All five of the Donkey Kong Bananza transformations grant DK game-changing powers, from super speed and strength to the ability to slow time. These unique abilities mean each form is useful in different ways in Donkey Kong Bananza, whether that's for solving puzzles, traversal, uncovering collectibles, or even boss fights.
You'll be pleased to know there's also no way you can miss any of these Bananza transformations either, as they're all unlocked by speaking to village Elders during DK and Pauline's journey. I've laid out all the specifics below, so you'll know when and how to unlock each Bananza and what they do!
Be aware of light sublayer spoilers below!
All Donkey Kong Bananza transformations
Donkey Kong gains five Bananza forms over the course of the game, all of which are impossible to miss as unlocking them is part of the game's story. At certain Donkey Kong Bananza sublayers, you'll meet Elders who will provide you with their Banaza power, but only once you've found or fixed their Ancient Record.
Here are all five Bananza transformations, what they do, and when you unlock them:
- Kong Bananza: Unlocked in SL 101
- Grants DK increased strength, letting him smash through most materials with ease and break durable materials like concrete. Hold Y to Charge Punch, delivering a more powerful hit and shockwave.
- Zebra Bananza: Unlocked in SL 501
- Increases DKs base movement speed, letting him safely outrun collapsing terrain and walk on ice without sliding. Hold and release ZL to Charge Dash instead of rolling.
- Ostrich Bananza: Unlocked in SL 600
- Lets DK flutter his wings to briefly fly horizontally, allowing him to reach far-off areas and ride vertical air jets to gain altitude.
- Elephant Bananza: Unlocked in SL 900 and 901
- DK can suck up almost any material using his trunk, storing what he inhales as large balls that can be held and thrown.
- Snake Bananza: Unlocked in SL 1201
- Using his coiled spring-like tail, DK can Double Jump and Charge Jump to gain massive vertical height. He can also temporarily slow time with the Snake Bananza's Glare ability.
Bananza transformations can only be used when you have full Bananergy – that's the yellow ring that surrounds the Bananza icon in the bottom-left corner of your screen – which is entirely consumed when you transform by holding L+R.
Bananergy mainly comes from collecting Gold, but certain clothing items can provide other ways of gaining Bananergy too, and deactivating a Bananza early refunds its remaining time as Bananergy. Finally, be aware that you can also use the left and right directional buttons to change form mid-transformation, letting you mix some of their abilities!
Each of these Bananzas can also be improved by spending Skill Points on their own upgrades. I've covered the best Donkey Kong Bananza upgrades in a separate guide that also goes over all of DK's regular enhancements and the top skills for each Bananza form.
Donkey Kong Bananza Kong Bananza Ancient Record location
The Kong Bananza is the most straightforward to unlock in DK Bananza, and you unlock it very early in the game in SL 101 of the Lagoon Layer:
- After speaking to the Kong Elder, head around to the left of them to find the giant Ancient Record with a red triangle on it sticking out of the ground. Pick it up and take it to the Eternatable in front of the Elder to launch into the Kong Bananza tutorial and unlock the giant gorilla form.
Donkey Kong Bananza Zebra Bananza Ancient Record location
If you follow the sublayers in numerical order (pick the Freezer Layer rather than the Forest Layer during the Donkey Kong Bananza Divide choice), you'll unlock the Zebra Bananza on SL 501 of the Freezer Layer next, which requires you to collect three pieces of a broken Ancient Record for the Zebra Elder:
- Head up the chocolate path on the Elder's right to the Zig-Zag Bridges checkpoint, then follow the chocolate path, using the falling icicles to freeze the lava when necessary until you're able to destroy the Void pot in the lava lake. Tear chunks out of the ice to create a safe path to the record piece in the middle of the lava lake, then surf the piece down the lava flow and take the barrel cannon back to the village.
- The second piece is in the small lava lake to the right of the Elder, which you can freeze over by activating a nearby ice machine and redirecting the ice chunks or by throwing snow chunks from elsewhere to create a path. You can also Turf Surf across the lava to the record piece and surf back using the piece itself.
- To the right of the path that leads to the previous record piece, ascend the chocolate cliff then climb across the grates on the spinning propeller platforms. Climb up the one covered in purple Void Co. stuff, then jump across to the record piece on the ice cream scoop.
Donkey Kong Bananza Ostrich Bananza Ancient Record location
For the Ostrich Bananza, you need to find just two Ancient Record pieces in the Eggshell Hotel area of SL600, the Forest Layer:
- Dive down to the Eggshell Hotel Pool, grab the orange seed from the central building, and throw it towards the target on the spire that the first Ancient Record piece is on. With a bridge formed, you can walk across, grab the record piece, then take the barrel cannon back up to the top.
- Dive down to the Eggshell Hotel Pool, grab the orange seed from the central building, and throw it towards the target on the spire that the first Ancient Record piece is on. With a bridge formed, you can walk across, grab the record piece, then take the barrel cannon back up to the top.
Donkey Kong Bananza Elephant Bananza Ancient Record location
The Elephant Elder is in SL 900 of the Tempest Layer, but the two Ancient Record pieces you need are in SL 901, and getting them is a dangerous ordeal:
- When you reach SL 901, follow the path ahead and to the right, using a chunk to ride a zipline down to the Ancient Record Crossroads. Take the next zipline down to another lower area and you'll find the first record piece. There's a barrel cannon that fires you up to the start of SL 901 and there you'll find another cannon to take you back to the Elder.
- For the second piece, go back to the Ancient Record Crossroads but head right to an area covered in purple Void stuff. Use the Molevoloid enemies to reach the Void pot then destroy it. Now you can grab a chunk of Liftoff Ore out of a Molevoloid and fly up to the floating island which has a zipline. To ride the zipline down to the record piece, you need to throw a chunk at the cloud platform above to weigh down the other end of the zipline, then once you're on the other side, you can grab the record piece, ride the next zipline, then use the barrel cannon to get back to the Elder.
Donkey Kong Bananza Snake Bananza Ancient Record location
- Immediately to the left of the Elder, you can find the Sizzling Sunbath. Head inside and just grab the record piece while avoiding the bubbling pool and the Trapantuloid (you can avoid this or kill it by jumping on top of it and smashing the little concrete circle with your Kong Bananza), then take the record piece back to the Snake Elder.
- To the left of the Elder, there's a short path that leads to the Pitch-Dark Pit, a small dark maze with a record piece at the end. Tear off Glow Stone pieces to light the way then go back the way you came to the Snake Elder once you have the piece.
- Head up the slope immediately to the right of the Snake Elder and you'll find the Slithery Zip Line. Smash the Void Co. concrete pillars to create light spots that you can use to freeze a scorpion, then grab a chunk of it. While holding the chunk, ride the zipline all the way to the other end, making sure you jump left and right to change lines and avoid obstacles. Grab the record piece and hit the blue pawprint balloon several times to raise the zipline, then ride it all the way back to the Snake Elder.
- Go down the path to the right of the Snake Elder to reach the Sidewinder Slide. While you're meant to climb onto the tower and slide down, avoiding the electricity on the way, you can just jump off and fall to the level below to grab the record piece. After that, slide or jump down to the lowest level of the tower, then smash the stone wall to reveal a barrel cannon that'll take you back to the Elder.
Make sure you're collecting plenty of bananas in challenge levels to upgrade your Bananzas, such as those in Donkey Kong Bananza Nostalgia Country and Donkey Kong Bananza Hanging on Roof Road. All five Bananzas are also vital to the Donkey Kong Bananza post-game quest.
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