Plus and Minus Barrels

Plus and Minus Barrels are a type of Barrel unique to Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest. Plus and Minus barrels are found in only one level, "Haunted Hall". Its purpose was to keep Kackle at bay.

In the level, a timer will start, and as it depletes, Kackle draws closer, until zero where he injures a Kong. By collecting the Plus Barrel, the timer will increase, keeping Kackle away. However, the opposite happens when Minus Barrels are collected, and should be avoided.

Trivia

 * The original DKC2 manual claims the minus barrels will take them to the Minus World, a reference to a famous glitch found in Super Mario Bros.
 * The plus barrel actually makes one more secret appearance in the level "Rickety Race".
 * A number of connections can be made with Donkey Kong Country's Stop & Go Barrels of Stop & Go Station; the barrels both appear exclusively in that one level, are needed to disable invincible enemies (in DKC 's case, Rock Kroc, and both provide a temporary effect in disabling the foe (the latter in Plus Barrel's case).