Donkey Kong Bananza is the next big Switch 2 game, landing firmly within "launch window" status next month. Nintendo took the wraps off DKB with a rapid-fire presentation detailing its story, features, Amiibo support, and more, and altogether it looks like a dang hoot. Donkey Kong can go Super Saiyajin or turn into a zebra, there's a cabal of evil capitalist Kongs, he collects Bananergy. High marks across the board. The story elements, though, appear to raise some pretty serious questions about our understanding of Donkey Kong lore. That's right, I said "Donkey Kong lore" with a straight face. Buckle up, kids.
The Donkey Kong Bananza presentation opened with introducing young Pauline, a budding singer who we know from Super Mario Odyssey would go on to be mayor of New Donk City. In this game she looks no more than 10 years old or so and hangs off DK's back as a companion character. Pauline has a dream, and DK is being exploited by his capitalist overlords, so together they head toward the planet core to make a wish. All completely normal so far.
In fact, the presence of a young Pauline implies that this is a prequel of sorts. DK has been rehabilitated from his villainous persona in the original Donkey Kong for years, but buddying up with Pauline as a little girl suggests that there was more to the story than we knew. As of the time when DK grabbed her and carried her to the top of a tower and forced Jump Man (aka Mario) to rescue her, they had a history. They were old friends! The mind reels.
In Soviet Russia, monkey has person on his back!
But then, the Bananza presentation threw another curveball by revealing that you can meet Cranky Kong. Now wait just a damn minute. What the hell is going on here?
As DK enthusiasts may recall, Cranky Kong is canonically the original Donkey Kong: The DK we've been playing throughout the Donkey Kong Country games, the one who is pals with Diddy Kong and the rest, is actually his more charismatic grandson. It was Cranky Kong who grabbed Pauline and climbed the tower and squared off against Jump Man.
So you may start to see the problem here. If old Cranky Kong is in this game, Pauline should be an adult. If Pauline is a kid, then Donkey Kong should be a slightly younger Cranky Kong who, 10 or so years in the future, will grab her and climb a bunch of girders. Having a fully-aged Cranky Kong and a young girl Pauline appear in the same game makes absolutely no sense.
There are ways to make it work. Donkey Kong Bananza could imply some kind of time-travel element in which Cranky Kong was sucked back into the past to meet his younger self. That possibility seems bananas, but frankly no more so than anything else we've seen from this game.
The more likely possibility in my mind, though, is that this version of Donkey Kong, Pauline, and Cranky Kong are entirely separate and distinct from the precious original continuity. Donkey Kong Bananza appears to be a sort of DK reboot, remixing familiar elements into a new continuity that is not bound by any of the storytelling conventions of the original. In other words: We've entered the DK multiverse.
Or maybe Nintendo is just making it up as they go. I may be overthinking this.
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The Donkey Kong Bananza presentation opened with introducing young Pauline, a budding singer who we know from Super Mario Odyssey would go on to be mayor of New Donk City. In this game she looks no more than 10 years old or so and hangs off DK's back as a companion character. Pauline has a dream, and DK is being exploited by his capitalist overlords, so together they head toward the planet core to make a wish. All completely normal so far.
In fact, the presence of a young Pauline implies that this is a prequel of sorts. DK has been rehabilitated from his villainous persona in the original Donkey Kong for years, but buddying up with Pauline as a little girl suggests that there was more to the story than we knew. As of the time when DK grabbed her and carried her to the top of a tower and forced Jump Man (aka Mario) to rescue her, they had a history. They were old friends! The mind reels.
In Soviet Russia, monkey has person on his back!
But then, the Bananza presentation threw another curveball by revealing that you can meet Cranky Kong. Now wait just a damn minute. What the hell is going on here?
As DK enthusiasts may recall, Cranky Kong is canonically the original Donkey Kong: The DK we've been playing throughout the Donkey Kong Country games, the one who is pals with Diddy Kong and the rest, is actually his more charismatic grandson. It was Cranky Kong who grabbed Pauline and climbed the tower and squared off against Jump Man.
So you may start to see the problem here. If old Cranky Kong is in this game, Pauline should be an adult. If Pauline is a kid, then Donkey Kong should be a slightly younger Cranky Kong who, 10 or so years in the future, will grab her and climb a bunch of girders. Having a fully-aged Cranky Kong and a young girl Pauline appear in the same game makes absolutely no sense.
There are ways to make it work. Donkey Kong Bananza could imply some kind of time-travel element in which Cranky Kong was sucked back into the past to meet his younger self. That possibility seems bananas, but frankly no more so than anything else we've seen from this game.
The more likely possibility in my mind, though, is that this version of Donkey Kong, Pauline, and Cranky Kong are entirely separate and distinct from the precious original continuity. Donkey Kong Bananza appears to be a sort of DK reboot, remixing familiar elements into a new continuity that is not bound by any of the storytelling conventions of the original. In other words: We've entered the DK multiverse.
Or maybe Nintendo is just making it up as they go. I may be overthinking this.
Source