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. After gaining enough emeralds, Void Kong then reveals that he used Donkey Kong and Pauline so that he can use the emeralds to recharge the device and achieve infinite wealth. Unbeknownst to him, however, Grumpy Kong, having anticipated that he would try to pull that stunt from his past employment under him, tells Pauline and DK that he had secretly sabotaged the Pay-Dirt Piledriver, preventing Void Kong from departing.
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]
Naming[edit]
The name "Pay-Dirt Piledriver" is a combination of the terms "pay dirt" (a profitable venture or discovery; alternatively, earth that may contain something valuable), "dirt pile" (a clump of earth, which the Pay-Dirt Piledriver resembles and is often compared to by the characters in-game), and "pile driver" (a heavy-duty machine that thrusts piles further down in the ground, which is essentially what the Pay-Dirt Piledriver does to itself; it may also incorporate "piledriver", a wrestling move in which a wrestler grabs and sends their opponent downwards like their namesake).
Names in other languages[edit]
| Language | Name | Meaning | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Japanese | Chichū Senkōkan Tsuchikure |
Underground Submarine Tsuchikure; from「 |
|
| Chinese (simplified) | 地中潜艇 土块潜艇[3] Dìzhōng Qiántǐng Tǔkuài Qiántǐng (Mandarin) Deihjūng Chìhmtéhng Tóufaai Chìhmtéhng (Cantonese) |
Underground Submarine Earth-Lump Submarine | |
| Chinese (traditional) | 地下潛航艦 土塊潛艇[4] Dìxià Qiánhángjiàn Tǔkuài Qiántǐng (Mandarin) Deihhah Chìhmhòhnglaahm Tóufaai Chìhmtéhng (Cantonese) |
Underground Submarine Earth-Lump Submarine | |
| Dutch | Kluitbuiter[5] | From kluit ("lump") and uitbuiter ("exploiter") | |
| French (NOE) | Terraforeuse[6] | Portmanteau of terre ("earth") and foreuse ("drilling machine") | |
| Italian | Terrammasso[7] | Portmanteau of terra ("earth"/"dirt") and ammasso ("cluster") | |
| Portuguese (NOA) | Rompeterra[8] | Earth-breaker | |
| Thai | เครื่องขุดเจาะแร่ดิน[9] Krʉ̂ʉangkùt Jɔ̀ Rɛ̂ɛdin |
Earth-Drilling Machine |
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).
- ^ あもみんゲームズ - Amominn Games (September 13, 2025). ドンキーコングバナンザ DKアイランド＆エメラルドラッシュ【全ボーナスステージ6か所発見まで】. Japanese. Retrieved November 22, 2025 from YouTube.
- ^ 盛其示不做菜 (September 13, 2025). 蕉力全开DLC：DK岛 & 绿宝石淘金. Simplified Chinese. Retrieved November 22, 2025 from Bilibili.
- ^ Aza (September 13, 2025). 【阿薩】綠寶石淘金熱【咚奇剛 蕉力全開 #DLC】. Traditional Chinese. Retrieved November 22, 2025 from YouTube.
- ^ MEGA album of Dutch Donkey Kong Bananza screenshots
- ^ Sacha185 (October 8, 2025). Donkey Kong Bananza : DLC : Île de DK et Course aux émeraudes #1 (12:46). French. Retrieved November 30, 2025 from YouTube.
- ^ Mariuigi Khed (July 21, 2025). Donkey Kong Bananza ITA [Live 3]. Italian. Retrieved from YouTube.
- ^ September 2, 2025. DONKEY KONG BANANZA DLC #2 - ENCONTRAMOS A MINA DE OURO [4K SWITCH 2 - DK ISLAND EMERALD RUSH] (3:56). Brazilian Portuguese.
- ^ "จุดจอดเครื่องขุดเจาะแร่ดิน" – Pay-Dirt Piledriver Parking Spot checkpoint (22 Dec. 2025). Donkey Kong Bananza by Nintendo EPD Tokyo et al.. Nintendo (Thai).
