Banana Bunch

Banana Bunches are items consisting of clustered bananas, usually coming in clusters of five bananas. They usually function as currency in the Donkey Kong franchise, being worth three, five, or ten of a regular banana.

Donkey Kong Jr.
A banana bunch lying under a vine is among the fruit Donkey Kong Jr. can drop on enemies in the first stage of his debut game. Like every other fruit in the game, this banana bunch awards the player 400 points if touched.

Donkey Kong Country series
Like their single counterparts, Banana Bunches appear in every single Donkey Kong Country and Donkey Kong Land game to date.

In Donkey Kong Country, Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest, and Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble!, Banana Bunches are worth ten bananas. In the former game, Donkey Kong can sometimes reveal a Banana Bunch by using Hand Slap in a specific location.

In Donkey Kong Country Returns and Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze, there are two distinct Banana Bunches: the more common variety are worth five bananas, while the rarer variety are worth twenty.

Donkey Kong 64
Like all other color-coded character-specific items in Donkey Kong 64, Banana Bunches are colored yellow for Donkey Kong, red for Diddy Kong, purple for Tiny Kong, blue for Lanky Kong, and green for Chunky Kong. All Banana Bunches count towards the total banana count required to complete the game.

Mario vs. Donkey Kong
In Mario vs. Donkey Kong, banana bunches reprise their original role from Donkey Kong Jr. as fruit that can be dropped on enemies to attack them. This time, they do not award the player any points if touched, but will award 500 points if they hit an enemy. They are present in Levels 2-5, 2-DK, 2-2+, 2-5+, and 2-DK+.

Donkey Kong Jungle Beat
Banana Bunches, like regular Bananas, appear in Donkey Kong Jungle Beat. In this game, Donkey Kong's banana total acts as his overall health (in the New Play Control! version, they only act as his health for boss battles); losing all of his beats results in a Game Over. Banana Bunches are worth three beats.

DK: Jungle Climber
Banana Bunches also appear in DK: Jungle Climber. The more common Banana Bunches are worth five bananas, though there are also rare Banana Bunches that are worth ten.

Super Mario Sunshine
In Super Mario Sunshine, Banana Bunches appear throughout Isle Delfino and are mainly used to feed Yoshis, or to give to a female Pianta in Delfino Plaza to receive a Blue Coin.

Mario Kart 64
Banana Bunches appear as items exclusively in Mario Kart 64. When used, five regular Banana peels are automatically deployed to trail behind the player's kart. The player may throw each Banana one-by-one whenever they please, and the Bananas also block incoming items from hitting the player. They can be obtained in the top two positions, with a 5% chance of appearing in each position they appear in.

In later games in the Mario Kart series, Triple Bananas supersede Banana Bunches in terms of function, making the Banana Bunch the only item from Mario Kart 64 that does not reappear in another installment.

Yoshi's Story
Bananas appear as a bunch in Yoshi's Story, but are only worth one fruit.

Mario Party 5
In Mario Party 5, all three minigames hosted by Donkey Kong have banana bunches in the jungle.

Mario Party 9
Banana bunches appear on DK's Jungle Ruins where they take the place of Mini Stars. Collecting a banana bunch makes the captain gain three bananas. Banana bunches have a Z-Banana equivalent which take away three bananas. By landing on the Lucky Space on the left side of the board, the captain can earn up to four banana bunches if they are launched high enough into the air. By landing on the Lucky Space on the right side of the board, the captain can earn banana bunches by lining up the middle head of each of the three pillars. For each successful attempt, an addition banana bunch is given, allowing up to five banana bunches. In the exclusive minigames of this board, Diddy's Banana Blast and DK's Banana Bonus, banana bunches appear less frequently than regular bananas. DK's Banana Bonus has one giant banana bunch that gives ten bananas.

Mario Party 10
In Mario Party 10, several banana bunches are carried by a moving Mine Cart in the background of the Donkey Kong Board.

Yoshi Touch & Go
Banana Bunches also appear in Yoshi Touch & Go. If a Yoshi eats one, it will get three more eggs.

Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle
Like regular Bananas, Banana Bunches reappear as currency exclusively in the Donkey Kong Adventure mode of Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle, and are worth five regular Bananas. They usually appear after the player collects some Bananas in a circle.

Other appearances
Banana Bunches were originally going to appear as items in Mario Kart: Super Circuit, but were scrapped.