"Donkey Kong Bananza" - Layer-By-Layer Quiz

The highest of the Layers, Ingot Isle is the starting point for "Donkey Kong Bananza" and the setting in which DK believes he's going to make bank, digging for Gold and Banandium Gems near the world's surface. The truth is more dire because as soon as he finds the mother lode of bananas, he, Ingot Isle, and all of the Prospector Monkeys will be shoved down ten Sublayers into the ground and DK will have to start an adventure deep into the layers beneath.

On its own, Ingot Isle just seems to be a mining locale. Home to Baboomtown, it seems to be a bustling, industry-driven destination with plenty of amenities. The problem is that the disaster renders much of this useless.

Sublayers 100 through 102, the Lagoon Layer is the home of the Salvager Monkeys, and as DK and his Odd Rock proceed down below Ingot Isle they'll find a sunny realm containing the first signs of VoidCo's influences. In addition to helping the locals replenish their water sources, DK will encounter the first Elder Monkey here, transforming the Odd Rock into its true form (Pauline!) and introducing the Bananza Form.

At the end of the line, on Sublayer 102, they'll fight the Peekabruiser and proceed down to the next Layer from there.

Found at Sublayer 200, Hilltop Layer is actually quite light on to-dos compared to Lagoon Layer before it, partly because it contains no additional Sublayers before you descend deeper and partly because it doesn't feature any boss battles. Instead, you'll find Fractone Village and encounter a handful of new resources, explore new attack and navigational techniques, and clear VoidCo's mess on and around Peel Peak, a banana bunch-shaped hill covered in thick, gooey mud.

Sitting between Sublayers 300 and 302, the Canyon Layer is the home of a handful of mining operations designed specifically to harvest Banandium from the earth, so naturally, VoidCo is all over the place, getting their hands on what's left. The local Fractones will allow Donkey Kong to collect anything left over, but in the meantime the goal will be to hunt down Grumpy Kong, delve deep into the Banandium Refinery, and eventually face off against a couple of bosses before accessing the next sinkhole at the region's deepest point.

Resting on Sublayer 400, The Divide is a unique area that gives Donkey Kong a choice between his next destinations (and a few Banandium Gems). Depending on which he's in the mood for, he can advance down to the Freezer Layer or the Forest Layer. Both will end up being visited, but this fork in the road is the first of a couple of choices in an otherwise linear descent deeper and deeper into the planet.

Taking up Sublayers 500 through 503, the Freezer Layer is an ice and lava-covered realm of hot and cold landscapes populated by zebras who seem to want nothing more than to continue their food-driven activities. Descending into the sublayers here by passing through icy caves and a massive cooling tower, Donkey Kong and Pauline will find their way to battles with Poppy Kong and Inflammonite and meet with the Zebra Elder.

Sitting in the 600s in terms of Sublayers, the Forest Layer is a dense jungle sitting on a series of isles and bogs, and visiting here for the first time will subject DK to a number of hazards from rapidly-growing brambles to poison lakes. Once he visits the Eggshell Hotel to collect the Ostrich Bananza, things should open up a bit more since he'll gain the ability to fly in this form.

It'll lead to a fight, at the end of the line, against Abracajabya.

The natural convergence point for DK coming from either the Freezer Layer or the Forest Layer, The Junction appears at Sublayer 700 where the two paths meet (having split at The Divide). Here, DK needs to clear the Void being generated by Void Kong's Terravoiders, granting passage to Clash Point and a major battle against the VoidCo director that spans several Layers. Leaving The Junction there will only be one path onwards.

The only Layer/Sublayer to be found in the 800s range is the Resort Sublayer, a sunny destination that appears to be a tropical hangout for Fractones, and while much of it is idyllic sandspits and beachside hangouts, there will still be a handful of foes, most of which are useful for the purpose of providing ways for DK to ascend to the top of a giant watermelon and find the next route downward into the planet.

There are no major fights to be had here; all you need to do is follow the route.

