_______ ____ ___ __ __ __ _____ __ __ ___ ___ ____ ___ __ ____ | \ / \| \| | |/ / ___\ \/ / | | / / \| \| |/ __\ | |\ ( () ) | (| ___|\ / | |/ ( () ) ( (_ ) | | ) )____/|__|\___|__|\__\_____| |__| | ( \____/|__|\___|\____/ | |/ / ______ | |\ \ |_______/ / \ |___| \___\ / /\___\ ____ __ __ ___ __ ______ ______ __ __ _ ( ( ___ / \| | | | \| |_ _| __ ) \/ (_) \ \/ ( () ) \_/ | | | | | ( \ / _ \______/ \____/ \_____/|__|\___| |__| |__|\__\ |__| (_) _________ ______ ____ _____ _____ ____ ___ __ |__ __| __ ) \| __ \_ _|/ __| / _ \ | | | | | ( () ) __/_| |_( (__ / _ \| |__ | | |__|\__\____/|__| |_____|\____/__/ \__\_____| | | _________ ________ ________ ________ _______ ________ |___| | _____| _ \| ____| ____|__ / ____| | |__ | |_) ) |__ | |__ / /| |__ | __| | /| __| | __| / / | __| | | | |\ \| |____| |____ / /__| |____ |___| |___| \___\________|________/_______|________| If the above does not look like it says "Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze", you may be viewing this guide using a variable-width font. For the best viewing experience, please switch to a fixed-width font, such as Courier New. ----------------------------------------- Platform: Nintendo Wii U Release Date: February 21, 2014 Author: Tom Farello (nuclearlemons) Contact: [email protected] ----------------------------------------- Current Version: Version 0.1.0 Last Update: 2/21/2014 ----------------------------------------- _______ | __ | | | / |---------------------------------------------------------------------- | |/ /| | R E C E N T N E W S [RNEWS] | /_| |---------------------------------------------------------------------- |_______| Hi, and welcome to my Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze FAQ/Walkthrough! The most recent version of this guide can be found at: www.gamefaqs.com I will be going on a camping trip starting at around noon on the 21st, so the information provided below is based off of only a couple of hours of playing and writing simultaneously (which takes a while). I will return on Sunday to keep going. I thank you for your patience. My username was formerly gravy229; I have switched it to nuclearlemons to more accurately reflect my modern self. Just wanted to make sure returning reader didn't freak out about this one. If you find this guide useful (and are on GameFAQs), the best thing you can do for me, and for other readers, is to click the "Yes" button next to "Would you recommend this guide?" at the top of the page. It takes no more than a couple of seconds, and helps bring more people to this guide. If you're interested in hosting this guide, shoot me an email. It's generally a pretty painless process. ____ |__ | | |------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | T A B L E O F C O N T E N T S [CNTNT] __| |__----------------------------------------------------------------------- |_______| Section Name Abbr. 0. Recent News......................................................[RNEWS] 1. Table of Contents................................................[CNTNT] 2. Introduction.....................................................[INTRO] a. Contact Information...........................................[CNTCT] b. About the Author..............................................[AUTHR] c. Version History...............................................[HSTRY] 3. Game Basics......................................................[BASCS] a. Controls......................................................[CNTRL] b. Items.........................................................[ITEMS] c. Enemies.......................................................[ENMYS] d. How to Use This Guide.........................................[HTUSE] 4. Walkthrough......................................................[WTHRU] a. Lost Mangroves................................................[LSTMG] b. Autumn Forest..*Coming Soon*..................................[ATMFR] 5. Time Attack......................................................[TMATK] a. General Tips..*Coming Soon*...................................{TATPS} 6. Frequently Asked Questions.......................................[QSTNS] 7. Conclusion.......................................................[CNCLS] a. Thank You's...................................................[THANX] b. Copyright Info................................................[CPYRT] Those abbreviations are search tools. If you want to jump to a specific point in the FAQ, just search, with your browser's search function, for series of five characters in the square brackets. For example, if you wanted to search for a section with abbreviation "[ABBRV]", you would simply search for "[ABBRV]" with your browser's search function. Each world has a similar breakdown, level by level. Alternatively, if you are looking for a specific level, you may user your browser's search function to search for the level's number (eg. 0-0) to skip right to that level. The first instance will be the walkthrough for the stage, and the second will be its time attack section. _______ |_____ | _____| |---------------------------------------------------------------------- | _____| I N T R O D U C T I O N [INTRO] | |_____----------------------------------------------------------------------- |_______| ___ _ _ | \| |/ /-------------------------------------------------------------------- | |) ) ( Contact Information [CNTCT] |___/|_|\_\-------------------------------------------------------------------- My email address is [email protected]. I have very few requests for emails sent to me, be reasonable and follow them for me. First off, please email me. I like writing guides, and I especially like writing good, helpful guides. Feedback lets me know exactly how helpful I have been, and for what reasons I have or haven't been helpful. Emails that tell me that I have done poorly are not appreciated. Emails that tell me WHY I have done poorly are much more helpful, and I widely accept these. In other words, criticism must be constructive. Emails that tell me that I have done well are accepted. Those kinds of emails keep this FAQ growing longer; they fuel my desire to help you. However, emails that tell me WHY I have done well are more useful to me, and I ask, again, that if you are going to criticize, even positively, please do so in a constructive manner. Also, I am writing this guide as I play through the game. If I don't specifically ask for a piece of information, it's probably not a good idea to tell me about it. I don't want my inbox to be flooded with information I was about to obtain by myself. As a general rule, if it seems like I missed something important in my guide, send me something about it. If it seems like I haven't gotten to it yet, hold off. Other than that, comments, questions, constructive criticism. Also, if an unauthorized site links to this guide, or you feel like this work has been plagarized, please please PLEASE let me know. At the bottom of the guide is the "Copyright Information" section, if you would like to know more. Here is the list of things I will currently be accepting in emails: - Anything that I've missed in stages that I've covered, including hidden item caches and easter eggs. - Anything specific about multiplayer that I missed (I most likely will not get the chance to play