

Almost flawless as a direct. All it needed to be certified 100% awesomeness was a kremling at some point but with what's being apparently delivered it is hard to complain.

Also I hope that David Wise is involved but damn the soundtrack sounds insane. Some of the remixes here sounded so good! I really hope he is involved at least or even the one guy behind it because if he isn't this is going to seem a little unfair to be honest.

@Scarmucci What do you mean? People love DK and wanted to see more of Pauline.

She’s absolutely adorable! I guess this will be her new backstory. But if she’s a kid now and this is her first official canonical appearance, then who was the woman Cranky kidnapped in the old arcade games?

This is the sort of game we'd normally have to wait until the holidays for, so glad it is only a month away!

@YunoboCo WE GET IT. YOU HATE NEW DONKEY KONG STUFF.

@BenAV you’re not playing your switch 1 backlog on your switch 2?

I’d recommend it!

Pauline: was a rock... suddenly is a child?!
Me:

The skill level and RPG elements bring this up another notch. I was expecting this to be a good direct, but this way outdid my expectations.

And, I'm glad Nintendo gave Pauline a voice. It helps bring her to life. She has such a cute and sassy personality. Great job Nintendo! Another banger and we have more to come!

To y’all, since when is DK lore a thing?

It went down the toilet when DK Jr disappeared.

She’s so adorable!

The game looked great, I no longer need no further convincing.

Fans: But what about the timeline?
Nintendo: Monke go smash
Fans: But nothing makes sense?
Nintendo: MONKE GO SMASH!
Fans: Monke go smash?
Nintendo & Fans: MONKE GO SMASH!!!

There is no way this game is not being made by the Mario Odyssey team. There are so many similar elements between both games! However, that might mean that the next flagship Mario title will not release before 2-3 more years… Let’s wait and see!

Very much looking forward to this.

I can't wait for this game day one for me looks so amazing singing I get used of it just love DK face expression puts a massive smile on my face I have a Xbox series X and ps5 but the difference is Nintendo are kings making fun and funny games 💛💛💛💙💙💙

Pauline being in is really cool and she's implemented pretty well.
I think I'll get the game. It looks good. Dunno yet if I'll finish this to completion though.

@YunoboCo Explain to me how. Honest to god I wanna hear this.

@MarzoriuM
You know nintendo though. They'll just tell you Cranky is not really a name you see. It's more like a title in the Kong tradition so when you get old and annoying enough you get to be the Cranky of that gen. Each Cranky when they become Cranky gets to choose who's the new Donkey too. There you are problem solved.

Or they take the problem the other way around and explain Cranky kidnapped Pauline when he was young and this Pauline is like Pauline's daughter named after her... out of respect? Or she's not actually called Pauline but the Kongs call her so because for them all human singers are Paulines? And also that Pauline is... a rock for... reasons?

Somehow I'm not too enthusiastc about Pauline. Don't get me wrong, I don't hate the character, but since Odyssey she has been nothing but that song, I kinda hope I don't hear it on Bananza (granted I haven't watched the Direct, saving it for later).

Other than that, I was already sold on this game. Getting the amiibo for sure, if only to have something with DK's new design on my shelf.

I'm confused as to what this means in terms of a prequel. If Diddy,Dixie and Cranky are there than how old would they technically be now when Pauline's grown up?

plz tell me this isn’t the same Donkey who kidnaps her years later

@HammerGalladeBro well to be fair the trailer opens up with a completey new song.

@Boo-Buster don’t you know? just like Garry Coleman, Diddy does not age

DK Bananza looks incredible!
But honestly what's the hate with MKW, it's a breathtaking open world racing game with platforming mechanics and I love it, definitely my favorite MK alongside Double Dash.

@Shepdawg1 They may be accounting some of the Mario Movie lore. like Mario can't have met Donkey Kong until after he went to the Mushroom Kingdom. But that doesn't mean new canon Pauline couldn't have met DK as a child given she lives in the same city.

But the game looks very exciting, does make me think that 3D Mario might be something entirely new on Switch 2. Given Bananza looks like it's effectively an Odyssey sequel/prequel. Which I don't think they'd do if the next 3D Mario was going to build on it.

@mlt I’m just taking this as Nintendo finally admitting the characters from the OG Donkey Kong aren’t the same as the ones of today

@MarzoriuM I was thinking the same thing, or could it be DK origin story? Since DK himself seems younger too, nevertheless the game seems great 👍🏻

@mlt I guess I have become a Cranky Kong too then.

@HugoGED Because people think it’s only worth $50

@Friendly I think they changed things up so that DK Jr is now just DK

I am sure the guys who design characters for Kart/Party/Sports are delighted they can now make "Kid" versions of characters, not just baby ones.

