Plus and Minus Barrels
- “Plus and Minus Barrels are found on the different roller coaster levels. The Plus Barrels will add time to the timer, the Minus Barrels will send you into the Minus World!”
- —Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest manual
Plus and Minus Barrels[1] (also called + and - Barrels in an issue of Nintendo Power[2]) are barrels that can affect the amount of time on a timer. They make an appearance in only one level in the game, Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest, which is Haunted Hall. They are similar to Check and X Barrels and even make the same sound when run into.
A Plus Barrel has a green plus sign on it and is used to increase the time on the timer in the level. A Minus Barrel, identified by a red minus sign on its side, decreases the amount of time.
Additionally, a single Plus Barrel can be found at the beginning of "Rickety Race". This Plus Barrel works differently; it speeds up the Kongs' Skull Cart. Similarly, another Plus Barrel is found in one of Haunted Hall's bonus levels, which causes the Skull Cart to travel backwards at a high speed.
In Target Terror, there are similar barrels.
The Plus and Minus Barrels do not reappear in Donkey Kong Land 2, but an unused sprite of a Minus Barrel is hidden within the game's files. There is not one of the Plus Barrel.[3]
Names in other languages
| Language | Name | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Japanese | プラス&マイナスバレル Purasu & Mainasu bareru |
Plus & Minus Barrel |
Trivia
- The Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest Instruction Booklet has Cranky Kong jokingly state that the Minus Barrel can send the Kongs to the Minus World, then he realizes he was talking about the wrong game.
