Donkey Kong Land

Template:MoreImages Template:Infobox Donkey Kong Land, known in Japan as Super Donkey Kong GB, is a video game developed by Rareware for the Game Boy. Released in 1995, it is a handheld follow-up of Donkey Kong Country, and the game's pseudo sequel. The game is also one of the few Game Boy games to feature a specially colored cartridge (yellow), which is also used on the two sequels, Donkey Kong Land 2 and Donkey Kong Land III. It is one of the first games to feature Super Game Boy special features, including a rendered jungle border across the television screen.

The game is often mistaken as a Game Boy 'port' of Donkey Kong Country. Although it is true that the two games play the same using the same engine, the storyline is different and Donkey Kong Land has different levels, enemies, and bosses from the ones featured in Donkey Kong Country.

Story

According to the game's instruction booklet, the story takes place after the events of Donkey Kong Country, where Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong are discussing about their latest adventure to Cranky Kong. Cranky admits that the adventure was more successful than he thought, although claiming that it was only because of the "fancy graphics" and that "Kids'll buy anything nowadays". After Cranky goes on about the games of his time, the two other Kongs try to convince him that it was not only fancy graphics that made Donkey Kong Country great, but that it "was just plain fun". However, this did not convince the old ape, so Donkey and Diddy decide to have an adventure on an 8-bit system, with King K. Rool stealing the Banana Hoard again. Once the bet is decided, Cranky Kong arranges everything and calls King K. Rool to come and take the hoard overnight. Afterward, the two heroes decide to rest for the adventure ahead of them.

Gameplay

File:DKLTitleScreen.png

The title screen for Donkey Kong Land, as seen with the Super Game Boy adapter.

Donkey Kong Land is a 2-D platformer, designed for the Game Boy. Because of the Game Boy's limitations, the game offers less than its 16-bit predecessor. On the level select screen, names of the stages are no longer present, and the levels themselves have very few Bonus Levels, usually only having one or two. Additionally, after the Kongs find all the Bonus Levels in an area, an exclamation point appears above the level's circular marker in the overworld.

The game is divided into four worlds, each with seven normal levels, with the exception of the game's first world, Gangplank Galleon Ahoy!, which contains a total of nine. A boss level also appears in each world and must be completed to progress. Though most levels are unlocked after beating its previous level, some levels can be accessed before later levels. This can be done by finding rare, barrel-shaped bombs inside some levels and blasting away large boulders. With these boulders destroyed, a passageway to a certain level can be found. Unlike in Donkey Kong Country, the Kongs will be able to travel freely to any level without any assistance, as they can simply journey world-to-world on foot.

File:JungleJauntDKLHalfway.png

Donkey Kong near a checkpoint.

Like in most platformer games, the goal is to reach the end of the level, without being defeated by an enemy or falling into a trap. The Kongs must make their way through each level carefully, or else an enemy may attack. When this happens, one of the Kongs in the group will run away. With one hero remaining, the player must be careful, as losing both Kongs can end the level in a loss. Luckily, missing Kongs can be recovered by using Buddy Barrels, common barrels found in every level. A few continue points, usually one or two, appear in levels as well. If touched, the Kongs will appear back at the last continue point upon losing the level. Each level ends with a small portal, which the player should jump into to exit the level. Sometimes, levels may have more than one portal.

Playable Characters and Abilities

As in the game's prequel, Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong are the only playable characters. The stats of these apes both vary, just as in the previous game. Donkey Kong, the leader of the group, does not have as much speed as his partner, Diddy, nor can he move quite as fast. He is, however, much stronger and is the only character able to beat the powerful foes, Krushas, without using a TNT Barrel. Diddy, on the other hand, is much smaller than Donkey Kong, and can get through tight areas more easily.

The basic ability, jumping, can be done by both Kongs to defeat enemies, cross pits, or to simply jump to access higher areas. Both Kongs also have the ability to roll or cartwheel into foes. This can defeat the enemies much more easily than jumping on them, and it also gives the heroes an extra speed boost. Sometimes, the Kongs will find themselves requiring to cross a wide abyss too large to jump over. With their cartwheel and roll moves, they can perform a super-jump, making them roll over the gap and jumping in mid-air for an extra boost. Bouncing on a tire can give them an extra boost in the air as well.

