>>716242687
>>The Bananza devs in an interview confirmed Mario and Jumpman are the same character
They can be the same character without being the same person. Both Cranky and current DK are the same character as Donkey Kong. All of the Links are the same character. And even still, if you want to be purely in-universe, we know that Mario has control over time and space, like Bowser. He helps Yoshi and Baby Mario save the day in New Island.