Banana Launcher

For the version in Plants vs. Zombies Heroes, see Banana Launcher (PvZH).

Banana Launcher is the fifth and the last plant obtained in Big Wave Beach of Plants vs. Zombies 2. The player can tap on it to arm it, then aim at any tile on the lawn to fire an explosive banana that deals 1200 damage per shot to all zombies in a 1x3 area. After firing, Banana Launcher will be disabled for 20 seconds before he can fire again.

Origins

Banana Launcher is based on the banana, a fruit produced by several kinds of large herbaceous flowering plants in the genus Musa. More specifically, Banana Launcher is based on a Dessert banana.

Banana Launcher's almanac flavor text references the idiom "Totally bananas", meaning "very crazy".

Almanac entry

Banana Launcher	SUN COST 500 RECHARGE Fast SUN COST: 500 RECHARGE: Fast TOUGHNESS Typical DAMAGE Massive TOUGHNESS: Typical DAMAGE: Massive AREA Tile FIRING RATE Slow AREA: Tile FIRING RATE: Slow FAMILY Arma-mint FAMILY: Arma-mint Banana Launchers can fire explosive bananas at any tile on the lawn. Usage: tap to arm, tap on target tile to fire Range: anywhere on lawn Special: on impact, explodes in small area It's important to avoid stereotyping as much as possible. Stereotypes are often flat-out wrong. And also hurtful. But honestly ... Banana Launcher is TOTALLY bananas.

Banana Launcher

		SUN COST 500			RECHARGE Fast

SUN COST: 500
RECHARGE: Fast

		TOUGHNESS Typical			DAMAGE Massive

TOUGHNESS: Typical
DAMAGE: Massive

		AREA Tile			FIRING RATE Slow

AREA: Tile
FIRING RATE: Slow

		FAMILY Arma-mint

FAMILY: Arma-mint

Banana Launchers can fire explosive bananas at any tile on the lawn.

Usage: tap to arm, tap on target tile to fire
Range: anywhere on lawn
Special: on impact, explodes in small area

It's important to avoid stereotyping as much as possible. Stereotypes are often flat-out wrong. And also hurtful. But honestly ... Banana Launcher is TOTALLY bananas.

Upgrades

Plant Food effect

When given Plant Food, he will launch four explosive bananas at random targets on the lawn. In the Chinese version, he will fire five bananas.

Arma-mint effect

When boosted by Arma-mint, Banana Launcher will do an additional 2000 DPS with its bananas, and its reload time will be decreased to two seconds.

Level upgrade

Level upgrade (China only)

Level	Upgrades	Description
	Autoloading	Reloads 25% faster.
	Combat Training	Banana Launcher gains 50% more attack power and health (150% of initial).
	Fast Ramming	Reloads 50% faster.
	Cell Activation	Banana Launcher gains another 50% more attack power and health (200% of initial).
	Ability Awaken	Banana Launcher may be boosted when planted.
	Fighting Power	Banana Launcher gains another 50% more attack power and health (250% of initial).
	Timing Missile	Banana Launcher has a chance to regenerate timing missiles that will be inserted into the ground after hitting the zombie and explode after an amount of time.
	Fighting Power	Banana Launcher gains another 50% more attack power and health (300% of initial).

Costumed (China only)

He now launches five normal bananas and a flaming banana which creates an explosion that deals more damage.

Strategies

Compared to other controllable plants, Banana Launcher is special in that the player is given the freedom to launch his payload on any tile on the screen, regardless of any possible obstruction between the plant and the designated position, similar to Missile Toe and Holly Barrier. This makes Banana Launcher excellent for eliminating high threat targets such as Zombie Kings, Fisherman Zombies, and Imp Cannons that would normally be heavily protected. His main weaknesses are his massive 500 sun cost and his cooldown time between firing, which makes him an impractical choice in normal levels.

In Big Wave Beach, Banana Launcher can be used as an improvised countermeasure against Octo Zombies. Not only is it capable of neutralizing them before they can throw their octopi, if the player is fast enough, he can also destroy thrown octopi from anywhere and free the trapped plant. The latter is not recommended, however, as Banana Launcher takes much longer to recharge than the time taken for the Octo Zombie to throw another octopus, even when the zombie is slowed.

Banana Launcher's high damage capability makes him a powerful artillery weapon: Most high health zombies such as Knight Zombies, Blockhead Zombies, Mecha-Football Zombies, and Cavalry Zombies can only survive up to two bananas, while certain Gargantuars can take up to three. His projectile can not be deflected by any means, so Banana Launcher is effective against Jester Zombies and Parasol Zombies.

Another strategy is to use Banana Launcher with plants that can clump zombies together: Sweet Potato, Garlic, Chard Guard, Hurrikale and Thyme Warp are all capable of funneling or clumping the horde together, which allows Banana Launcher to hit more enemies. It's also a good idea to use blocking plants such as Tall-nuts and Primal Wall-nuts to give Banana Launcher time to recharge.

Arma-mint can be used to allow the Banana Launcher to reload every two seconds.

Related achievement

	Banana Storm Complete a Beach level using only Banana Launchers to destroy zombies

Gallery

Plants vs. Zombies Wiki has a gallery for Banana Launcher.

Visit this page to see it.

Trivia

• He cannot be planted on minecarts, due to issues associated with a tap either moving the mine cart, or activating the target of Banana Launcher. If the player tries to plant him on a minecart, the game will say "Bananas are too slippery for minecarts."
  • This is also true with Missile Toe and Holly Barrier.
  • However, he can be planted on minecarts in the Chinese version.
• In Big Wave Beach - Day 23, the player can launch a banana from the Banana Launcher while viewing the lawn from the seed selection screen. However, he will still look like he does when he is loaded.
• Banana Launcher is one of the few plants that talk, saying "Banana" when firing normally and saying "ba-ba-ba Banana" when using Plant Food.
• The player used to be able to destroy graves using Banana Launcher on any Last Stand level before tapping "Let's Rock". However, it is no longer possible after the 3.1.1 update.
  • The player was also able to fire bananas after the level has ended and the reward has dropped. This was also fixed in the 3.1.1 update.
• His eyes are red and straight in the bingo card while his in-game appearance has brown eyes and they are crossed. His smile in the bingo card is also different from the one he has in-game.
• His costume has the same design as the pajamas on the characters in Bananas in Pyjamas, despite being a beach towel.
• In the Chinese version, when fed with Plant Food, he will make firework noises when it launches its bananas.
  • He also dealt damage in a 3x3 area in the Chinese version, but this was fixed in the 1.4.2 update.

See also

• Cob Cannon
• Banana Storm
• Missile Toe
• Holly Barrier