Diddy Kong climbing.

Though not used as much as jumping and rolling, the Kongs can also climb ropes and swim through water. To climb, the heroes must simply jump up and touch a rope. Climbing can be useful when crossing large gaps, though it can only be done on ropes. Jumping rope-to-rope is common in some levels, but luckily, the Kongs have no trouble in grabbing onto other ropes. During underwater levels, the apes will also use their ability to swim. Tapping the while swimming can make the Kongs move higher as they slowly float downwards. When the Kongs swim, they will not have as much control as on land, and as a result they should be careful.

Animal Buddies

Donkey Kong riding on Expresso.

Unlike Donkey Kong Country, Donkey Kong Land is filled with very little Animal Buddies, a total of only two. In fact, Animal Buddies seldom appear in most levels. The Animal Buddies here are unable to shoot through barrels, and they will suddenly drop to the ground once these obstacles are approached. Still, they can be a big help in the Kongs' quest with their different abilities. Below shows the capabilities and appearances of both Animal Buddies in the game, Rambi the Rhinoceros and Expresso the Ostrich.

Image	Name	Description
No image available	Rambi the Rhinoceros	The rhino buddy first appears in the level Jungle Jaunt. He is able to charge into enemies to easily defeat them. Rarely, Rambi is able to break through certain walls to create an opening to a Bonus Level. Because of this, Rambi is quite an important buddy, and he is needed to complete the game 100%.
No image available	Expresso the Ostrich	The ostrich buddy is the other Animal Buddy in Donkey Kong Land. First appearing in a Bonus Level located in Deck Trek, Expresso is able to help the Kongs cross wide abysses with his useful flying abilities. Strangely, this helpful capability is never used to find any Bonus Levels, but is instead used inside them. Out of his four appearances, three of them take place in a Bonus Level. Expresso is able to defeat enemies in this game, unlike in Donkey Kong Country.

Levels

Levels and Bonus Areas
Gangplank Galleon Ahoy!
#	Level	Bonus Areas	Type of Level	Music Theme
1	Jungle Jaunt	2	Jungle	Jungle Jaunt
2	Freezing Fun	1	Snow	Snowy Pig Wings
3	Simian Swing	2	Jungle	Jungle Jaunt
4	Deck Trek	2	Ship	Gangplank Galleon Ahoy!
5	Rope Ravine	2	Snow	Snowy Pig Wings
6	Tire Trail	3	Jungle	Jungle Jaunt
7	Riggin' Rumble	2	Ship	Gangplank Galleon Ahoy!
8	Congo Carnage	2	Jungle	Jungle Jaunt
9	Arctic Barrel Arsenal	2	Snow	Snowy Pig Wings
10	BOSS LEVEL: Wild Sting Fling	0	Ship	K. Rool's Acid Punk
Kremlantis
#	Level	Bonus Areas	Type of Level	Music Theme
11	Tricky Temple	1	Temple	Ancient Beaver Bop
12	Kremlantis Kaos	0	Underwater Ruins	Kremlantis
13	Reef Rampage	0	Coral	Aquatic Ambience
14	Snake Charmer's Challenge	1	Temple	Ancient Beaver Bop
15	Chomp's Coliseum	0	Underwater Ruins	Kremlantis
16	Nautilus Chase	0	Coral	Aquatic Ambience
17	Swirlwind Storm	1	Temple	Ancient Beaver Bop
18	BOSS LEVEL: Seabed Showdown	0	Underwater Ruins	K. Rool's Acid Punk
Monkey Mountains and Chimpanzee Clouds
#	Level	Bonus Areas	Type of Level	Music Theme
19	Pot Hole Panic	2	Cave	Cavey Cavey
20	Mountain Mayhem	2	Mountain	Monkey Mountain
21	Track Attack	2	Clouds	Chimpanzee Clouds
22	Spiky Tire Trail	2	Cave	Cavey Cavey
23	Sky High Caper	1	Clouds	Chimpanzee Clouds
24	Landslide Leap	2	Mountain	Monkey Mountain
25	Collapsing Clouds	2	Clouds	Chimpanzee Clouds
26	BOSS LEVEL: Mad Mole Holes	0	Caves	K. Rool's Acid Punk
Big Ape City
#	Level	Bonus Areas	Type of Level	Music Theme
27	Balloon Barrage	2	Skyscraper	Big Ape City
28	Kong Krazy	1	Blimp	Blimp Off
29	Construction Site Fight	2	Construction Site	Great Girder Grapple
30	Fast Barrel Blast	2	Blimp	Blimp Off
31	Skyscraper Caper	1	Skyscraper	Big Ape City
32	Button Barrel Blast	2	Construction Site	Great Girder Grapple
33	Oil Drum Slum	2	Skyscraper	Big Ape City
34	BOSS LEVEL: K. Rool's Kingdom	0	Blimp	K. Rool's Acid Punk

