Today is a big day for Nintendo fans, as Donkey Kong Bananza has finally arrived on the Nintendo Switch 2. The game is arguably a “Game of the Year” contender, and many are eager to get their hands on the title so they can see all that this game has to offer. One of the most interesting things about it is that it features the return of Pauline. However, unlike in a certain Mario game from 2017, this version of Pauline is only 13 years old. She’s trapped in an underground world, and she needs Donkey Kong’s help to get back to the surface.
Pauline wasn’t revealed for the game until a special Direct that happened last month. Ever since then, fans have been all but obsessed with learning more about this younger version of Pauline and all the “minor details” that come with her. For example, who is the voice actor for Pauline in the game? Many wondered if the voice actor/singer who did “Jump Up, Superstar” would return to voice her again, but that wasn’t the case. As noted by IGN, the credits for Donkey Kong Bananza state that the English voice actor for Pauline is Jenny Kidd.
In truth, it makes sense that a different voice actor was brought in to be Pauline, as she’s in a “much younger form” than the mayor of New Donk City is sometime “in the future.” Actually, we don’t really know about how the “timeline” works here with Pauline, and that’s another thing that has gotten fans a bit wound up. Many think Donkey Kong’s game leads to Mario’s 2017 title, but we haven’t gotten confirmation about that, and the dev team is keeping rather mum about it.
They likely just want people to play the game in full and get whatever answers are out there for themselves, and it’s not hard to blame them for wanting that.
One of the good things for Pauline fans is that the young singer will have a big role within the game. First, she’s Donkey Kong’s companion and is the one who speaks quite often in the game. Second, she’s responsible for DK doing his “Bananza Transformations,” which allows him to have all-new abilities that can help him traverse the underground world. Finally, she’s a playable character in co-op! She’ll use her singing voice to project words that can do serious damage to both foes and other objects.
The game is out RIGHT NOW on Nintendo Switch 2 if you want to get it.
