Barrel Cannon

The Barrel Cannon (also known as a Barrel Kannon or Blast Barrel) is an item found in the Donkey Kong series. It is a barrel which when entered shoots the character out, hence its name.

Donkey Kong series
Barrel Cannons appear in all five Donkey Kong Country games. They can also be found by Donkey Kong in Donkey Kong 64. In these games, if a Kong goes into the barrel, it will do one of two things: it will either automatically blast the Kong to where it needs to go, or it will spin around and the Kong will have to press a button at the right time to blast to their destination.

They also appear in the game Donkey Kong Barrel Blast, along with new varieties of red and gold. In DK Jungle Climber, they are easier to aim with. In DK: King of Swing, they appear where the player has to jump into a cannon, as it turns left to right, and press the L or R button to burst into the air.

Barrel Cannons later appear in Donkey Kong Country Returns, Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D, and Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze. They come in four varieties: a manual barrel cannon, a manual skull barrel cannon, an automatic barrel cannon, and an automatic skull barrel cannon. The skull barrel cannons destroy themselves when they fire the Kongs.

Mario Kart series
In DK Mountain, which appears in Mario Kart: Double Dash!! and returns in Mario Kart Wii, there is a giant Barrel Cannon (referred to in the former as Donkey Cannon and in the latter as DK Cannon) that blasts competitors to the top of the mountain. DK Summit/DK's Snowboard Cross, also in Mario Kart Wii, features a Barrel Cannon. Another Barrel Cannon appears in the Mario Kart Wii and Mario Kart 7 course Maple Treeway, where it serves the same function, but does not include the DK initials. Another Barrel Cannon is featured in the Mario Kart 8 overhaul of N64 Yoshi Valley replacing the Long Route.

Mario Party series
Barrel Cannons are present in Mario Party 9. In DK's Jungle Ruins, if the player lands on a Lucky Space, they will be launched to a floating island to increase their Bananas counter. Many Barrel Cannons appear in the boss minigames Diddy's Banana Blast and DK's Banana Bonus, where the players use them to reach Bananas.

Super Smash Bros. series
In Super Smash Bros. and Super Smash Bros. Melee, it appears in the Kongo Jungle stages, where it moves back and forth and occasionally rotates underneath the stage. If a character falls into the cannon, they can press the A button to fire themselves out of the cannon in the direction of the arrow. If they wait too long, they will be shot out anyway. Since the cannon sometimes rotates, this action can sometimes save players from falling, or it can launch them to their doom. Only one character may occupy the Barrel Cannon at any time.

In Melee, it is also a usable item. Aside from always rotating and destroying itself upon firing, it works just like the stage variation. This item is quite heavy, thus only Donkey Kong can move around freely while holding it. When thrown, the barrel rolls until it touches a character or falls off the arena.

Viewing the Barrel Cannon trophy from the bottom reveals the message "2L84ME" (Too late for me), which is what might go through a character's mind if he or she becomes trapped in a Barrel Cannon. On a side note, Barrel Cannons disappear much faster than any other item if left alone.

In Super Smash Bros. Brawl and Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U, they are no longer a regular item. Instead, several Barrel Cannons can be found in several levels of the Subspace Emissary and Smash Run. Characters use these to get shot up higher or break Brick Blocks in their way. The Barrel Cannon from the first Kongo Jungle stage also returns with the stage in the Wii U game.

Mario Party 10 marks the appearance of just one giant barrel cannon on the Donkey Kong Board. It is located at the top of the board; whenever the player's amiibo comes across this cannon, he or she will be offered the possibility to enter the cannon and get launched to one of the spaces the other players are on.

Mario vs. Donkey Kong series
Barrel Cannons help the player travel to different areas in Mini Donkey Kong's levels of Mini Mario & Friends: amiibo Challenge. Any Barrel Cannon displays a light-emitting disc, which turns red when Mini Donkey Kong is inside the said Barrel Cannon in order to aknowledge the player of the character's position. The game contains stationary Barrel Cannons, which spin around continuously, as well as moving Barrel Cannons, which do not rotate but follow certain paths. The player can help shoot Mini Donkey Kong from such a cannon if he or she taps its lit disc on the GamePad. Alongside Barrel Cannons, there are also Auto-Fire Barrels.

Mario Baseball series
Barrel Cannons make a minor appearance in Mario Super Sluggers in adventure mode. When the player travels to DK Jungle, Donkey Kong meets him and says that there is a waterfall too far for him to jump across. Nearby, in a bush, is a barrel cannon which will launch the player across this waterfall.