multiplayer). - Any and all copyright and/or plagarism concerns. ___ _ _ | \| |/ /-------------------------------------------------------------------- | |) ) ( About the Author [AUTHR] |___/|_|\_\-------------------------------------------------------------------- Hi! My name is Tom Farello, and I will be your guide through Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze! I am a software developer, located in San Antonio, TX, at the time of writing this guide. I currently work as a developer at H-E-B, a grocery retailing company centered here in San Antonio. As weird as it sounds to be doing software development for a grocery company, we actually have a great IT department, and I am definitely growing as a developer and as a leader in my position. As far as other guides I have written, I am probably most notable for my guide for Super Mario Galaxy in 2007, as well as the previous game in this series, Donkey Kong Country Returns in 2010. Since everyone was clamoring for me to write a similar guide for this game as well* I decided to do just that. *not actually true. I'm a relatively busy guy, so I do not timestamp future versions of my guides, but I try to update as often as I can. Nothing motivates me more than emails from my readers, so keep sending them! Other than that, I hope this guide is very helpful to you in conquering Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze! ___ _ _ | \| |/ /-------------------------------------------------------------------- | |) ) ( Version History [HSTRY] |___/|_|\_\-------------------------------------------------------------------- Version 0.1.0: 2/21/2014 Wrote the walkthrough for world 1, and fixed all of the errors and incorrect assumptions I made in the items section. Version 0.0.1: 2/20/2014 Did all of the stuff necessary to get ready to start playing this game: - Changed all instances of "Returns" to "Tropical Freeze", including the ASCII art in the header - Updated control schemes based off of information I have gathered through gameplay videos - Updated the item information to match the new items and new functions of existing items, as well as the new shop items - Detailed out as much as I could glean of the map for world 1 _______ |_____ | _____| |---------------------------------------------------------------------- |_____ | G A M E B A S I C S [BASCS] _____| |---------------------------------------------------------------------- |_______| ___ _ _ | \| |/ /-------------------------------------------------------------------- | |) ) ( Controls [CNTRL] |___/|_|\_\-------------------------------------------------------------------- Controls shown below are for the Gamepad only. I will add more control styles later. Any Kong: Walk: Tilt the control stick lightly left or right to walk slowly. Run: Tilt the control stick all the way left or right, and your Kong will run. Jump: To jump into the air, press A or B. The longer you hold it down, the further you will jump. Bounce: You will be able to get extra height off of bouncy things like tires and enemies by pressing A or B shortly before landing on the object. Crouch: Tilt the control stick down to crouch and avoid spiked ceilings or enemy attacks. Grab: Press and hold ZL or ZR while near an object, such as a barrel or a bomb, to grab onto it, then let go of the button to toss it. Pull: Press and hold ZL or ZR while near a hook or handle on the ground to pull on it, revealing hidden paths or secret items. Cling: Press and hold ZL or ZR, then jump onto a climbable surface or vine, then use the control stick to move around on it. Jump off using the jump button, and drop by letting go of the grab button. Ground-Pound: Repeatedly press X or Y while not walking, running, or crouching, and your Kong will pound the ground with his palms. You can even do this on climbable surfaces. Roll: Press X or Y walking or running, and your Kong will roll or cartwheel in the direction you are moving. Roll-Jump: Jump while rolling, even in midair, and you will be able to perform a longer jump. Do this to get items inside gaps in the ground, or to get across really long chasms. Team up: In multiplayer, when the Kongs are close to each other, either player can press *something* to team up. In single-player, partner Kongs will automatically team up with no input necessary. Team Roll (Teamed up only): Press X or Y continuously on player 1's controller while walking or running and teamed up to continuously roll. Separate (Multiplayer only): If player 2 wants to regain full control over their partner Kong, s/he may press *something* to get off of Donkey's back. Revive (Multiplayer only): If you have been defeated, but your partner has not, press *something*, and a Kong barrel will drop into play from the top of the screen, hanging from one of your stock on life balloons. Your partner will need to come into contact with the barrel to free you from it. You may, however, press *something* to move the barrel closer to your partner. Diddy Kong: Jetpack: Hold A or B in midair, and Diddy will use his jetpack to gain extra distance after a jump. This only lasts a short while, though. When separated, player 2 will control this; when teamed up, player 1 gets control over this. Peanut Popguns (Multiplayer only): Press X or Y continuously on player 2's controller to make Diddy shoot peanuts at enemies. While separated, this is added to the normal ground-pound. Balloon Kong Pow (Donkey must be present): While both Donkey and Diddy are on-screen, and the team meter is full, either player may press L or R to turn all enemies on the screen into red balloons. Dixie Kong: Ponytail Twirl: Hold A or B in midair, and Dixie will twirl her ponytail like a helicopter to gain extra height and distance after a jump. When separated, player 2 will control this; when teamed up, player 1 gets control over this. Gumball Guns (Multiplayer only): Press X or Y continuously on player 2's controller to make Dixie shoot gumballs at enemies. While separated, this is added to the normal ground-pound. Heart Kong Pow (Donkey must be present): While both Donkey and Dixie are on-screen, and the team meter is full, either player may press L or R to turn all enemies on the screen into golden hearts. These can be picked up even if your hearts are currently full, effectively doubling your maximum health temporarily. Cranky Kong: Cane Pogo: Press A or B in midair, and Cranky will bounce off the ground using his cane, Scrooge McDuck-style, allowing him to not only ignore any hazardous terrain below (except bottomless pits), but also gain some extra jump height. This can be used to cross potentially dangerous sections, or to find otherwise-unreachable items. Coin Kong Pow (Donkey must be present): While both Donkey and Cranky are on-screen, and the team meter is full, either player may press L or R to turn all enemies on the screen into banana coins. Swimming: TODO While riding Rambi: Mount: To get on Rambi, just jump on top. Dismount: To get off of Rambi, press *something*. Move: Walk, run, and jump normally with Rambi. Rambi is completely invulnerable to everything except bottomless pits and fire. If Diddy or Dixie is available, s/he can give Rambi a little bit of extra distance in the air with his jetpack or her ponytail. Charge: Hold left or right while