Banana Bird Cave

Banana Bird Cave
Typical Banana Bird Cave as seen in the game Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble! for SNES.
Greater location(s)	Northern Kremisphere
Inhabitant(s)	Banana Birds
Game(s)	Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble!
First Appearance	Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble! (for SNES) (1996)
Latest Appearance	Donkey Kong Country 3 (for GBA) (2005)

The Banana Bird Caves are multiple caves that hold Banana Birds prisoner during the game Donkey Kong Country 3. These caves, usually secret, are found all over the Northern Kremisphere.

Overview

Prior to the events of Donkey Kong Country 3, Baron K. Roolenstein captured and sealed the Banana Birds away so he would not be opposed by them and their mother, the Banana Bird Queen. It is up to Dixie and Kiddy Kong to free them all from these caves so they can save the Banana Bird Queen and defeat K. Rool once and for all.

There are various Banana Bird Cave locations in the Northern Kremisphere, and usually, at least one is present in each world map of the game. The caves are hidden in the terrain of the maps, with the entrances being revealed just after the player finding their specific locations. And some of them require assistance by the Brothers Bear or via vehicles from the Funky's Rentals to access the caves.

In order to free the Banana Birds, the Kongs must play a minigame of repeating a sequence of command inputs. There are four colored crystals in the caves: blue, green, yellow, and red. In the Super Nintendo Entertainment System version of the game, the blue crystal is assigned to the "X" button, the green one to the "Y" button, the yellow one to the "B" button, and the red one to the "A" button. In the Game Boy Advance version, the crystals are assigned to the directional buttons: the blue crystal is assigned to the "Up" button, the green one to the "Left" button, the yellow one to the "Down" button, and the red one to the "Right" button. After entering a cave, a crystal will light up and make a noise, and then others will after, creating a random sequence. It is up to the player to memorize and repeat the patterns of the crystals. Upon doing so correctly, the entire cave will shake, the crystal imprisoning the Banana Bird will break apart, and the bird will be freed. By failing once, the heroes will be sent out of the cave, and the player will need to access the location again and watch a new random sequence. Later caves in the game possess harder and longer sequences of inputs. Also in the GBA version of the game, after the player releasing a Banana Bird from a cave, the same location will exhibit a flag displaying pink or blue color, according to the Kong in the main position during the process.

Names and Locations

• Bounty Beach - Northern Kremisphere overworld, small beach at the east of the Funky's Rentals, across the water. It is accessible by the Motor Boat or later vehicles rent from the service.
• Smuggler's Cove - Lake Orangatanga, along the northern beach. The cave becomes accessible by the primates swimming under two boardwalks after the player clearing the stage Doorstop Dash.
• Arich's Hoard - Kremwood Forest, across the river, after the stage Bobbing Barrel Brawl. The access to the cave is related to the Brash's sidequest.
• Kong Cave – Northern Kremisphere overworld, west of the Bazaar's General Store in the SNES version of the game or north of the same location in the GBA version. The player must unlock the Hover Craft or later vehicles in the Funky's Rentals in order to reach the cave.
• Bounty Bay – Cotton-Top Cove, slightly northeast of the Bazza's Blockade stage in the SNES version of the game or north of the same location in GBA version. The cave can be accessed by water as soon as the heroes enter the world map.
• Sky-High Secret – Mekanos, suspended nearby the Swanky's Sideshow in the SNES version of the game or the Swanky's Dash in the GBA version. The player can access the location by completing the sidequest involving Blizzard, Blue and Bazooka.
• Undercover Cove – Northern Kremisphere overworld, north of the waterfall near Kong Cave. The Turbo Ski or later vehicles must be unlocked in the Funky's Rentals in order to reach this cave.
• Glacial Grotto – K3, west of Blizzard's Basecamp. As soon as the player reaches the hut by clearing the stage Krack-Shot Kroc, he/she just needs to move towards left of the house, revealing the cave location.
• Clifftop Cache – Razor Ridge, far northwest, beyond the cliff, and via Björn's Chairlifts. It is accessible after clearing the stage Kong-Fused Cliffs and related to the sidequest of Barter and Björn.
• Sewer Stockpile – KAOS Kore, behind the sewer grate. After clearing the stage Creepy Caverns and reaching the central lake of the world map, the player must control the primates and make them to swim around the two rocks in an eight formation for a few times. It will open the grate blocking the entrance of the cave nearby.
• Belcha's Burrow – Northern Kremisphere overworld, southwest of Bazaar's General Store, across the water. In the GBA version of the game, the entrance to it is always visible. This cave is only accessible by the Gyrocopter from the Funky's Rentals.
• K's Kache – Northern Kremisphere overworld, on the island in the northwestern lake in the SNES version of the game or far northwest cliff at the edge of the map in the GBA version. The Gyrocopter must be used to reach the location.
• Hill-Top Hoard – Northern Kremisphere overworld, far northeast cliff at the edge of the map, and near Razor Ridge and KAOS Kore world locations. The Gyrocopter is also required to access this cave.
• Whirlpool Wreck – Pacifica, north of the location of the boss stage Barbos's Barrier in the GBA version of the game. The cave can be accessed by the heroes swimming on the water after the player clearing the stage Cliffside Blast.

Trivia

• Banana Bird Caves do not appear in the game Donkey Kong Land III, due to the lack of Banana Birds altogether.