Pauline

So I suppose I should do a Pauline post.

Pauline, like Junior, is a woman of many names. She's also Nintendo's Helen, the dame that launched a thousand games. If she hadn't gotten whisked off by Donkey Kong thirty-some-odd years ago, this site probably wouldn't exist, let alone many of the games we know and love today.



The original video game damsel in distress first premiered in Donkey Kong for arcades, having to be rescued from the titular ape. At the time, she had no name, and was referred to simply as "The Lady" in Japanese promotional materials.



Interestingly enough, the concept art/sprite map for her character shows that she was intended to be a red-dressed brunette right from the start.



A promotional flyer for the Game & Watch Donkey Kong release reveals that she was briefly to be named "Louise", though the actual instructions for the game simply refer to her as "The Lady" or "A Pretty Girl" depending on your localization.



She next appeared with her main man in a hidden minigame in the NES Pinball title. Not sure why there's a breakout clone hidden away in a pinball game, but hey whatever.



While taking a decade-ish hiatus from video games, Pauline did appear (now actually under the name Pauline) in the Saturday Supercade cartoon show alongside Mario as they tracked down DK and had zany adventures along the way.



Surprisingly, she made it into the Super Mario Bros. Movie. Sort of. The above character, Daniella, is listed in the script as Daniella Pauline Verducci, though this is never mentioned in the film itself. She's Mario's girlfriend, with Peach nowhere in site (eat it, princess).



It would several long years since her last game appearance that she would again grace our pixalated screens, this time in the 1994 gameboy Donkey Kong title. As you can see, she's gotten a bit of a makeover to better match her original concept. It's a look she has more or less retained, with some minor tweaks here and there.



She would take another decade length break from the spotlight before she began to appear regularly in the Mario vs. Donkey Kong series, starting with the second installment, March of the Minis. She's described as "Mario's Friend", and appears with him frequently to promote his line of toys and get kidnapped by DK.



Things don't really go much different for her in Minis March Again.



...or in Mini-Land Mayhem, though this time DK takes her around an amusement park, the big romantic that he is. In typical fashion, Mario fucks up the date and is a huge jerk to our lovable ape.



She's (sort of) in Minis on the Move, though the story is so devoid that it's hard to tell what's actually going on in that game.



Also introduced in the MvsDK series, starting with Mini-Land Mayhem, is the Mini Pauline Doll! Ain't she a cutie?



Pauline recently appeared in Puzzle Swap alongside Peach, Rosalina, and Zelda in the appropriately title Nintendo Starlets puzzle. Looks like she's finally getting some of the recognition she deserves.



Her buxom self also made it into the latest Smash Brothers as a trophy under the DK banner.



She has yet to have her own official outing as a playable character, but a recent fan-mod of the original arcade game puts you in her shoes as she goes to rescue Mario from DK instead of the other way around.

For those of you looking forward to more of our awesome gal, it looks as if she and her mini dolls will be once again appearing in the next installment of the Mario vs. Donkey Kong franchise out some time next year.

2015/06 UPDATE

I recently found an old famicom product called Nintendo BASIC that featured, among other things, a fully playable Pauline! You go girl! 1984, playable before Princess Peach was even a thing!