Banana Bunch

This article is about the cluster of bananas seen in multiple games. For the minigame in Mario Tennis for the Game Boy Color, see Banana Bunch (minigame).

Banana Bunch
Artwork of a Banana Bunch from Donkey Kong Country Returns
First appearance	Donkey Kong Jr. (1982)
Latest appearance	Mario vs. Donkey Kong (Nintendo Switch) (2024)

Banana Bunches in the Super Mario franchise are items consisting of clustered bananas, usually in quantities of three, five, or ten.

History

Donkey Kong Jr.

A Banana Bunch lying under a vine is among the fruit Donkey Kong Jr. can drop on enemies in the first stage of his debut game. Like every other fruit in the game, this Banana Bunch awards the player 400 points if touched.

Donkey Kong Country series

A Banana Bunch from the Donkey Kong Country series

Like their single counterparts, Banana Bunches appear in every single Donkey Kong Country and Donkey Kong Land game to date.

In Donkey Kong Country, Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest, and Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble!, Banana Bunches are worth ten bananas. In the former game, Donkey Kong can sometimes reveal a Banana Bunch by using Hand Slap in a specific location.

In Donkey Kong Country Returns and Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze, there are two distinct Banana Bunches: the more common variety are worth five bananas, while the rarer variety are worth twenty.

Mario Kart 64

Banana Bunches appear as items exclusively in Mario Kart 64. When used, five regular Banana peels are automatically deployed to trail behind the player's kart. The player may throw each Banana one-by-one whenever they please, and the Bananas also block incoming items from hitting the player. They can be obtained in the top two positions, with a 5% chance of appearing in each position they appear in.

In later games in the Mario Kart series, Triple Bananas supersede Banana Bunches in terms of function, making the Banana Bunch the only item from Mario Kart 64 that does not reappear in another installment.

Yoshi's Story

Bananas appear as a bunch in Yoshi's Story, but are only worth one fruit.

Donkey Kong 64

Like all other color-coded character-specific items in Donkey Kong 64, Banana Bunches are colored yellow for Donkey Kong, red for Diddy Kong, purple for Tiny Kong, blue for Lanky Kong, and green for Chunky Kong. Every Banana Bunch collected adds to the total banana count required to complete the game.

Super Mario Sunshine

In Super Mario Sunshine, Banana Bunches appear throughout Isle Delfino and are mainly used to feed Yoshis, or to give to a female Pianta in Delfino Plaza to receive a Blue Coin.

Mario Party series

Banana Bunches have a minor appearance in two of the Mario Party series installments. In Mario Party 5, all three minigames hosted by Donkey Kong have Banana Bunches in the jungle. In Mario Party 10, several Banana Bunches are carried by a moving Mine Cart in the background of the Donkey Kong Board.

In Mario Party 9, their only major role in a Mario Party game, Banana Bunches appear on DK's Jungle Ruins, substituting for the Mini Stars that appear on other boards. Collecting a Banana Bunch makes the captain gain three Bananas. Banana Bunches have a Z-Banana equivalent which take away three Bananas. By landing on the Lucky Space on the left side of the board, the captain can earn up to four Banana Bunches if they are launched high enough into the air. By landing on the Lucky Space on the right side of the board, the captain can earn Banana Bunches by lining up the middle head of each of the three pillars. For each successful attempt, an addition Banana Bunch is given, allowing up to five Banana Bunches. In the exclusive minigames of this board, Diddy's Banana Blast and DK's Banana Bonus, Banana Bunches appear less frequently than regular Bananas. DK's Banana Bonus has one giant Banana Bunch that gives ten Bananas.

Mario vs. Donkey Kong

In Mario vs. Donkey Kong, Banana Bunches reprise their original role from Donkey Kong Jr. as fruit that can be dropped on enemies to attack them. This time, they do not award the player any points if touched, but will award 500 points if they hit an enemy. They are present in Levels 2-5, 2-DK, 2-2+, 2-5+, and 2-DK+.

Donkey Kong Jungle Beat

Banana Bunches, like regular Bananas, appear in Donkey Kong Jungle Beat. In this game, Donkey Kong's banana total acts as his overall health (in the New Play Control! version, they only act as his health for boss battles); losing all of his beats results in a Game Over. Banana Bunches are worth three beats.

DK series

Banana Bunches appear in both games of the DK series: DK: King of Swing and DK: Jungle Climber. In these games, the standard Banana Bunches are worth five bananas, and there is a less common type worth ten bananas.

Yoshi Touch & Go

Banana Bunches also appear in Yoshi Touch & Go. If a Yoshi eats one, it will get three more eggs.

Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle

Like regular Bananas, Banana Bunches reappear as currency exclusively in the Donkey Kong Adventure mode of Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle, and are worth five regular Bananas. They usually appear after the player collects some Bananas in a circle.

Unused appearances

Banana Bunches were originally going to appear as items in Mario Kart: Super Circuit, but were scrapped.

Profiles and statistics

Super Smash Bros. Brawl

Sticker Banana Bunch
	Artwork from: Donkey Kong: Barrel Blast
	Effects in The Subspace Emissary: [Specials: Direct] - Attack +6
	Usable by: Anyone

Gallery

For this subject's image gallery, see Gallery:Banana Bunch.

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  Donkey Kong Country

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  Mario Kart 64

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  Yoshi's Story

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  Donkey Kong 64

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  Super Mario Sunshine

Names in other languages

Language	Name	Meaning	Notes
Japanese	５本バナナ 5-hon Banana	5 Bananas
	バナナ１ふさ １０本バナナ 10-hon Banana	10 Bananas
	食べごろバナナ[?] Tabegoro Banana	Ripe Bananas
	バナナ１ふさ[?] Banana 1 Fusa	1 Banana Bunch
French	Régime de bananes[?]	Banana bunch
Italian	Grandi cesti di banane	Big banana basket
	Cesto di banane	Banana basket
	Casco di banane	Banana bunch

See also

• Triple Bananas