continuously pressing X or Y, and Rambi will charge very quickly in the direction you are moving. Ground-pound: Rambi cannot crouch, so pressing X or Y continuously while not moving left or right will cause Rambi to ground-pound. Note that Rambi can't grab handles like the Kongs can; you will have to dismount in order to do that. Other special control sets: Barrel Cannon: While inside a barrel cannon, press A or B to fire in the direction the barrel is pointing. Be sure to time it correctly! Mine Cart/Toboggan: While on a mine cart or toboggan, you will be able to jump and crouch as normal, but the ride is speed-controlled, and you therefore will not be able to change the speed at which the vehicle moves. Rocket Barrel: Jump inside a rocket barrel, then tap A or B three times in succession to make it blast off. While riding the rocket barrel, hold A or B to ascend, and let go to drop back down. ___ _ _ | \| |/ /-------------------------------------------------------------------- | |) ) ( Items [ITEMS] |___/|_|\_\-------------------------------------------------------------------- Pickups: Banana: A delicious classic. Collect 100 of these to earn an extra life. Additionally, each banana will fill up the team meter by 1%. Banana Bunch: Each one of these potassium-packed goodies is worth 5 bananas. Giant Banana Bunch: These things look like a certain copyrighted onion-based appetizer, and are worth a whopping 20 bananas. Red Balloon: Grab one of these balloons before it floats off the top of the screen to get an extra life. While there are three colors of balloons in this game, you will only find red ones in the stages. You will also get one of these by bouncing off of 8 or more enemies in a row. Banana Coin: These golden coins are used as a form of currency. Use them at Funky's shop to buy useful items. You will also get one of these by bouncing off of between 3 and 7 enemies in a row. Heart: This will restore one heart to the Kong that picks it up (or to a vehicle if riding one). If you have full health, this won't do you any good, so if your partner is hurting, let him/her grab it! Important Items: Puzzle Piece: Each stage has either 5, 7, or 9 of these elusive items. Grab them all, and you will unlock either music or artwork once you complete the level. If you grab one of these, then finish the stage and come back, you will not be required to collect it again. If you leave the stage by any other means, however, you won't get credit for collecting it! KONG Letter: Most stages will have four of these; not surprisingly, a K, an O, an N, and a G. They will always appear in order in the stage, so if you get them out of order, you'll know that you've missed one. You will need to collect all four of these in a single visit to a stage to get credit for collecting them. If you get them all, then finish the stage, you will earn a star medal for that stage. Get all of the star medals in any world, and you will unlock a secret stage for that each world. Mysterious Relic: Man, I should have copied that quote from the game about these things. Don't I feel like an idiot now... Barrels and Other Stuff You'll Find: Barrel: Grab one of these and toss it at a group of enemies, and it will barrel (hur hur) right through them. Kong Barrel: When you break one of these open, a partner will pop out, depending on the text shown on the barrel. Barrels with a blue DD will contain Diddy, a pink DX indicates Dixie, and a yellow CK stands for Cranky. After the first couple of stages, you will notice that some of these barrels will flip back and forth between Kongs, allowing you to choose which partner you would like to use for the next section. Ground-pounding near the barrel or picking it up will prevent it from rotating. If a partner Kong is already present, breaking open a barrel corresponding to a different Kong will cause them to swap out; otherwise the current Kong will stay in play. Either way, this will completely restore all health to both Kongs, so if one (or both) of you is hurting, it's still beneficial to break one of these open. Slot Barrel: On most stages, this will mark the end of the level. Jump into it to break it, and get one of four prizes. You can get either a banana bunch, a banana coin, a life balloon, or a DK icon. With good timing, you can pick which of these prizes you get. If you get the DK icon (which should usually be what you are aiming for), repeatedly press X or Y to get a whole lot of one of the other three items, chosen at random. With quick fingers and good luck, you could get as many as 15 extra lives! Barrel Cannon: Floating barrels with arrows or skulls on them are barrel cannons. Come into contact with one, and you will pop inside. Sometimes these will move around, but either way, they will fire in the direction they are pointing. The ones will skulls will break when fired, so you will only be able to use them once. Blast Barrel: Also called auto-fire barrels, these have a starburst painted on them. They are very similar to barrel cannons, except you will automatically be fired out of them, with no input required. Again, ones with skulls on them will be destroyed after one use. Mine Cart: These come in two "flavors"; the Kongs will ride smaller, flat mine carts standing up, and will jump independently of the mine cart. Larger ones will jump with the Kongs. Once you jump aboard one of these, it will start moving, so get ready for a wild ride! Rocket Barrel: These also come in two types. If the rocket barrel moves to the right, you will only be able to steer up and down. If it moves up, though, you will also be able to control its left-right position. You will "simply" need to dodge everything your path while on one of these. Rambi Crate: Crates with Rambi's logo on them hold the famous rhino captive. Just ground-pound one to let him free! Rambi will be able to break anything with his logo on it. Bouncy Platform: There are many bouncy objects around the islands, from tires to mushroom platforms. These bouncy bad boys will give you some extra height when you jump on them. Use them to hard-to-reach places. Climbable Surface: You can grab onto one of these and move across it, whether it's on a wall or ceiling, or even if it goes all the way around. Use these to get over gaps or to climb up walls. Vine: These work very similar to climbable surfaces, except that they swing back and forth, and you can jump off of these in either direction. Handles: Handles stuck partway into the ground can be grabbed onto and pulled to reveal secret items and passageways. Flowers: There is a wide variety of plant life around the island, and many of it will react to a ground-pound. If you see a plant along a path, try ground-pounding near it, and you might get an item! Things like treasure chests and urns react similarly. Funky's Fly 'N' Buy: Red Balloon: Each red balloon you buy gives you an extra life. These will run you 3 coins each. Green Balloon: Equipping one of these will prevent you from falling down a bottomless pit one time. If you fall down a pit, it will bring you upward, and you can control it with the control stick, or D-pad, depeding on your input style. It will break after a short time, so get yourself to a safe place quickly after it activates. If you equip this and end up not needing it, you will