Can Donkey Kong Bananza Finally Untangle the Crazy Donkey Kong Timeline?
The Donkey Kong Timeline: A Tangled Jungle
The Donkey Kong series has been confusing fans for over 40 years with its messy and contradictory timeline. Now, the upcoming Switch 2 exclusive, Donkey Kong Bananza, promises to add even more twists—but might also help clear things up a bit.
- How Donkey Kong Bananza fits into the confusing Donkey Kong timeline
- The origins and evolution of Donkey Kong and his family
- Pauline’s surprising age reveal and what it means
- Why Nintendo’s timeline puzzles might never be fully solved
Starting at the Beginning: Who is Donkey Kong?
Back in 1981, the original Donkey Kong arcade game introduced us to Mario (then known as Jumpman) trying to rescue Pauline from the clutches of Donkey Kong. The motives behind DK’s kidnapping? Left a mystery, as 1980s arcade games didn’t focus on deep storytelling.
Later titles like Yoshi’s Island DS (2006) added layers by showing a Baby Donkey Kong alongside Baby Mario, Baby Luigi, and Baby Peach, placing those events far in the past compared to the original Donkey Kong. Baby DK’s red bib with “DK” initials echoes the adult Donkey Kong’s iconic red tie.
The Middle Years: Revenge, Captivity, and Family Drama
Between Baby DK’s days and the original Donkey Kong, games like Donkey Kong Circus (1984) depict DK forced to perform, giving Mario a reason to be the villain who kidnaps Pauline in revenge. Then comes Donkey Kong Jr., flipping the script with Mario as the antagonist who captures Donkey Kong, and Junior fighting to save his dad.
Following that, the timeline splinters further with appearances in titles like Donkey Kong Jr. Math and Game & Watch’s Greenhouse, where Donkey Kong’s story gets more tangled and less consistent.
The Rare Era: Cranky Kong and the New Generation
In 1994, Donkey Kong Country shook things up by revealing that the Donkey Kong from the arcade days is now Cranky Kong, the grumpy grandfather. The new Donkey Kong we play as is his grandson and Donkey Kong Jr.’s son. This retcon gave rise to a whole Kong family, including Diddy, Dixie, and Wrinkly Kong.
Adding to the confusion, a Game Boy version of Donkey Kong released the same year reimagined Mario’s quest to rescue Pauline, meaning two different Donkey Kongs starred in separate games simultaneously.
Despite Rare’s clear lineage, Nintendo and other developers sometimes mix things up—Super Smash Bros. Ultimate calls Cranky the grandfather, while the Super Mario Bros. Movie suggests he’s DK’s father. Cranky even calls Donkey Kong “son” in some Rare games. It’s a wild family tree!
Donkey Kong Bananza: A New Chapter or More Chaos?
The newest game, Donkey Kong Bananza, seems to slot itself between Yoshi’s Island DS and the original Donkey Kong, based largely on Pauline’s age—she’s just 13 here, much younger than in previous games. But Bananza also features characters like Cranky, Diddy, and Dixie Kong, who belong to later generations, making the timeline even murkier.
With Nintendo’s playful attitude toward time travel and canon, don’t expect a neat explanation. Still, it’s exciting to see how Bananza’s story unfolds and what secrets it might reveal beneath its layers.
For more insights, check out Nintendo’s subtle hints about Pauline and her age in this IGN interview.
Also, dive deeper into Donkey Kong’s origins with this classic video:
