Talk:Donkey Kong Bananza

"Leaked" Pauline appearance?

It seems that the Korean version of the official Nintendo site used the wrong version of Bananza's key are, that clearly shows Pauline in place of Odd Rock. Here's the link, and in case they end up fixing it, here it is in Internet Archive. So... what exactly ought to be done here? Should this be covered?--PopitTart (talk) 08:17, April 5, 2025 (EDT)

Even if it's probably a prematurely released asset, interpreting MarioWiki:Spoilers I think we should cover it as it's on an official webpage.

Shokora (talk · edits) 08:25, April 5, 2025 (EDT)

This is probably a repeat of Tropical Freeze leaving out a 'surprise character' on early key art, which I'm pretty sure also slipped through. If you switch between desktop and mobile, you'll even see that the 'surprise character' is in the former and the Odd Rock is in the latter, so it's almost certainly an oversight. Should we be cautious about saying that this character is Pauline, though? Next to DK, she looks pretty different compared to Mario Kart World. LinkTheLefty (talk) 08:48, April 5, 2025 (EDT)

Maybe this character is Pauline's daughter? Windy (talk) 09:48, April 5, 2025 (EDT)

No way to know right now, but she looks like a little-kid version. Of course, it could just be the art style playing tricks. I have a feeling Odd Rock will turn out to be her. Also, the art is fixed now, still viewable on Internet Archive via desktop mode. LinkTheLefty (talk) 10:05, April 5, 2025 (EDT)

The fact most of her is cropped out makes it pretty hard to tell, but yes, I concur her being in place of the rock is a bit suspicious. (It could also be taking a form familiar to DK.) Of note is she appears to have facial freckles, which is often a sign of being young in fiction... Doc von Schmeltwick (talk) 10:19, April 5, 2025 (EDT)

And with the Odd Rock's connection to music... Anyway, it's covered, but should the art've been uploaded yet? Unsure if that tracks with the spoilers guideline. Also, not only has the art been corrected now, but it was correct before! LinkTheLefty (talk) 10:58, April 5, 2025 (EDT)

Well, the art IS officially from Nintendo, which seems permissible per the Spoiler policy. After all, If the wiki wasn't allowed cover information that Nintendo has published and then un-published, then it probably has bigger fish to fry.--PopitTart (talk) 06:59, April 6, 2025 (EDT)

The "Pauline" art is not viewable for me when clicking on the April 4th archived data on the web archive. I'm on desktop and the blue dot is there for April 4th but when I click on it, it redirects to the April 7th archived data. Also with the other link that leads to the index.html archived data, I click on the blue dot for April 3rd and the same thing happens. Is there another way to view the archived image or is it gone forever (outside of being on the wiki)? Pizza Master (talk)

Well, other web archivers exist, but should we even update the links? I had a feeling something like this might happen. Oh, Nintendo, I'm buying another Switch 2! Don't get mad at me again. LinkTheLefty (talk) 18:55, April 7, 2025 (EDT)

By the way, the Wayback Machine's April 3th and 5th index links now both redirect to the latest snapshot on the 8th. It's ore. LinkTheLefty (talk) 19:39, April 8, 2025 (EDT)

Holy, the Baby Pauline is REAL! -- Pizza Master (talk)

She is no baby,... she is only 13. https://x.com/nineverything/status/1935350670791688641?s=61&t=kmvL-LOuranUNlThj5bGOw this source confirms it. Bmaster2020 (talk) 12:32, June 18, 2025 (EDT)

Prequel

Hello. Now that it's been confirmed that Odd Rock is Pauline, and that she's revealed to be just a teenager, should the article mention that this game serves as a prequel—especially to Super Mario Odyssey? --KevinM (talk) 12:26, June 18, 2025 (EDT)

No. Let's wait for the game to release and see what actually happens in the plot. Technetium (talk) 12:33, June 18, 2025 (EDT)

What other contributing factors are needed in the plot for it to be classified as a prequel, aside from Pauline's age? --KevinM (talk) 13:02, June 18, 2025 (EDT)

Actual story or plot confirmation. We don't know if there's an in-universe reason for why Pauline is so young (be it time travel or something else), but considering Donkey Kong and co. all coexist with the Mario cast in the same time period, I'm pretty sure it's not establishing all the Donkey Kong Country games as being set before the original Donkey Kong, there's also references to the events of the original arcade title in Bananza by way of Cranky's dialogue. We know Pauline in Odyssey is the same character as the arcade title from her dialogue there as well, so I see the two most plausible explanations as:

1. Time travel or something is involved hence why young Pauline co-exists with the modern DK cast

2. It's going to be left unexplained and is just an example of Miyamoto's Tezuka-like approach to cast of characters where they're in different roles depending on the work

