Golden Banana
It has been requested that this article berewritten.Reason: Has"everything but the kitchen sink" syndrome; see discussion
| Golden Banana | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 A Golden Banana fromDonkey Kong 64 | |||
| First appearance | Donkey Kong Country – "Raiders of the Lost Banana" (1996) | ||
| Latest appearance | Donkey Kong Country Returns HD (2025) | ||
| Variant of | Banana | ||
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- “Well, if it isn'tmy lazy, good-for-nothing son. Lost your Golden Bananas again?”
- —Cranky Kong,Donkey Kong 64
Golden Bananas are collectible items in theSuper Mario franchise. They first appeared in theDonkey Kong Country television series, and it was not untilMario Party when they made their first in-game appearance. Their most notable and defining appearance is inDonkey Kong 64. Golden Bananas were alluded to in as early as promotional media forDonkey Kong Country.
History[edit]
Donkey Kong Country series[edit]
Donkey Kong Country[edit]
WhileDonkey Kong Country does not feature Golden Bananas, there is promotional artwork of Diddy pointing at a Golden Banana statue. This exact artwork was used ina job advertisementMedia:Rareware Hiring Ad.jpg forRare.
Donkey Kong Country Returns[edit]
- “They say there is a banana out there that not only tastes great, but warps you to analternate dimension. I say, yes please!”
- —Cranky Kong,Donkey Kong Country Returns
InDonkey Kong Country Returns, a single Golden Banana makes an appearance. While leavingCranky Kong's Shop,Cranky Kong can sometimes ramble about finding a Golden Banana that transports one to another dimension. After accessing theGolden Temple via theRare Orbs, Donkey Kong andDiddy Kong are surprised to see the giant Golden Banana, held by two golden statues in Donkey Kong's likeness. The two then peeled its skin and tasted it, transporting them to the start of the world's level (or to theCloud world in the3DS andSwitch versions).
Donkey Kong Country television series[edit]
- “How can such a pretty thing as this make things really go amiss? All I want is Candy's kiss!”
- —Donkey Kong, "Raiders of the Lost Banana"
A Golden Banana appears in the "Raiders of the Lost Banana" episode of theDonkey Kong Country television series. It is found by Donkey Kong in theInka Temple, and he decides to give it toCandy 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 toInka 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 inMario Party as the mysterious treasure that is locked away in the ancient ruins ofDK's Jungle Adventure. At the end of the game, during the award ceremony, the winning player's stars form a giantStar 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 inMario Party 4 in the mini-gameTree 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 inMario Party 9 in the minigameDK's Banana Bonus. While moving left and right in the sky off-screen, this Banana Bunch can be reached by launching into the goldenBarrel 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
InDonkey Kong 64, Golden Bananas, orGold Bananas,[2] areDonkey Kong's supply of bananas that he keeps in hisbanana hoard. They are imprinted with aNintendo 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 theGiant Bananas fromDonkey Kong Country.
During gameplay,King K. Rool orders theKremlings 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 theBlast-o-Matic.B. Locker is assigned by K. Rool to block theKongs 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 fromPower Stars inSuper 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, andChunky 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 theBanana Fairy Princess, once everyBanana 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 theRare logo, unlike every other Golden Banana. All 201 Golden Bananas are required for achieving a 101%completion rating and unlocking the second ending.
A golden Banana bunch appears as the early HUD icon for the Golden Banana in thekiosk demo; it appears if players winDiddy Kong'sMine 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 inDonkey Kong: Barrel Blast. Many are found from Surprise Panels.
Mario Kart series[edit]
In theMario Kart series, a Golden Banana statue appears in3DS DK Jungle, inside the Golden Temple section near the exit, first appearing inMario Kart 7, followed byMario Kart 8 and itsNintendo Switch version. In the latter two games, the statue now appears in theanti-gravity section of the inner Golden Temple section, and it spins. In both games, the statue is consistently designed after its appearance inDonkey Kong Country Returns.
Gold Bananas appear as items inMario 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]
Aweapon based on a Golden Banana appears inDonkey Kong Adventure, the expansion pack forMario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle, as the Golden Gyre, aBwananarang for Donkey Kong.
Donkey Kong Bananza[edit]
InDonkey Kong Bananza, Golden Bananas known asBanandium Gems appear as the main collectibles.
Gallery[edit]
- For this subject's image gallery, seeGallery:Golden Banana.
Donkey Kong Country promotional artwork of Diddy pointing at a golden banana statue
Names in other languages[edit]
| Language | Name | Meaning | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Japanese | ゴールデンバナナ[5] Gōruden Banana | Golden Banana | Donkey Kong 64 |
Ōgon Banana | Donkey Kong: Barrel Blast | ||
| Basque | Urrezko banana[7] | Golden banana | |
| Chinese(Traditional) | 黃金香蕉[8] Huángjīn Xiāngjiāo | Golden Banana | Donkey Kong Bananza |
| French | Banane d'Or[9] | Golden Banana | |
| German | Goldene banane[10] | Golden banana | |
| Italian | Banana d'Oro[11] | Gold Banana | Donkey Kong 64 |
| Banana dorata[12] | Golden banana | Donkey Kong: Barrel Blast | |
| Banana d'oro[13] | Gold banana | Donkey Kong Bananza | |
| Spanish(Latin American) | Banana de oro[14] | Golden banana | Donkey Kong Country television series |
| Plátano dorado[?] | |||
| Spanish(European) | Plátano de oro[15] | Golden banana | Donkey Kong Country television series |
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.
- ^December 10, 1999.「ドンキーコング64 取扱説明書」(Donkey Kong 64 Toriatsukai Setsumeisho) (PDF).Nintendo (Japanese). Page 20.
- ^June 28, 2007. ドンキーコング たるジェットレース (Donkey Kong Barrel Jet Race) instruction booklet).Nintendo (Japanese). Page 15.
- ^Donkey Kong Country - Raiders Of The Lost Banana (Basque Dub)
- ^咚奇剛 蕉力全開 | Nintendo Switch 2 | 任天堂.Nintendo HK (Traditional Chinese). Retrieved June 21, 2025.
- ^1999.Donkey Kong 64 German-French instruction booklet. Page 36.
- ^Donkey Kong Country Deutsch S2E14 - Die Flaschenpost [HD-Breitbild]
- ^Donkey Kong 64 English-Italian instruction booklet. Page 34.
- ^Donkey Kong: Jet Race Italian instruction booklet. Page 12.
- ^April 2, 2025.Donkey Kong Bananza on Nintendo.it. Italian.
- ^El país de Donkey Kong S1E6 - Los Cazadores De La Banana Perdida [HD de pantalla panorámica]
- ^Donkey Kong Country (Castellano): 06 - Los ladrones del plátano perdido (HD)
