Donkey Kong Land

This article is about the first game in the Donkey Kong Land series. For the series itself, see Donkey Kong Land (series). For the game called "Donkey Kong Land" in Japanese releases, see Donkey Kong Land 2.

Not to be confused with Donkey Kong Island.

Not to be confused with Donkey Kong Country, an area in Super Nintendo World.

Donkey Kong Land
For alternate box art, see the game's gallery.
Developer	Rareware
Publisher	Nintendo
Platform(s)	Game Boy, Virtual Console (Nintendo 3DS), Game Boy - Nintendo Switch Online
Release date	Game Boy: June 26, 1995[?] July 27, 1995[?] August 24, 1995[?] Player's Choice: September 1, 1997 Virtual Console (3DS): April 2, 2014 October 16, 2014[?] October 17, 2014[?] February 26, 2015[?] Game Boy - Nintendo Switch Online: November 21, 2024 November 22, 2024 November 22, 2024 November 22, 2024
Language(s)	English (United States) Japanese
Genre	Platformer
Rating(s)	Game Boy: ESRB: - Kids to Adults ACB: - General Virtual Console: ESRB: - Everyone PEGI: - Three years and older CERO: - All ages
Mode(s)	Single-player
Format	Nintendo Switch: Digital download Game Boy: Game Pak Nintendo 3DS: Digital download
Input	Nintendo Switch: Joy-Con Joy-Con (horizontal) Nintendo Switch Pro Controller Game Boy: Gamepad Nintendo 3DS: Gamepad
Serial code(s)	DMG-YT-USA DMG-YT-NOE DMG-YT-UKV DMG-YT-AUS DMG-YTJ-JPN

Donkey Kong Land is a platformer video game developed by Rareware for the Game Boy. Released in 1995, it is a handheld follow-up of Donkey Kong Country. It is one of the few Game Boy games with a uniquely colored cartridge (yellow), which is also the case for its two sequels, Donkey Kong Land 2 and Donkey Kong Land III. Donkey Kong Land is among the first Game Boy titles specifically designed to have Super Game Boy features, including a rendered jungle border across the television screen.

Donkey Kong Land was later released for the 3DS's Virtual Console in Japan on April 2, 2014, in Europe on October 16, 2014, in Australia on October 17, 2014 and in North America on February 26, 2015. In November 2024, it was released on Game Boy - Nintendo Switch Online for the Nintendo Switch.

The game is often mistaken as a Game Boy port of Donkey Kong Country. Although the two games play similarly, the storyline is different and Donkey Kong Land has unique levels, enemies, and bosses from the ones featured in Donkey Kong Country.

Story

The story is told in the game's instruction booklet and features a lot of fourth wall references; it takes place after the events of Donkey Kong Country, where Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong discuss their latest adventure to Cranky Kong. Cranky admits that it was more successful than he thought, but claims that it was only because of "fancy graphics" and that "Kids'll buy anything nowadays." As Cranky rambles about the games of his time, DK and Diddy try to convince him that Donkey Kong Country was great because it "was just plain fun."

Cranky remains unconvinced, and he challenges Donkey and Diddy to an adventure on an 8-bit monochrome system (the Game Boy). After they make the bet, Cranky arranges for King K. Rool to steal the banana hoard overnight. While Diddy originally agrees to the bet, Donkey Kong is furious because he wanted to watch the Banana Bowl. However, he reluctantly decides to go on an adventure with Diddy to retrieve the bananas from K. Rool.

Gameplay

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

Donkey Kong near a Continue Point

Donkey Kong Land is a 2D platformer, designed for the Game Boy. Because of the Game Boy's limitations, the game offers less than its 16-bit predecessor. Graphics were ripped from Donkey Kong Country and downgraded to 8-bit to fit Game Boy's limitations. On the level select screen, names of the stages are no longer present, and each level has very few Bonus Areas, usually one or two. Only one Kong displays on-screen at a time, either Donkey Kong or Diddy Kong.

Additionally, after the Kongs find all the Bonus Areas 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 are able to travel freely to any level without any assistance, as they can simply journey world-to-world on foot.

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 being hit by an enemy or obstacle results in losing a life. The missing Kong can be recovered from a Buddy Barrel, which appears in every level. Star Barrels were replaced with a different type of checkpoint, the Continue Points. Up to three can appear in a level. If the Kongs activate a Continue Point, their progress is temporarily saved at the point, and they will return to that point if they lose a life. Every level has a small portal for an end goal, the end of stage. The Kongs must jump into it to exit the level.