@StewdaMegaManNerd
I mean that would actually be kind of awesome. So they part ways at some point and then they grow up and he gets angry about being separated from her for some reason and tries to kidnap her because he's so attached to her and he doesn't want to understand that she started a new life in a faraway place completely foreign to DK.

And that harkens back to King Kong lore! They're going to get sued by universal all over again!

@Scarmucci Bro, the narrator is annoying to all ages.

Donkey Kong Bananza is looking like the Switch 2's Game of the Year. What an amazing Nintendo Direct.

@N00BiSH Thanks for the heads-up. If it's a different song I'm fine with that.

Probably is just that I got tired of Jump Up, Super Star! Hope the same doesn't happen with the new theme song.

@Dr_Lugae Oh yeah, apart from the confusing lore implications, this game looks really fun.

So apparently Pauline got laser therapy at one point

@MarzoriuM
I'm becoming more of a Cranky myself day after day. That's deep man. That's like the cycle of life.

@Yoshi3 I did watch the direct but this part I was not sure of. It is levels then? Not open world? I prefer levels. I find open world too overwhelming.

Am more interested in this game now after the direct.

As for Nintendolife, do we really need five and counting articles when surely one would do? 🤔

DK lore never made sense from the beginning, as original DK got old and turned into cranky kong, that means many years passed since original DK, but Mario's still young compared to cranky.

@StewdaMegaManNerd Lol. I did SPOT that too.

I really like the design. They could have just done what they normally do and just make her squatter and call it a day but she's got new hair, freckles, a new outfit that both harkens to her "future" design whilst being different and in keeping with this game's feel.

@StewdaMegaManNerd If this is a prequel to Donkey Kong for Arcade then it finally make sense as to why DK kidnapped her in that game. Cranky and Pauline probably had a good relationship at first but perhaps this game will explain why Pauline turns her back on DK (Cranky) and went to have a relationship with Mario's father, Jumpman who's name is also Mario.

DK transforms into a frickin Zebra and people here trying to understand the lore Lmao, just enjoy.

@mlt And then the next movie will get shelved

Wow, it’s more exciting than Dallas and Dynasty put together!

@mlt That would be a great reason for all that happening! My only confusion is over the lore. I was under the impression The DK who took Pauline was now Cranky Kong? Or was that scrubbed? DK Lore is getting deeper underground now!

@StewdaMegaManNerd
And isn't that park in the US a universal one? They even recently announced DK stuff for it. This is not going to end well.

@michellelynn0976 Just not a fan of sidekick characters ... Navi, Fi, etc. Especially if they do not shut up.

This Direct just made the wait for the game that much harder. What an incredible looking game!!!

@Johnny44 And I thought i was showing MY age !!!

@Scarmucci Maybe I am talking about the reboots….! 🤭

Her dream to be a pop idol definitely implies this is a Mario Odyssey prequel and her young age implies this is a prequel to the Mario series as a whole. That’s kind of a big deal. It raises up some questions about her, Cranky and the DK we know.

This game looks great! It hasn’t shaped up the way I hoped when it comes to characters but it’s still a homage to the whole DK series and it should be very fun and engaging. Still hyped!

@Johnny44 Ohhh I didn't know there was such a thing. The original Dallas pre-dates the original DK in the arcades. And I think the original Dynasty came out around the time of the original DK. ... So there's my age !!! LOL

Ok this game is officially adorable. Feels like an animated film.

The Direct was chock full of goodness. My preorder was justified! I’ll look forward to picking this up next month.

It’s like Wreck-It Ralph the video game! 😁

I was already looking forward to this game - more than Mario Kart World I'll admit - but that Direct blew my expectations out of the water. I KNEW they were holding stuff back and honestly didn't understand a lot of the negativity. Especially since the theories seem correct regarding the Super Mario Odyssey team handling it.

I love that Pauline is (officially!) confirmed as a partner and love the personality she exudes. A lot of the new DK forms, new characters, and subterranean worlds look fun to interact with and experience as well. The gameplay looks like a fun and chill way to unwind after a crazy day.

