DK: King of Swing

DK: KING OF SWING

This should probably be more in the "spinoffs" section than anything, but as they were Donkey Kong's main handheld entries for a little while there, and separating out the DK titles into three clean groups makes them fit more here than anywhere else, I guess its okay. DK: King of Swing is the first of two titles created as spiritual successors to the NES game Clu Clu Land, featuring Donkey and his friends rather than a little red fish.

Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong act as the main principal players in the game, though Dixie Kong, Funky Kong, Wrinkly Kong, King K. Rool, Kritter, and Bubbles (the fish from Clu Clu Land) are all playable in the game's challenge mode, functioning under the same basic mechanics of the game. Cranky and Candy also appear in supporting roles, Cranky running the tutorial with Wrinkly demonstrating, and Candy basically just showing up in the cutscenes.

The main mechanic of the game is massive sections of pegs floating in the sky that Donkey and Diddy must hang from and spin around on in order to navigate through a course. Other mechanics used include the ability to pull back on two pegs and launch yourself high into the air, throw rocks and bombs by grabbing it while spinning around and throwing it at enemies. They can also "go bananas" which is basically a Donkey Kong version of the Starman item. King K. Rool also has an airship that he uses, but his boss battle is mostly just him and DK crawling around on the pegs fighting each other with those mechanics.

Other enemies that appear are generally series regulars, though reworked a bit to fit this specific playstyle. Flitters buzz back and forth across the map, Neeks crawl around on the pegs, Flipflaps and Neckies fly around, Click-Clacks crawl on the pegs, Lockjaws swim around and leap from the water while Shuris spin toward you, Zingers buzz around as they do, and Powans are new ghost enemies who float around in haunted house levels. As for bosses, we have Congazuma, a giant statue that tromps around, Fire Necky, a firebird that flies around and spits fireballs, Davy Bones, a skeletal sea monster that will bite at you, and Sassy Squatch, an abominable snowman who chases you up a ravine and spits ice.

We have a number of levels, though each is generally built around a theme. The first generally has a jungle theme, the second with a desert theme, the third with a water theme, the fourth with a snow theme, and finally K. Rool's airship, the K. Kruiser III. The K. Kruiser III is getting in for sure if I have anything to say about it. As for items, we have rocks and bombs, and the pegs themselves, but that's about it for now.

Let's see what we've got!

Characters:
Donkey Kong: everything from Country, climb and swing around pegs, launch from pegs, throw rocks and bombs, go bananas
Diddy Kong: everything from Country and Country 2, climb and swing around pegs, launch from pegs, throw rocks and bombs, go bananas
Dixie Kong: everything from Country 2 and Country 3, climb and swing around pegs, launch from pegs, throw rocks and bombs, go bananas
Kiddy Kong: everything from Country 3
Funky Kong: climb and swing around pegs, launch from pegs, throw rocks and bombs, go bananas
Wrinkly Kong: climb and swing around pegs, launch from pegs, throw rocks and bombs, go bananas
Cranky Kong: tutorial for King of Swing
King K. Rool: throw crown, charge, blunderbuss, float, throw bombs, bounce, electric beam, climb and swing around pegs, launch from pegs, throw rocks and bombs, go bananas
Kritter/Klomp/Kobble: walk forward, Kaboing, Klinger, Rekoil, Skidda, climb and swing around pegs, launch from pegs, throw rocks and bombs, go bananas
Krusha/Kruncha/Krumple: walk forward
Kannon: shoot blunderbuss
SPECIAL GUEST: Bubbles

Assist Trophies:
Klaptrap
Rambi
Expresso
Enguarde
Rattly
Squitter
Clapper
Squawks
Ellie

Bosses:
Wild Sting
Giant Clam
Hard Hat
Krow
Kleever
King Zing
Kreepy Krow
Barbos
Bleak
Arich
KAOS
Kongazuma
Fire Necky
Davy Bones
Sassy Squatch

Stages:
Gangplank Galleon Ahoy
Kremlantis
Monkey Mountains & Chimpanzee Clouds
Big Ape City
Gangplank Galleon
Krem Cauldron
Kremland
Gloomy Gulch
K. Rool's Keep
Cape Codswallop
Primate Plain
Blackforest Plateau
Great Ape Lakes
Tin Can Valley
The Lost World
Jungle World
Desert World
Underwater World
Snow World
K. Kruiser III

Thanks for reading! Next up, let's cover the game's sequel, Jungle Climber!