The really question is who would be in pauline's place. Call me crazy but i think for a au like this, it should be Cinder
I did not pick Weiss because the SDC will be taking void co.'s Place.
Hell, in this au salem could take the place of the elders. As jaune learns magic and the grimm bananza!
So, funny enough, I did make a post that was based on a video that was based on Bananza, but with Nora & Adrian as the ever lovable Donkey Kong & Pauline.
But for the sake of answering this properly, we'll roll with your idea.
Heads up, there will obviously be spoilers for Donkey Kong Bananza in this post, so just be aware of that.
Okay, to start us off, let's talk about WHY Jaune's at the Atlas mines, which will be our stand-in for Ingot Isle. Well, if we're going by DK's reasoning of wanting to eat bananas, then we'll play off this desire and say Jaune wants Dino Chicken Nuggets and is going after the mysterious Dino Nuggets that appear in the mines.
And as I typed up that last line, I got a crazy idea. Instead of Grimm, Jaune's "Bananza", which in this case will be called a "Mashup" will be him transforming into dinosaurs. The first will be, of course, the T-Rex Mashup in place of Kong Bananza, followed by Gallimimus Mashup for the Zebra Bananza or the Pterandon Mashup for the Ostritch Bananza, then followed by Brachiosaurus for Elephant and finishing off with Pachycephalosaurus for Snake
Originally, I considered him transforming into different Grimm for the Bananza, like Beowolf/Beringel for Kong, Ravager/Nevermore for Ostrich, Boarbatusk for Zebra, Megoliath for Elephant, and King Taijitu for Snake, but I decided to be a little creative in this regard.
As for the villains, Jacques Schnee would fly around as Void Kong, trying to steal the Nuggets and use Cinder's singing to achieve his goal of acquiring the Nugget Core. He'd be joined by Weiss and Winter acting as Poppy and Grumpy Kong respectively before arriving at the core, with Jaune and Cinder teaming up to defeat them and destroy any Grimm they come across along the way.
Once at the core, this is where the spoiler part happens, Jacques Schnee is defeated. However, he's able to force Cinder into singing to unlock the Nugget Core for him, which looks like red orb sitting atop a silver crown. Reaching for it, as Jaune and Cinder recover, he's knocked skyward, far and away by the rising threat of the huntsman he'd foolishly awakened.
Yeah. That's right. It's him.
Cardin wakes up after being gone for more than 20 years and comes back to take the Nugget Core. Using it, he plans to have his greatest wish come true; the annihilation of all Grimm, Faunus, and anyone else who gets in his way, and he's starting with the two little punks standing in front of him.
As for the final battle, well, I'll leave that open for interpretation. To see what I mean, watch DK Bananza played by KZXcellent, whom I HIGHLY recommend as this man is a Donkey Kong fan through and through. I've got my gripes with the game's story, but it's DEFINITELY game of the year, and I don't care WHO says otherwise.
Ruby: Ugh... It's been days since I've had Lunchable...
Ren: Uh, are you aware that you can have Lunchables for cheaper if you just buy the ingredients yourself?
Jaune: Did you miss the part where she's in a character arc of she can't cook anything?
Ren: No, I got that, but I never thought I'd meet someone so desperate for ham and cheese on a cracker.
Ruby: No, no! Not that!
Jaune: No, the pizza ones.
Ren: Oh. Oh! OH! OH! OH!
Yang: (Snickers) You sound like a video game character discovering fire damage.
Weiss: But a real pizza isn't the same as the Lunchables. No part of them should ever be consumed by a human. You make them, and you put them in your mouth, and your entire body just says, "No."
Ruby: No, my body loves them!
Ren: Y... You're willing to put your whole body in danger for something that isn't good for your body?
Blake: Bear in mind, this is the same girl who went on a personal crusade for the McRib.
Blake: So I put up a poll online for whether or not Totally Spies is a fetsh show.
Ruby: It's not!
Blake: And Totally Spies is Ruby's favorite show growing up. The results are in, and 98% voted "Yes" with 2104 votes, while the remaining 2% voted "No" with 33 votes.
Ruby: ...Man, people really hate me.
Weiss: That's not what it means at all!
Yang: Look, Ruby, I get that it's your favorite show and all, but the context- and I'm trying to say this as delicately as I can -the context takes on a different shape when what is happening is happening to three pretty girls.
Blake: Agreed. There is a very distinct difference between Spongebob inflating himself and Clover inflating her suit. There's a difference between shrinking a character and shrinking a girl who is then picked up by a guy who is staring at her creepily.
Ruby: No, see, because he's a bad guy!
Weiss: You're reaching.
Ruby: No, I'm making points!
Yang: You are sinking deeper into your pit of quicksand... Wait, was there a quicksand episode?