Kong Bananza Returns

Kong Bananza Returns is the eighth Emerald Rush event in Donkey Kong Bananza, set in the Canyon Layer from June 9, 2026, 1:00 a.m. PT until June 16, 2026, 12:59 p.m. PT; as of October 1st, 2026, this event is active throughout the entirety of May. A complete run in this event lasts 10 rounds.

The Kong Bananza Returns event is simultaneously themed after the Kong Bananza, as it prioritizes Emerald Perks that increase the amount of emerald ore earned when defeating enemies through punching while in Kong Bananza form, as well as the game Donkey Kong Country Returns due to its reward statues being themed after the Tiki Tak Tribe. It is one of two Bananza-themed events that does not reward the player with a Bananza statue (since one for Kong Bananza was already rewarded during Chip Fever), with the other being Bananza Antics.

Rewards

Required emerald score	3,000	10,000	80,000	500,000	1,000,000
Item	100 Banandium Chips	300 Banandium Chips	Tiki Goon Statue	600 Banandium Chips	Tiki Tong Statue

Available Perks

Bare-Knuckle Beat Barrel Bump-Up Crockoid Demolisher Fossil Radar

Hurtin' Heart Solid Groove Wild Warrior Windup Beat

Void Goals

#	Goal	Sublayer	Location
1	Defeat Emerald Crockoids (1)	301	Collapsed Smokestack Entrance
2	Use the Barrel Cannon	not specified
3	Defeat Emerald Crockoids (2)	301	Refinery Office Entrance
4	Defeat Emerald Buzzoids (1)	301	Refinery Office Slope
5	Smash the Emerald Lumps (1)	300	Below Mechaneck Isle
6	Defeat Emerald Rolluskoids (2)	301	Refinery Office Entrance
7	Smash the Emerald Lumps (1)	301	Collapsed Smokestack Entrance
8	Smash Some Dirt (5000m³)	not specified
9	Defeat Emerald Crockoids (2)	300	Foreman's Island
10	High-Five Cranky Kong	not specified
11	Smash Some Crystal (100m³)	not specified
12	Defeat Emerald Crockoids (2)	300	Longneck Plateau Village Square
13	Smash the Emerald Lumps (2)	300	Below Click-Clack Smokestack
14	Smash the Emerald Lumps (1)	301	Refinery Entrance
15	Defeat Emerald Crockoids (5)	301	Atop the Triceratops Fossil
16	Smash the Emerald Lumps (2)	300	Mechaneck Isle Village
17	Defeat Emerald Crockoids (3)	300	Big-Stretch Peak Entrance
18	Defeat Emerald Crockoids (6)	300	Grumpy Kong Battlefield
19	Defeat Emerald Crockoids (3)	300	Mechaneck Isle Village
20	Defeat Emerald Buzzoids (2)	301	Refinery Dorms Hallway
21	Defeat Emerald Buzzoids (2)	300	Big-Stretch Peak Entrance
22	Smash Some Fractonium (10m³)	not specified
23	Smash the Emerald Lumps (3)	300	Tallfall Cliffs Caverns
24	Defeat Emerald Rolluskoids (3)	300	Tallfall Clifftop
25	Defeat Emerald Rolluskoids (2)	301	Refinery Terrace
26	Ride the Mine Cart	not specified

Bananza locations

Name	Sublayer	Corresponding Banandium Gem / challenge entrance	Location description	Availability
Kong Bananza	300	Moseyed into the Village!	Longneck Plateau Village Square, by the checkpoint	Rounds 1–3
Zebra Bananza	300	Foreman's Secret Stash	Foreman's Island, under the getaway	Rounds 4–6
Ostrich Bananza	300	The Crane's Precious Cargo	Click-Clack Smokestack Roof, inside a block of concrete held by a crane	Rounds 4–6
Elephant Bananza	300	Banana up the Nose	Big-Stretch Peak, in one nostril of Grumpy Kong's sculpture	Rounds 4–6
Snake Bananza	300	Unpilfered Potassium	Longneck Plateau, inside the bottom stone shelter in the same area as the Longneck Plateau Getaway	Rounds 1–3

