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What happens at the end of Donkey Kong Bananza?
After DK and Pauline descend through the Underground World and defeat King K. Rool, they travel to Pauline’s home city, New Donk City, by way of the Banandium Root. K. Rool attacks the city again, and the pair defeat him there.
Pauline then asks DK to help her pursue her dream of singing for the city’s residents. He joins her at first, but she recognizes how strongly he is drawn to the mines and Banandium Gems. DK returns underground, and Pauline says they will see each other again. The scene ends with Pauline performing on the street beneath the caption “The adventure continues…” (Nintendo Life’s ending guide.)
What happens after the credits?
The post-credit sequence continues Pauline’s musical ambitions rather than revealing where the game sits in the timeline. She returns underground and visits the Bananza Elders with DK as she prepares a song for a New Donk City festival. After rehearsals, the final image shows her performing on City Hall. (Nintendo Life’s ending guide.)
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- Explore a vast underground world—by smashing your way through it!
- A brand-new 3D platforming action adventure starring Donkey Kong and Pauline
- Bash through just about anything in groundbreaking exploration! Crash through walls and carve tunnels—the more you smash, the more areas open up to you
- Pair up with Pauline to use Bananza Transformations: smash through obstacles with the raw strength of Kong form, gallop with incredible speed as a Zebra, and more
- Team up with a friend in two-player co-op as Donkey Kong and Pauline! Blast foes and terrain alike with Pauline’s voice as you explore together
Is Donkey Kong Bananza a prequel to Mario Odyssey?
The ending does not establish that Bananza is a prequel—or a sequel—to Super Mario Odyssey. New Donk City is the clearest connection: it is also the city associated with Mayor Pauline in Odyssey. But a shared setting and a character with the same name are not enough to establish that the two games feature the same Pauline or to determine their order.
Nintendo Life’s July 29, 2025 guide notes that the game never makes its placement clear. It suggests a possible after-Odyssey interpretation, drawing on Pauline’s childhood connection to the city, references to her grandmother, and the festival preparations in the post-credit sequence. Those details may invite a theory, but they do not confirm one. (Nintendo Life.)
Rank #2
![Donkey Kong Bananza Standard - Nintendo Switch 2 [Digital Code]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51Xv8olm5RL._SL160_.jpg)
- Uncover a wide variety of environments, like forest, canyon, and lagoon, as you delve underground
- Reshape the world as you tear through it, with the help of…an Odd Rock?
Who is Pauline in Donkey Kong Bananza?
Bananza gives Pauline a home and a personal goal in New Donk City, but it does not identify her as the Pauline from an earlier game, or establish that she is that character’s descendant. Her family references raise a generational question without answering it.
In a March 2026 report on a GDC interview, GamesRadar+ quoted producer Kenta Motokura on Pauline’s identity: “I have to apologize to Dustin,” Motokura tells us via translator, “but we’re going to have to leave that to his imagination for now.” That is a deliberate refusal to settle the question, not confirmation of any particular fan theory. (GamesRadar+.)
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![Donkey Kong Bananza Bundle (game + DK Island & Emerald Rush DLC) Standard - Nintendo Switch 2 [Digital Code]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51N7IcgPIEL._SL160_.jpg)
- WARNING: If you have epilepsy or have had seizures or other unusual reactions to flashing lights or patterns, consult a doctor before playing video games. All users should read the Health and Safety Information available in the system settings before using this software. A Nintendo Switch Online membership (sold separately) is required for Save Data Cloud backup. Nintendo.
How much should callbacks tell us about the DK timeline?
Director Kazuya Takahashi’s reported comments counsel against treating every reference to an earlier game as a chronology clue. GamesRadar+, reporting on a Nintendo Dream interview, quotes him as saying, “As the game progresses, there are references to previous titles, but ‘please enjoy it without thinking too deeply about it.’” The same report quotes his description of the Ruins Challenge as “a self-contained world.” These comments support enjoying the callbacks without reading them as a definitive timeline map. (GamesRadar+.)
Quick Recap
Best Value
- The next evolution of Nintendo Switch
- One system, three play modes: TV, Tabletop, and Handheld
- Larger, vivid, 7.9” LCD touch screen with support for HDR and up to 120 fps
- Explore a vast underground world—by smashing your way through it!
- A brand-new 3D platforming action adventure starring Donkey Kong and Pauline
Rank #4
- Embark on a brand-new Donkey Kong adventure exclusive to Nintendo Switch 2.
- Explore the Underground World with dynamic environments and hidden secrets.
- Battle VoidCo and its minions using DK’s signature strength and powerful punches.
- Team up with a mysterious new companion with unique gameplay abilities.
- Recover the Golden Bananas across thrilling, action-packed levels.
- Bananza ends with DK and Pauline in New Donk City after their confrontation with King K. Rool.
- Pauline’s stated goal is to sing for the city; the post-credit sequence follows her festival preparations and performance.
- DK returns underground because he is drawn to the mines and Banandium Gems.
- The city connects the story to Super Mario Odyssey, but neither the ending nor the reported developer comments confirm the games’ chronology or Pauline’s identity.
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