Banandium Gem
| Banandium Gem | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Artwork from Donkey Kong Bananza | |||
| First appearance | Donkey Kong Bananza (2025) | ||
| Latest appearance | Tetris 99 (48th Maximus Cup, cameo) (2025) | ||
| Variant of | Golden Banana | ||
| |||
- “Oh, banana!”
- —Banandium Gem acquisition voice clip, Donkey Kong Bananza
Banandium Gems are destructible, edible, crystallized lime-colored Golden Bananas resembling Crystal Bananas that serve as the main collectibles in Donkey Kong Bananza, in a similar manner to the Golden Bananas from Donkey Kong 64 and Power Moons from Super Mario Odyssey. Some are found as Banana Bunches of three or five similar to Multi Moons, with a diamond holding them together in place of a stem, with the three-bunch variant being yellow and the five-bunch variant being orange, having a star symbol akin to a retail banana label. Banandium Gems were discovered on Ingot Isle by Donkey Kong and a crew of Prospector Monkeys; however, they were stolen by Void Company, who then fled to the Underground World, where Donkey Kong is tasked to recover the Banandium Gems. There are 777 unique missions which reward the player with Banandium Gems. After collecting Banandium Gems, they are replaced with transparent yellow replicas, similar to Power Moons. They break after one hit instead of three, and breaking them does not initiate a cutscene or add to the total of bananas DK has eaten, but does give DK a small amount of gold. Not all Banandium Gems can be recollected in such a manner, as NPCs that give a Banandium Gem through dialogue usually do not repeat that conversation or give out the Banandium Gem.
Banandium Gems are also tracked via a total of bananas DK has eaten, with bunches of three or five counting as such. For every five bananas eaten, the player gains a Skill Point, used to upgrade DK's abilities and provide him with new moves. Getting all the Skill Points requires reaching the maximum banana counter value of 1000, comprising 929 bananas obtained from missions plus 71 extra Banandium Gems purchased with Banandium Chips at the Chip Exchange.
Whenever DK is close to a Banandium Gem, his tongue will hang from his mouth as he is eager to eat it. This also happens when DK is close to an already collected Banandium Gem as well as when DK is near the Chip Exchange if there are still Banandium Gems available to be purchased.
Banandium Gems also serve as the icons for the missions in the Donkey Kong Bananza event for Super Mario Run, and as the KO badges in Tetris 99 if the Donkey Kong Bananza theme is in use.
Gallery[edit]
Donkey Kong holding a Banandium Gem
Concept art
Concept art
Pin from the European My Nintendo Store
Keyring from the Oceanian My Nintendo Store
Names in other languages[edit]
| Language | Name | Meaning | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Japanese | バナモンド[1] Banamondo |
Portmanteau of "banana" and "diamond" | |
| Chinese (simplified) | 蕉钻石[2] Jiāozuànshí (Mandarin) Jīujyunsehk (Cantonese) |
Banana-Diamond | |
| Chinese (traditional) | 蕉鑽石[3] Jiāozuànshí (Mandarin) Jīujyunsehk (Cantonese) |
Banana-Diamond | |
| Dutch | Banandiumkristal[4] | Banandium Crystal | |
| French | Cristal de banandium[5] | Banandium Crystal | |
| Italian | Gemma di Banandium[6] | Banandium Gem | |
| Portuguese | Cristal de banândio[8] | Banandium Crystal | |
| Spanish | Gema de banandio[7] | Banandium gem |
References[edit]
- ^ April 2, 2025. さえぎるすべてをブチ壊せ。3Dアクションゲーム『ドンキーコング バナンザ』が、7月17日にNintendo Switch 2 で発売決定。. Nintendo (Japanese). Retrieved April 13, 2025.
- ^ July 17, 2025. Switch 2《咚奇刚 蕉力全开》简体中文流程实况. Bilibili (Simplified Chinese). Retrieved July 20, 2025.
- ^ Nintnedo HK (June 24, 2025). 《咚奇剛 蕉力全開》Direct 2025.6.18（香港）. YouTube (Traditional Chinese). Retrieved July 20, 2025.
- ^ MEGA album of Dutch Donkey Kong Bananza screenshots
- ^ Donkey Kong Bananza "Oh, banana !". Nintendo France (French). Retrieved June 19, 2025.
- ^ Poro Michele (April 25, 2025). Nintendo Switch 2 Experience - hands on (32:47). YouTube (Italian). Retrieved April 25, 2025.
- ^ Donkey Kong Bananza Direct - 18-06-2025. Nintendo España (European Spanish). Retrieved June 18, 2025.
- ^ Donkey Kong Bananza Direct – 18/06/2025. Nintendo Portugal (Portuguese). Retrieved June 18, 2025.
