Pauline (Nintendo)

Pauline (Japanese: ポリーン, Hepburn: Porīn, pronounced [poɾi.n]) is a fictional character from the Mario video game franchise, owned by Nintendo and created by Japanese video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto. The lead female character from the Mario vs. Donkey Kong series, she first appeared in Donkey Kong as the damsel in distress, being held captive by Donkey Kong at the top of a large construction site.

Pauline
Mario character
Pauline, as seen in Super Mario Odyssey
First appearanceDonkey Kong (1981)
Created byShigeru Miyamoto
Designed by
Voiced byJudy Strangis (1983–1984; Saturday Supercade)

Kate Higgins (2017–present; Super Mario Odyssey onwards)

Aimi Mukohara (2017; singing voice in Super Mario Odyssey, Japanese version)
In-universe information
NicknameLady, Louise
SpeciesHuman
GenderFemale
OccupationMayor of New Donk City
OriginNew Donk City

Concept and creation

Name

Pauline was created by Shigeru Miyamoto and other developers for the 1981 arcade game Donkey Kong as the earliest example of a female with a speaking role in a video game, and is cited as a famous example of a damsel in distress in fiction.[1][2][3] Originally, Pauline was known as Lady,[lower-alpha 1][4] and the game introduced her as Mario's girlfriend. The name Pauline was given after the then-girlfriend of Nintendo of America's warehouse manager, Don James.[5] Then it was used in licensed products after the game's release (including a collection of figures by Coleco[6] and a coloring book[7]), and was eventually used for the NES version of the game, although print ads for the Game & Watch version of the game refer to her as Louise.[8]

Role

Since Super Mario Odyssey, she serves as the singer of the band The Super Mario Players and the Mayor of New Donk City[9][10] and is a supporting character, helping Mario with his quest. Producer Yoshiaki Koizumi told Polygon that she sang the game's theme song, "Jump Up, Super Star!", noting "As we were developing Pauline more as a character, we know that she was going to be interested in jazz...It was interesting for us to have the first song in a Mario game with vocals".[11]

Appearances

Pauline debuted in Donkey Kong (1981) as Mario's love interest.[12] Donkey Kong (1994) for Game Boy,[13] where she continues to be the typical damsel in distress. However, since that point, she did not reappear for a while and was supposedly replaced by Princess Peach. This was until here reintroduction in the Mario vs. Donkey Kong series, where she reprised her role in Mario vs. Donkey Kong 2: March of the Minis for the Nintendo DS in 2006. She would then continue to appear in all of its sequels, including getting her mini toy in Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Mini-Land Mayhem, until 2015. In 2017, Super Mario Odyssey marked her return to the original series, serving as the mayor of New Donk City as well as singer for the songs Jump Up, Super Star!" and "Break Free (Lead The Way)". This version of the character reappeared in both Mario Tennis Aces and Mario Kart Tour in 2019 as a playable character.[14]

Other appearances

Outside of the Mario franchise, Pauline was mainly seen through reappearances of her arcade sprite in games such as the Game & Watch Collection, NES Remix and WarioWare Gold, Pinball and Famicom BASIC.[4] In the Super Smash Bros. series, she along with her band appear on the New Donk City stage, where by interacting with them, can add extra instruments and vocals to the music. In March 2019, Pauline made her playable debut in Mario Tennis Aces.[15]

Reception

IGN reviewed Pauline positively, giving her a 8 out of 10.[16] The song "Jump Up, Super Star!" debuted at number 33 on the Billboard Japan Hot 100 for the week of November 11, 2017.[17][18] Super Mario Odyssey won "Best Original Music" in IGN's Best of 2017, praising the song by stating that it is an "immediate earworm that brilliantly capitalizes on the legacy of the Mario franchise while also standing out as a new approach to music for the series".[19] Kate Higgins performed "Jump Up, Super Star!" during the 2017 Game Awards ceremony.[20][21][22]

Many originally criticized her limited role as helpless damsel who became forgotten by Nintendo.[23] To rectify this, in 2012, a man re modded the original Donkey Kong arcade game to allow players to play as Pauline instead of Jumpman, to please his 3 year old daughter.[24] The father, Mika Mika, explained that his daughter wanted to play as a girl character, but was unable to due the lack of female playable characters in early video games. The modding efforts help to spark interest in female characters in gaming across social media, in sighting video game expert Scott Steinberg to say that developers should "wake up and realize that there is a broader audience", hoping that they can expand the general gaming community.[25]

After her reappearance in Super Mario Odyssey, her character was praised for overcoming the damsel in distress archetype into becoming a woman of power. Bleeding Cool wrote about how it was a "big deal" for Pauline's sudden return, pointing out how she has finally been given a voice after nearly four decades, feeling that is an injustice that she has been negated to just a plot point all that time, citing it as "one hell of a patriarchy-smashing comeback".[26]

