Pauline appears in leaked Donkey Kong Bananza art

A young Pauline appears to be a sidekick of sorts in the upcoming Switch 2 exclusive, Donkey Kong Bananza. The accidentally revealed promo art following the game’s reveal during its Switch 2-focused Nintendo Direct has since been changed.

Apparently at one point, according to ResetEra users, Nintendo Korea’s DK Bananza page showed DK with Pauline holding onto his tie. Of course, since the art has been replaced; it’s obvious this was one big oopsie.

Many have pointed out this appears to be a younger version of her. This could mean either it’s a prequel of some sort. Naturally, Nintendo will leave us guessing, especially as this wasn’t how it wanted people to find out Pauline’s in the game.

Donkey Kong Bananza launches exclusively to the Nintendo Switch 2 on July 7, 2025.

Gabriel Stanford-Reisinger Editor-in-Chief

Gabe has been a gamer since he was young, playing games like Pajama Sam, Freddi Fish, Guitar Hero, and whatever looked cool on GameFly. Ever since 2018, he's been infatuated with the inner workings of the gaming and entertainment industries, covering a wide range of topics from video games to TV and film. Starting as a contributor for PSX Extreme, he's worked his way up to its Managing Editor. Using what's he learned over the years, he founded Smash Jump to remind everyone to smash jump.