=========[ Donkey Kong Country ]========= + /ProtoFaq/ version 0.3 as of Dec 1994 + ========================================= PART ONE --====-- ####################################################################### DKC proto-FAQ (v0.3 of 12/16/94) ####################################################################### This FAQ has two major sections: (1) "Frequently Asked Questions" about things OTHER than bonus rooms. Questions: Q-1: How many levels are there in Donkey Kong Country? Q-2: How can I tell if I've found all of the bonus rooms in a level? Q-3: How can I jump for extra distance (horizontally)? Q-4: How can I grab things out of a pit without falling to my death? Q-5: What's the "Diddy controller code"? How does it work? Q-6: Where are the special "2x" icons? Q-7: Are there any ways to bypass parts of some levels? Q-8: Does the ending change depending on the percentage of completion? (2) A list of the locations of all 67 bonus rooms. Index: BR-1. Kongo Jungle bonus rooms BR-2. Monkey Mines bonus rooms BR-3. Vine Valley bonus rooms BR-4. Gorilla Glacier bonus rooms BR-5. Kremroc Industries, Inc. bonus rooms BR-6. Chimp Caverns bonus rooms BR-7. General notes and strategy hints BR-8. Sample description interpretation BR-9. Kinds of bonus rooms BR-10. Acknowledgements ####################################################################### Frequently Asked Questions - about things other than Bonus Rooms ####################################################################### Questions: Q-1: How many levels are there in Donkey Kong Country? Q-2: How can I tell if I've found all of the bonus rooms in a level? Q-3: How can I jump for extra distance (horizontally)? Q-4: How can I grab things out of a pit without falling to my death? Q-5: What's the "Diddy" "controller code"? How does it work? Q-6: Where are the special "2x" icons? Q-7: Are there any ways to bypass parts of some levels? Q-8: Does the ending change depending on the percentage of completion? ======================================================================= Q-1: How many levels are there in Donkey Kong Country? There are 33 "normal" levels, 67 bonus rooms, and seven boss areas. There are also six each of the "friendly" areas (Candy Kong, Cranky Kong, and Funky Kong). The first six bosses do not count towards the percentage total. The remaining 101 areas (33 levels, 67 bonus rooms, and "King R. Rool") each count as 1% towards the completion total. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Q-2: How can I tell if I've found all of the bonus rooms in a level? On the map screen, a level is marked with an exclamation point once there are no undiscovered bonus rooms remaining in it. (e.g., "Ropey Rampage" becomes "Ropey Rampage!" when all of its bonus areas are found.) ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Q-3: How can I jump for extra distance (horizontally)? This question and Q-4 are related, because the same technique covers both. The trick is that the Kongs can jump upwards out of a cartwheel (Diddy Kong) or barrel-roll (Donkey Kong), just as if they were standing on solid ground... even if they happen to be in mid-air at the time. Example: In "Jungle Hijinks," there is a red balloon above the group of trees is just past the [K] icon. There is a second red balloon over the next group of trees beyond that, and if you move quickly you will find a green balloon over the third group of trees. But the trees are spaced too far apart for Diddy to jump from group to group, even with a running start. Also, the second and third sets of treetops can't be reached from the ground. How do you collect the second and third balloons? By rolling off a tree, and then jumping from mid-air... which increases the total horizontal distance which can be covered in a single jump. In detail: (A) Position Diddy on the right-hand edge of the first group of trees, where you collected the first red balloon. (B) Press "right" on the control pad and the "Y" button (approximately simultaneously), and Diddy will cartwheel off the tree towards the right. (C) At any time before Diddy finishes the cartwheel move, (the later, the better), press and hold the "B" button to jump as high as possible. (Don't forget to continue to hold "right" on the control pad so that you jump to the right!) If your timing is good, you will land on the left edge of the next group of trees just in time to jump up and collect the second red balloon (before it floats away). With practice, you will be able to jump these large gaps quickly and easily. This technique comes in handy later in the game -- there is at least one bonus room that I can't reach without it, and at least one more that is far easier to reach with this technique. But it is not stricly necessary to be able to cartwheel-jump, to get to the end of any level (or "win" the game with less than 101%). Unrelated note: This example, incidentally, is a good way to pick up lives very quickly. In "Jungle Hijinks", pick up the balloon in Donkey Kong's tree house, and then these three treetop balloons, for a total of five quick lives. Then quit the level with pause- select (and re-enter if desired). I'm able to earn extra lives more quickly this way than with the "DYDDY" controller code (which is discussed later in this file). ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Q-4: How can I grab things out of a pit without falling to my death? This question and Q-3 are related, because the same technique covers both. The trick is that the Kongs can jump upwards out of a cartwheel (Diddy Kong) or barrel-roll (Donkey Kong), just as if they were standing on solid ground... even if they happen to be in mid-air at the time. Example: In "Stop & Go Station", the golden letter [O] icon sits just below the level of the surrounding land, in a pit which kills Diddy or Donkey Kong should they fall into it and off the screen. How do you go about getting the [O] without losing a life? By cart-wheeling (or barrel-rolling) into the pit and falling partway down, far enough to collect the [O]... and then jumping up when in mid-air, to get back onto solid ground. In detail: (A) Position Donkey Kong (or Diddy Kong) at the left edge of the pit, facing to the right. (B) Press "right" on the control pad and the "Y" button approximately simultaneously, and Donkey (Diddy) will barrel roll (cartwheel) to the right and slightly downwards into the pit. (C) Once Donkey (Diddy) touches the [O] and collects it, press and hold the "B" button to jump up to the ground level on the opposite side of the pit. (Don't forget to continue to hold "right" on the control pad so that you jump to the right!) This is a move which requires some practice, but it isn't too difficult once you get the hang of it. Again, it is not strictly necessary to be able to do this in order to "win" the game, but you can't get "101%" or pick up some of the interesting items (e.g., also the [K] in "Forest Frenzy", and many other letter icons and bananas, especially in the later parts of the game) without it. Unrelated note: Not every item in a pit requires this strategy. Sometimes an item in a pit, especially a vertical line of bananas, is a hint that there is a hidden barrel cannon at the bottom of the pit. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Q-5: What's the "Diddy" "controller code"? How does it work? It is used to get to a special bonus room that always contains three golden icons of each animal, permitting you to play any of the animal bonus games as many times as you want. Just press "DYDDY" (down, Y, down, down, Y) on the controller, from the introductory screen where Cranky Kong cranks a record player. This works even when the game is first turned on. If you want to collect lives in this special area and then play the game WITH those lives, you must first get the "GAME OVER" screen by losing your last life IN A LEVEL WHICH YOU HAVE ALREADY COMPLETED (by walking through the exit door -- finding all of the bonus rooms is not necessary). Press "start" after a few seconds to dismiss the "game over" screen, and then enter the "DYDDY" sequence once Cranky appears. When the bonus area is entered in this manner, it becomes possible to exit the bonus room (with pause-select). Upon exiting, you are returned to the game map at the point where the previous game ended... carrying along all of the lives (and remaining icons, if any) which were collected in the special area. Additional note: Some people are reporting trouble with this, saying that they cannot exit the bonus room except with an even number of lives, or except when dying with only Diddy. I've had no such trouble, and in fact have been able to successfully exit under a wide range of conditions, including: (1) both even and odd numbers of lives; (2) the final death being Diddy Kong, Donkey Kong, or both at the same time (e.g., by falling off a cliff); (3) a game that is "101%" complete and a game that is less than 40% finished; (4) dying in a level that is complete including bonus rooms, and in a level that is complete except for bonus rooms; ...and even... (5) going to the bonus room without the Game Over screen at all, after beating King R. Rool and watching the end credits. (In this case, all of the lives I had when winning the game were carried over into the bonus room, and it put me on the map at "Jungle Hijinks" upon exiting the bonus room.) I suspect that most of the people who are reporting trouble exiting the bonus screen are losing their last life in an uncompleted level. (My guess is that the special area is executed just as if it were a bonus room of the level that you died in. For any uncompleted level, the pause-select exit is disabled EVERYWHERE -- including its bonus rooms.) To exit this bonus area or any level which you have completed already: Press 'start' to pause the game. Wait a second or two after releasing 'start'. While the game is paused, press 'select'. (If you press these buttons too closely together, the 'select' is ignored!) ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Q-6: Where are the special "2x" icons? In each animal bonus area, there is a special extra-huge icon that doubles the quantity of golden icons collected so far, making it possible to get as many as eight extra lives in a single run. (Actually, I've been told nine is possible, but haven't been able to do it.) These icons are located: Expresso -- at the extreme right-hand end of the level, beyond where the level appears to end. (Go to the third (last) area to the right, stand on the last step on the right-hand wall, and jump as high as possible AND flap once for extra height, to get through an off-screen break in the wall.) Enguarde -- in a hidden room straight down from Enguarde's starting position. (Go through an apparently solid wall.) Rambi -- at the extreme right-hand end of the level, beyond where the level appears to end. (Jump on top of the entrance door, stick to the highest ledges while moving across the whole level to the right, then jump over the right-hand cliff and head down into the special area.) Winky -- at the extreme left-hand end of the level, beyond where the level appears to end. (Cross to the left-hand side, climbing up to the top of the level, and jump over the left-hand wall.) ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Q-7: Are there any ways to bypass parts of some levels? - Barrel Cannon Canyon To skip some of the first half of the level: Walk up above the entrance (bounce off the "Kritter" to get up on top of the doorway) and jump into the barrel cannon hidden at the extreme left. Jump into the overhead barrel cannon of the tree that it deposits you on. You'll be transported to the last barrel sequence before halfway point of the level. - Stop & Go Station To skip nearly the entire level: Walk back through the entrance door to be transported to a few screens short of the end of the level. - Snow Barrel Blast To skip most of the second half of the level: just past the golden Rambi icon that is above a rotating barrel with two "Zinger"s, blast straight down from the third barrel. You'll land in a sequence of horizontal-blasting barrel cannons which kick you out just before the exit. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Q-8: Does the ending change depending on the percentage of completion? Not in any significant way. If you win the game with less than 101% complete, very early in the endgame sequence Cranky says a few sentences about being sure there are some things you haven't found yet. If you win the game with 101% complete, in the same place Cranky will instead congratulate you for finding everything. All of the rest of the endgame stays the same. ####################################################################### Location of all bonus rooms ####################################################################### Following are short, semi-vague descriptions of the locations of all DKC bonus rooms and their contents. Index: BR-1. Kongo Jungle bonus rooms BR-2. Monkey Mines bonus rooms BR-3. Vine Valley bonus rooms BR-4. Gorilla Glacier bonus rooms BR-5. Kremroc Industries, Inc. bonus rooms BR-6. Chimp Caverns bonus rooms BR-7. General notes and strategy hints BR-8. Sample description interpretation BR-9. Kinds of bonus rooms BR-10. Acknowledgements ======================================================================= ----------------------------------------------------------------------- BR-1. Kongo Jungle bonus rooms ----------------------------------------------------------------------- - Jungle Hijinks * First right-hand wall after the Rambi crate. LEVEL: red balloon * Right-hand wall in the pit under the tree with [G]. It's just after a big hill -- or just about where the first bonus room exits, if that route was taken instead. MATCH: Rambi, Expresso, Winky, Enguarde icons - Ropey Rampage * Low off-screen barrel cannon, just to the right of the tree with [O]. (Walk to the right off of the [O] tree, fall straight down into the barrel.) LEVEL: [N] * Low off-screen barrel cannon, just left of the red arrow signpost. (Fall into the pit just before the red arrow sign.) FIND: red balloon - Reptile Rumble * Right-hand wall, immediately below [K]. LEVEL: red balloon * Visible barrel cannon above and left of a "DK" barrel on a hill, between [K] and [O]. (The barrel cannon is only visible when standing on the hill. There is a second similar hill after the continue barrel, which does not have a barrel cannon nearby.) LEVEL: only bananas * Right-hand wall of two-snake pit, just past continue barrel and [N]. LEVEL: only bananas - Coral Capers - Barrel Cannon Canyon * Hidden doorway on the cliff-side just past [O]. (It is not possible to get there carrying a barrel. It is necessary to blast straight into the cliff-side -- intentionally missing the moving "connecting" barrel -- immediately after collecting the [O] icon.) BLAST-SIDEWAYS: DK barrel and red balloon * Right-hand wall of the pit that is between the 2nd and 3rd purple "Kritter"s after the continue barrel. BLAST-UP: top off-screen prizes: Enguarde icon on the left, red balloon in the center, and a bunch of bananas on the right. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- BR-2. Monkey Mines bonus rooms ----------------------------------------------------------------------- - Winky's Walkway * Visible barrel cannon above "Necky", just after continue barrel. LEVEL: [N] - Mine Cart Carnage - Bouncy Bonanza * Right-hand wall of the pit under a pair of "Zinger"s, between the [K] and the [O]. MATCH: banana, bunch of bananas, Winky icon, red balloon * Visible overhead barrel cannon, above the moving platform that is between [G] and exit. BLAST-UP: only bananas - Stop & Go Station * First right-hand wall after continue barrel. It's a short distance past the steel-rim barrel that can be picked up. BLAST-AROUND: only bananas * High off-screen barrel cannon at LEFTmost position the first movable tire can reach (the left edge of a wide, shallow pit with three "Klaptraps"). The path up to the barrel is marked with three bananas in a vertical line. BLAST-UP: top off-screen prizes: bunch of bananas on the left and in the center, and Enguarde icon on the right. - Millstone Mayhem * High off-screen barrel cannon above the entrance door. (Use the tire to bounce up on top of the entrance, then jump upwards from there.) BLAST-UP: top off-screen prizes: DK barrel on the left, bunch of bananas in the center, and [K] on the right. * Visible barrel cannon over 3rd millstone. (Get the movable tire between the first and second millstones, by using the barrel cannon hidden in the pit to knock out the tire from the spot to its right.) SPELL: "RARE" for Enguarde icon * Right-hand wall below the fifth millstone. FIND: green balloon ----------------------------------------------------------------------- BR-3. Vine Valley bonus rooms ----------------------------------------------------------------------- - Vulture Culture * High off-screen barrel cannon at the right edge of the land area with a coconut-thrower sitting on a movable tire. The path up to the barrel is marked with three bananas in a vertical line. SPELL: "KONG" for Expresso icon * Left-hand wall in the land area that is just past a sequence with a barrel cannon and two "Necky"s; before the continue barrel. JUMP: 2 blue "Klaptraps" for red balloon * Left-hand wall beside a single coconut-thrower on stair-step "hill." BLAST-SIDEWAYS: DK barrel, red balloon - Tree Top Town * Visible barrel cannon up and LEFT of entrance. (Can get high enough by having Diddy bounce off Gnawty.) MATCH-KONG: red balloon * Low off-screen barrel cannon in the second barrel sequence after the continue barrel. (From the last of the three barrels, blast low sideways at the lone banana, instead of trying to blast high to land on the platform.) BLAST-UP: top off-screen prize: only [N] in the center. END OF PART ONE ---=========---