Jump up, super star!
During an interview with IGN, Donkey Kong Bananza Producer, Kenta Motokura, and Director, Kazuya Takahashi had a lot to say. One thing in particular was on the inclusion of Pauline, how she serves as a bridge between the player and Ingot Isle and the relevance of music. For their full responses, we have them here:
Kenta Motokura: Yes, as it turns out, from a very early stage in development on Donkey Kong Bananza, the team was discussing what kind of character would be best to accompany Donkey Kong on his travels. And as early as that stage, I do recall that someone had suggested Pauline might be a good choice, but Pauline was not implemented directly into game spec at that time. I think the moment we actually realized we would go in that direction came about as a result of an artist who created some concept art of the zebra transformation. We saw that image and thought it was really fun, so we immediately prototyped it to try it out in the game. And when our composer saw that, they decided to create specific music just for that transformation.
And the music for it was so good, we thought we could expand on this and turn it into a song and maybe Pauline would be a good choice to sing that song. And so we then asked the composer to create songs for each of the transformations and I think that’s what really cemented Pauline’s place. I think a lot of ideas really fell into place after we had decided on Pauline as the accompanying character, so I’ll let Mr. Takahashi describe those.
Kazuya Takahashi: I think one of the things that really works very well for us in choosing Pauline is that she’s human so she speaks in a language that the player will understand. And our setting is a strange underground world where you’re interacting with animals and even rocks that speak in some cases, so it’s a lot to take in. I think it’s really good for the player to have another human that they can see on-screen who is reacting to these strange things, noticing stuff, pointing them out, even giving hints. And in a game where you take destruction as its core gameplay, there’s a lot of objects that are hidden waiting to be discovered. So it’s really helpful to have information coming to the player as audio cues so it’s not getting in the way of visual information on screen.
And we also wanted to emphasize the power of Pauline’s song in this game. And so she has the ability to make music that shows the route the player could follow or even opens up new routes to go see. And we have a co-op play that allows a second player to control Pauline’s vocal blasts that can interact with both the terrain and with enemies. Sorry, that was a rather long answer, but I really do think that a lot of ideas came out from this choice of Pauline as an accompanying character. So looking back, I think it was a choice we’re all very happy with.
For more from the full interview, we highly encourage you to check out the complete piece on IGN by clicking here.
About Donkey Kong Bananza:
The big guy is back—and he’s not alone! — Explore a vast underground world with Donkey Kong and Pauline—by smashing your way through it!
With DK’s brute force and Pauline’s special singing abilities, you can crash through walls, carve tunnels with your fists, punch straight down into the ground, and even tear off chunks of terrain to swing around and throw in groundbreaking exploration. The more you smash, the more areas open up to explore.
Take a deep dive into fun — Join DK and his companion, Pauline, as they delve deep underground—and discover that this subterranean world is a lot more than it seems on the surface. Uncover a variety of environments such as arid canyons, lush forests, and frigid tundra as you peel back the world’s layers!
Pair up with Pauline — Pauline is a 13-year-old girl with a powerful voice—so powerful it can blast rocks and even bestow powers on Donkey Kong!
Bananza time! — Pauline’s singing can empower DK with different Bananza Transformations, each with its own unique power. Pump up DK’s strength, speed, and more!
Underground folks — Donkey Kong and Pauline meet a lot of interesting characters along the way—some might even help them out on their adventure!
Void Company The Planet Core is said to have the power to grant any desire—and Void Kong, the ruthless head of the greedy Void Company, will stop at nothing to reach it and claim all the world’s riches for himself. Smash your way to the Planet Core before the greedy Void Company gets there first!
Team up with a friend — In 2-player co-op mode, one player controls Donkey Kong while the other can be Pauline, riding on DK’s shoulder, using her powerful vocal blasts to clear a path and zap baddies. (You can even try Joy-Con™ 2 mouse controls for more precise aiming!) Pauline can also copy nearby terrain to add some environmental umph to her blasts. When DK and Pauline work together, the bad guys don’t stand a chance!
Assist Mode — If you’re a new player or just want a more mellow experience, try out Assist Mode! Get helpful features like automatic path guidance, aim assist, reduced damage, and regenerating health!
Different ways to play together!
- Local | one game + one Nintendo Switch 2 system
- Local | one game + two Nintendo Switch 2 systems using GameShare
- Online | one game + two Nintendo Switch 2 systems using GameChat + GameShare
Source: IGN
