Donkey Kong Bananza: Is There a Secret Pauline Plan, or is Nintendo Having Fun With Us?

According to The Gamer, Super Mario Odyssey director Kento Motokura, Donkey Kong Bananza director Wataru Tanaka, and Bananza art director Daisuke Watanabe were recently interview for Famitsu, where they discussed Bananza‘s development. Motokura was asked if Bananza’s Pauline was the same Pauline from Super Mario Odyssey, and he responded like this: “That’s… Of course, the developers have a plan for it, but I’m sorry, but I’d like you to use your imagination.”

So What The Heck Does That Mean?

The Bananza developers have said before that they want people to relax and simply have fun with the game’s various references. At this point, they might even be tired of people asking about the Pauline and the timeline. Some people have speculated that Bananza‘s Pauline could be the daughter of the Pauline in Super Mario Odyssey. Motokura’s declaration that players should use their imaginations seems to indicate that fans are free to have their own head canons, but his statement that they have a plan might indicate that there is a canonical answer to the Pauline dilemma.

So, what could the plan be? Does this mean a Banaza sequel could be on the way? Will one of the Paulines show up in the next mainline Mario game? Pauline could even get her own game that reveals that yes, there are multiple generations of Paulines, just like how there are multiple generations of Donkey Kongs.

Conclusion

I have been playing the heck out of Donkey Kong Bananza ever since I got my Switch 2, and I love young Pauline. If she shows up in another game, I would definitely support the idea. If she and original Pauline turn out to be the same person, that’s great. If she turns out to be original Pauline’s daughter, that’s also great. Nintendo has always cared more about creating great standalone experiences than worrying about an overarching timeline, so maybe we should just enjoy Donkey Kong Bananza for the amazing game that it is.