Emerald Rush

Emerald Rush is a game mode available via paid DLC in Donkey Kong Bananza and unlocked by completing any Bananza Rehearsal after beating the main story. It sees Void Kong recruiting Donkey Kong and Pauline to gather emeralds for his company. During this mode, the player has to collect emeralds scattered across a layer as they try to fill increasingly more demanding quotas within a series of timed rounds. DK begins each run without any of his previously-learned skills, which he may re-learn over the course of the run, and can collect various exclusive Emerald Perks that further boost his performance. The mode is reminiscent of roguelike games, featuring a multitude of individual objectives that shift randomly across the map and encourage the player to adapt their strategy.

Gameplay[edit ]

Emerald Rush can be initiated by interacting either with Void Kong at DK Island or with the Squawks in any other eligible layer. This mode is played in individual runs, during which all gold present on a layer is replaced with emerald. In addition, Banandium Gems and fossils gain distinct, emerald-adjacent properties that may improve the player's emerald-hunting capabilities. Each run strips DK of any of the skills, upgrades, and potentially Bananzas acquired in the main game, though he may regain them in two ways: either by unlocking them in his skill tree in exchange for special Emerald Chips (which replace Banandium Chips in this mode), or by breaking specific Banandium Gems that are randomly selected to conceal these skills. Challenge courses, bonus stages, and battle challenges are sealed off and cannot be accessed during this mode; instead, a Banandium Gem is placed at the entrance of each.

Every run spans a number of rounds, each with a given emerald quota to fill within a time limit of 99 seconds. Halfway through the first round, Void Kong begins issuing Void Goals that award the player bonus emeralds and Emerald Chips upon completion. Breaking a fossil, finding a new skill in a Banandium Gem, or completing a Void Goal grants the player an opportunity to unlock one of three random Emerald Perks, which affect the player's skills, actions, and achievements in various ways; for instance, certain Perks multiply the number of emeralds earned when the player defeats enemies or destroys terrain while wielding a chunk or wearing a specific Bananza transformation. Initially, every possible source of emeralds, whether bullion, enemies, or destructible terrain, yields as much emerald as it would normally yield gold, but this amount can increase dramatically the more Perks the player has accumulated. Multipliers earned from Perks can stack depending on what those Perks act upon.

The player may start with a number of Warp Barrels which can be consumed to teleport to any checkpoint the player previously unlocked on the map, or to provide a one-use Barrel Cannon anywhere the player wishes. The barrels are replenished at the start of each round, and the maximum capacity can be expanded with the Barrel Bump-Up Perk.

The mode can be played on seven difficulty levels, which determine the number of rounds per run and how much emerald quotas increase with each round. Higher difficulties also reduce the number of Warp Barrels the player starts with, as well as initially locking all Bananza transformations and requiring them to be obtained individually by breaking Banandium Gems. Every few rounds, new skills become obtainable from Banandium Gems (except for skills that have already been fully upgraded, which prevents them from appearing in bananas for the remainder of a run^[A] ). The player can only proceed past a round if they meet the given emerald quota. In this case, the quota is deducted from the total amount of emeralds collected up to that point in the run, and the player begins the next round with the resulting difference. If the quota is not met in a round, the entire run ends. As the run ends, the player's performance is translated into Rating Points, which contribute towards unlocking new Perks, outfits, and discs, as well as making existing layers available in Emerald Rush.

The maximum emerald count in a run is capped at 9,999,999.99. This amount is attainable in every layer eligible for this mode.^[3]

Difficulty levels[edit ]

The following are the properties of each difficulty level for any of the layers playable in Emerald Rush.

General

Emerald quotas

Statistics[edit ]

Upon ending an Emerald Rush run (whether by completing it, prematurely exiting it, or losing a round), players are shown a series of statistics related to their performance in the run. These are spread across three consecutive screens, each showcasing different aspects of the run.