Also, as Cranky's Cabin does not appear in this game, players must collect the KONG Letters to save their progress, unlike in Donkey Kong Country and later Donkey Kong Land games, where collecting the letters only granted an extra life.

Playable characters and abilities

As in the SNES game, Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong are the only playable characters. The stats of these Kongs both vary, just as in the previous game.

Image		Name	Description
GB	SGB
		Donkey Kong	The leader of the pair, Donkey Kong, does not move very fast. He is, however, very strong and is the only character able to beat the powerful foes, Krushas, without using a TNT Barrel. He carries barrels over his head.
		Diddy Kong	Donkey Kong's sidekick, Diddy Kong is smaller, lighter, and quicker, and can get through tight areas more easily. He carries barrels in front of himself.

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 required 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.

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 Kongs 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 do not have as much control as on land. Additionally, unlike in Donkey Kong Country, underwater enemies are invincible due to Enguarde not being present.

Animal Friends

Unlike Donkey Kong Country, Donkey Kong Land has only two Animal Friends, Rambi and Expresso, with each appearing in only four levels apiece. The Animal Friends here are unable to shoot through barrels, and they will suddenly drop to the ground once these obstacles are approached.

Image		Name	Description	First level appearance	Last level appearance
GB	SGB
		Rambi	The rhino buddy is able to charge into enemies to easily defeat them. He can also break through certain walls to create an opening to a Bonus Area.	Jungle Jaunt	Mountain Mayhem
		Expresso	The ostrich is able to help the Kongs cross wide abysses with his useful flying abilities. Out of his four appearances, three of them take place in a Bonus Area. Expresso is able to defeat enemies in this game by jumping on them, unlike in Donkey Kong Country.	Deck Trek	Collapsing Clouds

Enemies and hazards

Donkey Kong Land involves over twenty different enemies and hazards, although most first appeared in Donkey Kong Country. Noticeably, many of them remain common throughout the whole game, not making a final appearance until the last world, the Big Ape City.

