Banana Bunch (Mario franchise)

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Banana Bunch
Artwork of a Banana Bunch from Super Mario Party
Appearances
First appearance	Mario Kart 64 (1997)
Latest appearance	Mario Strikers: Battle League (2022)

A Banana Bunch consists of clustered bananas, usually five of them. They have appeared in the Mario franchise as either an item or an object, depending on the appearance, or as both in some cases. Banana Bunches make their first appearance in Mario Kart 64 as an item and in Super Mario Sunshine as an object. Like Banana Peels, Banana Bunches are sometimes referred to as Bananas, especially in the plural form.

Like regular bananas, Banana Bunches more commonly appear within the Donkey Kong franchise. Even in the Mario franchise, particularly the spinoff titles, such as the Mario Party series, Banana Bunches are often associated with Donkey Kong.

History

Mario franchise

Mario Kart 64

Banana Bunches appear as items exclusively in Mario Kart 64, although they function as Banana Peels. When used, five regular Banana peels are automatically deployed to trail behind the player's kart. The player may throw each Banana one-by-one whenever they please, and the Bananas also block incoming items from hitting the player. They can be obtained in the top two positions, with a 5% chance of appearing in each position they appear in.

In later games in the Mario Kart series, Triple Bananas supersede Banana Bunches in terms of function, making the Banana Bunch the only item from Mario Kart 64 that does not reappear in another installment.

Mario Kart: Super Circuit

In Mario Kart: Super Circuit, while Bananas return from Mario Kart 64 as a type of item, having the same role, although Banana Bunches do not. During development, Banana Bunches were planned to become an item, presumably with a similar or identical function as in Mario Kart 64, but were later scrapped.

Super Mario Sunshine

Super Mario Sunshine model

In Super Mario Sunshine, Banana Bunches appear throughout Isle Delfino and are mainly used to feed Yoshis, or to give to a female Pianta in Delfino Plaza to receive a Blue Coin.

Mario Party series

Mario Party 5

In Mario Party 5, all three minigames hosted by Donkey Kong have banana bunches in the jungle.

Mario Party 9

Banana bunches appear on DK's Jungle Ruins where they take the place of Mini Stars. Collecting a banana bunch makes the captain gain three bananas. Banana bunches have a Z-Banana equivalent which take away three bananas. By landing on the Lucky Space on the left side of the board, the captain can earn up to four banana bunches if they are launched high enough into the air. By landing on the Lucky Space on the right side of the board, the captain can earn banana bunches by lining up the middle head of each of the three pillars. For each successful attempt, an addition banana bunch is given, allowing up to five banana bunches. In the exclusive minigames of this board, Diddy's Banana Blast and DK's Banana Bonus, banana bunches appear less frequently than regular bananas. DK's Banana Bonus has one giant banana bunch that gives ten bananas.

Mario Party 10

In Mario Party 10, several banana bunches are carried by a moving Mine Cart in the background of the Donkey Kong Board.

Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle

Like regular Bananas, Banana Bunches reappear as currency exclusively in the Donkey Kong Adventure mode of Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle, and are worth five regular Bananas. They usually appear after the player collects some Bananas in a circle.

Yoshi franchise

Yoshi's Story

Bananas appear as a bunch in Yoshi's Story, but are only worth one fruit.

Yoshi Touch & Go

Banana Bunches also appear in Yoshi Touch & Go. If a Yoshi eats one, it will get three more eggs.

Names in other languages

Language	Name	Meaning
French	Régime de bananes	Banana bunch