Banana Kong Guide: Tips, Tricks & Strategies to Collect as Many Bananas as Possible

Banana Kong is an arcade runner developed by FDG Entertainment GmbH & Co.KG where you play as the titular gorilla (BK), running for dear life as his endless banana eating results in a literal tidal wave of banana peels coming down on him. You will have to jump, drop, and dash through whatever obstacles BK faces as he makes his mad escape, while trekking on the island he calls home. How far do you think can you get before BK is finally stopped?

It is not just jungle travel that you have to deal with in Banana Kong. You can bounce on the treetops, run along the island coast, and even find a path in the caves beneath the jungle itself. Along the way, BK will find animal friends to hitch a ride with and encounter new obstacles as they carry BK to safety. They can only carry him for so long however, and eventually BK will have to continue his run on his own before he finds them again.

As the game gets faster and faster, both you and BK will have to react to incoming impediments much more quickly, all while collecting more bananas. When a run does end, you can use your hard-earned fruits to purchase upgrades for both BK and his friends, allowing for longer, more lucrative runs, and possibly fueling another wave of peels in the process.

While Banana Kong is free to play, the game does offer some microtransactions that reduce the sting of grinding for those upgrades. Our Banana Kong guide aims to teach you what BK’s Island has in store, and how to collect more bananas without spending any real-world money. So, stay with us to learn the hijinks of Banana Kong!

1. Monkey Business

Being a runner game, Banana Kong only has you tapping the screen in order to control the titular gorilla. Normally, tapping the screen while BK is on the ground will make him jump. Holding your finger down while BK is in the air will make him glide slowly to the ground, making it easier to land onto certain platforms.

The main objective of this game is simple: get as far as you can in a single run before BK gets overwhelmed by his hoard of banana peels or crashes into something. If you do crash into something, you can spend a Golden Heart to continue your run, or just wait for the timer to run out and start a new run.

As BK is running for his life, you can collect loose bananas in your path which can then be used to purchase upgrades after a run. With some exceptions, bananas in the level are at a 1:1 ratio, which makes geting to those upgrades difficult without resorting to in-app purchases. They can be reached in due time.

Additional mechanics, that we will discuss later, also help quite a bit in earning enough bananas in less time. Bananas also charge up BK’s Power Dash, allowing him to plow through obstacles in a short distance. Both the distance BK travels along with any bananas he picks up contribute to a separate score that is uploaded to the global leaderboards.

To charge up his Power Dash, BK must collect 11 bananas, with the progress depicted as a bar at the upper-left corner of your screen. Once the bar is fully charged, you can activate the Power Dash by swiping your finger to the right. BK will then charge right through obstacles and gain a brief boost to speed, which also allows him to ignore gravity for the duration. Once the charge ends, you will have to collect enough bananas to charge it up again.

Aside from tapping and swiping right, BK can drop to a lower platform by swiping down. This proves useful in avoiding obstacles or in reaching bananas. If you swipe downwards while BK is in the air, he will drop directly to the ground instead. This is good for reaching a safe spot to land on immediately rather than risking whatever obstacles the game may generate later on. It also has certain interactions with some objects you can find as you progress.

Although the game takes place on a single island, BK can travel to five different locales, each with their own obstacles and bonuses to handle. All runs start in the jungle, so we will start with what obstacles and features you can encounter there first. These will not cover the bottomless pits, bodies of water or lava, and rocks dotting the path of BK’s escape, as those are endemic to runner games as a whole.

That said, the most common obstacle you can find throughout the island are barrels that slow BK down if he touches them, and a couple of them are even visible at the start of every run. They will not end your run, but they do make it more likely that the falling pile of banana peels will get you.

Sometimes their slowing effects are beneficial as BK starts moving faster and faster as the game goes on, as BK’s speed can get too fast for players to manage. Barrels appear in three locations BK can visit, which is why it gets a specific mention here. These locations may also have thematic reskins that otherwise function the same way.

Jungle Trouble

Below is a list of obstacles and features unique to the jungle:

Flower Springs: From time-to-time, Flower Springs can spawn on the jungle path, and they give BK some additional airtime if he lands on them. Performing a ground drop to land on a Flower Spring will let you cover more height, even if you perform the drop just before touching the Spring.

Swinging Vines: You might spot orange vines just below the jungle canopy, which BK can swing on if he manages to grab hold. These vines mainly serve as alternate paths. However, if your Power Dash meter is full, dashing while swinging on a vine will send you to the jungle treetops.

Beach Rocket: If you see a rocket floating in midair, BK can hitch an optional ride to the beach, which features different obstacles and a change of scenery. The beach has its own rocket to send you back to the jungle if needed.