Items

Many items can be found around Donkey Kong Land, and each help the duo complete levels or defeat enemies. Each item has a different purpose.

Image	Item	Effect
	Bananas	Bananas are the most abundant items in the game. They appear all over the game's levels. Collecting 100 of these common items can give the heroes an extra life.
	Banana Bunches	Banana Bunches appear often in levels. They are just like normal bananas, though they are worth a total of ten bananas, instead of one.
No image available	Normal Barrels	These wooden kegs are very common items found throughout much of the game. They can be thrown to defeat even the strongest kinds of enemies, as well as bust open walls.
	Buddy Barrels	Buddy Barrels are the game's most common kind of barrel and have a DK logo on them. If one of the Kongs are missing, likely from being hit by an enemy, these barrels will contain the lost hero. Because of this, Buddy Barrels are very valuable during gameplay.
No image available	TNT Barrels	Like normal barrels, TNT Barrels are found often in levels and can be thrown at enemies to defeat them. However, these types of barrels are much more explosive, and can blast away strong foes. They can even blast away Oil Drums.
File:Kong Tokens DKL.PNG	Kong Tokens	Kong Tokens are another common type of item in the game. They are found all over every level, mainly in Bonus Levels. Once the Kongs collect some of these special coins, they can exchange them for extra lives in certain Bonus Areas.
No image available	Extra Life Balloons	Extra Life Balloons are also important items in Donkey Kong Land. If they are collected, the Kongs will gain an extra life, keeping them away from a Game Over. These balloons fly away fast, so the Kongs must make sure they act fast to get them.
File:K-O-N-G Letters DKL.PNG	K-O-N-G Letters	K-O-N-G Letters are one of the game's most vital items. Every level has four of these letters (spelling "KONG") scattered throughout them in order. Each letter must be collected for the Kongs to save their game. Additionally, in the level, Kong Krazy, these items can be used as platforms.
File:Checkpoint DKL.PNG	Star Checkpoint	This item replaces the Star Barrel from Donkey Kong Country. When touched, it automatically saves the player's progress at that point into that level. Star Checkpoints appear in every level and can be found more than once in a level.

Enemies and Hazards

Donkey Kong near the enemy, Nemo.

Donkey Kong Land is filled with only nineteen different enemies and hazards, although most first appeared in the prequel to the game, Donkey Kong Country. Enemies listed below in bold are those who have already appeared in this previous game in the Donkey Kong series. The table also lists the first and last level that these enemies and hazards have shown up in. Noticeably, many of these foes have stayed in throughout the whole game, not making a final appearance until the levels of the last world, the Big Ape City. Swirlwinds can also help the Kongs on their quest, other than harming them.

