Barrel Cannon

Barrel Cannon
Artwork of a Barrel Cannon from Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze
First appearance	Donkey Kong Country (1994)
Latest appearance	Mario & Luigi: Brothership (2024)

“It's a Barrel Cannon! I wonder where it will take you...”

—Toad, Mario Party 9

Barrel Cannons (also spelled Barrel Kannon), also known as a Cannon barrel, are recurring objects in the Donkey Kong Country series, as well as in the Super Mario franchise. Once entered, the barrel shoots the character in the direction indicated by its arrow. Barrel Cannons are most often used for crossing large abysses.

History

Donkey Kong franchise

Donkey Kong Country series

All four types of Barrel Cannons appearing in Donkey Kong Country Returns

All four types of Barrel Cannons appearing in Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze

Barrel Cannons appear in every game of the Donkey Kong Country series to date. In these games, if a Kong goes into the barrel, it will either stay still (as is the case with barrels marked with arrows), move horizontally or vertically, or spin around (also referred to as Spin Barrels; these sorts of barrels have no markings on them). The player can usually blast out the Kongs by pressing the jump button. Barrel Cannons often appear in groups, which often includes their auto-fire variant, the Blast Barrel; an example of this is in the Donkey Kong Country level Barrel Cannon Canyon, where Barrel Cannons are prominently featured for crossing wide pitfalls throughout.

Blasting from a Barrel Cannon often requires timing, as the player must take various things into account, including obstacles, enemies, or sometimes even other moving Barrel Cannons. This is to avoid crashing into an enemy or obstacle or falling down a long pit.

Barrel Cannons come in many varieties in the Donkey Kong Country games, especially in Donkey Kong Country, Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest, and Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble! These include Arrow Barrels, Blast Barrels, Tracker Barrels, Rotatable Barrels, Steerable Barrels, and Booster Barrels. In Donkey Kong Country Returns, Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D, Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze, and its Nintendo Switch port, Barrel Cannons only come in four varieties: regular Barrel Cannons, Blast Barrels, and skull versions of both, which destroy themselves when they fire the Kongs. In Tropical Freeze, Barrel Cannons gain a more rugged appearance, having chipped or faded paint in many places.

Donkey Kong 64

In Donkey Kong 64, Barrel Cannons take the appearance of red Blast Barrels, though most are not automatic. They are only used by Donkey Kong in the Baboon Blast courses, as well as during his part of the final battle with King Krusha K. Rool.

Donkey Kong Barrel Blast

A Launcher Barrel in Donkey Kong Barrel Blast

They also appear as Launcher Barrels in Donkey Kong Barrel Blast, along with new varieties such as Style Barrels and yellow versions. Launcher Barrels commonly appear in all race courses, shooting out racers at high speed. There are also Spinning Launcher Barrels, which spin around before shooting out a racer.

New Play Control! Donkey Kong Jungle Beat

Barrel Cannons can be encountered in New Play Control! Donkey Kong Jungle Beat, replacing Spring Flowers from the original GameCube game. They are completely stationary in this game, and once entered, they will only shoot Donkey Kong in one direction. In order to blast DK out of a Barrel Cannon, the player has to swing the Wii Remote.

Super Smash Bros. series

SmashWiki article: Barrel Cannon

A Barrel Cannon from The Subspace Emissary in Super Smash Bros. Brawl

Barrel Cannons appear in several stages in the Super Smash Bros. series, namely Kongo Jungle, Kongo Falls, and Jungle Hijinxs. In Kongo Jungle and Kongo Falls, there is a single Barrel Cannon that moves back and forth underneath the stage, occasionally rotating. If a character falls into the cannon, they can press the A button to fire themselves out of the cannon in the direction of the arrow. If they wait too long, they will be shot out automatically. Since the cannon sometimes rotates, this action can sometimes save players from falling, or it can launch them directly into a KO. Only one character may occupy the Barrel Cannon at a time. The one in Kongo Falls can also be used by Klaptraps that fall into it; they inflict damage if the cannon is touched while they are inside it, or if they are fired towards the stage. In Jungle Hijinxs, several stationary Barrel Cannons appear, sometimes switching positions. These are used to travel between the foreground and background of the stage. After using one of these Barrel Cannons, flames will temporarily surround the fighter; attempting to enter another Barrel Cannon with these flames causes it to explode rather than launching the fighter between planes. There is also a Barrel Cannon that always explodes upon use, revealed when the middle part of the foreground collapses.