Skill locations

Name	Sublayer	Corresponding Banandium Gem / challenge entrance	Location description	Availability
Apple Juice	300	Tumbled into the Canyon Layer!	Tallfall Cliffs, at the layer's entry point	Rounds 1–3
	301	Canyon Layer Battle Challenge 3	Banandium Refinery Offices, in a hallway under the tallest floor. This hallway has two small windows, one draped, acting as primary access points.	Rounds 1–3
	301	Beat Grumpy Kong!	Banandium Refinery Gravel Storage, at the entrance	Rounds 7–10
	301	De-Voiding the Dorms	Near the Banandium Refinery Terrace Getaway	Rounds 7–10
Bananergy	300	Canyon Fragmentone Recovery	In the cave under Longneck Plateau Village; requires recovering at least one fragment of the Fragmentone	Rounds 1–3
		Pay Dirt under the Plateau	Longneck Plateau, under some concrete near the canyon	Rounds 7–10
		Growing from the Stone Wall	Edge of Tallfall Clifftop, above the mine cart exit, stuck to a wall	Rounds 7–10
		Buried in Tallfall Cliffs	In a tight space under Tallfall Cliffs Caverns	Rounds 7–10
Better Collecting	300	Hanging in the Cliffs	Inside Tallfall Cliffs, hanging from a Wire Mesh ceiling	Rounds 1–3
	301	Under Twin-Horn Smokestacks	On an isolated islet under two smaller smokestacks	Rounds 1–3
	300	An Underground Guide	In the cave under Longneck Plateau Village, inside a giant horizontal pipe. An Eeling can guide the player to it.	Rounds 4–6
Better Flutter	300	Spinning in the Stone Pillar	Longneck Plateau, inside a spinning stone cylinder next to the Style Shop	Rounds 7–10
Better Glare	300	Canyon Layer Battle Challenge 5	Mechaneck Isle, between the getaway and the Neckreach Smokestack	Rounds 1–3
		Finally within Reach	On one "horn" of the Neckreach Smokestack (which resembles a giraffe)	Rounds 4–6
	301	Tucked Away in a Dormitory	Banandium Refinery Staff Dorms, top floor, inside a dormitory	Rounds 7–10
Better Inhaling	300	Sparkling in the Secret Storeroom	Longneck Plateau, inside a tunnel at the base of the cliff facing the Click-Clack Smokestack	Rounds 1–3
	301	Dropped into the Refinery Depths!	Under Click-Clack Smokestack, by the sinkhole	Rounds 4–6
Better Sonar	300	Above the Moving Walls	Click-Clack Smokestack, hidden in a room above the moving walls, sealed behind a destructible stone wall.	Rounds 1–3
		Sleeping by the Smokestack	Big-Stretch Peak, at the very bottom of the smokestack's ladder (which continues underground)	Rounds 4–6
		Canyon Hide-and-Seek	In a cavern under Mechaneck Isle Village; requires finding all Hiddentones	Rounds 7–10
Better Turf Surfing	300	Behind Tallfall Cliffs	On a small ledge behind Tallfall Cliffs	Rounds 4–6
Brake Blast	301	Canyon Layer Battle Challenge 4	Banandium Refinery Staff Dorms, inside one of the rooms on the top floor	Rounds 1–3
	300	Bonus Stage Blasting for Gold	Big-Stretch Peak, inside the Void Kong sculpture	Rounds 7–10
Charge Dash	301	Mad Mixer's Parting Gift	Near the Banandium Refinery Gravel Storage, at Mad Mixer's former spot, buried in dirt	Rounds 7–10
Charge Punch	301	Shifty Smash: Moving Targets	On the grounds above the Triceratops fossil; requires beating a Shifty Stone challenge	Rounds 4–6
	300	Behind the Moving Walls	Click-Clack Smokestack, in a tight area behind the moving walls	Rounds 7–10
Charge Slap	300	An Edible Earring	Big-Stretch Peak, stuck in the left ear of the Poppy Kong sculpture	Rounds 7–10
Drumbeat	300	Unplundered Produce	Longneck Plateau, under a turnip, inside a stone shelter on a low terrace south from the village	Rounds 1–3
	301	Treasure by the Triceratops	Atop the Triceratops fossil, in a large dirt mound	Rounds 1–3
	300	Sunken and Soaking	In the cave under Longneck Plateau Village, buried in some underwater dirt near the flat Fractone	Rounds 4–6
Egg Bomb	300	The Hungry Canyon Growtone	Mechaneck Isle Village, on the middle branch of the Growtone	Rounds 1–3
	301	Beat the Mad Mixer!	At the entrance of the Neckreach Smokestack	Rounds 1–3
	300	Banandium Gem in the House	Longneck Plateau Village, under the stone shelter near the getaway	Rounds 4–6
Fast Charge	301	Peak's Peek at the Refinery	Inside a caged area accessed via a smokestack under Big-Stretch Peak (sublayer 300)	Rounds 1–3
	300	Canyon Layer Battle Challenge 6	At one corner of the Click-Clack Smokestack Roof	Rounds 4–6
	300	Stuck in a Side Cave	Longneck Plateau, in a cave under the canyon, stuck to a wall	Rounds 7–10