So glad I neither know nor care about the lore.😂

That said, how old do we think Pauline is supposed to be? At first I thought a little kid like 5 or so but then she spoke and she seemed older like the tween racing girl in Wreck it Ralph and then the trailer ends with them touching fingers and I start getting a weird Woody Allen vibe like what the heck is going on?!?!🤣

So now I'm wondering if she's just quickly aging in game time and it ends with her being full Odyssey adult age b/c planet core gravity or some such?🤷‍♂️

Either way I'm all about the chirpy sidekicks. Hoping she has some cute "Don't ever do that to me again!" line if DK dies in a boss fight like Daxter said to Jak. 🤞

Sorry for the late comment.
I was watching ELIO by Disney Pixar this evening at my local cinema.
So, the first minute I got the epic singing vibes like WICKED For Good and i thought Ariana Grande was singing lol.
Color me surprised as I found the other articles, I saw another simian characters in this Donkey Kong game
One of female simian character I saw reminded me of Twintelle design from ARMS and that Grumpy Kong looked like Ganondorf lol. 🤭
Okay, the gameplay looked very intriguing with Open World style and a lot of exploration.
And Donkey Kong can do wall climbing like in Kingdom Hearts 3?? Wow!
Oh, the Zebra transformation, that was crazy and unique.

I didn't know pauline will be in the game, but the surprise is pauline still a child in this game, so would that make mario odyssey set in the future timeline from this game since pauline already mature in odyssey?

Also I'm getting pixar movie vibe from this game, reminds me of wreck-it ralph

I'm more than excited, I'm Bananzaed !

Looks very good!

Looks awesome!

And I definitely can't take seriously the opinion of a person who willingly presents themselves as the most annoying Zelda character to come down the pike in a long while, lol

I know that continuity and lore is generally not something that Nintendo cares about, especially for Mario-verse type stuff, but I wonder if they'll even attempt to clarify the timeline within the game. Is this a prequel? A retcon that rewrites Pauline and DK's history? Or is it in the "modern" era, and adult Pauline got turned into a rock, and then came out of as a kid due to some magical de-aging malarky? Is time travel or time dilation involved? Will Doug Bowser come to my house and break my legs for being such a pedant?
Eh. Regardless of the explanation (if there even is one), it doesn't really matter to me as long as the game is good. I'm really excited to play it. Everything about the Direct just made it look even better to me.

Honestly this is pretty cool to see Pauline in a actual new Donkey Kong game. Also for anyone confused over Pauline being a kid in this game, the Mario universe is no stranger to time travel (Partners in time, yoshi’s island DS, and yoshi’s new island) so my main bet is that time travel is involved.

This was a truly big surprise. I didn't expect a Donkey Kong game at all to have such an engaging story pitch. Now I'm really interested in the story.

I love Pauline. If you were to ask me my favorite female companion to Mario it would be Pauline. (Daisy and Rosalina are tied for second. Peach doesn't even make the list.)

@HammerKirby It's okay, I care about DK canon too 😛

@Scarmucci Uh I guess. Wait until the game comes out.

@michellelynn0976 Already a hard pass for me ... hope everyone else enjoys it though.

@Shepdawg1 in my own head cannon, it’s a prequel where you play as Cranky when he was Donkey and the Cranky of this game is his father/grandfather. However it falls apart when you bring Diddy and Dixie into the mix 🤔 I vow to not let my need for continuity ruin my experience with this game!

@Scarmucci Thank you.

@MathByThePixel Oh for sure, continuity of canon is probably the last thing I’m concerned about with this game. I’m here for fun, and this game looks very fun.

I find it really weird that people assume this game is a prequel when all the shenanigans that happened in the Mario World could present over a billion other possibilities the story could use to make Pauline a kid before coming to the conclusion that Nintendo wants to entirely retcon the 1981 DK game.

No one else is mentioning how strongly Bananza resembles Wreck It Ralph now that Pauline has been properly introduced! From her songs that sound surprisingly heartfelt to her full VoiceOver, this game has suddenly taken on a more movie-like quality.

Yeah, this definitely has similarities to WRECK-IT RALPH. I wouldn't put it past Nintendo to go anywhere with the canon. The Koopalings, the early vs. later placement of titles in The Legend Of Zelda timeline, etc. When Nintendo made games in the 80s, they made the gameplay first, so it was fun, then the backstory to support the gameplay. I feel they still do this, though less so, because of the popular concept of a canon, and of, aside from core ideas, and mechanics, not wanting to continually retread specific scenario concepts. Ex. Super Mario Sunshine was a beach themed SM title that has never really had that theme revisited as an entire game theme.

I see Nintendo really was holding a lot back, even in the play testings, cos this looks way better and more feature packed than I thought before.

I'm still just tossing up whether I actually want to dump over $100 AUD on it though, as good as it looks

To be fair, Wreck-It-Ralph was kind of a Donkey Kong parody first.

Why is she a little kid?

@HammerKirby I have no idea? Then again, Mario and Luigi went from being two plumbers from Brooklyn, to being babies in the mushroom kingdom with Yoshi as a babysitter.