Banana hoard

"Go and look in your hoard, I think you'll be in for a surprise!"

- Cranky Kong

The banana hoard (also spelled banana horde) is Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong's bounty of countless bananas, usually located in the banana cave directly below DK's Tree House. The banana hoard first appears in Donkey Kong Country. The bananas within the banana hoard are usually stolen by a villain group or organization, including the Kremling Krew and the Tiki Tak Tribe.

Donkey Kong Country
At the start of Donkey Kong Country, Diddy Kong is posted to guard the banana hoard during the night. King K. Rool sends his minions to steal the banana hoard for their nutritional value, and they also trap Diddy in a barrel. The next morning, Cranky Kong reveals to Donkey Kong that his banana hoard has been stolen. As a result, Donkey Kong goes out on an adventure to recover his stolen bananas, with Diddy joining him along the way. While described in the manuals of the SNES and Game Boy Color versions, a condensed version of this incident is shown in the in-game introduction of the Game Boy Advance remake.

If Donkey Kong and Diddy re-enter the empty banana hoard, they are upset to see the empty hoard; this is shown from their animation when losing a Bonus Level.

The game's banana collectibles are contextualized as a trail clumsily left behind by the Kremlings. Every boss level, except Gang-Plank Galleon, also takes place between piles of large bananas. The banana hoard is empty throughout the Kongs' adventure and does not grow in size until after the Kongs defeat King K. Rool. By doing so, Cranky tells the Kongs to check their banana hoard, saying they will be "in for a big surprise". Afterward, the Kongs check their hoard to find that all of their bananas are successfully recovered. In response, the Kongs do their Bonus Level victory animation. The banana supply remains in the banana hoard, even when the Kongs resume their adventure.

Donkey Kong Land
While the banana hoard does not appear in Donkey Kong Land itself, it plays part in the main story. In it, Cranky Kong bets with Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong to see if they can have a successful adventure on the Game Boy. Cranky then arranges for the Kremling Krew to steal the banana hoard another time. Eventually, Donkey Kong and Diddy defeat K. Rool again and recover all of their stolen bananas.

Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest
Similar to Donkey Kong Land, the banana hoard itself is absent from Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest, but it retains a significant role in the story. After K. Rool's defeat in the first game, he decides to kidnap Donkey Kong and hold him for ransom, demanding the banana hoard in exchange for Donkey Kong's safe return. Diddy refuses doing so because he and Donkey Kong have worked hard to recover it in their previous adventure. Diddy and Dixie set out on an adventure to rescue Donkey Kong.

In the Game Boy Advance remake, these events are shown during the intro sequence.

Donkey Kong 64
In Donkey Kong 64, King K. Rool sets out to steal the banana hoard again, this time to slow Donkey Kong's progress at saving DK Isles. The banana hoard itself is no longer located beneath DK's Tree House but rather in a cave at the end of a tunnel. The banana hoard is also much smaller than its previous depiction, with the main collectibles being Golden Bananas that make up the bulk of the hoard itself as shown during the ending.

After K. Rool is defeated, Donkey Kong waits for Cranky to arrive as he puts the final bananas into his restored banana hoard. Cranky takes a long time to show up, due to walking slowly, and Donkey Kong ends up falling asleep while waiting for him.

Despite being the first explicit appearance of Golden Bananas in a game, the manual implies that they were part of the banana hoard previously.

Donkey Kong Country Returns / Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D
The banana hoard returns in the Wii game Donkey Kong Country Returns and its Nintendo 3DS port, Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D. In the opening sequence, Tikis hypnotize the animals of Donkey Kong Island to steal them. In the first level, Jungle Hijinxs, as the Kongs go through the level, the Tiki Pilot is shown in a ship with all of the bananas stolen from the hoard.

During the seventh boss fight against Colonel Pluck and his Stompybot 3000, it is revealed that the bananas are used to reproduce the Tiki Tak Tribe. The bananas are also used to transform seven high-ranked tikis into the two giant hands of the main antagonist Tiki Tong. After defeating him, the Volcano erupts bananas, presumably the same ones from the banana hoard. Several of them even hit into a statue, activating the path to the Golden Temple.

Donkey Kong Country (Club Nintendo comic)
In the Club Nintendo adaptation of Donkey Kong Country, Diddy is seen guarding the banana hoard like in the game. However, he appears to be unhappy about it and is guarding it in the rain.

Donkey Kong Country television series
The banana hoard appears in the Donkey Kong Country animated series. Unlike in the games, it is a banana plantation that occupies a sprawling field close to Donkey Kong's house, and acts as one of his preferred hangout spots in episodes such as "Bad Hair Day" or "Buried Treasure". One notable difference from the games is that the banana hoard is not as important as it is in the games as King K. Rool hardly spares it a thought, and is far more interested in stealing the Crystal Coconut.

Super Smash Bros. Brawl
The banana hoard once again appears in Super Smash Bros. Brawl's story mode, the Subspace Emissary. Bowser sends out a Hammer Bro and a Goomba to steal the bananas. An enraged Donkey Kong chases after them, but when he finally gets out of The Jungle, they are driving too fast and are too far from him. The Goomba notices DK and jumps to two Bill Blasters which fire three Bullet Bills toward Donkey Kong. Diddy Kong then jumps out from the jungle and uses his Peanut Popgun to blast them out of the sky. They follow after the thieves and eventually reach the banana hoard, only to discover that they have walked into a trap. Bowser transforms Donkey Kong into a trophy while Diddy Kong is sent flying by his friend to safety. It is unknown what happened to the hoard afterwards.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
Some of the banana hoard makes a cameo in the "DK Island" recreation of the original Kongo Jungle world map from Super Smash Bros. Ultimate's Adventure mode, World of Light. The location of the bananas, Very Gnawty's Lair, leads the player to a Diddy Kong spirit battle.

Trivia

 * According to Fleetway's Donkey Kong Jungle Action Special, the cave that the bananas are stored in magically preserves them.
 * While the banana hoard is not in Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze, it is mentioned in the Wii U Nintendo eShop description.