Image	Character/Hazard	First Level Appearance	Last Level Appearance
	Army	Tire Trail	Button Barrel Blast
	Chomps Jr.	Chomp's Coliseum	Oil Drum Slum (Bonus Level)
No image available	Chomps	Kremlantis Kaos	Oil Drum Slum (Bonus Level)
File:Clambo DKL.png	Clambo	Nautilus Chase	Nautilus Chase
File:Fangfish DKL.PNG	Fangfish	Kremlantis Kaos	Oil Drum Slum (Bonus Level)
	Gnawty	Freezing Fun	Oil Drum Slum
File:Hogwash DKL.PNG	Hogwash	Freezing Fun	Skyscraper Caper
	Klaptrap	Riggin' Rumble	Skyscraper Caper
	Kritter	Jungle Jaunt	Oil Drum Slum
	Krusha	Tricky Temple	Oil Drum Slum
No image available	Mincer	Deck Trek	Button Barrel Blast (Bonus Level)
	Mini Necky	Deck Trek	Fast Barrel Blast
	Necky	Congo Carnage	Pot Hole Panic
File:Nemo DKL.PNG	Nemo	Nautilus Chase	Nautilus Chase
No image available	Oil Drum	Landslide Leap (Bonus Level)	Oil Drum Slum
	Slippa	Jungle Jaunt	Oil Drum Slum
	Slippa Jar	Snake Charmer's Challenge	Snake Charmer's Challenge
	Snapper	Kremlantis Kaos	Chomp's Coliseum
No image available	Swirlwind	Snake Charmer's Challenge	Swirlwind Storm
	Zinger	Freezing Fun	Oil Drum Slum

Bosses

Throughout the Kongs' quest, they not only find the enemies listed above, but also several bosses, who require a little more skill to beat. Each boss appears at the end of all the game's worlds, and must be defeated to allow the heroes to progress.

Image	Boss	Location	Level Name
	Wild Sting	Gangplank Galleon Ahoy!	Wild Sting Fling
	Colossal Clambo	Kremlantis	Sea-bed Showdown
	Hard Hat	Monkey Mountains/Chimpanzee Clouds	Mad Mole Holes
File:DKLKingK.RoolSprite.png	King K. Rool	Big Ape City	K. Rool's Kingdom

Staff

Main article: List of Donkey Kong Land staff

Main Programming

• Paul Machacek

Support Programming

• Steve Patrick
• Oliver Norton

Scenery

• Dean Smith

Sprite Graphics

• Steve Mayles
• Mark Stevenson
• Keri Gunn
• Carl Tilley
• Kevin Bayliss

Additional Graphics

• Neil Crook

Glitches

Main article: List of glitches in Donkey Kong Land

Template:Conjecturaltext

If Donkey or Diddy hits an enemy and gets knocked back with no visible ground below, the game will mistake the player for falling into a pit and will count it as an instant death, even if both Kongs are present.

Template:Conjecturaltext

In some levels, particularly jungle levels, there are Neckys that sit on platforms and spit nuts, hoping to hit the Kongs when they're below him. However, if Necky is on the top of the screen, the sound effect of spitting nuts can be heard, but no nuts are actually fired.

Reception

On release, Famitsu scored the game a 24 out of 40. Donkey Kong Land received a 71% at GameRankings.

Beta elements

Main article: List of Donkey Kong Land beta elements

Several creatures and characters who were originally going in this game were abandoned for unknown reasons. These creatures and characters included a fish enemy named Pucka, an unnamed Kong who wore a hat and a what appears to be a baby ram named Ram Bunkshus. All these unused characters were first advertised in an old issue of Nintendo Power, which included pictures of them.

• 

  Pucka, the unused fish enemy from Donkey Kong Land.
• 

  Ram Bunkshus, a possible Animal Buddy dropped from the final version of Donkey Kong Land.
• 

  Frontward-facing render of Ram Bunkshus.

• 

  The unnamed, hatted Kong dropped from the final version of Donkey Kong Land.

• 

  Alternate image of the Kong.

Gallery

• UnitedStatesDKL65.jpg

  US Player's Choice Boxart.

• JapanDKL65.jpg

  Japanese Boxart.

• DKLTitleScreen.png

  The title screen.

• JungleJauntDKLBeginning.png

  The game's first level.

• 

  Diddy Kong in Freezing Fun.

• 

  Deck Trek, the fourth level in Donkey Kong Land.

• 

  Donkey Kong in Tricky Temple.