In Super Smash Bros. Melee, Barrel Cannons also appear as a usable item. Aside from always rotating and destroying itself upon firing, it works like the stage variation. The item is heavy, with only Donkey Kong having access to unrestricted movement while holding it. When thrown, the barrel rolls until it touches a character or falls off the stage. If anyone else touches the barrel while it is occupied, they will take moderate damage. Barrel Cannons disappear much faster than any other item if left alone. Viewing the Barrel Cannon trophy from the bottom reveals the message "2L84ME" ("too late for me"), also seen on a crate in official artwork of Cranky's Cabin.

Barrel Cannons also appear in The Subspace Emissary in Super Smash Bros. Brawl and Smash Run in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS, and have a smooth, black appearance and a yellow arrow with a red outline. Characters use these to get shot up higher or break Brick Blocks in their way.

Mario Kart series

Mario approaching the DK Cannon in DK Mountain in Mario Kart Wii

Throughout the Mario Kart series, some cannons take the form of barrels. In DK Mountain, a course in Mario Kart: Double Dash!!, there is a giant Barrel Cannon (referred to in the former as Donkey Cannon and in the latter as DK Cannon) that blasts competitors to the top of the mountain. DK Mountain, and the barrel cannon, return in Mario Kart Wii, Mario Kart Tour, and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. A Barrel Cannon with the same function appears in the DK Summit course of Mario Kart Wii as well as in Maple Treeway from both Mario Kart Wii and Mario Kart 7, but it does not include the DK initials in the latter course. Another Barrel Cannon is featured in the Mario Kart 8 and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe overhaul of N64 Yoshi Valley, replacing the Long Route. A silver Barrel Cannon with blue hoops and supports appears on the planet section of 3DS Rainbow Road R in Mario Kart Tour, where it launches drivers off to a different portion of the track. A Blast Barrel can also be seen on the Barrel Hanafuda glider.

Mario Tennis series

In the Mario Tennis series, a Barrel Cannon is utilized in a few of Donkey Kong's special moves. In Mario Power Tennis and Mario Tennis: Power Tour, Donkey Kong mounts and shoots from a Barrel Cannon as part of his Offensive Power Shot, the Barrel Cannon Blast. In Mario Tennis Aces, Donkey Kong launches himself from several Barrel Cannons to perform his Special Shot.

Mario Super Sluggers

Barrel Cannons make a minor appearance in Mario Super Sluggers in adventure mode. When the player travels to DK Jungle, Donkey Kong meets him and says that there is a waterfall too far for him to jump across. Nearby, in a bush, is a barrel cannon that will launch the player across this waterfall.

Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story / Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story + Bowser Jr.'s Journey

Mario and Luigi using the Yoo Who Cannon

In Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story and Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story + Bowser Jr.'s Journey, Mario and Luigi obtain a Special Attack called Yoo Who Cannon where the bros. jump into Barrel Cannons and are shot at enemies. This same attack was planned for the sequel but was removed.

Mario Party series

The players using Barrel Cannons in Diddy's Banana Blast, Mario Party 9

DK Barrel Cannons appear in DK's Treetop Temple in Mario Party 8. When a player passes one, they can choose to pay five coins to launch themselves towards a higher location on the board.

In Mario Party 9, Barrel Cannons appear in DK's Jungle Ruins. If the player lands on a Lucky Space, they will be launched to a floating island to increase their Bananas counter. Many Barrel Cannons appear in the boss minigames Diddy's Banana Blast and DK's Banana Bonus, where the players use them to reach Bananas.

Only a single giant Barrel Cannon appears in Mario Party 10, located at the top of the Donkey Kong Board. Whenever the player's amiibo comes across this cannon, they will be offered the possibility to enter the cannon and get launched to one of the spaces the other players are on.

Barrel Cannons return in Mario Party: Star Rush, in the minigame Leafboard Hoard. The objective is for players to select a Barrel Cannon, and competing for one with the most coins, and then launch from that one.