Populated by elephants who exhibit a keen interest in meteorology and forecasting, the Tempest Layer is a stormy region found between the sunny and relaxing Resort Layer and the obviously dirty Landfill Layer below. Found between Sublayers 900 and 903, it boasts dangerous environmental hazards in the form of lightning and tornadoes as well as massive expanses of lava, all of which become a little less daunting when DK collects the Elephant Bananza early on in the zone.

Sinking deeper into the planet, the Landfill Layer appears to be a condensed Sublayer of detritus and waste, and while it's a less involved region than many of the others, it provides a quite the lengthy dig for DK and Pauline as they pass through the pits to the bottom in hopes of catching up with Void Kong.

Instead, at the bottom (below the town of Trashtopia) they'll find a waiting Grumpy Kong and a rematch against the Peekabruiser before heading into the next Sinkhole.

As soon as you descend from the trash-dense Layer before, the pathway through the planet opens into a vast and bright Layer known as the Racing Layer, home to the Stampedeway and the Rambi Rumble, operated by none other than Diddy and Dixie Kong. Here, while there are very few Banandium Gems to secure, there is an opportunity to participate in the Rambi-backed race. Success here means winning the massive trophy and gaining access to the next hole downward to Sublayer 1200.

DK and Pauline will drop from the bright and sunny racetrack above and into a dark cavern when they hit Radiance Layer, and it will become quickly apparent that the name of this area isn't quite upfront. Although radiance may come from some of the glow stones that appear throughout the caves on Sublayer 1201, it'll also come in the form of a massive, synthetic sun that DK will need to kickstart on Sublayer 1202, giving him access to a desert environment even deeper down.

In addition to the Snake Bananza being obtained here, DK will have rematches against both Poppy Kong and Grumpy Kong.

A smaller Layer, the Groove Layer is one of the only ones in which DK has to go it alone for the most part since he'll drop down in here following the unexpected event at the end of the Radiance Layer in which Pauline will be eaten by the VoidCo-affected Harmoneel.

After breaking out of jail, DK will restore the music to the Groove Layer, help Harmoneel get over his possession, and save Pauline from the belly of the big eel before moving on.

Sublayers 1400-1401 bring DK and Pauline to the Feast Layer, a rocky, but large realm that will have them knee-deep in valuable salt as they try to rid the region of toxic, green muck, attempt to build a colossal Banana Burger, re-fight the Mad Mixer, and ride a bunch of amusement park rides. DK will need to leverage all of the Bananzas to get through this one-- not an unreasonable ask since he's nearing the end of the adventure by this point.

A Layer of shifting block types or, in some cases, no blocks at all, the Forbidden Layer is intentionally withholding since it acts as a last line of defence for the Banandium Root, said to be past the Go-No-Further Gate at the far end of its expansive caverns.

The truth is that it actually is possible to get to it, but not before paying off a number of large Fractones, ignoring the advice of others, and figuring out how to cross the Layer with next to nothing to use. At the end is the long-awaited battle against Void King, but it turns out that he's not even the final boss!

Once it gets right down to it, the 1600-series Sublayers will put DK and Pauline at the doorstep of the Banandium Root, located at Sublayer 1609 at the Climactic Cliff. Here, after a series of tough trials against the Kremling Krew, they'll fight against King K. Rool himself in an effort to stop the planet from turning to rot, per his nightmarish plan. That's as deep as they can go...but there is one more location to visit out the other end of the planet.

Riding a pillar of bananas out from the Planet Core, DK and Pauline will return to the 0m mark at the end of the adventure, emerging out at the antipode into the classic Nintendo metropolis of New Donk City, which also happens to be Pauline's hometown.

This first visit will be a particularly rotten one as they'll have no time to explore. Instead, they'll embark on a mad dash up the skyscrapers, dodging foes, using Bananzas, and avoiding the rising rot to fight K. Rool, the King of Rot, at City Hall and, hopefully, bring their adventure to a victorious close.