Golden Banana
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| Golden Banana | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 A Golden Banana from Donkey Kong 64 | |||
| First appearance | Donkey Kong Country animated series – "Raiders of the Lost Banana" (1998) | ||
| Latest appearance | Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (2017) | ||
| Variant of | Banana | ||
| |||
- “Well, if it isn't my lazy, good-for-nothing son. Lost your Golden Bananas again?”
- —Cranky Kong, Donkey Kong 64
Golden Bananas are collectible items in the Super Mario franchise. They first appeared in the Donkey Kong Country television series, and it was not until Mario Party when they made their first in-game appearance. Their most notable and defining appearance is in Donkey Kong 64. Golden Bananas were alluded to in as early as promotional media for Donkey Kong Country.
History[edit]
Donkey Kong Country series[edit]
Donkey Kong Country[edit]
Donkey Kong Country does not have Golden Bananas, but there is a promotional artwork of Diddy pointing at a Golden Banana statue. This exact artwork was used in a job advertisement for Rare.
Donkey Kong Country Returns[edit]
- “They say there is a banana out there that not only tastes great, but warps you to an alternate dimension. I say, yes please!”
- —Cranky Kong, Donkey Kong Country Returns
In Donkey Kong Country Returns, a single Golden Banana makes an appearance. While leaving Cranky Kong's Shop, Cranky Kong can sometimes ramble about finding a Golden Banana that transports one to another dimension. After accessing the Golden Temple via the Rare Orbs, Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong are surprised to see the giant Golden Banana, held by two golden statues in Donkey Kong's likeness. Peeling its skin and tasting it does indeed transport them to another world.
Donkey Kong Country television series[edit]
A single Golden Banana appears in the "Raiders of the Lost Banana" episode of the Donkey Kong Country television series. It is found by Donkey Kong in Inka Dinka Doo's Temple, and he decides to give it to Candy Kong as a present. As a result, however, Donkey sets off a curse of misfortune that befalls anyone nearby the beholder. Cranky insists he return the banana immediately lest the curse be permanent, but DK gives it to Candy in a moment of foolishness. King K. Rool later kidnaps Candy and demands she hand over the banana, but Donkey Kong shows up to rescue her and returns the banana to Inka Dinka Doo. However, Polly Roger then steals the banana back. Luckily for the Kongs, only K. Rool will now be affected by the curse since he had evil intentions for it. Though the Golden Banana makes no further appearance, it was presumably returned to Inka Dinka Doo, as the curse is now inactive, and hidden deeper within the temple to prevent further thefts.
Mario Party series[edit]
Mario Party[edit]
A golden banana in clusters makes their game debut in Mario Party as the mysterious treasure that is locked away in the ancient ruins of DK's Jungle Adventure. At the end of the game, during the award ceremony, the winning player's stars form a giant Star which flies to the stone chest at the upper-left part of the board, which reveals the treasure.
Mario Party 4[edit]
Golden bananas appear in Mario Party 4 in the mini-game Tree Stomp. Ukikis will occasionally throw them, which can speed up any character who touches them.
Mario Party 9[edit]
A large, golden Banana Bunch[1] appears in Mario Party 9 in the minigame DK's Banana Bonus. While moving left and right in the sky off-screen, this Banana Bunch can be reached by launching into the golden Barrel Cannon to reach a higher area. Whoever touches the golden Banana Bunch there earns ten bananas.
Donkey Kong 64[edit]
- “Oh, banana!”
- —Golden Banana appearance soundbyte, Donkey Kong 64
In Donkey Kong 64, Golden Bananas, or Gold Bananas,[2] are Donkey Kong's supply of bananas that he keeps in his banana hoard. They are imprinted with a Nintendo 64 sticker. Despite being the first explicit appearance of Golden Bananas in a game, the manual implies that they were part of the banana hoard previously,[3][4] potentially referring to the Giant Bananas from Donkey Kong Country.