Mini Mario & Friends: amiibo Challenge

Many Barrel Cannons and Blast Barrels in the first level of Barrel Blast Jungle in Mini Mario & Friends: amiibo Challenge

Barrel Cannons appear in Mini Mario & Friends: amiibo Challenge as the gimmick of Barrel Blast Jungle. There are stationary Barrel Cannons, which spin around continuously, as well as Barrel Cannons that do not rotate but move from one side to the other on a line. Barrel Cannons display a light-emitting disc, which turns red when Mini Donkey Kong is inside the cannon. If the disc is tapped with GamePad while Mini Donkey Kong is inside, he gets launched from the barrel. Alongside Barrel Cannons, there are also Blast Barrels.

WarioWare Gold

In the Donkey Kong Country microgame from WarioWare Gold, the player has to fire Donkey Kong from a Barrel Cannon onto a row of bananas. The Barrel Cannon takes the form of a Blast Barrel, although it only fires the character at the player's command. In the first two difficulties, the Barrel Cannon moves up and down, while in the third difficulty, it rotates 90 degrees in one place.

Mario Strikers: Battle League

In Mario Strikers: Battle League, Diddy Kong launches himself from a Barrel Cannon during his Hyper Strike animation.

Profiles

Donkey Kong Country series

Donkey Kong Country

• Instruction booklet bio: Barrel Cannons are usually suspended in the sky by some unknown force. Once you jump into one you can launch out of it, high in the sky or across great distances. There are two kinds: regular cannons which you press the B button to activate, and automatic cannons which will launch as soon as you jump in. Automatic barrels are marked with a white explosion.
• Instruction booklet bio (Game Boy Advance version) Leap into a Barrel Cannon to get launched into the air. Those marked with an explosion symbol will fire automatically, while others will require a press of the A Button to launch. You'll also find some Barrel Cannons that move, so be sure to time your shots carefully.

Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest

• Instruction booklet bio (Game Boy Advance version): There are several types of Barrel Kannon. Arrow Barrels simply launch you in the direction of the arrow (use the + Control Pad to move left or right in the air). Blast Barrels will automatically launch you in a certain pre-programmed direction. Delayed Blast Barrels will allow you to aim them before they blast you out.
• Wii U Virtual Console manual bio: If you jump into this barrel, you will be sent flying for a long distance. There are several types of these barrels.

Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble!

• Instruction booklet bio (Game Boy Advance version): This barrel will automatically launch you to places that you'd never be able to reach otherwise.

Super Smash Bros. Melee

Trophy Barrel Cannon
	Game/move: Donkey Kong Country 11/94
	How to unlock: Randomly obtainable from a single-player mode or the Lottery
	The Barrel Cannons were used in Donkey Kong games as a vital means of transportation, and their explosive nature is used similarly in Super Smash Bros. Melee. On the Kongo Jungle stage, one can catch characters as they fall from the main platform. Careful! The Barrel Cannon rotation may accidentally send you flying off the screen.

Mini Mario & Friends: amiibo Challenge

• Play Nintendo: You can make your Mini hop into a cannon by marching up to it. Tap the red button to shoot your Mini out of the cannon and into enemies!

Gallery

For this subject's image gallery, see Gallery:Barrel Cannon.

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  Donkey Kong 64

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  Mario using the Barrel Cannon in N64 Yoshi Valley in Mario Kart 8

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  Donkey Kong shooting between Barrel Cannons to prepare a Special Shot in Mario Tennis Aces

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  Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story + Bowser Jr.'s Journey sprite

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  Super Nintendo World

Names in other languages

Language	Name	Meaning	Notes
Japanese	タル大砲[?] Taru Taihō	Barrel Cannon; compare Blast Barrel
	加速たる[?] Kasoku Taru	Acceleration Barrel (Jet Race)
Chinese (traditional)	木桶大炮 Mùtǒng Dàpào	Barrel Cannon
French	Tonneau canon	Barrel cannon
German	Kanonenfass	Cannon barrel
Italian	Barile cannone[?]	Cannon barrel
	Barile Catapulta (normale)	Catapult Barrel (normal)	Donkey Kong Jet Race normal variant
	Barile Catapulta (rotante)	Catapult Barrel (spinning)	Donkey Kong Jet Race spinning variant
	Barile Catapulta (potenziato)	Catapult Barrel (powered-up)	Donkey Kong Jet Race yellow variant
Portuguese	Barril Canhão[?]	Cannon Barrel
Spanish	Barril cañón	Barrel cannon