Summary
While Donkey Kong may not be a rabbit, he sure does love planting littleEaster Eggs inDonkey Kong Bananza. There are secrets calling back to Donkey Kong’s first appearance,Donkey Kongthe arcade game, from 1981. Fans who have been following the big ape for decades will be pleased by the references, but most of them aren’t easy to find.
Donkey Kong Bananzafeatures giant open-world areas, and players will literally have to dig to uncover some of these Easter Eggs. Are they worth digging through dirt for hundreds of hours? Let’s go through some ofthe biggest Easter Egg revelationsand explain their significance to theDonkey Kongfranchiseas a whole. The following Easter Eggs only lightly touch upon whatDonkey Kong Bananzahas to offer, and more discoveries will assuredly be revealed the more time fans have with the game, similar toDeath Stranding 2: On the Beach’sslow drip of Easter Egg-related discoveries.
6The Legacy Levels
If Only There Were More Callbacks
Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freezewas the last big new game starring Donkey Kong, and its was a Wii U game from 2014. So, the release ofDonkey Kong Bananzais a celebration of his return, featuring tons of new things along with callbacks to the olden days. The best examples of this include four Challenge levels that players can find throughout the game.
Nostalgia Country, in the Hilltop Layer, and Mine-Cart Country, in the Resort Layer, are throwbacks to non-specific levels inDonkey Kong Country. Arcade Country, in the Radiance Layer, is staged like the 1981 arcade game. Finally,Donkey Kong Bananza’sBramble Countryis based on an infamously hard series of levels inDonkey Kong Country 2: Diddy’s Kong Quest. This Challenge level can be found in the Forest Layer.
5An Extra Case Of Hidden Nostalgia
Going Home Again
Nostalgia Country has an additional secret that only fans who have playedDonkey Kong Countrywill think of trying. When players exit the first stage inDonkey Kong Country, they can go backwards and climb into DK’s treehouse to see some Easter Eggs and collect a Red Balloon. Players can do that inDonkey Kong Bananza’sNostalgia Country, too.
Inside this treehouse is a poster featuring DK, Diddy, Dixie, and Cranky Kong. Perhaps the most obscure Easter Egg is the red TV, which isn’t even a callback to a game. It’s the same red TV that DK and Diddy are watching whenSuper Smash Bros.revealed King K. Roolwas joining the roster in a trailer, and later when theyrevealed Banjo-Kazooie.
4Pauline Easter Eggs
What’s Up With Those Dance Moves
Pauline was the original damsel in distress for Mario/Jump Man in the 1981Donkey Kongarcade game. She reappeared in a big way inSuper Mario Odysseyas the mayor of New Donk City and has also appeared as a playable character in spinoffs likeMario Kart World. A version of her returns inDonkey Kong Bananzaas DK’s trusty partner, albeit de-aged to be a thirteen-year-old girl, a turn of events which is never addressed by the ending or secret ending of the game.
As for Easter Eggs, players can unlock Pauline’sSuper Mario Odysseyoutfit, called theDiva Dress inDonkey Kong Bananza, with an Amiibo or through a post-game quest. Players can also unlock a classic Pauline outfit that makes her look more like the 1981 version of the character, complete with blonde hair. Speaking of the original version, players may not recognize that Pauline’s dance moves during Bananza Power cutscenes inDonkey Kong Bananzaare reminiscent of the side-step animations she does in the arcade game. She does this during “Jump Up, Super Star” inSuper Mario Odysseytoo, making it one of the most obscure references inDonkey Kong Bananza.
3Racing Layer Nods
A Short Sublayer Full Of Nostalgia
Players will encounter the racing layer about halfway through the game, and the only thing players need to do to complete it is win one race. This Sublayer is ruled over by Diddy and Dixie Kong, who appeared in severalDonkey Kong Countrygames. Their racetrack involves riding Rambi the Rhino, who was a mount in the firstDonkey Kong Country.
The name of the trial inDonkey Kong Bananza, Rambi Rumble, is a reference to a specific level inDonkey Kong Country 2: Diddy’s Kong Quest, which is the game in which Diddy and Dixie were paired up as dual protagonists. On the racetrack, players may spot the words “Double Trouble” on the rim, which is part of the subtitle of the third game,Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong’s Double Trouble. Sadly, these two Kongs don’t have a huge role inDonkey Kong Bananzabeyond the Racing Layer.
2Fossil Maps
Amazing Attention To Detail
This next series of Easter Eggs is simply stunning, and unless players pauseDonkey Kong Bananzaand enter Photo Mode, they may never catch it. There are a few different currencies inDonkey Kong Bananza, with Fossils being used to buy costumes for DK and Pauline. Most Sublayers have three different forms of Fossils, all of which reference a specific character or species fromDonkey Konggames. For example, Banana Birds are a Fossil type found in the Radiance Layer, and these birds first appeared inDonkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong’s Double Trouble.
Enguarde the Swordfish is another mount fromDonkey Kong Countrywho appears on a giant Fossil withinDonkey Kong Bananza’sTempest Layer. Finally, players can buy or stumble upon treasure maps to find Fossils in each Sublayer. The giant icon on these maps is a generic fossil not referencing anything, which means most players won’t investigate them further. However, the light drawing behind the fossil is the world map ofDonkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong’s Double Trouble, which is a truly astonishing little detail that will likely go unnoticed by many players.
1King K. Rool
The Big Boss Returns
The crème de la crème, or more krème de la krème, ofDonkey Kong Bananza’ssurprises are tied to a secret character reveal: King K. Rool. Void Kong is set up to be the big bad of the game, but then he gets dethroned right before the lastSublayer ofDonkey Kong Bananza, which is a very cool surprise. Players will then have to face King K. Rool in three boss fights, each of which contains a reference to a previous boss fight in theDonkey Kongfranchise. In the first round, when King K. Rool is defeated, there will be a fake-out complete with fake credits and “The End?” before the mighty lizard gets up again. This is a reference to how the firstDonkey Kong Countryboss fight ends.
In the second fight, King K. Rool is using a flying machine like the one seen inDonkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong’s Double Trouble. The final encounter takes place in a ring reminiscent of the boxing ring fromDonkey Kong 64
. Also, in almost every boss fight, King K. Rool is using a gun like the one he has inDonkey Kong Country 2: Diddy’s Kong Quest. His re-staged version of New Donk City contains a lot of references too, mostly tied to these examples, like a boxing glove appearing next to his name in neon.
