The Hilltop Layer is the second full layer you’ll visit in Donkey Kong Bananza. This area is much smaller than the previous Lagoon Layer, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t tons of Banandium Gems to collect.
The Hilltop Layer is filled with nice crystal-like creatures who are experts in the art of turf surfing. They’ll encourage you to skate around the flat-ish, but also hilly area, grabbing gold and Banandium Gems as you go.
Below, we list where to find all of the Banandium Gems in the Hilltop Layer of Donkey Kong Bananza we’ve found so far. We’re still updating this guide with more golden bananas as we find them.
Hilltop Sublayer #200 Banandium Gems
We’ve found 35 Banandium Gems so far — and it seems like there may only be 38 on this layer.
#1: Bruised Peekabruiser!
This Banandium Gem is available as soon as you arrive to the Hilltop Layer, and it’s technically a reward for beating the boss on Sublayer 102.
#2: Cave-Dwelling Treasure
When facing Fractone Village at the Surf Hills teeleport spot, drop down the cliff side on the right to see a cave entrance into the giant stone banana. Use your Kong Bananza ability to smash through the walls, where you’ll get to this banana hanging from the ceiling.
#3: ???
This Banandium Gem isn’t available on your first visit to the Hilltop Layer. We believe that you’ll need to return after you’ve progressed further or after you’ve beaten the main story of Donkey Kong Bananza.
#4: ???
This Banandium Gem isn’t available on your first visit to the Hilltop Layer. We believe that you’ll need to return after you’ve progressed further or after you’ve beaten the main story of Donkey Kong Bananza.
#5: ???
This Banandium Gem isn’t available on your first visit to the Hilltop Layer. We believe that you’ll need to return after you’ve progressed further or after you’ve beaten the main story of Donkey Kong Bananza.
#6: Battle: Dig, Dig, Dig on Down
In the Fractone village, you’ll find two Fractones standing next to a taped off battle challenge door. Completing this battle challenge awards this banana.
#7: The Shifty Path Under the Village
Drop down off the ledge behind the shops in Fractone Village. You’ll see two cubes that you can toss chunks at to make platforms. Do that and you’ll find yourself looking at a dirt wall that you can smash through to find a gem.
#8: A Shifty Path Forward
Head to the Shifty Platform Road ruin located behind the shops in the village. Cross the first set of platforms within and you’ll reach the first gem naturally.
#9: An Out-of-the-Way Room
After collecting the first gem, turn to your left and look off the edge. You’ll see a cube moving vertically. Toss a chunk at it to create a platform and ride it down until you see a thorn wall. Grab a chunk off the platform and toss it at the wall to find the gem inside.
#10: Make-Your-Own Platforms
Complete the Shifty Platform Road challenge and the gem will be waiting for you at the exit.
#11: Hilltop Fragmentone Recovery
Walk off the cliff in Fractone Village behind the gong to find a cavern entrance. Head inside and help the Fragmentone find one of its missing pieces to get a banana.
The missing pieces are directly behind the Fragmentone: on top of the ledge, in a hole, and around the corner of another rock. Patiently escort the fragments to their parent, as if you walk too far away from it, it’ll go back to its original spot.
#12: Hilltop Fragmentone Restoration
This Banandium Gem is rewarded for returning all three fragments to the Fragmentone (see above).
#13: Battle: Spike-Spout Scrap
Go into the cave and through the challenge door to fight three crockoids in a time limit, rewarding you a Banandium Gem for succeeding.
#14: Hilltop Hide-and-Seek
Head to the part of the map that has a stone banana on its side with several concrete bananas jutting out of the ground. Talk to the crystal NPC and it’ll ask you to find its four friends.
One is hidden inside the bananas, another is in a stone at the bottom end of it, and two are encased in concrete on the nearby platform (you can use Kong Bananaza to break them free). We’ve circled where to find them approximately above. Get all four and a gem will appear.
#15: Hilltop Smashin’ Stats
Talk to the crystal NPC behind the giant banana at the Construction Site. He will give you a gem once you’ve smashed 20,000 cubic meters of terrain in Hilltop layer.
#16: Bloomed in the Hilltop Layer
When you get to the Construction Site, head to the edge until you find a potted plant sitting in the shadow of a stone banana. Smash the banana so the plant can get some light. Once you do, it will sprout a flower. Talk to it once it does to get a gem.
#17: Thorny-Hill Finish Line
In the Hilltop Layer Challenge Course 2: Thorny Hill Speed Surf, you’re awarded this gem for making it to the end of the course within the 60 second time limit. This challenge course is near the Construction Site.