get to keep it. One of these will cost you 5 coins. Blue Balloon: If you drown while you have one of these equipped will totally refill your air bar one time. Like the green balloon, you will get to keep this if you end up not using it. They are 7 coins apiece. Squawks: Equip Squawks before entering a stage, and he will sit in the bottom-left corner of the screen, and he will get antsy when there is a puzzle piece, and will squawk and totally freak out at you when you're right on top of one. The little guy will cost you 10 banana coins to use on one stage. Crash Guard: Equipping shield-shaped item before entering a stage will give one extra hit to any vehicle you ride in for that stage. This extra hit is a one-time, non-recoverable, use, but you do get to keep it if you don't crash any vehicles in the stage. While situational, keep in mind that heart boosts and banana juice do not work on vehicles. This item will cost you 10 banana coins. Heart Boost: Equip the heart boost before entering a stage, and your Kong will be able to hold three hearts instead of two for the entire length of a stage. This will only work for one stage, even if you don't get hit at all for the entire length. This item costs 15 banana coins to use on one stage. Banana Juice: Equip banana juice before entering a stage, and it will activate after the first time you take damage, making you totally invulnerable to anything except bottomless pits for about 15 seconds. If left unused at the end of a stage, it will remain in your inventory. Each bottle of banana juice will cost you 15 coins. Kong Barrel: Equip any of the three Kong barrels before entering a stage, and it will automatically activate whenever you lose your partner Kong (or immediately if you didn't have one in the first place), spawning in the corresponding partner Kong. It works like an ordinary Kong barrel, so if you Donkey has also taken damage, he will recover that, as well as any missing heart boosts, as well. Like most of the other one-time-use items, you will keep it doesn't activate on the stage. If you lose your partner Kong at the end of a level, or wish to have a little extra insurance on a stage, you can buy a barrel from Funky for 15 coins each. Capsule Toy: Paying 5 coins will give you a spin at the ever-popular (in Japan) capsule machine! Each time you buy a capsule, you will get a toy, and, if it's new, it will be added to your extras gallery. It takes a lot of coins, luck, and patience to collect them all! ___ _ _ | \| |/ /-------------------------------------------------------------------- | |) ) ( Enemies [ENMYS] |___/|_|\_\-------------------------------------------------------------------- Donkey Kong Country Tropical Freeze has a huge variety of different enemies. Each type is listed here. Snowmads: This is mostly a placeholder, but "Snowmad" is the general term for the invading enemies in the game. ___ _ _ | \| |/ /-------------------------------------------------------------------- | |) ) ( How to Use This Guide [HTUSE] |___/|_|\_\-------------------------------------------------------------------- The walkthrough section is intended to be a very to-the-point guide, geared toward collecting the various hidden items throughout the game. While there are some specific tips about beating each individual stage, this guide is not intended to hold your hand, telling you not to fall in this pit, or to jump over that bed of spikes. Some level of platforming experience is assumed, so if you are new to the genre, or even to the Donkey Kong Country series, I would suggest reading the rest of this chapter, "Game Basics", and getting used to the controls and feel of this game before really diving headfirst into this guide. If you are a Donkey Kong Country series veteran, especially if you are looking to do everything that this game has to offer, welcome aboard. Either way, I suggest that you read the rest of this section, because it will show you how the walkthrough is formatted. Each world has a world map associated with it. You will see the following icons on each map: --- Anything that looks like a straight line is a path from one level to another. They can be vertical or horizontal, and plus signs indicate corners; these still all mean the same thing. In general, a path will only open if the lower-numbered level is completed. (1) A number or letter in parentheses means that there is a level in that location. Beat it to gain access to other surrounding levels. Numbered stages are normal stages, and are accessed in order, normally. Stages represented by any letter other than K are secret stages, and must be accessed by finding a secret exit in another stage. Stages represented by K are extra stages, and only become available when a star medal is earned on all other stages in the world, including secret stages. [S] An S in square brackets is a shop. Go there to buy helpful items, extra lives, or capsule toys. {*} An asterisk in curly braces represents a boss fight. Following along with the short-and-sweet theme I'm trying to pull, I have also tried to make the guide as referential as possible; if someone just wants to pull a quick hint from the guide on a certain item they are missing, I try to make that very simple. The walkthrough is simply a bulleted list of important or easy-to-find points throughout the levels. Each bullet is labeled by certain categories that they fall into. These categories are detailed below. (1) Each number contained within parentheses refers to one of the hidden puzzle - pieces throughout a level. Each one of these bullets will tell you about any significant landmarks around the puzzle piece, as well as how to get it, if it is hidden or out of the way. They are numbered by what order they appear in, so that once a certain milestone has been reached, it should be easy to tell how many puzzle pieces you should have at that point. [K] A letter contained within square brackets represents one of the KONG letters throughout a level. Not surprisingly, the only four letters you will see are K, O, N, and G. Similarly to the puzzle pieces, nearby landmarks, as well as information about how to collect the letter, will be described in one of these section. {S} An S in curly braces represents a secret exit to the world. In order to unlock all of the levels, you will need to exit through the normal exit as well as the secret exit, so it is up to you to determine if you want to use the secret exit on your first trip through the level, or come back later. <!> An exclamation point contained within angular brackets refers to something that is important, but doesn't fit in either of the other categories. There are two major varieties of things that will be marked as such. The first is any major landmarks that are not near a puzzle piece or KONG letter. These will primarily consist of checkpoints, and places at which continuing onward prevents you from going back through the level, usually referred to as "points of no return". These are included specifically to allow you to check to make sure you have all of the important items that you want so far in the stage before continuing. The second variety is hidden items. If there is an item that is particularly well-hidden, or is ambiguous on how to collect, I will show how to get to it in one of these sections. _ _ | | | | | |___| |---------------------------------------------------------------------- |_____ | W A L K T H R O U G H [WTHRU] | |---------------------------------------------------------------------- |_| This is most likely what you're here for, so let's get right into it! _ _ _ _ ___ | | | | | | | | |_ | | | | | ___ _ ___| | __| | | |-------------------------------------------- | |/\| |/ _ \| '___| |/ _ | | | Lost Mangroves [LSTMG] | ( (_) ) | | ( (_) | _| |_------------------------------------------- |__/\__|\___/|_| |_|\__,_| |_____| Map: (K) | | +------(4)------+ | | | | | | +------(3)-----(B) {*} | | | | (1)-----(2)-----(A) | | [S] Levels: 1. Mangrove Cove.................................................