Image		Name	Description	First level appearance	Last level appearance
GB	SGB
		Army	These armadillos roll at the Kongs on sight, and their quick and erratic movements can make them troublesome to deal with. Donkey Kong can jump on them to instantly defeat them, but Diddy Kong can only do so when it is not rolling; if he does so while it is, it will simply uncurl temporarily.	Tire Trail	Button Barrel Blast
		Chomps	Chomps are sharks that swim back-and-forth or endlessly forward while bobbing up-and-down slightly. Their sprites take the appearance of Chomps Jr. from the previous game.	Chomp's Coliseum	Oil Drum Slum (Bonus Area)
		Clambo	Unlike in Donkey Kong Country, Clambos block narrow passages by opening and closing their large, upwards-pointing shells.	Nautilus Chase
		Fangfish*	Fangfish are large basses even bigger than Chomps. Their attack pattern is the same, but with more erratic bobbing.	Kremlantis Kaos	Oil Drum Slum (Bonus Area)
		Flapper*	Flappers are mussels that live in the waters of Kremlantis. When a Kong approaches a Flapper, it emerges from its shell and starts alternating between slowly floating downwards and flapping its valves to quickly move back up.	Kremlantis Kaos	Chomp's Coliseum
		Gloop*	Gloops are fish smaller than Chomps that act similar, but do not bob at all. They are often found in parallel pairs.	Kremlantis Kaos	Oil Drum Slum (Bonus Area)
		Gnawty	Gnawties are beavers who are the weakest enemies in the game; they can be defeated by any attack from the Kongs. They usually have a set path, but can also be found walking forward endlessly.	Freezing Fun	Oil Drum Slum
		Hogwash the Flying Pig*	Hogwashes are flying pigs that either have a path to follow or fly in a straight line. They can be defeated with any attack method.	Freezing Fun	Skyscraper Caper
		Klap Trap	Very small crocodiles that crawl fast on the ground while gnashing their teeth. Neither Donkey nor Diddy Kong can roll or cartwheel over a Klaptrap, because its teeth are harmful; not even attacking from behind is safe in this game. A single stomp on its back or throwing a barrel at it is necessary to defeat it.	Riggin' Rumble	Skyscraper Caper
		Kritter	A Kritter is a generic Kremling found in most of the levels in the game. Kritters are as vulnerable as Gnawties, and they also harm the Kongs by simply walking into them. However, Kritters may also jump in various ways.	Jungle Jaunt	Oil Drum Slum
		Krusha	Krushas act similar to walking Kritters but are among the tougher enemies, being resistant to all of the Kongs' attacks except for Donkey Kong's stomp or a thrown barrel. When Donkey or Diddy Kong roll into a Krusha, it will push them back and start laughing at them.	Tricky Temple	Oil Drum Slum
		Mini-Necky	Miniature vultures that fly in place and spit volleys of coconuts at the Kongs periodically.	Deck Trek	Fast Barrel Blast
		Necky	Rare vultures that stay on the top of small hills and cover themselves with one wing, occasionally peeking out to throw three nuts in different directions.	Congo Carnage	Pot Hole Panic
		Nemo*	Nemos are enormous nautiluses that act similar to the Croctopuses in Donkey Kong Country, but are more aggressive and agile. Before pursuing the Kongs and after reaching the end of one's territory, Nemos stay inside their shells, inertly.	Nautilus Chase
		Slippa	Slippas are coral snake-like reptiles that crawl on the ground and can be defeated by any attack the Kongs have. Some instead slide down ropes and can only be defeated with barrels.	Jungle Jaunt	Oil Drum Slum
		Swirlwind*	Swirlwinds are sentient, invincible tornadoes found in temple levels. They are harmful when they are touched by the sides, yet also helpful to reach higher areas, as Swirlwinds send the Kongs up high when they bounce on them. When a Kong is close to a Swirlwind, the tornado will start to chase him; bouncing on a Swirlwind also makes it move.	Snake Charmer's Challenge	Swirlwind Storm
		Zinger	The Zingers are wasp enemies found in almost every level of Donkey Kong Land. They fly from one point to another, in circles, or just flap their wings in the air while remaining still.They can only be defeated with a thrown barrel or jumping on it while riding an Animal Friend.	Freezing Fun	Oil Drum Slum
Obstacles
Image		Name	Description	First level appearance	Last level appearance
GB	SGB
		Basket of snakes*	An infinite amount of Slippas can come out of a snake basket, an obstacle which replaces the black drums from Donkey Kong Country. The baskets themselves are only dangerous when they roll down the stairs and towards the Kongs. Otherwise, they can even be used as platforms, and when stood upon, Slippas will not come out. Baskets of snakes can be broken with TNT Barrels.	Snake Charmer's Challenge
		Boulder*	Boulders fall from holes in the wall or from the top of the screen in mountain stages.	Mountain Mayhem	Landslide Leap
		Coconut	Projectiles used by both Neckys and Mini-Neckys.	Deck Trek	Fast Barrel Blast
		Crownerang	Hard Hat and K. Rool throw their headwear as a boomerang as their respective primary attack.	Mad Mole Holes	K. Rool's Kingdom
		Mincer	Indestructible tires with spikes that fly in the same patterns as Zingers. Mincers usually appear in Bonus Areas.	Deck Trek (Bonus Area)	Button Barrel Blast (Bonus Area)
		Oil drum	Oil drums are rare obstacles in the game. They can hover in the air immobile, serving as platforms, but some of them host dangerous flames of fire that burst out of them and retract from time to time, necessitating good timing to pass them. An oil drum can be destroyed with a TNT Barrel.	Landslide Leap (Bonus Area)	Oil Drum Slum
		Pearl	The Giant Clam shoots these at the Kongs; rebounding them is key to defeating it.	Seabed Showdown

^* - Was not in Donkey Kong Country

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. Each one has a simple attack pattern, but their speed goes up considerably the more times they are hit.

