Donkey Kong 64

DONKEY KONG 64

Time for us to look at what looks like the Donkey Kong series' only major forays into 3D. While Rare shined with several 3D games in the era, Banjo-Kazooie, Goldeneye 007, and Conker's Bad Fur Day for example, but this one doesn't seem to be often held up as one of the greats. That said, it's not without its merits. The game's story features King K. Rool and his Kremlings having constructed a superweapon called the Blast-o-Matic to wipe out DK Isle, and Donkey Kong and four friends having to work together to stop them.

Our protagonists include Donkey Kong returning finally to playable status, his faithful sidekick Diddy Kong, Dixie's little sister Tiny Kong (who inherits most of her floaty qualities), a distant oddball cousin named Lanky Kong who specializes in stretchy unwieldy movements, and Kiddy's big brother Chunky, who is the muscle of the team. Most of them follow the same basic mechanics as each other, though there is a greater amount of difference between all five than have been in previous games. They can all run, jump, roll, swim, throw barrels, climb, swing, kick, and throw orange grenades, and generally all move the way the old games would move in 3D.

Each has their own distinct movesets however that vary them from each other. A major aspect of their variation is special moves supplied by Cranky Kong, Funky Kong, and Candy Kong each. Donkey Kong is sorta kinda the middle basic character, like Mario in his games, though a bit on the stronger side. Cranky's potions allow him to blast through a minigame of barrel cannons, become invincible, and pull levers. Funky supplies him with the Coconut Gun, you know, the one that fires in spurts and if he shoots you, it's gonna hurt. Candy supplies him with bongos to destroy all enemies in the area.

Diddy is smaller and quicker, as he has always been. Cranky gives him the power to bounce high into the air with his tail, gives him a rocketbarrel jetpack to fly around with, and charge headfirst into gongs and things. Funky gives him his peanut popguns, and Candy gives him a rock guitar. Tiny can fly with her ponytails and flick them at enemies, just like her sister, while Cranky allows her to teleport and shrink down to tiny size. Funky supplies her with a feather-shooting bow, and Candy gives her a saxophone.

Lanky Kong can stretch his arms around in a circle, unleash a multi-slap attack, and jump-rope with his long arms. Cranky allows him to inflate himself just like a balloon and walk around on his hands, allowing him to run faster and climb steep slopes. Funky gives him a grape shooter, and Candy gives him a trombone. Chunky, in general, is ridiculously strong and can move objects much heavier than any other character can manage. Cranky will let him turn invisible, turn into a giant, and pull off a strong roundhouse punch. Funky supplies him with a pineapple launcher, and Candy gives him a triangle.

As we mentioned already, Cranky, Funky, and Candy guest star as supporting characters, Cranky having become a mad scientist apparently and giving the Kongs potions that grant them new abilities. Funky has apparently given up being a surfer dude and started up a military supply store, and Candy has opened herself a music shop. Technically all of these things can be attributed likewise to them (though Candy's still giving me struggles trying to imagine moves for her). Funky and Candy also show up at the very end, Candy being seductive to distract King K. Rool while Funky sneaks up behind him and hits him with a . . . butt-kicking bazooka. Cool.

Outside of these, a handful more supporting characters appear. Wrinkly Kong has apparently died (sad), but she still appears to give you hints here and there. Snide is a weasel who built the Blast-o-Matic who asks you to track down his blueprints so he can help you get into the fortress. K. Lumsy is a giant friendly Kremling locked in a cage by K. Rool. He will jump around excitedly, causing earthquakes and unlocking new areas, and once unleashed, he will chase around K. Rool and knock him out of the sky. A Banana Fairy Princess more or less takes the place of the Banana Bird from the previous game, asking you to find and return her subjects. And Troff n' Scoff are a pig and hippo that you can feed bananas until they are able to unlock the door to each world's boss battle. A handful of other NPCs help you out with small things throughout the game, including a mermaid, a llama, a beetle, a seal, a rabbit, a worm, and an ice creature. Rambi, Enguarde, and Squawks all also return, doing more or less as they did before.

King K. Rool returns as our main villain, returning to his King persona once again. For most of the game, he is sitting on his throne in the Blast-o-Matic's control room with a pet Klaptrap on his lap who attacks the various minions when they fail him. When the heroes reach the final battle with him, he steps into a boxing ring and dons the boxing gloves used in his Ultimate moveset. During this fight, he will hang from the rafters above, butt bash to make a shockwave, throw a spinning punch, charge around the stage, bounce off the ropes, and launch forward in a giant punch. His toes will also attack during Tiny's phase of the fight.

The Kremlings return mostly to their DKC1 monikers, with Kritters acting as the basic enemies, Klumps now being able to throw orange grenades, Klaptraps crawling around and biting, Krashes riding minecarts, Klobbers riding around in barrels (Kabooms in exploding barrels), and Kroc acting as a sniper. Kasplats are sorta new, being the keepers of Snide's blueprints and being able to create shockwaves by punching the ground. Robokremlings are robotic Kritters, Koshas swing giant clubs, Shrooms dress up as mushrooms, Bones are basically Kremling Dry Bones, and Ghosts are Kremlings in sheets. Krushas do appear in the game, though only as a secret unlockable character that most don't really even know about. In that function, he's just kind of a mishmash of the Kongs' basic moveset, nothing special.

The game's enemies include: Gnawties, Zingers, Shuris, and Puftups all returning under the same name, flying enemies like Buzzards and Bats, a handful of toy themed enemies like Sir Domino, Super Block, Mr. Dice, and Rulers, robotic Mechazingers, octopi named Scubis, living Tomatoes, living Flames, and a handful of minibosses, like a giant spider dangling from the ceiling, a giant Kosha, and a demon that swipes at you and spits fireballs while riding a minecart.