[MGVCV] 2. Shipwreck Shore...............................................[SPWRK] 3. Canopy Chaos..................................................[CNPCS] 4. Trunk Twister.................................................[TWSTR] A. Zip-Line Shrine...............................................[ZIPLN] B. Busted Bayou..................................................[BSBYU] BOSS. Big Top Bop...................................................[BGTOP] K. Swinger Flinger...............................................[SWFGR] ___ / \ ( 1-1 ) MANGROVE COVE [MGVCV] \___/ Puzzle Pieces: 9 <!> If you have not already done so, please read the "How To Use This Guide" section above; since this is a fairly down-and-dirty, to-the-point kind of guide, you are liable to end up pretty confused if you don't! <!> Immediately after gaining control of your characters, head left into the airplane wreckage to find a free life balloon to start your adventure. Additionally, if you ground-pound in here, the TVs will turn on, showing the title screen for Donkey Kong Country Returns for the various regions. (1) Run a bit to your right, and you will slide down a waterslide. At the bottom, you will fall into a pool of water, introducing the new swimming sections in this game. If you swim to the left, you will see another part of the broken airplane. Swim to it, and it will fall away revealing a hidden puzzle piece. <!> Continue to the right, sticking near the bottom of the lake. There is a banana coin hidden behind some grass near the tutorial pig, who will teach you how to corkscrew attack underwater. [K] Pop out of the lake to the right, and you will notice the K up ahead. Just jump to it from the upper tree-like platform to grab it. <!> You may notice a prompt here to ground-pound the cracked-looking platforms. If you break the left-most one, you will get a banana coin, and the right-most one hides a hidden cache of bananas. (2) The piranha-like platform just ahead is as dangerous as it looks, but can also be pretty handy. Run underneath it, and it will bend down to chomp you, allowing you to jump on top. Once it pops back up, jump on the platforms to the left, and ground-pound the yellow bulb plant, and it will produce a puzzle piece. <!> Continue to the right, and you will find a handle on the ground. Yank it up to access a platform with another handle on it. Pull that one as well, and you will be able to continue forward. (3) Yanking the third handle here will cause a winged banana to appear. This winged banana will spawn a couple of other bananas, which will follow it as if flys around. Collect all of the bananas before they fly off-screen, and the winged banana will turn into a puzzle piece. <!> Checkpoint #1. This is a good opportunity to make sure that you have 3 puzzle pieces, as well as the K on this stage. (4) Yank on the handle here to continue forward, and the ground will fall down underneath you, revealing a couple of bananas. Jump on top of the piranha platform, and let it carry you upward. Jump up to the left to reach another platform with a puzzle piece on it. (5) Fall down, and go back toward the piranha platform. If you ground-pound the floor directly underneath the piranha platform, you will uncover a hidden area containing a lot of bananas, as well as a puzzle piece. <!> Throw the Diddy barrel top here to free your little buddy, and continue to the right. Don't let the falling sections of floor freak you out; as long as you don't run too far away, you won't fall off. <!> Once you get back in the water, there is a raft just to the left with a bulb plant on it. Ground-pound it for a life balloon. This also introduces the fact that you can ground-pound a raft to get a huge jump. <!> You can use this new information on the raft just to the right. Collect the entire ring of bananas here by ground-pounding the raft, and a giant banana bunch will appear. [O] Roll-jump off the right edge of this raft to claim the O. <!> Get back on the raft, then ground-pound to reach the platform on the right. Continue all the way forward, and you will reach a handle on the ground. Pull on it, and a giant tree will appear, giving you access to the game's first barrel cannon segment. Hop into the first barrel to get started. (6) The first shot doesn't need to be timed, but the second shot will have a ring of spinning items, including a banana coin and a puzzle piece, to deal with. You will need to time your shot to get the item that you want here. If you miss the puzzle piece on this shot, you will have one more chance during the next shot to grab it. [N] After a few blast barrels, you will enter a barrel cannon that will switch back and forth between three tracks. Fire the barrel while it is pointing to the left to get the N. <!> During the next shot, if you wait for just a moment, a life balloon will float up to intersect the shot's path. Time it just right to grab it. <!> After hitting the viking ship, you may notice a bulb flower on the left. Ground-pound it for a banana coin. <!> Checkpoint #2. This is another chance to check your items. <!> Hop over the bed of spikes to the right to get your first look at the game's main antagonists: the Snowmads. You will even get to see one get chomped by a piranha platform! Ride that platform up, then ground-pound the box just to the right to get a banana coin. (7) As a matter of fact, all of the boxes in this section are ground-poundable, and there is one set that leads straight through the floor. If you go down there, you will see a set of five tutorial pigs with a huge pile of bananas. When you approach, the pigs will start throwing banana bunches at you. Collect them all, and they will reward you with a puzzle piece. <!> Ground-pound the right-most box in this section to reveal a hidden handle. Pull on it for a banana coin. [G] Continuing forward, you may notice the G in the background. You will need to jump on the helmeted penguin just to the right, then pick him up and throw him at the target, which will cause the boom to swing around, bringing the G into collectible range. (8) You can use the newly-created platform to jump up to the left, revealing a barrel cannon, which leads to a bonus area. Grab all of the bananas while traversing the moving platforms before the timer runs out to get a puzzle piece. <!> When you reach a wooden platform, five giant banana bunches will appear, and the game will prompt you to perform a Kong pow attack, which will turn all of the enemies in the vicinity into life balloons. <!