Image		Name	Description	Location	Level name
GB	SGB
		Wild Sting	Wild Sting is the first boss of the game, encountered on Gangplank Galleon. It is a flying stingray that swoops back-and-forth at the Kongs, and must be stomped several times in order to defeat it.	Gangplank Galleon Ahoy!	Wild Sting Fling
		Giant Clam	The Giant Clam is the second boss in the game. It is fought underwater, and continuously shoots pearls at the Kongs. They need to lure it into shooting a dormant-but-warping Clambo with a pearl, causing its shell to open and knock the pearl back at the boss. It needs to be hit like this several times in order to make it fall off-screen.	Kremlantis	Seabed Showdown
		Hard Hat	Hard Hat is a mad mole fought in a cavern whose ground is dug up in three holes, from which the boss comes out. The battle with Hard Hat is similar to a "whack-a-mole" game; he pops out of one of the three holes, looks cautiously at the Kongs, then takes off the mine helmet he wears on the head and hurls it at them, at which point the Kongs need to carefully dodge the mine helmet and then stomp on the boss's head. After being hit, Hard Hat will enter back in his den and burst out of another hole. The process must be repeated until Hard Hat is defeated.	Monkey Mountains & Chimpanzee Clouds	Mad Mole Holes
		King K. Rool	The king of the Kremlings is the final boss of Donkey Kong Land. He appears to be much smaller than in Donkey Kong Country, but nonetheless, he attacks the Kongs just like he did before, as well as similar to Hard Hat. King K. Rool throws his crown at the heroes, which inflicts damage to them. While the Kremling does not have his crown on the head, Donkey or Diddy need to stomp him, after which he will run around the arena and occasionally leap over the Kongs. They must repeat this process until K. Rool falls beaten.	Big Ape City	K. Rool's Kingdom

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		Name	Description
GB	SGB
		Bananas	Bananas are the most abundant items in the game. Donkey or Diddy Kong can collect 100 of them in exchange for an extra life.
		Banana Bunch	Banana Bunches are a group of Bananas, bunched together for a value of ten Bananas.
		Life Balloon	Life Balloons give an extra life to the Kongs. These balloons fly away quickly, so the Kongs must make sure they act fast to get them. Unlike Donkey Kong Country, the player cannot distinguish between value or color because of the Game Boy's monochrome palette. Therefore, every Life Balloon only grants one life.
		Kong Tokens	Kong Tokens first appear in this game. They are featured in almost every level, mainly in Bonus Areas. In certain Bonus Areas, the Kongs can exchange a certain number of Kong Tokens for extra lives.
		KONG Letters	KONG Letters are an essential item. Every level has each letter of KONG letter scattered throughout in order. KONG Letters have a different role than in Donkey Kong Country because all four of a level's KONG Letters must be collected to save the game. This mechanism replaces Candy's Save Point. Additionally, in the level, Kong Krazy, KONG Letters can be used as platforms.

Objects

Many objects can also be interacted with in different ways.

Mechanisms

Image		Name	Description
GB	SGB
		Animal crate	These contain either Rambi or Expresso, depending on which is pictured.
		Balloon	Small platforms that constantly rise and fall as they inflate and deflate.
		Boulders	Aside from the harmful falling boulders in mountain levels, some boulders appear as roadblocks on the world map and require an Explosive Barrel to destroy.
		Button	Large switches that trigger different effects. Usually, they are used to exchange Kong Tokens for lives, though in Button Barrel Blast, they change the Button Barrels' direction.
		Cloud	Platforms that dissipate after being landed on.
		Continue Point	This object replaces the Star Barrel from Donkey Kong Country. When touched, it automatically saves the player's progress at that point into that level. Continue Points appear in every non-boss level and can be found more than once in a level.
		Elevator	Platforms that move in various ways. Some simply move back-and-forth, some move along a lengthy path, and some change movement direction when jumped on or hitting a wall.
		End of stage	These portals take the Kongs back to the world map and open the following path on the map if there is one.
		KONG button	Special switches only found in Kong Krazy, where they turn the player's KONG Letters into platforms.
		Rope	Vertical ropes can be climbed. Some can carry the Kongs horizontally, and others rise from holes in the ground and can be ridden to a bonus room. In Rope Ravine and Tricky Temple, some ropes are instead swung from and in Skyscraper Caper and Oil Drum Slum, they move the Kongs up or down automatically. In construction site stages, ones in the background are visually replaced by chains.
		Sponge	A harmless, Clambo-like creature appears in the corners of the arena at Seabed Showdown, and is used to knock back the pearls the Giant Clam shoots using its shell.
		Tire	Bouncy wheels that can be used to jump high. Some are embedded in the ground, some can be rolled on top of it, and some float in one position in the air.

Barrels

Most of the barrels in Donkey Kong Land originate from Donkey Kong Country.