We also have an assortment of bosses, including: Army Dillo, a high-tech armadillo with cannons on his back who can fire off projectiles and roll around; Dogadon, a dragon that will fly around and spit fireballs; Mad Jack, a living jack-in-the-box who will hop around, spit explosive darts, and turn invisible; Puftoss, a giant Puftup who will send out shockwaves; and King Kut Out, a giant cardboard cutout of King K. Rool that will shoot lasers at you.

DK Isle acts as a giant hub world for the characters, granting you access to: Jungle Japes, a basic jungle level; Angry Aztec, a ruins/temple area; Frantic Factory, a factory level; Gloomy Galleon, an underwater/pirate ship level; Fungi Forest, a forest level; Crystal Caves, an underground/cavern area; Creepy Castle, a haunted castle world; and Hideout Helm, the inside of the Blast-o-Matic.

A number of items return, including bananas and barrels and coins of course, with giant golden bananas as the main mcguffins of each stage and a handful of other collectibles, like Snide's blueprints and the banana fairies, and the orange grenades.

All right, let's see what we've got so far:

Characters:
Donkey Kong: run, jump, roll, swing, launch from barrels, bounce on tires, swim, ride minecarts, throw barrels, kick, punch, invincibility, pull levers, coconut gun, bongos, orange grenades, slam
Diddy Kong: run, jump, roll, swing, launch from barrels, bounce on tires, swim, ride minecarts, throw barrels, throw Dixie, dynamite, spin with tail, bounce on tail, rocketbarrel pack, charge headfirst, peanut popgun, guitar, orange grenade, slam
Dixie Kong: run, jump, roll, swing, launch from barrels, bounce on tires, swim, ride minecarts, throw barrels, throw Diddy, dynamite, flick with hair, fly with ponytail, hang from hook, rocket barrel, boat, plane, throw rocks
Kiddy Kong: run, jump, roll, swing, launch from barrels, bounce on tires, swim, ride minecarts, throw barrels, hang from hook, rocket barrel, boat, plane, throw rocks
Tiny Kong: run, jump, roll, swim, throw barrels, climb, swing, flick with ponytails, teleport, fly, shrink, feather arrows, saxophone, slam, orange grenades
Lanky Kong: run, jump, roll, swim, throw barrels, climb, swing, stretch arms, multi-slap, jump rope, inflate, walk on hands, grape shooter, trombone, slam, orange grenades
Chunky Kong: run, jump, roll, swim, throw barrels, climb, swing, pick up giant rocks, punch, turn invisible, grow giant, roundhouse punch, slam, orange grenades
Cranky Kong: walking stick, dynamite, hints, museum, throw rocks, potions
Candy Kong: save, musical instruments, flirt
Funky Kong: airplane, boat, weapons, boot-bazooka
Wrinkly Kong: college, hints, save, workout, ghost
Swanky Kong: quiz show, extra balloons, target mini-game
King K. Rool: throw crown, charge, jump high, cannonballs, blunderbuss, suck, various items, propeller jetpack, fireballs, electricity, KAOS, Klaptrap, shockwave slap, giant punch, bounce off ropes, Blast-o-Matic
Kremlings/Kritter: walk forward (Klomp/Kobble), jump (Kaboing/Re-Koil), ride minecart (Krash/Klank), Krusha/Kruncha/Krumple (maybe his own, run, jump, bazooka, punch, roll, orange grenades, etc.), Klump/Kannon/Kuff n' Klout? (maybe his own, blunderbuss, jump, orange grenades), hide in barrel (Klobber/Knocka/Kracka/Kuchuka/ Klasp/Kaboom), climb ropes (Klinger), Kutlass, Krook, Kloak, Kackle, Klubba, Koin, Kopter, Bazuka, Kasplat, Kosha, Robokremlings, Ghosts, Shrooms, Bones
Animal Buddies:
Rambi: charge forward, jump
Enguarde: swim, stab
Expresso: jump, run fast, glide
Winky: leap
Squawks: fly, flashlight, carry Kongs, peanuts
Rattly: bounce
Squitter: crawl, spit webs, walk on webs
Clapper: cool things
Glimmer: flashlight
Quawks: fly, carry Kongs
Ellie: charge, jump, pick up barrels, squirt water
Parry: mimic

Bosses:
Very Gnawty
Master Necky
Queen B
Really Gnawty
Dumb Drum
Master Necky Sr.
Krow
Kleever
Kudgel
King Zing
Kreepy Krow
Belcha
Arich
Squirt
Bleak
Barbos
KAOS
Army Dillo
Dogadon
Mad Jack
Puftoss
King Kut Out

Stages:
Jungle Level
Forest/Trees Level
Mine/Cave Level
Underwater Level
Snow Level
Factory Level
Gangplank Galleon
Volcano Level
Theme Park Level
Ghostly Level
Bramble/Hive Level
K. Rool's Keep
Flying Krock
Cliff/Waterfall Level
KAOS Core
Jungle Japes
Angry Aztec
Frantic Factory
Gloomy Galleon
Fungi Forest
Crystal Caves
Creepy Castle
Hideout Helm
DK Isle

Items:
Barrels
Barrel Cannons
Bananas
Banana Coins
Tires
Banana Birds
Cogs
Presents
Boat
Plane
Oranges
Banana Fairy
Golden Banana

Thanks for reading! Next time, we'll cover Donkey Kong Country Returns!