> Ground-pound the DK plate ahead three times, and a barrel cannon will appear. Jump into it and launch yourself to free up this level's slot barrel, but don't hit it quite yet. (9) Keep moving to the right, and cross a short bed of spikes to find a handle hidden here. Pull on it to get this stage's final puzzle piece. Now you're ready to exit this stage. ___ / \ ( 1-2 ) SHIPWRECK SHORE [SPWRK] \___/ Puzzle Pieces: 9 (1) Head to the left to start off, and ground-pound the boxes here to uncover a hidden handle. Pull it for an easy puzzle piece. <!> The next handle to the right will give you a watermelon bomb when you pull it. Throw it at an enemy to blow them up! <!> You may notice a banana coin hovering overhead here. You can use the climbable ceiling just to the right to climb over and grab it. (2) Hop into the water with the next buoy with a bulb plant is, and swim underneath the ship to find a sunken puzzle piece. <!> Climb up on the ship to find a Dixie barrel. Break it open, and Diddy will swap out with Dixie, giving you access to a new moveset. Experiment with it a bit, the continue moving forward. [K] You will likely see the K on a box overhead. To grab it, jump on the large box all the way to the right, then use the ponytail twirl to get on top of the right-most hanging box. From there, it should be a routine jump to get the K. (3) Drop down from the hanging boxes to a suspicious section of floor directly underneath the right hangning box. Ground-pound it to open a bonus area. Grab all of the bananas on the bouncy platforms in here to get a puzzle piece. [O] Make your way off the ship to the right. The O is between two hanging platforms just ahead. It is easiest to grab it using a ponytail twirl. <!> If you ponytail twirl off the right box into the wall just above the bulb plant, a winged banana will pop out. Grab all of the bananas in the trail to get a giant banana bunch. <!> If you wish, you can swim back underneath the ship from the right to get a giant banana bunch. <!> Checkpoint #1. (4) Grab onto the climbable ceiling, and follow it up to the left, and jump off into the wall to reveal a hidden area containing a puzzle piece. (5) Continue climbing the walls and ceilings to the right. There is a bulb flower on the ceiling above two turtles not too far ahead. Ground-pound it and a bag will appear. Throw the helmeted pengin at it, and it will relinquish a puzzle piece. <!> On the next climbable ceiling, you can head left to reveal a hidden giant banana bunch. <!> Just ahead is a required swimming section. Make sure you keep an eye on your oxygen meter, since this is the first place where you won't be able to come up for air any time you want. Diving helmets will offer bubbles, which can be picked up for extra air. (6) If you head down and to the left, and corkscrew through the wreckage, you will come to a set of bananas swirling around in a spiral pattern. Collect them all, and you will be rewarded with a puzzle piece. [N] Continue to the right, and take the top path when there is a fork in the path to pick up the N. <!> Just above where the N is, there is a spot to come up for air, and grab some bananas. If you pick them all up, six banana coins will also appear. (7) Continue back down to the top path. Loop back around to the left along the bottom path, and break the first box here with a corkscrew to get a puzzle piece. <!> Continue right, then up to reach checkpoint #2. (8) Drop into the first pool of water after the checkpoint, and do a corkscrew next to the barrel under the buoy. Doing so will reveal a puzzle piece. {S} In the next pool, there is path of bananas that leads downward. Follow the prompt shown to swim against the current, and finally into the blue portal. Smash the slot barrel in here to access a secret level. (9) Ground-pound the raft here, and it will start moving. There are four columns of bananas just ahead. Pick up all of the bananas, and a puzzle piece will appear. [G] Just ahead, use the mosquitos to jump up to the climbable ceiling with the G. The ceiling will start sliding toward the propeller ahead, which will rip both the ceiling and the raft to shreds, so be quick about grabbing it. <!> Ground-pound the bulb plant on the far right for a giant banana bunch, then bounce up to the slot barrel to end the level. ___ / \ ( 1-3 ) CANOPY CHAOS [CNPCS] \___/ Puzzle Pieces: 7 (1) Climb across the first couple of vines until you come across a turtle. Throw the turtle at the left wall, which is being protected by a shield. This will open up a bonus area, where you will need to jump between vines to pick up bananas. Grab them all to get a puzzle piece. [K] Upon exiting the bonus, there is a water wheel which contains the K. It seems to be easiest to grab when it is at the top of its trajectory, from the platform on the left. <!> In the ditch ahead, there is a Cranky barrel. Be sure to grab it, since there will be a bunch of stuff up ahead that you won't be able to get without Cranky. (2) Bounce across the bed of spikes using the cane pogo, and through the wall to the right to unveil a hidden area with a puzzle piece. [O] Continue up the ravine, where the O is in plain sight in the middle. <!> You can pull the handle to the right of the O to reveal a spiky platform with a banana coin on it. You will need the cane pogo to grab it without hurting yourself. (3) There is a similar handle at the very top of the ravine, to the left of the barrel cannon. You will need the cane pogo to get up to it, as well as to grab the puzzle piece that appears to the left. <!> In the next barrel cannon section, you can get a lot of extra bananas by staying in the background each time you fire. <!> Checkpoint #1. You can grab the items on the spikes in this area using the cane pogo if you wish. [N] The N is in the middle of the path here, in between some vines. You can choose either to swing across the vines, or just pogo across the spikes on the floor. Either way, the mosquitos here will always look in the direction they are going to move next, so time your jumps so you don't get hit. (4) Throw the turtle here at the hanging bag to get a puzzle piece. The puzzle piece will fall onto the bed of spikes, so you will need to either grab it in midair, or use the cane pogo to get it. <!> The propellers up ahead are bad news, so make sure you duck under them to not get hurt. <!> Checkpoint #2. (5) Just ahead, there is an arrangement of four platforms, three at the top, and one underneath with a bulb flower. Jump off of the top-right platform through the wall on the right to uncover a hidden puzzle piece. (6) The next ceiling, above the turtle, also hides a secret. Jump to it from the right to enter a bonus area. Grab all the bananas here to get a puzzle piece. [G] Dodge the next set of propellers, and climb up the vine on the right to find the G. (7) Use the barrel cannon at the end of this section to reach the slot barrel, but don't use it. Instead, break the box here to reveal a bouncy platform. Use it to jump up the platforms here and continue to the left to reach a puzzle piece hidden here. {S} If you continue up and to the right using the cane pogo, you will find a secret exit to this stage. <!> Of course, you can always just use the normal exit if you want to continue along the normal path. ___ / \ ( 1-4 ) TRUNK TWISTER [TWSTR] \___/ Puzzle Pieces: 5 <!