Throwable barrels
Image		Name	Description
GB	SGB
		Barrel	These wooden kegs are very rare items and only appear in three levels. They can be thrown at enemies and bust open walls, both of which destroy the Barrel.
		Buddy Barrel	Buddy Barrels are the most common Barrel. They can provide a missing Kong, most likely from if it was hit by an enemy. Upon being freed, an icon of the freed Kong displays at the bottom-right corner of the screen, as only one Kong appears on screen at a time. If both Kongs are present, they can use a DK Barrel like a normal one.
		Steel keg	Steel kegs are a stronger projectile than normal barrels. If a steel keg hits a wall, it rebounds instead of breaking. They cannot be destroyed, and can roll into more than one enemy. DK or Diddy can even ride on a rolling steel keg by jumping onto it.
		TNT Barrel	TNT Barrels are often found in levels, and can be defeat enemies if thrown at them, including oil drums. They are explosive and are able to blast away more things than normal Barrels.
Enterable barrels
Image		Name	Description
GB	SGB
		Barrel Cannon	Barrel Cannons shoot out the Kongs when the player pushes a button.
		Blast Barrel	Blast Barrels are Barrel Cannons that shoot out the Kongs automatically.
		Button Barrel	Button Barrels are Blast Barrels whose direction is adjusted through in-game buttons.
Triggerable barrels
Image		Name	Description
GB	SGB
		Explosive Barrel	These can be collected in a few stages to destroy roadblocking boulders on the overworld.

Levels

Note: Some musical compositions of the game are 8-bit arrangements of other compositions from Donkey Kong Country, which were created by David Wise. They are listed with their original title in the "Music theme" sectors of the following table. Graeme Norgate also participated with several new tunes, also listed here. Their names are posted on Norgate's website, and according to him, they pertain to the game's soundtrack filenames. The world map plays the Bonus Area theme, rather than a rendition of the world map theme from Donkey Kong Country.

Levels and Bonus Areas
Gangplank Galleon Ahoy!
#	Level	Bonus Areas	Type of level	Music theme
1	Jungle Jaunt	2	Jungle	DK Island Swing
2	Freezing Fun	1	Snow	Ice Cave Chant
3	Simian Swing	2	Jungle	DK Island Swing
4	Deck Trek	2	Ship	Gang-Plank Galleon
5	Rope Ravine	2	Snow	Ice Cave Chant
6	Tire Trail	3	Jungle	DK Island Swing
7	Riggin' Rumble	2	Ship	Gang-Plank Galleon
8	Congo Carnage	2	Jungle	DK Island Swing
9	Arctic Barrel Arsenal	2	Snow	Ice Cave Chant
10	BOSS LEVEL: Wild Sting Fling	0	Ship	Boss
Kremlantis
#	Level	Bonus Areas	Type of level	Music theme
11	Tricky Temple	1	Temple	Voices of the Temple
12	Kremlantis Kaos	0	Underwater ruins	Kremlantis
13	Reef Rampage	0	Coral	Aquatic Ambiance
14	Snake Charmer's Challenge	1	Temple	Voices of the Temple
15	Chomp's Coliseum	0	Underwater ruins	Kremlantis
16	Nautilus Chase	0	Coral	Aquatic Ambiance
17	Swirlwind Storm	1	Temple	Voices of the Temple
18	BOSS LEVEL: Seabed Showdown	0	Underwater ruins	Boss
Monkey Mountains & Chimpanzee Clouds
#	Level	Bonus Areas	Type of level	Music theme
19	Pot Hole Panic	2	Cave	Cave Dweller Concert
20	Mountain Mayhem	2	Mountain	Mountain
21	Track Attack	2	Clouds	Sky
22	Spiky Tire Trail	2	Cave	Cave Dweller Concert
23	Sky High Caper	1	Clouds	Sky
24	Landslide Leap	2	Mountain	Mountain
25	Collapsing Clouds	2	Clouds	Sky
26	BOSS LEVEL: Mad Mole Holes	0	Caves	Boss
Big Ape City
#	Level	Bonus Areas	Type of level	Music theme
27	Construction Site Fight	2	Skyscraper	Building Site
28	Kong Krazy	1	Blimp	Airship
29	Balloon Barrage	2	Construction site	Construction Site
30	Fast Barrel Blast	2	Blimp	Airship
31	Skyscraper Caper	1	Skyscraper	Building Site
32	Button Barrel Blast	2	Construction site	Construction Site
33	Oil Drum Slum	2	Skyscraper	Building Site
34	BOSS LEVEL: K. Rool's Kingdom	0	Blimp	Boss

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

Instant death

If Donkey or Diddy fall 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. This includes being knocked back by enemies, but also can happen if either Kong falls to a platform below that is off screen.

