Donkey Kong Bananza: Planet Core Boss - How To Defeat The Final Boss

This is it, the final boss battle in Donkey Kong Bananza, and it's a biggie.

After making it through all 10 sublayers of the Planet Core, you'll arrive at the Banandium Root and the game's ultimate big bad: King K. Rool. In this guide, we'll be explaining how to beat K. Rool, and sharing all the tips you'll need to dethrone the king.

And yes, it should go without saying here, but there will be huge spoilers for the end of the game in this guide, including images of all the final boss' forms and the locations in which the battle takes place. If you're not ready to see any of that yet, head back to our Boss Guides hub and select the fight you're really after.

All sorted? Let's get that Banandium Root.

Donkey Kong Bananza: Final Boss Walkthrough

King K. Rool General Tips

This is a long fight that takes place across different stages, with different phases. Here are some general tips you'll want to keep in mind while tackling it.

• Stock up on as many Apple Juice items as you can — you don't want a late death kicking you back to the start.
• Most problems are solved by a Bananza Transformation in this battle, so switch up your form if you get stuck.
• If K. Rool doesn't take any damage while dazed, take the opportunity to clear the arena or get yourself in a good position for his next attack.

How To Defeat King K. Rool

This first phase of the fight is pretty straightforward and, like a long tradition of Link and Ganondorf fights before it, it's all to do with playing tennis with a projectile.

There's no Bananergy to worry about in this battle, so switch to Kong Bananza right from the start and build up a Charge Punch as soon as you see K. Rool pull out his cannon. Hold the Charge until the cannonball is almost on you, then line up your shot and release to send it crashing back into K. Rool.

This will be your main method of attack throughout the battle, so get used to it! The boss will sometimes switch to a smaller cannon, sending out three small balls instead of the one big one. Your job doesn't change: get lined up, build a Charge Punch, and send the ball back where it came from.

Cannonballs will leave a nasty black terrain in their wake, which will damage you on impact. While K. Rool is dazed after being hit, switch to Elephant Bananza and inhale as much as you can to clear the arena.

As the fight progresses, K. Rool will summon giant hands made of this same material, which fall and spin around the arena. Roll out of their way as soon as you see them materialise, and keep an eye out for more cannonballs.

Once the arena gets full and K. Rool's health is dipping, he will occasionally bring out a giant vacuum and suck up all the terrain in a wide radius. When you see this building up, speed to the other side of his rotation as fast as you can, either with some well-timed rolls or Zebra/Ostrich Bananza, to avoid getting caught in the suction.

Keep sending back the cannonballs whenever you can, and you'll soon have K. Rool beaten, never to be seen again... nope... never...

Okay, it's not over yet. You'll see some brief fake credits, blast through some interim platforming, and make your way through a certain infected New Donk City (now, where have we heard that name before?), before you have to face K. Rool once again, albeit with a slightly different look this time...

How To Defeat K. Rool, King of Rot

This phase of the battle is far more chaotic, and K. Rool looks far more gruesome thanks to some Bananza Powers of his own, but the combat structure is very similar to begin with.

The King of Rot will emerge with a new cannon that sends out balls which spin in a spiral or bounce. Once again, you'll have to build up a Charge Punch with Kong Bananza and send them back, but getting the aim right is a little trickier this time. Move forwards or backwards with your punch at full charge to help catch the cannonball at the right angle and send it back in a straight line.

Once a few cannonballs have been returned to sender, K. Rool will debut one of his new moves: flooding the arena in black goop before diving into it and summoning more giant hands.

As the arena starts to fill up, stick to the Gold sections and use Elephant Bananza's Inhale to clear a path, then throw the chunks at K. Rool whenever he pops up in range. When the giant hands make their way across the arena, aim one of the chunks at them, and slip through the gap.

Try to send as many cannonballs back at K. Rool as you can in this section, but pay special attention to the larger balls — these deal the most damage when you hit them back.

Keep up this process of clearing paths with Elephant Bananza and sending back projectiles with Kong Bananza. Before you know it, K. Rool will be down. For good this time.

That's the end of the main quest in Donkey Kong Bananza, but there's plenty of post-credit content to dive into. For help with all the Banandium Gems, Fossils, Outfits and Upgrades still out there, be sure to check out our full Donkey Kong Bananza Walkthrough guides hub.