#18: Thorny-Hill Buzzer Beater
In the Hilltop Layer Challenge Course 2: Thorny Hill Speed Surf, you’re awarded this gem for making it to the end of the course with at least 20 seconds to spare (see above).
#19: Thorny-Hill Hideaway
Before leaving the Hilltop Layer Challenge Course 2, jump over the wall behind the barrel and you’ll find this Banandium hidden.
#20: Shifty Smash: Break the Canopy
Go to the huge stone banana bunch and walk in the mud until you see a tunnel you can walk through under the back of the bunch. You’ll find a cave inside with a challenge. Activate it and you’ll have 20 seconds to smash a round canopy, granting a gem.
#21: Battle: Three-Tiered Tussle
Behind the giant banana bunch structure is a muddy pathway up that requires you to chunk jump to scale. Right next to the Fractone arrow is a battle challenge door. Completing it awards a Banandium Gem.
#22: Peeled from Peel Peak
Destroy the source of the purple metal clogging up Hilltop’s sink hole and you’ll receive this banana. It’s required for progression.
#23: The Skies Over Peel Peak
When you reach the top of Peel Peak, climb the stone structure at the top. Once you’re on top, look up and you’ll see a platform floating out of reach. Throw a chunk at the goo around it to lower it to the ground. A gem will be on the platform when it lands.
#24: Bananas All the Way Down
The middle banana of Peel Peak has a Banandium Gem chillin’ behind a concrete wall.
#25: Shifty Smash: The Rotating Ring
There’s a cave to the left of Peel Peak (if you’re standing at the stem facing the bananas). Activate the challenge inside, where you’ll have to smash a rotating wall within 20 seconds to get a gem.
#26: Against the Oncoming Tide
In the Hilltop Layer Challenge Course 3: Spiked-Tide Slope, this Danandium gem is directly in your path. You can find the Challenge Course on the end of the stone banana closest to the home base you can make.
#27: Against the Oncoming Tide
In the Hilltop Layer Challenge Course 3: Spiked-Tide Slope this Banandium Gem is rewarded at the end of the course.
#28: Amidst the Hidden Tide
In the Hilltop Layer Challenge Course 3: Spiked- ide Slope this Banandium Gem is hidden near the end of the challenge course. Drop down from the bridge towards the exit barrel to find it.
You’ll need to use the bombs to blow up both the concrete to free the banana from the spiked balls and to blow up concrete blocking off the roof road up top. Once you do this, you can climb up the walls to get to the roof road and drop down on the banana. If you messed up your bombs, you can use Kong Bananza to break the concrete that blocks the roof road, so don’t worry too much about that.
#29: The Flying Banana
Like the name suggests, there is a contraption with a banana attached to it flying overhead while dropping spikes down on the player. The contraption flies in a set pattern over the nearby stones and stops just long enough for you to break the Banandium Gem
#30: Gold-Dipped Banana
Head past the village and you’ll come across a concrete slab on the ground with lots of spiky enemies around it. Smash through the concrete to find a gem in a pit below.
#31: Hilltop Quiz Master
Go to the giant stone banana to the right of the village (if you’re facing Peel Peak). There’s a Quiztone on top of it who will ask you three questions. Answer them correctly (the answers are Fossils, Your Helmet, and Throwable Explosives) to earn a gem.
#32: Cranky’s Hilltop Rant
Climb the stone banana near the Quiztone (see above). Look at the sky and you’ll see Cranky standing on an unreachable platform. Toss a chunk on it to drag the platform to the ground. Talk to Cranky when he lands, listen to his rant, and get a gem.
#33: Shifty Smash: Downhill Run
Enter the cave to the right of the starting area (when facing the village). You’ll find a cavern with a turf surfing challenge for you to complete.
#34: Tunneling Through the Pit
As you drop down the opened sinkhole, hug the wall with the ledge. Break open the concrete wall for a Banandium Gem behind the wall.
#35: Treasured Memories
Hilltop Layer Challenge Course 4: Nostalgia Country is at the bottom of the big Construction Site hole.
When you enter, immediately turn towards the door and jump up to the rock wall above it. (We chunk jumped, which made it easier.)
Climb up and you’ll enter DK’s house. Jump on the tire inside to reach the gem above.
#36: Over the Valley
This is directly in your path of the Nostalgia Country challenge course. You cannot miss it.
#37: Hijinxs in the Jungle
Yet again, this banana is just in the pathway for Nostalgia Country, so you can’t really miss it.
#38: Hilltop Chip Exchange
Once you make it to the Fractone Village in the Hilltop Layer, you can head over to the chip exchange shop and trade 10 chips and 100 gold for a Banandium Gem.
You can do this multiple times, but it only counts toward the collection once. The Banandium Gems you get from here do count towards your skill points.