> This is a minecart stage, you if you tend to have trouble with those, consider buying a crash guard from Funky. (1) Very soon after the start is a Diddy barrel. Just to its left, there is a bonus area hidden under the floor. Ground-pound to enter it. This one will require you to time your barrel blasts to pick up all of the bananas before time expires. Do so, and you will earn a puzzle piece. <!> Use the barrel cannon up ahead to start your minecart adventure. <!> Follow the trails of bananas and coins for the safest, most lucrative ride. You can jump off the tip of the first airplane's wing to get an early life balloon in this section. [K] The path splits up ahead. Follow the banana bunches down the lower path, and jump at the last second to get the K. (2) Perform full hops off of the pair of mosquitos just up ahead to grab a puzzle piece. <!> Don't be fooled by the hanging boxes above; they won't fall on you. You can jump off of the next box to get some extra bananas. <!> Checkpoint #1. [O] Duck under the burning propeller blades, then pop back up in time to grab the O. <!> There shouldn't be anything too confusing coming up for a while. When the path splits, take the top path for some extra bananas. [N] When you see the N, you won't need to perform a jump to grab it; just fall right onto it. <!> Checkpoint #2. <!> Duck under the swinging airplane, then jump up to the top path for three banana coins. (3) After the next set of propellers, fall off the edge of the track to get to a lower section containing a puzzle piece. [G] In the tilted section with the sliding boxes, jump off the second sliding box to get the G. <!> After the falling animation, you can jump off the fin of a submarine that pops out of the water for a banana coin. (4) Don't jump off the submarine; instead, prepare to duck. When you fall off the sub, you will be put on a lower track with a couple of propellers and a puzzle piece. If you duck, you won't hit the propellers. (5) Once you reach the slot barrel, dive under the water, directly underneath the airplane here, for an easy-to-overlook puzzle piece. ___ / \ ( 1-A ) ZIP-LINE SHRINE [ZIPLN] \___/ Puzzle Pieces: 5 <!> Welcome to the game's first secret level. To enter this level, you will need to have found the secret exit in Shipwreck Shore. <!> To start off here, head right, and pull on the handle on the ground. This will cause a flock of winged bananas to fly out of the mouths of the statues in the background. It's all for show, but it's pretty cool nonetheless. <!> Continue forward across the platforms, collecting the items and the Dixie barrel along the way, if you wish. Once you're back on solid ground, a winged banana will fly in with a string of bananas behind it. Grab them all to get a banana coin. (1) You can grab onto this vine to use it like a zip-line. If you do so, however, make sure you go back, since there is a floor below that you can ground-pound to reveal a hidden area with a puzzle piece. <!> As you climb up toward the next set of zip-lines, another winged banana will appear. This one will drop of its trail of bananas at the end of the zip-lines, and will also drop a banana coin. [K] If you didn't grab the K at the end of the zip-line section, you can use the bouncy platform here to grab it now. (2) After the life balloon and the banana coin here, grab the handle underneath the grasshopper, and a formation of bananas will appear. Collect them all before they disappear, and a puzzle piece will appear to take their place. <!> Checkpoint #1. <!> After the first vine, there is a rock platform that can be smashed to reveal another winged banana. You will get another banana coin as your prize this time. [O] The O is in the vicinity, as well. Jump to it from the right to get it easily. [N] At the end of the next zip-line section, jump off the zip-line at the very end to grab the N. Do a full hop off the mosquito, as well, to reach a platform with a bunch of pickups on it. (3) Drop down, and head back to the beginning of this platform to find a handle. Yank it to uncover a blast barrel leading to a bonus area. Bounce up to grab all of the bananas in the time limit. Doing so will net you a puzzle piece. <!> Checkpoint #2. <!> Traverse the next zip-line section to get to a barrel cannon section. The second barrel will have a gap in the arc of bananas. If you wait just a moment, a life balloon will come up to fill the gap. Time your next shot so that you can grab the vine that is swinging around over here. (4) After the vine, there is another barrel cannon that will move up and down. Time the shot to get the puzzle piece in the center. <!> Checkpoint #3. <!> There is a bouncy platform here, and if you wait for a split second on it, a winged banana will come careening in from the right. Grab all of the bananas following it to get another banana coin. [G] In the next blast barrel, time the shot so that the next platform is all the way to the left. You can then bounce off the owls starting from the one on the right to claim the G. <!> The next zip-line section requires more focus than the last few. When the banana coins appear, skip the center zip-line to drop all the way down to pick them up. (5) You will land on a bouncy platform after this zip-line section. Drop down to the left and pull on the handle to make a line of banana bunches appear. Grab them all, and a puzzle piece will be waiting for you back on the bouncy platform. <!> There are two more winged bananas in the next room; both will reward you with banana coins. The slot barrel is at the top of this room. ___ / \ ( 1-B ) BUSTED BAYOU [BSBYU] \___/ Puzzle Pieces: 9 <!> The silhouette level makes a triumphant return here. To enter this level, you will need to have found the secret exit in Canopy Chaos. (1) Start off here by heading all the way to the left to make a puzzle piece appear. <!> The Kong barrel just ahead will rotate between Kongs, allowing you to pick which one will be your partner for the level. Dixie is a solid choice on this level. <!> You can use the vine overhead here to get a banana coin on the right. <!> Hanging on the short vines in this level will cause platforms and, sometimes, items to appear for a short time. There is an example of such a vine just ahead. Use it to get a banana coin. (2) Roll through the side of the wall just ahead to enter a hidden area. Ground-pound the bulb plant in here to get a puzzle piece. [K] The KONG letters are little bit harder to see in these types of levels, but the K is on the lower section of the second hanging platform. From the hidden area, you can roll-jump right to this platform. <!> Checkpoint #1. (3) Right after the checkpoint, there is a handle. Pull on it to sprout a beanstalk with leaf platforms. Climb the leaves, then swing on the vine through the wall on the right to reveal a hidden area with a puzzle piece off the right-most edge. <!> Just underneath that puzzle piece is a hidden area with a giant banana bunch inside. Look for a box with a cut taken out of the left side of it. <!