GasBandit
Staff member
DK premiered in the arcade in 1981.Even at that rate, Mario should be way older then he is even if Cranky is only 40yo.
Donkey Kong Country released in 1994.
If Cranky was 40 in DKC, he'd have been 27 in DK. 13 years, meanwhile, is not a period of DRAMATIC aging for a human male in his 20s-40s. The real question here though, is whether Mario's fungal substance altered his aging as much as it altered his appearance. Consider - Super Mario Brothers, 1985 - non-super Mario is nearly identical to his "Jumpman" sprite in DK.
However, from SMB2 on, his appearance has radically changed, even appearing to get younger, with each successive foray into the Mushroom Kingdom. He looks YOUNGER than he did in 1981.