To wrap up the Donkey Kong Bananza post-game quest, you need to revisit the five Elders to complete their ultimate Bananza Rehearsal bonus levels. That sounds simple enough until you realise that you need to meet their Banandium Gem thresholds to even unlock the level, so if you haven't been collecting ample bananas as you've been playing Donkey Kong Bananza, you might have to do a lot more backtracking.
Either way, once you've crossed off the five levels, you'll then get to play a sixth bonus Rehearsal level that's gnarly in both the good and difficult sense, so come prepared! To help you wrap up DK and Pauline's journey to its proper conclusion, I've laid out everything you need to know about the Donkey Kong Bananza post-game below.
Look out for spoilers for the end of Donkey Kong Bananza below!
Donkey Kong post-game walkthrough and rewards
The post-game section of Donkey Kong Bananza becomes available after you've beaten King K. Rool in New Donk City. Returning to the Underground World, Pauline needs inspiration for a new song that she'll be performing at City Hall. The Elders can help by letting you complete their Bananza Rehearsal bonus levels, but they're locked off unless you've collected enough Donkey Kong Bananza bananas for them.
Additionally, since these Rehearsal levels feature puzzles that revolve around all aspects of a particular Bananza, it's recommended that you fully upgrade them before starting the level – remember, you can respec your Donkey Kong Bananza skills too!
With that out of the way, here are all the steps you need to complete to reach the true ending of Donkey Kong Bananza and finish the post-game:
- Speak to the Kong Elder in the Lagoon Layer and complete the Kong Bananza Rehearsal bonus level. You need to have collected 300 bananas to unlock this level.
- Speak to the Zebra Elder in the Freeezer Layer and complete the Zebra Bananza Rehearsal bonus level. You need to have collected 350 bananas to unlock this level.
- Speak to the Ostrich Elder in the Forest Layer and complete the Ostrich Bananza Rehearsal bonus level. You need to have collected 400 bananas to unlock this level.
- Speak to the Elephant Elder in the Tempest Layer and complete the Elephant Bananza Rehearsal bonus level. You need to have collected 500 bananas to unlock this level.
- Speak to the Snake Elder in the Radiance Layer and complete the Snake Bananza Rehearsal bonus level. You need to have collected 600 bananas to unlock this level.
You can complete the Elders' Rehearsals in any order, but each one you complete unlocks a golden Bananza Skill for you to unlock for the relevant Bananza, with each one costing five Skill Points. These golden skills cause a Bananza ability, such as the Kong's punch or Ostrich's egg bomb, to turn surrounding terrain into solid gold. You'll also unlock a duplicate Ancient Record at the Eternatable, though these have no use outside of being an indestructible Turf Surfing-object, as far as I can tell.
Most importantly, completing these Rehearsals unlocks the Diva Dress outfit for Pauline, which is the same reward you get from the Donkey Kong Bananza amiibo. However, there's still one more bonus Rehearsal level to complete if you want the truest of endings for Donkey Kong Bananza and to wrap up the post-game properly:
- Go to the final boss arena in SL1609 of the Planet Core and speak to the eels. They'll summon the Great Harmoneel to the arena.
- Complete the Great Harmoneel's Windpipe Rehearsal level. This is a tricky level with harsh checkpoints and requires a lot of Bananza uses. Make sure you stock up on Apple Juice, Melon Juice, and Red Balloons, and make sure you have plenty of hearts before diving in. At the end of the level, you'll be spat back out at the Planet Core arena.
- Speak to the Banandium Root and choose the "go to the surface" option.
With that, the credits will roll again as DK and Pauline fly up through the planet to reach the surface, after which you'll be treated to a single illustration of Pauline in her red Diva Dress performing in New Donk City – yep, that's it.
After that you'll be booted to the game's start menu. From here you can obviously load back into your game, but your save will be from just before you went to the surface. You can still carry on collecting all the bananas, fossils, and more that you've missed.
Looking to mop up more bananas? We've explained how to get all three in the Donkey Kong Bananza Hanging on Roof Road challenge.
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