Alternate Paths: Depending on what spawns in the jungle, you might find a flared pipe sticking out of the water, or a cave entrance that has been boarded up. You can enter these obstacles via a Power Dash, leading into the sea and the caves respectively. We will discuss those later on.

Rolling Logs: Logs will periodically roll in from the right of the screen, tripping up BK if he touches them. Evade them accordingly. Some may even come in sequence, resulting in multiple jumps or just Power Dashing right through them instead.

Beach Bonanza

Below is a list of obstacles and features unique to the beach, which is otherwise identical to the jungle in terms of overall level design:

Bouncy Frogs: These frogs behave much like the Flower Springs but are smaller and launch BK a shorter distance. Typically, any associated platforming with them is going to be much less vertical as a result.

Snapping Crabs: You might see a pair of crab claws sticking out of the sand, and as BK gets close, the crab leaps up to try and nip BK in the leg. Sometimes the crabs are out in the open and just waiting for BK to come near.

Falling Coconuts: Rather than landing on BK’s head, these coconuts act as surprise obstacles that players must quickly react to and avoid. They can still be rushed through via Power Dashes if push comes to shove.

Treetop Trampolines

If you Power Dash while hanging onto a swinging vine, you will be sent to the treetops above, where the trees act like springs and there are lots of bananas floating in the sky. Just like the frogs and flowers, ground dropping onto the trees gives you more air, allowing you to reach those bananas with some gliding. If BK falls out of the trees, he simply returns to the jungle below him.

We recommend against Power Dashing while you are in the treetops, as you will move too fast for the game to properly generate trees and this guarantees that BK will fall out.

Underwater Misadventures

If you take the pipe to the waters below, the controls change significantly. BK constantly sinks to the bottom of the seafloor, and tapping the screen causes BK to slowly swim upwards. You cannot Power Dash either so slowdowns can only be compensated with time. For a while you are safe from the falling peel pile but after a short distance BK will have to deal with a new threat—a crocodile that constantly chases after BK while he is in the water.

The crocodile will periodically try to bite BK while he is swimming, and you will have to avoid various fish and other sea critters that serve as obstacles to slow BK down and make the crocodile more likely to get him. If the crocodile does get to BK, our poor gorilla is sent out of the water and back into the jungle. The sea life you have to contend with are as follows:

Piranhas: The basic threat, piranhas generally act as stationary obstacles, so BK has to carefully swim past them. Some piranhas will start swimming in the background before reappearing into the foreground.

Pufferfish: Pufferfish swim in schools, typically constricting BK’s movement by creating narrow paths that he has to navigate through without getting pricked.

Jellyfish: Jellyfish will try to match BK’s current depth but do so rather slowly. The trick to evading them is to swim as high as you can and let BK sink as they get close.

Squids: Squids are solitary and swim in circles, blinding BK with ink if he touches them.

Electric Eels: At times, you might spot a fishing swimming in BK’s direction that is harmless, only for it to be eaten by a passing electric eel. Acting much like the rolling logs of the jungle, the eels will speed toward BK as they go for their prey, potentially shocking him as a result.

Cave Chase

If you go through the caves, BK will find himself deep underground, with lava instead of water and the rocks containing dinosaur fossils. Unlike the other locations mentioned above, there is no way to return to the jungle from the caves, so the rest of your run will be spent underground until BK is stopped. The only unique threats here are:

Falling Stalactites: Acting like the beach’s coconuts, stalactites can periodically fall from the cave ceiling and onto BK’s path.

Bat Swarms: Periodic bat swarms can be seen on the caves, and if BK runs into one, his speed is reduced until the bats fly off.

2. Animal Assistance

Luckily for BK, he does not have to run from his fruit pile alone. Most locations have animal friends that give BK some additional distance while offering some unique banana layouts. You can see these animals roaming during the run and you can choose whether or not to hitch a ride. Listed below are your animal friends:

Toucan: Exclusive to the jungle, the Toucan can barely hold BK’s weight and turns the game into Flappy Bird. Throughout the Toucan’s duration, BK will be suspended above water, and the player has to avoid both obstacles suspended on platforms and piranhas periodically jumping out of the water for a quick bite. If the Toucan takes too much damage or touches the water, BK is thrown off and returns to the standard jungle.

Snake: Exclusive to the beach, the Snake carries BK on a series of vines that act like ziplines. Players will have to avoid gorilla-eating plants by jumping or dropping onto other vines in the path. Occasionally, a balloon will spawn which you can collect for a sum of bananas. However, that will require some quick thinking to avoid the plants on the vines. If BK touches a plant, he is thrown off and returns to the beach.

