Character Sheet: Pauline (Arcade)

PAULINE

Now that we have all of the Arcade Donkey Kong/Mario titles under our belt, I think it's time we go through and evaluate every character we have picked so far as being playable.

This time we have six:

1. Mario

1e. Luigi

2. Donkey Kong

3. Donkey Kong Jr.

4. Stanley

5. Pauline

Today we will cover probably the hardest character to work so far: Pauline, Mario's first girlfriend from the original Donkey Kong game. Thanks primarily to Super Mario Odyssey, Pauline has made a recent comeback in the Mario series, but aside from that, the original Donkey Kong is almost all we have to work with. That causes a problem because, well, she doesn't do anything in this game. She mostly stands beside Donkey Kong, acting mostly as a living goalpost. This doesn't give us much to work with.

So, for Pauline to work, we will likely have to follow the "Duck Hunt" method of creating a character built entirely on references to the game they come from. This method works well for Pauline, as Mario and Donkey Kong will go on to star in multiple later games, giving them much greater pools to draw from for their movesets, leaving Pauline as the only remaining character who can represent the game as a whole.

Here is the moveset I came up with:

Standard B: Hammer

As Mario will go on to utilize fireballs and other moves that can take up his standard B slot, this leaves Pauline open to inherit his hammer, his primary weapon in the game. It acts primarily as a strong, bludgeoning weapon.

Side B: Barrel

This move will come from her captor Donkey Kong. Pauline will throw a massive barrel, just like DK would, which will roll across the stage, crushing anything in its path.

Up B: Jack
Pauline will drop a jack, similar to those also thrown by Donkey Kong, which she will use to spring into the air. The move will function much like Sonic's spring move but will damage opponent touched by it.

Down B: Floor Drop

Pauline will drop a long stretch of floor on top of any characters nearby, hearkening to the method in which Donkey Kong is defeated via Mario removing the hinges from the floor and dropping them out beneath the big ape. This will bury most opponents.

Final Smash: The Great Ape

A sprite version of Donkey Kong exactly lifted from the game will drop onto the stage, accompanied by his theme music and will proceed to wreak havoc, pounding his chest and throwing barrels and jacks everywhere.

Entrance: Carried in by her sprite DK, on his shoulder.

Taunts: One could feature the heart that appears when Mario saves her.

Thanks for reading. Next up, we will head on forward to the major Mario games for the NES, including Super Mario Bros., Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels, Super Mario Bros. 2, and Super Mario Bros. 3. Take care!