Banana Juice
| Banana Juice | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| |||
| First appearance | Donkey Kong Country Returns (2010) | ||
| Latest appearance | Donkey Kong Country Returns HD (2025) | ||
| |||
- “This. Stuff. Is. Awesome. I have no idea what it is, dude, but it tastes radical!”
- —Funky Kong, Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze
Banana Juice is an item from Donkey Kong Country Returns, its Nintendo 3DS port, its Nintendo Switch port, and Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze. When equipped, it causes the player to glow and negates the damage the player would take from enemies and obstacles. It can only block a limited number of hits before wearing off.
In Donkey Kong Country Returns and its ports, it can be purchased from Cranky Kong's Shop for 20 Banana Coins. If Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong equip it, the first ten times they are hit in that level, they do not lose a heart. This is represented by a yellow heart next to their heart with a number for the hits that can be blocked remaining. As long as one of these "hits" remains, the characters have a golden glow and emit golden sparkles. In silhouette levels, this glow does not appear. It can also be used by Diddy Kong in two-player mode. Whenever Donkey Kong or Diddy Kong loses one of the extra hearts, but has at least one remaining, he will briefly revert to their normal appearance before returning back to gold. Donkey Kong flexes and Diddy Kong pumps an arm instead of flinching when they takes damage, but the effect preventing him from moving until the animation ends remains. If the player is in a case where damage does not put them into the full flinching animation, such as while Clinging, then no animation plays at all and the player's control is not interrupted.
Rambi gains no benefit from Banana Juice, so even though the Kongs do not lose a heart Rambi still runs off when they take damage. Similarly, effects that instantly defeat the player ignore the Banana Juice. Aside from the universal case of bottomless pits, examples include crashing a Mine Cart or Rocket Barrel, having a Barrel Cannon be destroyed while the player is still inside it, and getting washed away by the tides of Tidal Terror.
The number of hits that a Banana Juice can block is temporary, being tied to the item rather than increasing Donkey Kong's or Diddy Kong's maximum number of hearts like a Heart Boost does. Once a hit has been used, it cannot be restored. Additionally, the effects of Banana Juice are lost if Donkey Kong or Diddy Kong lose a life, or leave the level.
In the New Mode of Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D and the Modern Mode of Donkey Kong Country Returns HD Banana Juice only costs seven Banana Coins. It only provides five hearts, but this is balanced out by their ability to equip a maximum of three items in New Mode and nine items in Modern Mode. Additionally, its effects are not lost if the Kongs lose a life. When the player has one or two hearts from Banana Juice left, the golden glow slowly flickers instead of staying constant. If the player has more than one Banana Juice equipped at once, the ones other than the first wait until the player is is out of hearts from the first Banana Juice to activate. Banana Juices stay in their bottle form while waiting.
In Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze, Banana Juice can be purchased at Funky's Fly 'n' Buy for 15 Banana Coins. The Banana Juice goes into effect after getting hit for the first time in any level as long as the juice is equipped. In the Nintendo Switch version, the star on the container is green instead of red.
Gallery[edit]
Icon in Donkey Kong Country Returns
Model in Donkey Kong Country Returns
Names in other languages[edit]
| Language | Name | Meaning | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Japanese | バナナジュース[?] Banana Jūsu |
Banana Juice | |
| French | Jus de banane[?] | Banana juice | |
| Italian | Pozione banana[?] | Banana potion |