Missing nuts

In some levels, particularly jungle levels, there are Neckys that sit on platforms and spit nuts, hoping to hit the Kongs when they are 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.

Missing Kong

In some cases the player can obtain the second Kong from a DK barrel, but after getting hit it will still result in a death instead of the other Kong appearing in his place.

Super Game Boy title screen palette glitch

When playing on a Super Game Boy, if the game is on the title screen and the user overrides the palette (either by pressing to quickly toggle the palette, or + to open the palette selector), the screen has an inverted palette, causing graphical weirdness. This is because this screen has four palettes (for the logo, the Kongs, and Rambi), and the Super Game Boy only allows one background color to be shared across all palettes, which in this case is black (leaving only three colors left for each palette). Since the background color is black, the game inverts the Game Boy's background palette colors to work around this limitation, and then assigns the other colors in a way to hide the inversion. However, Donkey Kong Land does not block the player from replacing the colors, so many of the Super Game Boy's built-in palettes appear inverted relative to other games.

In Donkey Kong Land 2 and Donkey Kong Land III, the palettes are inverted throughout the entire game, since every screen has more than one palette (the life bar and level names at the bottom of the screen use a different palette from the rest of the screen), and the shared background color is once again black. However, these games prohibit the user from changing the colors by using the Super Game Boy's ICON_EN command, which hides this issue and effectively fixes the bug.

Nintendo eShop description

Cranky Kong doesn't think Donkey Kong has proven himself to be a hero yet. So, he decides to work out a deal with the closest villain that he knows. K. Rool and his baddies have hidden bananas in new places across Donkey Kong Island in another attempt to outwit the best-friend duo. And the only response is for Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong to go off on another adventure! With over 30 levels plus tons of hidden secrets, swing, roll, jump, and barrel blast through worlds swarming with returning and original enemies. Creep along a mysterious pirate ship, trudge through fierce snow, swim in an unbelievable aquatic temple, and start some crazy capers in the sky. There will also be some animal friends waiting to help out. Cranky Kong is off his rocker if he thinks Donkey Kong won't step up to the challenge.

Reception

On release, Famitsu scored Donkey Kong Land a 24 out of 40.

Reviews
Release	Reviewer, Publication	Score	Comment
Nintendo 3DS	Dave Frear, Nintendo Life	8/10	"Going by that instruction book story, the idea that this game would prove Donkey Kong Country was more than just a pretty face is demonstrated rather nicely. Whilst visually it can't come close to the SNES title, by Game Boy standards these are definitely "fancy graphics", and that doesn't really matter as fans can rejoice in what is basically an extra 34 levels of DKC. Tight controls and a variety of locations and enemies make for an enjoyable platformer. Add in the challenge of finding everything and Donkey Kong Land is a fun game that will keep players occupied for some time."
Aggregators
Compiler		Platform / Score
GameRankings		74.53%

Pre-release and unused content

Main article: List of Donkey Kong Land pre-release and unused content

Gallery

For this subject's image gallery, see Gallery:Donkey Kong Land.

• 

  Donkey Kong. Diddy Kong, Rambi, and Expresso

• 

  Fangfish

• 

  Hard Hat

• 

  Nemo

• 

  Hogwash the Flying Pig

Media

Main Theme

File infoMedia:Main_Theme_Menagerie_-_Donkey_Kong_Land.mp3 ​

Jungle theme

File infoMedia:DKL Jungle.oga ​

Gangplank Galleon

File infoMedia:Gangplank Galleon DKL.oga ​

Help:Media • Having trouble playing?

Names in other languages

Language	Name	Meaning	Notes
Japanese	スーパードンキーコングGBジービー[?] Sūpā Donkī Kongu Jībī	Super Donkey Kong GB
Chinese (simplified)	超级咚奇刚GB[?] Chāojí Dōngqí Gāng GB	Super Donkey Kong GB
Chinese (traditional)	超級咚奇剛GB[?] Chāojí Dōngqí Gāng GB	Super Donkey Kong GB