Glide	300	Traversing the Cliff	Longneck Plateau, inside a small passageway located at the base of a cliff facing the Neckreach Smokestack	Rounds 1–3
	301	Hanging Hallway over the Refinery	Halfway through a metal hallway whose only entry points are two smokestacks in sublayer 300; one on Foreman's Island and the other in a secluded area of Longneck Plateau	Rounds 4–6
Health	300	Canyon Layer Battle Challenge 1	Longneck Plateau, in a tight cave by the ladder that leads to the village	Rounds 4–6
	301	Asleep in a Dormitory	Banandium Refinery Staff Dorms, in the lowest dormitory, located some distance below the checkpoint	Rounds 4–6
	301	The Refinery's Hidden Hallway	Banandium Refinery Offices, in a hallway under the top floor	Rounds 4–6
	300	Hidden beneath Scoundrels	Inside Big-Stretch Peak, at the end of a passage under the Void Kong sculpture. The passage's entrance is sealed by a wall of concrete.	Rounds 7–10
	300	Scenic Smokestack View	Tallfall Cliffs, on a high metallic platform attached to the smokestack	Rounds 7–10
Jump Burst	300	Shifty Smash: Cliff Valley	Tallfall Clifftop, some distance in front of the getaway; requires beating a Shifty Stone challenge	Rounds 7–10
Jump Shot	300	Canyon Layer Challenge Course 5 Stompy Ascent	Mechaneck Isle Village, next to both the getaway and the Growtone	Rounds 1–3
Kong Armor	300	High Shelf Down Below	In the cave under Longneck Plateau Village, on a metallic shelf attached to the smokestack	Rounds 7–10
Melon Juice	300	Canyon Layer Challenge Course 1 Kong Bananza: City Smash	Longneck Plateau Village, next to the getaway	Rounds 1–3
		Unstuck the Mine Cart	Longneck Plateau, next to the mine cart leading to the Big-Stretch Base	Rounds 1–3
		Canyon Fragmentone Restoration	In the cave under Longneck Plateau Village; requires fully restoring the Fragmentone	Rounds 4–6
	301	Canyon Layer Challenge Course 4 Spinning Lazer Zone	Banandium Refinery Staff Dorms, top floor	Rounds 7–10
Meteor Punch	300	The Sated Canyon Growtone	Mechaneck Isle Village, on the upper branch of the Growtone	Rounds 7–10
Punch Power	300	Canyon Layer Challenge Course 3 Big-Wheel Balloon Hunt	Next to Big-Stretch Base Getaway	Rounds 4–6
		Circling in the Concrete Pillar	Big-Stretch Peak, inside a concrete cylinder next to the area's towering smokestack	Rounds 4–6
		Bust through the Giraffe's Spot	Lower portion of Click-Clack Smokestack, behind a stone wall	Rounds 7–10
Quick Storage	300	Canyon Layer Battle Challenge 2	Big-Stretch Peak, on a ledge between the Void Kong and Grumpy Kong sculptures	Rounds 1–3
Spin Jump	300	Canyon Layer Challenge Course 2 Thorny Blast Cave	Longneck Plateau, in an underground tunnel with multiple mines placed next to concrete blocks	Rounds 1–3
Spin Shot	300	Proximity Punching	Below Mechaneck Isle, hanging from a movable platform above a metallic walkway	Rounds 1–3
Spin Slam	300	Slip into the Secret Room	Click-Clack Smokestack, in a room accessed through a square opening on the same side as the scalable plus-shaped surfaces	Rounds 7–10
Stronger Lungs	301	Surveying the Staff Dorms	Inside a caged area accessed via a smokestack in Longneck Plateau Village (sublayer 300)	Rounds 4–6
	300	The Canyon Growtone	Mechaneck Isle Village, on the lower branch of the Growtone	Rounds 7–10
Surf Surf	300	Hanging from the Crane	Next to Smokestack Getaway	Rounds 4–6
Trunk Room	300	Shifty Smash: Cliff's Edge	On a cliffside ledge under Big-Stretch Base, on the same side as Foreman's Island; requires beating a Shifty Stone challenge	Rounds 4–6

Naming

The event's titles across several languages, including English, allude to Donkey Kong Country Returns, the debut game of Tiki Goons and Tiki Tong.

Names in other languages

Language	Name	Meaning	Note(s)	Ref.
Japanese	コングバナンザ リターンズ Kongu Bananza Ritānzu	Kong Bananza Returns
Dutch	Een Tiki meer	Pun on the phrase een tikje meer ("a little bit more"). Lit. "One more Tiki".
French (Europe)	Bananza Kong Returns	Kong Bananza Returns
German	Kong-Bananza Returns	-
Italian	Bananza Kong Returns	Kong Bananza Returns
Portuguese (Europe)	Kong Bananza Returns	-
Spanish (Europe)	El regreso de la bananza Kong	The return of the Kong Bananza

External links

• Nintendozer (June 9, 2026). Gameplay of the event. YouTube. Retrieved July 19, 2026.