In a surprise that has literally created a buzz among old school enthusiasts and the younger generation too, Nintendo officially revealed Pauline’s age in the new Donkey Kong Bananza. The piece of trivia that otherwise used to be the domain of fan speculation for then-fab character now has been officially announced there through official sources, and another aspect has been added to her recent spate of renewed popularity.
On the Donkey Kong Bananza character profile for the official Japanese Nintendo Store website (via Nintendo Life), Pauline is rather definitively characterized as a “13-year-old girl who sings.” This is a step backward from how the character has been portrayed in previous versions, especially her fame in Super Mario Odyssey. In that old title, Pauline was an adult, the mayor of New Donk City, an authority figure, and an experienced performer. The plot reversal of her character now that she is a thirteen-year-old is marvelous grist for argument about the timeline and continuity in Nintendo’s universe.
The announcement that Pauline is younger in Donkey Kong Bananza has validated theory-making by the need that exposes this new game as a prequel. Based on what occurs, Donkey Kong Bananza is able to provide users with their initial exposure to origin stories and early escapades of characters before they became more-famous adult characters.
This application of the story would not only contribute to the lore canon of Pauline but also help in contributing more depth to her established friendships and personality traits that get discovered in subsequent games. This is to ensure that Donkey Kong Bananza is not another installment to the series over the years, but an originator one that redefines our understanding in terms of these legendary figures.
