Bonus Barrel

A Bonus Barrel is a semi-common type of Barrel that has appeared in the Donkey Kong Country series, Donkey Kong 64, and DK: Jungle Climber. Usually at least one Bonus Barrel is hidden in every level, and for good reason. When jumped into, the barrel automatically launches or warps the Kongs to a Bonus Area. In the Bonus Level, the Kongs can earn various rare collectibles to help them advance in the game. The symbol on the side of this wooden barrel is the letter “B” in front of an orange and yellow explosion. Obviously, the “B” stands for “Bonus Level”, while the explosion signifies the barrel’s ability to blast the Kongs to the exciting Bonus Level.

Bonus Barrels work a little differently in Donkey Kong 64. In this game, they have a picture of a Golden Banana on them, and when approached, purple sparkles appear around them. When a Kong jumps into one of these, they are taken to a special minigame. If the player beats that minigame, they are rewarded with a Golden Banana.

Bonus Barrels first appeared in the game Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest and would go on to appear in subsequent installments of the series, as well as Donkey Kong Land 2 and Donkey Kong Land III. In the Game Boy Advance remake of Donkey Kong Country, Bonus Barrels were added. In DK: Jungle Climber, they no longer had Bonus Coins in them, and were used to get a large amount of bananas and extra lives.