10 HIDDEN Secrets in Donkey Kong Bananza

10 Hidden Secrets in Donkey Kong Bananza

Welcome to MojoPlays and today were looking at Easter Eggs and other small details hiding in Donkey Kong Bananza. Since we are talking openly about the game, be warned of full spoilers ahead.

Boxes and Barrels

Lets start with a small one. At the beginning of the game, after Ingot Isle sinks underground, youll probably be running around, destroying everything in your path to progress through the area, including the various boxes and barrels that hold health and gold. But if you stop to take a look at them, you may notice a small Easter Egg. The boxes and barrels are labeled with NDC, which are the initials of New Donk City. That, of course, was one of the standout levels from Super Mario Odyssey, which Pauline was the mayor of and which held tons of little nods to the Donkey Kong series. It also ends up appearing much later in this game.

DKs High Fives

You can destroy nearly everything in Donkey Kong Bananza, including a newly introduced race of rock people called Fractones. Its okay, though; they completely reform after breaking. However, if you try to punch through any other NPC, DK will instead give them a high five and a thumbs up. And every type of NPC has a lovely little reaction or animation. The teleportation eels will be delighted and the monkeys of the lagoon layer will spin around and clap. The zebras of the frozen layer and the ostriches of the forest layer will actually change their outfits. My personal favorite is Cranky Kong. The powerful high five is apparently a bit too much for his brittle bones to take, as hell shake his hands in pain.

Crankys Past

Speaking of Cranky, you can find him in most of the games worlds. And after listening to him rant, hell give you a Banandium Gem. Most of his dialogue is about how hes chasing the villain, but hell also make little nods to past games. Hell mention how, in his day, villains had more charisma, even in overalls, a nod to Mario who we play as in the arcade classic. He also mentions how throwing barrels is a viable strategy of attack. It makes sense that Cranky would reference the iconic original. But he also mockingly refers to his grandson as the leader of the bunch, a reference to the DK rap from Donkey Kong 64.

Retreading History

There are a few challenges in the game that recreate levels from past Donkey Kong adventures. Theres Mine-Cart Country in the Resort Layer, which pays homage to the classic mine cart levels in Donkey Kong Country. Theres Arcade Country in the Radiance Layer, naturally inspired by the 1981 original. Theres also Bramble Country in the Forest Layer, paying homage to Bramble Blast from Donkey Kong Country 2. As a side note, the new version of Stickerbrush Symphony that plays here is genuinely incredible. However, the most Easter Egg- filled of these retro levels is the one youll likely find first, Nostalgia Country in the Hilltop Layer, which recreates Jungle Hijinx from Donkey Kong Country. At the very beginning, you can use a piece of terrain to double jump to the top left and find DKs treehouse. The developers put a lot of effort into capturing the details of the original version, including the D.K. sign outside, the general layout inside, and the tire jump up to a Banandium Gem instead of an extra life. Theres also a small TV thats identical to the one seen in the reveal trailer for King K. Rool from Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

Paulines Dress

As is the case with DK, you can unlock different outfits for Pauline as you play. But her starting one features an obscure reference. The Rock-Out Rags consist of baggy jeans, and a red top that could be a dress if it wasnt torn up from the bottom. Artwork for the first Donkey Kong game featured the original iteration of Pauline wearing a red dress, torn up in the exact same fashion. This isnt the first time Nintendo has alluded to this artwork. Pauline also appears in 1994s Donkey Kong on Game Boy, as well as the Mario vs. Donkey Kong series, again wearing a red dress with tears at the bottom. Additionally, youll unlock outfits in later stages that pay homage to her first appearance. In the Planet Core area, youll find the Ladys Dress, red without tears and giving her blonde hair to match other artwork, and the Arcade Dress, pink with dirty blonde hair to match her in-game sprite.

Paulines Dance

Every time Donkey Kong learns a new Bananza form, it comes with a musical scene where Pauline sings in front of a crowd. During these scenes, she also performs a small dance move, turning her body sideways and rocking back and forth. In Super Mario Odyssey, she can be seen doing the same move as she sings Jump Up Superstar in New Donk City. This little dance move was inspired, yet again, by her first appearance. As Mario climbs up construction sites to rescue her in Donkey Kong, instead of just standing still, shell often have an animation where she seems to wiggle her body back and forth. Though, since shes been kidnapped by a giant gorilla, I doubt shes dancing here.

Rambi Rumble

At Sublayer 1,100, youll find the Racing Layer. Here, you can partake in a race run by Diddy and Dixie Kong, where you ride on Rambi the rhino. Destroying terrain as you go fills up a meter, which allows you to use rocket barrels for elevation and creating ramps. The name of the race is Rambi Rumble, which is also the name of a Rambi-centric level from Donkey Kong Country 2, Dixie Kongs debut. You can also spot Double Trouble written along the walls. Here, its likely meant for the duo of Diddy and Dixie. But the subtitle of Donkey Kong Country 3 is Dixie Kongs Double Trouble.

Kong References

There are several nods to other members of the Kong community who dont appear in the game. Before racing in Rambi Rumble, Dixie mentions how Candy Kong, DKs girlfriend, will be jealous about them meeting up with him. There are some more obscure references in this games New Donk City. You can find a billboard for Lanky Kong, who debuted in Donkey Kong 64, which reads No Style, No Grace, Funny Face, a reference to his verse in the DK rap. An even deeper cut is a sign for Tiny Bank, a nod to Tiny Kong, who also debuted in the 64 game. Strangely, this pulls from information from the official Donkey Kong 64 website, which stated she was good at juggling numbers, and managing the banana coins savings and the financial system of Kong Island.

Familiar Fossils

In nearly every world of Donkey Kong Bananza are hidden fossils, used to unlock and upgrade outfits. Some of them are references to characters and enemies from the franchise. In the Frozen Layer, you can find bees encased in amber, a nod to the Zinger enemies. All three levels of rarity in the Forest Layer are references; Gnawty the Beaver is a classic enemy, Professor Chops the Pig provides information and checkpoints in Returns and Tropical Freeze, and Squitter the spider is an animal buddy who debuted in Donkey Kong Country 2. In the Tempest layer, you can find frog fossils and a giant fossil of a swordfish, inspired by Winky and Enguarde, animal buddies who debuted in the original Country. Over in the Radiance Layer, youll find Banana Birds, which come from Donkey Kong Country 3. There are also army the armadillos, common enemies in Donkey Kong Country, with the description of some of them carrying cannons being a nod to Army Dillo, a boss from DK 64. Finally, the fossils in the Planet Core are all of sprites from the arcade game: barrels, Paulines collectable items, and Donkey Kong himself.

Fossil Map

Weve talked about how some of the fossils are references to past games. But even harder to notice is an Easter Egg on the map that can show you ones location. As you dig around each environment, youll likely come across treasure chests, some of which hold gold and others that hold maps. The symbol on the map signifies the rarity of the fossil. And unless you look very carefully, like in photo mode before the map disappears, you may not notice whats behind the fossil image. Its faded, but it looks to be the map of a lagoon. In fact, its a map of the starting area in Donkey Kong Country 3. Youll notice the similar layout and several landmarks looking at them side-by-side, the most obvious being the building that serves as Funkys Rentals.

Are you enjoying Donkey Kong Bananza? What secrets or Easter Eggs have you found? Share your thoughts in the comments!