Notes
  1. Japanese: レディ Hepburn: Redi

References
  1. Ray, Sheri Graner (2004). Gender inclusive game design ... - Google Books. ISBN 978-1-58450-239-5. Archived from the original on 2021-01-26. Retrieved 2010-04-08.
  2. Text technology: the journal of ... - Google Books. 2008-09-09. Archived from the original on 2021-01-26. Retrieved 2010-04-08.
  3. Lind, Rebecca Ann (2009-09-03). Race, gender, media: considering ... - Google Books. ISBN 978-0-205-34419-2. Archived from the original on 2021-01-26. Retrieved 2010-04-08.
  4. "Pauline (Nintendo) Biography". IGN. Archived from the original on 2011-01-12. Retrieved 2010-07-06.
  5. Nintendo (June 15, 2018). "Arcade Archives Gameplay - Nintendo Treehouse: Live - E3 2018". Archived from the original on January 26, 2021. Retrieved January 18, 2021 – via YouTube.
  6. "Figurine of Pauline by Coleco". Archived from the original on 2017-02-08. Retrieved 2021-01-18.
  7. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2020-12-02. Retrieved 2021-01-18.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  8. Eric Caoili (September 16, 2007). "Promotional Consideration: Multi Screen". EndGadget. Archived from the original on April 16, 2019. Retrieved January 18, 2021.
  9. Hilliard, Kyle (2017-06-13). "Super Mario Odyssey's Creators Don't Dismiss Guest Appearance From Donkey Kong". Game Informer. Archived from the original on 2017-06-15. Retrieved 2017-06-13.
  10. Mulkerin, Tim (June 13, 2017). "Mayor Pauline in 'Super Mario Odyssey' has amazingly deep ties to Nintendo's legacy". Archived from the original on January 26, 2021. Retrieved June 14, 2017.
  11. Alexander, Julia (June 14, 2017). "Super Mario Odyssey producer explains why Pauline has returned". Polygon. Archived from the original on June 15, 2017. Retrieved June 15, 2017.
  12. "Donkey Kong". IGN. Archived from the original on 2011-07-13. Retrieved 2010-07-06.
  13. "Donkey Kong". IGN. Archived from the original on 2010-08-01. Retrieved 2010-07-06.
  14. "Mario's Original Damsel-In-Distress Is Joining Mario Kart Tour: Here's How To Get Pauline". TheGamer. 2019-09-25. Archived from the original on 2019-09-29. Retrieved 2019-10-05.
  15. Wales, Matt (2019-02-28). "Pauline joins the Mario Tennis Aces line-up tomorrow". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on 2019-08-31. Retrieved 2019-08-31.
  16. Mario's Ladies: The Princesses of Mario Galaxy - IGN, archived from the original on 2019-12-28, retrieved 2021-01-18
  17. "Kate Davis". Billboard. Archived from the original on 2021-01-26. Retrieved 2020-05-09.
  18. "Japan Hot 100 Chart". Billboard. Archived from the original on 2019-03-25. Retrieved 2020-05-09.
  19. "Best of 2017 Awards: Original Music". IGN. December 20, 2017. Archived from the original on December 25, 2017. Retrieved December 22, 2017.
  20. Henderson, Jeremy (2018-07-16). "Meet Kate Higgins, the Auburn grad who's in your house". al. Archived from the original on 2021-01-26. Retrieved 2020-05-14. What with that Auburn jazz degree, it was right up Kate's alley. She nailed it. Nintendo actually asked her to perform the song live at the 2017 Game Awards show last December in front of an army of fans in Mario hats.
  21. Frank, Allegra (2017-12-08). "The 7 most memorable moments of The Game Awards 2017". Polygon. Archived from the original on 2018-01-02. Retrieved 2020-05-14. The best musical moment, though? A full performance of “Jump Up, Super Star,” the amazing theme song to Super Mario Odyssey.
  22. "Super Mario Odyssey Has Sold Over 10 Million Units Worldwide, Making It Best-Selling Switch Game". TheGamer. 2018-04-26. Archived from the original on 2021-01-26. Retrieved 2020-05-14. 'Jump Up, Super Star!' was even performed by Kate Higgins, the song's English singer, at the 2017 Game Awards.
  23. Fahey, Mike (June 30, 2011). "So That's What Happened To Mario And Pauline". Kotaku. Archived from the original on August 25, 2020. Retrieved January 26, 2021.
  24. C. Madrigal, Alexis (March 11, 2013). "In This Donkey Kong, Pauline Saves Mario". The Atlantic. Archived from the original on November 16, 2020. Retrieved January 26, 2021.
  25. Curry, Colleen (March 12, 2013). "Dad Hacks 'Donkey Kong' for Daughter, Makes Pauline Rescue Mario". ABC News. Archived from the original on November 12, 2020. Retrieved January 26, 2021.
  26. Ricchiuto, Madeline (November 3, 2017). ""Apparently It's A Pretty Big Deal": Kate Higgins On Giving Pauline A Voice After 36 Years". Bleeding Cool. Archived from the original on October 26, 2020. Retrieved January 26, 2021.
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