Pay-Dirt Piledriver
The Pay-Dirt Piledriver is a massive, dirt pile-like machine created by Void Company that appears in Donkey Kong Bananza. It resembles a meteor with a glowing center surrounded by rock featuring purple circular imagery. The top of the machine is surrounded by six glowing engines with a large, rocky platform in the center for members of VoidCo to ride on. The Pay-Dirt Piledriver is used to drill through the many layers of the Underground World in order to reach the Planet Core. The machine is powered by Banandium Gems, leading Void Company to steal them from Ingot Isle and the denizens of the Underground World in order to fuel their destructive expedition.
The Pay-Dirt Piledriver first appears in the prologue, descending from the sky directly over Ingot Isle. Void Kong, Grumpy Kong, Poppy Kong, and several enemies, including Crockoids, Rolluskoids, and Batteroids, are seen aboard the machine. The Banandium Gems, along with several large rocks and Donkey Kong himself, are lifted into the air as the bananas are pulled in. After making contact with the tall, banana-shaped pinnacle at the island's center, a strange purple energy is pulsed through the rock and into the ground below, before it, alongside the entirety of Baboomtown, is pushed deep into the earth by the drilling machine.
The Pay-Dirt Piledriver is next seen in the Lagoon Layer, when Donkey Kong and Pauline encounter Void Kong, Grumpy Kong, and Poppy Kong for the first time. As the machine sinks into the earth, it is covered in a purple liquid that disappears along with the machine itself. It is next encountered in The Junction, where it has stalled due to running low on power. To continue his expedition towards the Planet Core, Void Kong returns to several previous layers to steal more Banandium Gems in order to refuel the machine, which he accomplishes despite being pursued by Donkey Kong.
Void Kong eventually makes it to the Forbidden Layer using the Pay-Dirt Piledriver, where it can again be seen hovering above the supposed Banandium Root. After Pauline uses her singing to awaken the Root, which was in truth a sealed King K. Rool, the vicious king sends Void Kong flying into the Pay-Dirt Piledriver with a punch before escaping to the Planet Core, causing the machine to seemingly fall apart. Void Kong is later rescued from the machine's wreakage by Grumpy Kong and flees.
In the DK Island & Emerald Rush DLC, the repaired Pay-Dirt Piledriver appears parked on the shore of DK Island, where it serves as the new base of operations for Void Company.
Profiles[edit]
- Nintendo Switch News app:
- P is for Pay-Dirt Piledriver
- A clever machine that’s totally vile.
- It’s drilling on down with no grace nor style.[1]
Names in other languages[edit]
| Language | Name | Meaning | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Japanese | Chichū Senkōkan Tsuchikure |
Underground Submarine Tsuchikure; from 「土塊」 (tsuchikure, "lump of earth") | |
| Dutch | Kluitbuiter[2] | From kluit ("lump") and uitbuiter ("exploiter") | |
| Italian | Terrammasso[3] | Portmanteau of terra ("earth"/"dirt") and ammasso ("cluster") |
References[edit]
- ^ September 2, 2025. The ABCs of DK! (N-Z) — This is the second part (of 2). But that’s probably something you already knew.. Nintendo of America (English).
- ^ MEGA album of Dutch Donkey Kong Bananza screenshots
- ^ Mariuigi Khed (July 21, 2025). Donkey Kong Bananza ITA [Live 3]. Italian. Retrieved from YouTube.