Emerald Acquired[edit ]

The player is first shown a growing bar chart of the emeralds they gathered for each round played, with Void Kong cackling and eagerly anticipating the results as the graph builds up. Void Kong's quotas, which are periodically deducted during gameplay, are also factored in here. The total amount of emeralds is then graded using ranks E, D, C, B, A, and V, from lowest to highest. The threshold for Rank A is equal to the combined quota from each round at the given difficulty; to obtain Rank V (for "Void"), the player must reach a score 10 times greater than the current Rank A threshold. The rank only appears on the respective run's results screen, with Void Kong reacting to it as follows:

• at rank E or D, he flails his arms and whines in frustration.
• at rank C or B, he crosses his arms and smirks somewhat indifferently.
• at rank A or V, he rejoices boisterously.

Banandium Chip Exchange[edit ]

After the emeralds have been tallied, the player earns a number of Banandium Chips based on the following criteria within a run:

• clearing a round; the player receives a number of chips for each individual round.
• clearing a difficulty level for the first time.
• the number of skills unlocked.
• the number of Emerald Perks unlocked.
• the number of treasure chests opened.
• the number of Void Goals cleared.

A "First-day bonus" of 100 Banandium Chips is also granted on the player's first attempt in Emerald Rush.^[4]

Final Results[edit ]

Finally, the player's overall performance is summarized as follows:

• all of the skills and Emerald Perks unlocked.
• the amount of emeralds and Emerald Chips collected.
• the highest emerald multiplier achieved.
• the number of excavation discoveries (i.e. the number of times one or more items appeared by smashing ground).
• the number of defeated enemies.
• the number of Void Goals cleared.

Donkey Kong and Pauline appear on this screen as well. Similarly to Void Kong, they emote to the player's rank by frowning, standing still, or dancing. If any Bananzas were used at all in this run, DK sports the most used Bananza form.

Events[edit ]

General[edit ]

Main article: List of Emerald Rush events

This mode hosts periodic events where players can earn exclusive collectible statues by surpassing certain emerald scores. These events feature a limited amount of Emerald Perks that may revolve around a particular element, such as Emerald Chips.

Super Mario collaboration event[edit ]

In celebration of the Super Mario Bros. 40th Anniversary, the mode also holds a separate Super Mario Bros. collaboration event that features several cosmetic changes. DK and Pauline now bear outfits inspired by Mario and Luigi, respectively, while gameplay elements are changed to resemble staple objects from the Super Mario franchise:

• Emerald Chips become Coins.
• Most barrels become Brick Blocks.
• Treasure chests become ? Blocks, which turn into Empty Blocks when activated.
• Tuning forks become Mario-themed Checkpoint Flags.
• Apples become Super Mushrooms.

The music that plays throughout an entire run in this event is a jazz arrangement of "Ground BGM" from Super Mario Bros. using the back up melody of "Emerald Rush #1" as well as incorporating parts of Donkey Kong Country 's "DK Island Swing". A few interface elements are also modified, with various Super Mario items popping up on-screen as round 1 commences, and the results screen featuring a Super Mario–themed pattern background. The music played in the results screen is slightly different, with it now incorporating parts of "Ground BGM" and "Underground BGM". Additionally, Pauline has a chance to hum "Jump Up, Superstar!" when making music during this event.

This event occurs periodically throughout 2026, as follows:^[5]

• Wave 1: June 9–June 30, 12:59 a.m. PT
• Wave 2: July 14, 1:00 a.m. PT–July 21, 12:59 a.m. PT
• Wave 3: August 4, 1:00 a.m. PT–August 11, 12:59 a.m. PT
• Wave 4: August 25, 1:00 a.m. PT–September 1, 12:59 a.m. PT

Names in other languages[edit ]

Footnotes and references[edit ]

Footnotes[edit ]

References[edit ]

External links[edit ]

• Konijnde. Emerald Rush fan-made strategy guide. English. Retrieved December 20, 2025 from Google Docs. (Archived February 14, 2026, 13:54:28 UTC via Megalodon, from an archive.today snapshot.)

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• Donkey Kong Bananza

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