So I Had To Hunt These Banandium Gems
Right, fired up the Switch super early before work because I knew this Bananza Lagoon stage in SL101 was gonna be annoying. Grabbed my coffee, cranked the volume way down ’cause everyone else was asleep. Loaded up Donkey Kong, selected SL101, and spawned in this super bright lagoon area. Water everywhere, weird bananas hanging off stuff. Okay, time to look for shiny stuff.
First thing I did? Totally missed the obvious one. Was too busy looking at the waterfalls. Almost walked straight past this blue sparkle thing behind a small palm tree near the starting point. Like, right off the bat! Stupid place to hide a gem, honestly. Punched the palm tree out of frustration and boom, Gem #1 popped out. Just sitting there in the open. Felt like an idiot. Coffee kicked in then, I guess.
Second gem got me climbing. Saw this wonky wooden structure on the left, kinda looked like a broken bridge. Jumped onto it, almost slipped into the water trying to balance. Crawled to the top where it just… ends. Scanned the water below, thought “Nah, they wouldn’t”. But they did! Saw this faint purple gleam half submerged near some rocks. Jumped in from the bridge directly onto it. Water splash everywhere. Gem #2 acquired. Soaked my imaginary socks.
Third one was sneaky. Circled back near the beginning but higher up. Got on this slippery slope behind the big waterfall. Messed up the jump twice, had to restart the climb. Water kept pushing me off. Finally got the jump right onto this narrow ledge behind the waterfall curtain. Thought it was empty. Turned the camera angle sideways, and there it was – stuck INSIDE the freakin’ waterfall texture. Gem #3 was literally glowing inside falling water. Reached right through it and snagged it. Weird placement.
Thought I was done. Was heading to the exit barrel when I remembered there’s FOUR! Paused the game, chugged more cold coffee. Spent like 10 minutes running in circles, jumping at random banana bunches. Ended up at this high cliff area on the far right I hadn’t explored properly. Saw one of those cannon barrel things. Shot myself over to a tiny island with just a single oversized banana. Knew it had to be something. Rolled into it and the banana split open. Gem #4 popped out like a freakin’ prize. Felt kinda cheap hiding it inside the fruit! But hey, got it.
So yeah, four dumb glowy rocks. Took me way longer than it should’ve because I kept missing the obvious spots.
- Tree-Hugger: Behind the small palm tree RIGHT at spawn. Punch the tree.
- Deep Diver: Half underwater near sharp rocks under the left broken bridge. Jump from the bridge onto it.
- Behind The Curtain: Hidden ledge INSIDE the biggest waterfall texture. Get behind the water.
- Banana Surprise: Inside the giant banana on the tiny cannon-target island. Roll into the banana.
Finished the stage, grabbed my phone to snap a crappy pic of the gem collection screen before quitting. Shoved the Switch in the dock and went to find actual breakfast. Lagoon gems can wait. Hope this saves someone some pointless swimming and tree-punching!