Pauline (Super Mario)

Pauline (originally known simply as Lady and The Beautiful Girl) is the damsel-in-distress in the arcade game Donkey Kong, the installment that marked her debut to the Mario series in general, along with Mario and the titular character who captured her, Donkey Kong.

She is well-known for being Mario's first love interest.

Why She Rocks

 * 1) In her more recent appearances, such as the Mini-Land games, she is represented as being sweet, laid-back and caring, as well as having a sense of humor and eye for business.
 * 2) She is kind-hearted and enjoys spending time with her friends.
 * 3) She received a big role in the recent Super Mario Odyssey, where she is appointed as mayor of New Donk City and enjoys peppy jazz music because it brings people together, she frequently practices singing to prepare for the next New Donk City Festival, she has such a love for her city that she often takes walks to admire it all,
 * 4) She is excels at musical talent, wonderfully performing the song Jump Up, Super Star!, the main theme of the game.
 * 5) She is one of few female Mario characters not to get kidnapped by Bowser and openly despises him.

Bad Qualities

 * 1) She lacks a clear personality, though is changed in her more recent appearances.
 * 2) She seems to think highly of herself but not enough to be considered egotistic.
 * 3) Though in the first Donkey Kong game she was just a damsel-in-distress and, as such, didn't play an integral part in the simple story of the game other than being rescued.

Trivia

 * Pauline is stated by Game Over, a 1993 non-fiction book by David Sheff, to be named after Polly James, wife of Nintendo of America's warehouse manager, Don James.
 * In Super Mario Odyssey, Pauline is able to quiz Mario on facts about herself, where she says that her hat is her favorite possession, she loves eating cake, and that her capture in Donkey Kong was "traumatic", although it helped her grow as a person.