Either way we won't know until the game releases. BubbleRevolution (talk) 14:43, June 18, 2025 (EDT)

Well, it can't be a prequel - Cranky Kong is also in this game as his curmudgeonly old self. Keep in mind that he's a young adult ape in Donkey Kong in which Pauline is also an adult. If Pauline is younger because the game is a prequel, then Cranky should also be younger. rend (talk) (edits) 13:34, June 18, 2025 (EDT)

It's simple, Cranky, DK, Diddy and all the other Kongs are around a decade older than originally thought. --KevinM (talk) 13:57, June 18, 2025 (EDT)

There's the possibility it's not the exact same Pauline or she was made younger, either way it's too soon to say for sure and we have MarioWiki:Canonicity. Nightwicked Bowser 13:58, June 18, 2025 (EDT)

Oh, I'm fully aware of the MarioWiki:Canonicity article. I've already contributed to its talk page with my own explanation of how Nintendo handles canon. In hindsight, they don't care about canon or timelines for that matter, leaving all the fans confused out of their minds and relying on their own headcanon. However, not calling Bananza a prequel to Odyssey is downright bananas. Nintendo has made their retcons with prequels before with Yoshi. If we are led to believe the Yoshi in the Yoshi (series) is the same Yoshi that not only saves Mario when he is a baby in Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island, but also the one Mario rescues as an adult in Super Mario World, that makes Yoshi at least 25 years older than fans thought back then. --KevinM (talk) 14:23, June 18, 2025 (EDT)

Just wait until the bloody game releases and then we'll know for sure. We are not going into a debate about canonicity here. Nightwicked Bowser 14:27, June 18, 2025 (EDT)

I never wanted to debate canon—you brought up canonicity. This was originally about how the article should mention its status as a prequel due to Pauline's age. All I'm saying is, not calling Bananza a prequel to Odyssey is like not calling Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island a prequel to Super Mario World, even though Mario appears in the game as a baby. --KevinM (talk) 14:37, June 18, 2025 (EDT)

We have no idea why Pauline is young though or when the game takes place. Yoshi's Island explicitly takes place during Mario's birth, before the other games. The modern Donkey Kong cast being around before the original arcade title wouldn't make sense anyway, even taking into account Nintendo's lack of commitment to the "Cranky Kong is the original DK" thing. BubbleRevolution (talk) 14:52, June 18, 2025 (EDT)

I mean, there could be other implications why Pauline is young here. She could be cursed by VoidCo - Odd Rock is plastered with VoidCo tape it seems, and if Void Kong's dialogue in the Direct indicates anything, they definitely encountered Pauline before. Alternatively, she could've fallen into some kinda time portal - the Super Mario franchise is no stranger to time travel shenanigans, as shown in Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time and Yoshi's New Island. For now, let's just wait until the game comes out like Nightwicked says. Also, the present day Yoshi that Mario rescues in World is implied to have only been born by the end of Yoshi's Island DS rend (talk) (edits) 14:31, June 18, 2025 (EDT)

@KevinM No?! As I just said, Cranky Kong is still an old ape in this game, whereas he's a young adult ape in Donkey Kong, where Pauline is an adult woman. If "the other Kongs are around a decade older than originally thought" is the reason why Pauline is younger here, that should mean that Cranky should be EVEN OLDER in Donkey Kong. But he was NOT: he was big, hulking ape with no sign of elder age in Donkey Kong. The problem isn't just "Oh, this can't be a prequel because Cranky is here". The problem is that this can't be a prequel because that implies Cranky DE-AGES when Pauline grows up! And then re-ages again by the time Donkey Kong Country takes place since Cranky reminisces about the events of the arcade game there. rend (talk) (edits) 14:13, June 18, 2025 (EDT)

Okay... so I came across this screenshot showing a scene in the demo for Bananza, where Cranky tells DK, "In my day, rivals had charisma... even in overalls! Heh!" Not only does this confirm that it’s not a prequel, but it once again proves my point: Nintendo doesn’t care about canon, lore, reboots, timelines, or consistency. Its all a Continuity Snarl. They just want to make it up as they go along leaving fans to rely on their own headcanon/imagination for eternity. --KevinM (talk) 02:11, June 19, 2025 (EDT)

