Donkey Kong Bananza: Ending Explained - Is It A Prequel To Mario Odyssey?

Even before Nintendo EPD was confirmed as the developer behind Donkey Kong Bananza, people started to speculate about how the game may, or may not, be connected to Super Mario Odyssey.

Yes, this is the same developer, and Pauline makes a return (albeit at a much younger age), but do the connections go beyond mere aesthetics? Is Donkey Kong Bananza actually a prequel to Super Mario Odyssey?

In this guide, we'll be running through all the information in DKB that suggests a connection to Odyssey, and drawing conclusions from it to answer how the two games are related.

It should be a given, but there will obviously be a lot of discussion about Donkey Kong Bananza's late-game spoilers here, including final act story beats, characters and settings. If you are yet to complete Donkey Kong Bananza's main story and post-credit content, we'd recommend wrapping all that up before coming back here for a deep dive.

All sorted? Let's look at how Bananza and Odyssey may be connected.

Donkey Kong Bananza Ending Explained

After descending down a whopping 16 layers, DK and Pauline finally come face to face with Bananza's real big-bad, King K. Rool. The pair battle the croc crook at the Planet Core, before hopping aboard the Banandium Root's one-way ticket to Pauline's home town: New Donk City.

Yes, this is the New Donk City that we first saw crop up in Super Mario Odyssey, the one that Pauline is the all-singing, all-dancing mayor of. At least, it's the one that a Pauline is the mayor of — we'll get to that in a bit.

Of course, K. Rool still has a trick or two up his sleeve, and he quickly transforms the city into a rot-filled obstacle course, bent on gobbling it all up. DK and Pauline chase him to the top of the town hall, where they defeat the Bananza-powered croc once and for all.

The city returns to its rot-free state, and Pauline asks for DK's help in making her dream come true: singing for all the citizens of NDC. DK initially obliges, but Pauline soon realises that the adorable ape's heart belongs in the mines, snatching up those Banandium Gems. After a teary farewell, DK dives back into the tunnels below, with Pauline's promise that she'll see him soon. The credits roll, and we're left with an image of Pauline busking on the streets of New Donk City, accompanied by the caption "The adventure continues..."

And continue it does. After the credits, we catch up again with DK back in the newly renovated Ingot Isle Cave-In. Pauline hops back down to the underground world thanks to Grumpy Kong's new Warp Gong, and the pair set about visiting every Bananza Elder to help Pauline come up with a new song to perform at the upcoming NDC festival.

After completing five tough Bananza Rehearsals and one final challenge, Pauline nails her track. Cue the final credits and one last piece of art, showing Pauline in a familiar-looking red dress performing a song on top of City Hall.

Is Donkey Kong Bananza A Prequel To Mario Odyssey?

So, how does all this slot in around Super Mario Odyssey? The game never makes it clear (no surprises there), but we think there's enough to go on to suggest it falls after, not before, the events of Odyssey.

Now, we can see the prequel argument: this is a teenage girl called Pauline who dreams of one day singing in front of the people of New Donk City. She even looks like a de-aged version of the Odyssey mayor, and pulls out the same dance moves in select Bananza cutscenes as adult Pauline does in the Jump Up, Superstar sequence. But Bananza places so much emphasis on teenage Pauline's history with the city, that it makes much more sense for Bananza to come later in the 'Mario Timeline' — not that Nintendo gives a hoot about its continuity.

Let us explain.

At several points in the game, Pauline mentions that she has grown up in New Donk City. She talks about her memories of the wind making its way through the buildings and about how her grandma — an important figure in this timeline placement — will be worrying about her the longer she is away. Heck, the entire post-credit questline with all those Bananza Rehearsals is all about making Grandma proud. So who is this grandma?

If you ask us, we reckon teenage Pauline is either the granddaughter of Arcade Pauline or Odyssey Pauline — if you consider them two different people, Odyssey is a little confusing on that point. Either way, the Bananza Pauline is a descendant of the New Donk City mayor (another family line all with the same first name), and her desire to sing in front of the city is all to follow in her grandmother/mother's footsteps.

Sure, Mayor Pauline might have had some children when she was singing for the city in Odyssey, but we think it's more likely that the kids came later, especially considering that Bananza Pauline is 13 years old.

But as we said earlier, Nintendo has never been one to particularly care about timeline order and event continuity, so who's to say where the game really fits in? We can only speculate!

If you still have some collectibles to mop up, or you're just after extra advice, be sure to head over to our Donkey Kong Bananza Walkthrough guide hub