During gameplay, King K. Rool orders the Kremlings to steal the Golden Bananas and kidnap the other four Kongs (who are later freed) in an attempt to distract Donkey Kong while they repair the Blast-o-Matic. B. Locker is assigned by K. Rool to block the Kongs from entering the other worlds; however, B. Locker allows them to enter if they have at least a minimum of a certain number of Golden Bananas (the requirement is different for each world). The Golden Bananas are no different from Power Stars in Super Mario 64, except aside from one character, Donkey Kong, the Golden Bananas also have to be recovered by his four sidekicks: Diddy Kong, Tiny Kong, Lanky Kong, and Chunky Kong; the Kongs each have to collect five Golden Bananas in every world by fulfilling their own unique tasks and challenges, for a total of 25 Golden Bananas per world. There are a total of 200 Golden Bananas to collect in the seven worlds and the hub location, DK Isles. There is a hidden 201st Golden Banana that Tiny can obtain from the Banana Fairy Princess, once every Banana Fairy is caught. The Banana Fairy Princess happily opens the door to an isolated room with the 201st Golden Banana, which is larger in size and sports the Rare logo, unlike every other Golden Banana. All 201 Golden Bananas are required for achieving a 100% completion rating and unlocking the second ending.
A golden Banana bunch appears as the early HUD icon for the Golden Banana in the kiosk demo; it appears if players win Diddy Kong's Mine Cart mini-game. A single frame of the icon appears in the final game, as the emblem on B. Locker's head.
Donkey Kong Barrel Blast[edit]
A Golden Banana, worth fifty Bananas, is an item in Donkey Kong Barrel Blast. Many are found from Surprise Panels.
Mario Kart series[edit]
In the Mario Kart series, a Golden Banana statue appears in 3DS DK Jungle, inside the Golden Temple section near the exit, first appearing in Mario Kart 7, followed by Mario Kart 8 and its Nintendo Switch version. In the latter two games, the statue now appears in the anti-gravity section of the inner Golden Temple section, and it spins. In both games, the statue is consistently designed after its appearance in Donkey Kong Country Returns.
Gold Bananas appear as items in Mario Kart Arcade GP DX, where they can only be dropped from behind. If the player comes in contact, it causes their kart to spin out, making it difficult to operate for a certain period of time. Triple Gold Bananas also appear.
Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle[edit]
A weapon based on a Golden Banana appears in Donkey Kong Adventure, the expansion pack for Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle, as the Golden Gyre, a Bwananarang for Donkey Kong.
Gallery[edit]
- For this subject's image gallery, see Gallery:Golden Banana.
Donkey Kong Country promotional artwork of Diddy pointing at a golden banana statue
Names in other languages[edit]
| Language | Name | Meaning | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| French | Banane d'Or[?] | Golden Banana | |
| Italian | Banana d'Oro[5] | Gold Banana | Donkey Kong 64 |
| Banana dorata[6] | Golden banana | Donkey Kong Jet Race |
References[edit]
- ^ Mario Party 9 internal filename (mg9707_banaan_gold)
- ^ November 1999. Nintendo Official Magazine (UK) issue 86. EMAP (British English). Page 9.
- ^ "Hmm... well, I have to hand it to them. This time they’ve managed to come up with a decent storyline that doesn’t involve the usual golden bananas. Only joking kids! This one’s worse than all the previous efforts put together! I know you probably aren’t expecting a best seller, but wait till you hear this load of rubbish..." – Cranky Kong (1999). Donkey Kong 64 instruction booklet. Nintendo of America (American English). Page 4.
- ^ “Don’t get all upset now, your excellency. We’ll go and capture those nasty Kongs for you. Then we’ll steal their Golden Bananas as usual so that if any Kongs escape us, they’ll be too busy looking for them to come and ruin your magnificent plans.” – Klump (1999). Donkey Kong 64 instruction booklet. Nintendo of America (American English). Page 5.
- ^ Donkey Kong 64 English-Italian manual. Page 34.
- ^ Donkey Kong Jet Race Italian manual. Page 12.
| Donkey Kong Barrel Blast | ||
|---|---|---|
| Playable characters |
Kongs | Donkey Kong (Ultra Barrel) • Diddy Kong • Dixie Kong • Lanky Kong • Tiny Kong • Funky Kong • Wrinkly Kong • Cranky Kong |
| Kremlings | Kritter • Kip • Kass • Klump • Kalypso • Kludge • Kopter • King K. Rool | |
| Non-playable character | Candy Kong | |
| Cups | Topaz Cup | DK Jungle • Salty Sea • Mt. Dynamite |
| Sapphire Cup | Scorching Canyon • DK Jungle Falls • Shimmering Sea • Mammoth Glacier | |
| Diamond Cup | Open Ocean • Mt. Dynamite Remix • Parched Palace • Cranky's Temple | |
| Platinum Cup | Dynamite Run • DK Jungle Sunset • Alpine Peak • Temple Heights • Cosmic Highway | |
| Other | Gallery | |