I mean yeah, that's basically what MarioWiki:Canonicity already detailed... but that doesn't exactly mean that this is a Continuity Snarl; way too early and not enough details to tell. You thought it was a prequel based solely on the fact that Pauline is a teenager now, which contradicts with Cranky being an old ape in the same game. That doesn't automatically mean this is contradicting continuities at all. You seem to be thinking adamantly that it HAD to be a prequel a la Yoshi's Island because of Pauline being younger here, even though I pointed out earlier that there could be other explanations as to why Pauline is now 13. Maybe VoidCo cursed her in this form; maybe this is a past Pauline that fell into a time hole to the future. Both are plausible explanations that the Mario franchise has been familiar with in past games. rend (talk) (edits) 12:45, June 19, 2025 (EDT)

Alright, the game is out now. And I had to spoil the game because I just could not sleep without figuring out the fate of the Mario lore. And... from my knowledge, they did not explain anything. The game ends with Donkey Kong beating K. Rool and he and Pauline are now in what I assume is New Donk City? And she says her career would start here. Which means they probably intended this to be a prequel but completely forgot about the lore the DKC trilogy set up. Rykitu

The reality is the Mario franchise has no real continuity and stuff changes depending on what they think works from game to game. BubbleRevolution (talk) 12:59, July 16, 2025 (EDT)

Another update, Pauline mentions her grandmother multiple times in the game, which could potentially mean she is talking about arcade Pauline. Which would make sense because Cranky Kong is here too and is DK's grandfather. This is a prequel. They just gave Pauline the DKC lore treatment and created Pauline the 3rd. Rykitu

As I stated above, and as the game itself proves, it's a continuity snarl. As also noted, the reality is that the Mario franchise has no consistent continuity, and details change from game to game depending on what works. By the way, the idea that DKB Pauline's grandmother is Arcade Pauline is pure fanfiction—there is only one Pauline.

Below is a portion of a Q & A between IGN and some devs.

"I think a lot of people were surprised when you confirmed a specific age for Pauline, that she's 13. Why did you specify her age and why is she young in this game?

Takahashi: Well one of the important roles that we knew we wanted this character to accomplish was in accompanying Donkey Kong on his travels and acting in some cases as a bit of a narrator. And considering we would probably have both new players who are experiencing a Donkey Kong game for the first time, as well as people who are long-time fans of Donkey Kong. So we had the opportunity to offer a character that was familiar to long-time players, but had a new appearance that might be interesting for new folks as well.

Motokura: And so we're always thinking about the setting of not just the world but also each character itself and how that's going to impact player enjoyment in the end.

Takahashi: Now as to why 13-year-old in particular was the choice, I think that's something that we want players to, in the course of enjoying the game, start to puzzle out, think for themselves.

Can you confirm Donkey Kong's age?

Motokura: I think that's another one that maybe is good fodder for player theories.

Seeing a young Pauline and knowing that you all worked on Super Mario Odyssey, I start to think story-wise, this is maybe a Super Mario Odyssey prequel. Is there an official Donkey Kong timeline? Is there a canon timeline that explains where all the Donkey Kong games go?

Takahashi: Certainly because a lot of team members also worked on Super Mario Odyssey, there are some similarities in terms of how they think about the setting of the characters for both games, but it's something we really can't explain all of for now because we need to leave something for people to consider as they're playing the game." --KevinM (talk) 13:17, August 27, 2025 (EDT)

Cranky KOOOOOONG

Welp. Now we have proof that Cranky is the original Donkey Kong given he says "Back in my day, rivals had charisma even in overalls!" This means Nintendo is no longer playing "loosey-goosey" with Cranky being the original Donkey Kong. Buh-bye! PrincessPeachFan (talk) 08:07, July 16, 2025 (EDT)

nothing about that quote is definitive proof. - YoYo (Talk) 14:54, July 16, 2025 (EDT)

Aaaaaaaaaand now we have the 8-Bit Donkey Kong Fossil basically confirming that Cranky is the original Donkey Kong via this: "A certain Kong in the prime of his youth. His amazing skill at handling barrels has been passed down to his descendants." *spins into a tornado like Taz and zooms into the distance* PrincessPeachFan (talk) 17:01, July 20, 2025 (EDT)

again, nothing about that says cranky is specifically the original donkey kong - YoYo (Talk) 15:41, July 23, 2025 (EDT)

I'd argue it's a clear implication. However, conversely, developer interviews reference the playable Donkey Kong in Bananza as "first appearing in the arcade game". Kinda seems like Nintendo doesn't really bother to have a clear distinction between the two. Would be interested to see what the Japanese game states. BubbleRevolution (talk) 01:12, July 28, 2025 (EDT)

Fossil Fools

So, the fossils give certain characters generic names (e.g. Frog instead of Winky and Anglerfish instead of Glimmer). What do we do about the character pages? PrincessPeachFan (talk)!