Turtle: Exclusive to the sea, the Turtle gives BK a temporary speed boost and generates unique banana layouts. The main challenge here is controlling the Turtle and collecting all those bananas, as, unlike the other animals listed here, the Turtle runs on a strict time limit before BK lets go. Thankfully, no other sea critters will spawn while BK is hitching a ride, and any fish BK does hit at first will not impair the Turtle’s duration.

Boar: Exclusive to the caves, the Boar periodically spawns specially marked bricks that he and BK can smash through for extra bananas, alternating between those bricks and regular obstacles. Unlike the other animals here, the Boar can withstand multiple hits from other obstacles up to a point, where he launches BK off, and cave gameplay continues normally.

You can still Power Dash while riding the Boar however, which can prolong his duration until he runs out of health; there is no way to restore any lost health either. Falling into the lava is still a guaranteed knockout no matter how much health the Boar has.

3. Bananas For Boons

The bananas you collect can be used to purchase upgrades for both BK and his animal buddies, along with cosmetics such as hats and parachute reskins. Upgrades are split into four categories, with a “fifth” category reserved for premium boosters purchased via in-app purchases:

Power-ups: This category influences BK directly. It includes upgrades to BK’s gliding duration (how slowly he falls while gliding), and access to Rainbow Bananas. Rainbow Bananas are worth 30 bananas upon pickup with further upgrades increasing the likelihood of them spawning in. Because they offer so many bananas upon pickup, they instantly charge up your Power Dash. Also included are magnets, single-use banana multipliers, and a shield that protects against bottomless pits but can only be used once per run.

Hats: This category is reserved for giving our gorilla a funny little hat. This is purely cosmetic but some missions the game gives you might require you to complete a run with a hat on.

Animals: Upgrades for BK’s animal friends, these typically involve giving them an extra hit or adding banana multipliers to them while BK is riding them. This category also has a couple of special animals that you can purchase: single-use cheetahs that give BK an immediate 500-meter or 1,000-meter boost, and a giraffe that gives BK an extra chance at the treetops if he falls off. Additional purchases of the giraffe increase the amount of times BK can fall off before landing back in the jungle for good.

Parachutes: These are reskins for the banana leaf that BK uses as a glider. As with the hats, this is optional unless a mission requires it.

The game offers up to three missions to complete in exchange for bonuses, such as a lump sum of bananas, free cheetahs, or unique hats exclusively from specific challenges. These challenges can range from reaching a set distance, collecting a set number of bananas in a single run, or visiting the caves enough times.

If a mission is proving too difficult, you can skip it by watching an ad, though you will not get any progress towards the current bonus if you do so. Completing a run may also give you an opportunity to get free bananas or you can watch an ad to get Golden Hearts.

4. Running For The Gold

Now here are some tips and tricks to get as many bananas as you can with each run and streamline your gameplay experience along the way:

Keep that Power Dash meter up. A fully charged Power Dash lets you go straight through obstacles, access different paths, and just lets you get some distance between you and the peel pile. Know when to collect the necessary bananas so you can keep it juiced up.

Do not get greedy. While keeping the Power Dash meter on standby is handy, remember that this is a runner game. The objective is to get as far as possible so unless you are confident of your skills or just want to end a good run, do not go for risky bananas. You might be able to spend a Golden Heart to continue such a run, but you only have so much of those on hand.

Sometimes, slowing down is good. The game can get too fast for you to react to incoming obstacles, so running into a barrel might help you focus on the path ahead. If those peels are getting too close, remember to Power Dash or find a different path to escape them, if only temporarily.

Get those Rainbow Bananas first. The Rainbow Banana is worth 30 bananas on pickup, and even the first upgrade can mean the difference in reaching the next upgrade.

Focus on the animals you like. If you have enough bananas to upgrade BK’s buddies, consider spending them on the animals you are most comfortable controlling. If you prefer the Snake for example, use your bananas on the Snake’s upgrades.

Trouble with the ads? Shut them off. While ads will not interrupt you mid-game, they can make browsing through upgrades and missions a pain. Just switch off the internet connection of your mobile device before starting BK and you should be able to play without interruption. The only concern will be slight “hitches” from time to time, but it is a reasonable compromise. Just remember that you cannot collect any free Golden Hearts or bananas through ad watching. Skipping troublesome missions is out of the question.

And that concludes our player guide to Banana Kong. We hope that our advice helps you get as far as you can in BK’s escape and earn a tidy sum of bananas in the process. If you have any tips you would like to share with us, please let us know in the comments!