Those are just funny references to the characters, not earnest attempts at renaming them. Just look at the Rare reefs from Mario & Luigi: Brothership, with names such as "Squiddish Reef" and "Cater-Pillar Reef". The pages should remain at their current names. — Lady Sophie ^(T|C) 16:21, July 20, 2025 (EDT)

Final boss fight "phases"

This talk page or section has a conflict or question that needs to be answered. Please try to help and resolve the issue by leaving a comment.

I'm confused as to why King of Rot is considered the third phase of the final boss instead of just the final boss. The first K. Rool boss and King of Rot are clearly separate fights imo, given they each have their own title card. It just gets confusing when taking the Banandium Root Tower chase into account. Is that also a boss fight? Is it a phase or its own separate thing? Unlike the other boss fights there's no title card, but K. Rool's emblem shows up during it, showing where he is, much like in boss fights (being replaced with the VoidCo emblem instead in those fights). So while I'm certain we should change how we refer to the two K. Rool bosses with title cards and ditch the "phase" phrasing, the chase scene is what stumps me here. Technetium (talk) 11:08, July 29, 2025 (EDT)

Did a quick parse and found out that the "Rock Monster" in SL10 (That is, the subject of the mission "First Crockoid Cracked!") also uses a VoidCo emblem to tell the player where the enemy is. Given that we are not considering this Crockoid a boss, and that both fights lack a title card, I do think it's reasonable to say that the Banandium Root Tower sequence isn't technically a boss fight, even though it features K. Rool. As for the two K. Rool fights with title cards, it seems like the article treats them identically to when you refight bosses like Peekabruiser, so I don't think further distinction needs to be made. Four-Twenty-Four Jake (talk) 23:21, August 25, 2025 (EDT)

Do they need their own subsection?

The Kremling Krew basically functions the same as their Voided counterparts, so why do they need their own subsection? Wouldn't it be more convenient to clump them into the same page as the Void enemies? DracoMeteor 1:20, August 2, 2025 (EDT)

glide

glide redirects to team jump someone fix it 31.53.214.222 07:11, September 6, 2025 (EDT)

DLC name

Is the name of the DLC Donkey Kong Bananza: DK Island & Emerald Rush or just DK Island & Emerald Rush? because I keep seeing both being used when linking to the article (which doesn't exist yet). Because I don't, or someone else, to accidently use the wrong name for it and then going back and fixing it. Also should italics be used? example: DK island & Emerald Rush. --Ken17 (talk) 04:10, September 13, 2025 (EDT)

Donkey Kong Bananza: DK Island & Emerald Rush according to the official site https://www.nintendo.com/us/store/products/donkey-kong-bananza-dk-island-and-emerald-rush-70050000062442-switch-2/ LetsPlayNintendoITA 07:02, September 13, 2025 (EDT)

Full name and italics would make it consistent with something like Mario Kart 8 Deluxe - Booster Course Pass. Then there's also Donkey Kong Adventure and the other Mario + Rabbids packs, though I'm thinking those should be italicised as well since they're full, standalone campaigns. Mario JC 07:05, September 13, 2025 (EDT)

minecart rail material

its real please can someone add it 31.53.214.222 06:52, September 13, 2025 (EDT)

It's not its own material when you aim at it, it's just metal. Mario JC 08:10, September 13, 2025 (EDT)

Dude's not lying. --Ken17 (talk) 04:50, September 22, 2025 (EDT)

Considering the timing of the comment, I assumed they were referring to the rails on DK Island. Mario JC 04:55, September 22, 2025 (EDT)

no really its a thing in the feast layer 31.53.214.222 04:03, September 17, 2025 (EDT)

DLC: I figured out how many emeralds are needed for Difficulties 1 & 2.

When the DLC page is made, let's use this as a template.

Difficulty 1
Quota: 1.0x
Total needed: 3,300
R1: 3,300 - 50 = 3,250
R2: 3,250 - 150 = 3,100
R3: 3,100 - 300 = 2,800
R4: 2,800 - 500 = 2,300
R5: 2,300 - 800 = 1,500
R6: 1,500 to go

Difficulty 2
Quota: 1.2x
Total needed: 17,760
R1: 17,760 - 60 = 17,700
R2: 17,700 - 180 = 17,520
R3: 17,520 - 360 = 17,160
R4: 17,160 - 600 = 16,560
R5: 16,560 - 960 = 15,600
R6: 15,600 - 1,800 = 13,800
R7: 13,800 - 2,400 = 11,400
R8: 11,400 - 3,000 = 8,400
R9: 8,400 - 3,600 = 4,800
R10: 4,800 to go
— The preceding unsigned comment was added by RandumbDoomer (talk).