> Just ahead is a life balloon that is hard to miss since it's bright red. Jump up through the platform it's underneath to grab it. You can do the same to the previous platform to get a much-harder-to-see heart. [O] Hang onto the short vine here to draw down a set of platforms. Jump to the left to find the O. (4) There is a cracked rock platform just ahead, which is hiding a handle. Pull it to reveal a winged banana. Grab all the goodies, and it will reward you with a puzzle piece. <!> Pull on the next handle underground here, and a huge portion of the background will fall away. If this happens to you before you get the fourth puzzle piece, go back; you missed it. (5) Start climbing down the long vine here. When the foliage in the foreground starts getting thicker, slow down a bit. You should notice that, at some point, the foliage silhouette makes the shape of a star. If you stop at that spot for a little bit, two rings of bananas will appear and start spinning around. Collect all of those bananas, and you will get a puzzle piece. (6) Climb down the long vine here, then head to the left. There is a shorter vine to the left of the airplane, which will bring down a couple of platforms and a puzzle piece. <!> Checkpoint #2. <!> Immediately to the right is a cracked stone floor. Breaking it with a ground-pound will reveal a hidden area with a life balloon and a rotating Kong barrel. (7) Pull on the handle just ahead to sprout a beanstalk with a puzzle piece on top. Diddy won't be able to reach it, so if you need an extra platform, hang on the nearby vine to make one. [N] Just after this section is a handle to pull. This will cause the platform to whip forward, creating a bridge. Follow it to the right, then roll-jump off the edge while it is at its highest to get the N. (8) Grab onto the handle on the hanging platform to align all of the platforms ahead, as well as create a string of bananas to collect. Team roll across all of the platforms to get the bananas, and a puzzle piece will be waiting for you at the end. (9) The next handle will cause a tree to sprout with banana bunches on each leaf. Collect all of the bananas before they disappear, and a puzzle piece will appear at the very top. [G] After using the barrel cannon to fire into the background, hang onto the short vine here to create a couple of platforms to get the G, as well as the slot barrel. ____ / \ (1-BOSS) BIG TOP BOP [BGTOP] \____/ Make sure to grab the Kong barrel before you head into the arena. Cranky is a good choice here, but Dixie is a good alternative, especially if your team meter is already full. When you're ready, head on inside. Your first major boss fight is against a seal. At first, he will slide around the half-pipe shaped arena. This will always be your chance to deal some damage to him. Once you've hit him once, he will start throwing fish at you. Jump on the fish to get rid of them, or just dodge. If, at any point, the fish or other add-on enemies become too much, you can always use your Kong pow ability to clear the screen. Once all the fish are gone, the seal will slide again, giving you another chance to score a hit. He will then throw another salvo of enemies at you, but this time, urchins are fair game. Only Cranky can defeat the urchins directly, the other Kongs will have to dodge. Once they're all gone again, he will slide one more time. The third hit will move the fight into phase two. The seal will roll across the area sideways, which you will need to dodge; he will then slide forward giving you another hit opportunity. Penguins will then launch in from the background. Dodge them, or defeat them for items, and the seal will eventually follow suit. He will be stunned for a bit, so take the easy hit on him. At his point, he will do the sideways roll schtick one more time, then sliding will allow you to take a sixth hit against him, pushing the fight into the third phase. A few penguins will slide through the arena, followed by the seal. You will proabably want to defeat these guys, or else they will clutter up the arena. This will be followed by more fish, except now he will throw bigger fish at you, which will each require three hits to defeat. He will then perform a body slam, which is your cue to deal some damage. However, he will continuously jump up and down in this state, making hitting him much more difficult. Once you do so, he will do the penguin slide atttack one more time. Hit him one last time to send him packing. You will get to play a bit of a punching minigame at this point, but it doesn't actually affect anything. ___ / \ ( 1-K ) SWINGER FLINGER [SWFGR] \___/ Puzzle Pieces: 5 <!> This is the game's first extra level. To enter this level, you will need to earn a star medal by collecting all of the KONG letters on a single run on every other stage in this world, including Zip-Line Shrine and Busted Bayou. Extra levels don't have KONG letters, and are much tougher than normal levels, so be prepared. <!> Be sure to grab the Kong barrel at the beginning here. Dixie is a good choice for this stage. <!> This level starts off with some vine-swinging. Make sure not to touch the purple spikes, but, at the same time, you will need to keep a good pace, or you will be bombarded with fireballs from the fire owls below. (1) At the end of the first swinging section, you will be put on some platforms that roll on tracks. On the second platform, jump over the spikes to get a puzzle piece. <!> The next set of hanging platforms will burn up and fall after a short time, so keep moving. After this, duck under the spikes on the next platform. (2) When you land, you will see a vine covered in spikes. Duck under it, then pull on the handle here to get a puzzle piece. <!> In the next section, spikes protrude from the walls. The spots with the banana bunches are safe, so when the spikes retract, move quickly to the next safe spot. (3) Before climbing up to the next section, bounce off the owl with good timing to get the puzzle piece, then return to the vine while the spikes are retracted. Easier said than done. (4) The next section will have you climbing up a set of vines while spikes fall downward. If you can also pick up all of the goodies along the way, you will get a puzzle piece. <!> The next rolling platform will lead to a hanging platform which will burn up, which, in turn, triggers a set of swinging vines which get destroyed by a rolling boulder. The point is: keep moving. (5) After the barrel cannon, you should spot an orange and purple urn in the background. Ground-pound in front of it to get a puzzle piece. _______ | _____| | |_____----------------------------------------------------------------------- |_____ | T I M E A T T A C K [TMATK] _____| |---------------------------------------------------------------------- |_______| Coming soon! Author's note: I can confirm the existence of time attack in this game, but I haven't seen a shiny gold medal yet, so I don't know if that's a thing yet. If you do know, _don't tell me_. I would like to find that out on my own at some point. _______ | _____| | |_____----------------------------------------------------------------------- | ___ | F R E Q U E N T L Y A S K E D Q U E S T I O N S [QSTNS] | |___| |---------------------------------------------------------------------- |_______| Coming soon! _______ |_____ | | |---------------------------------------------------------------------- | | C O N C L U S I O N [CNCLS] | |---------------------------------------------------------------------- |_| ___ _ _ | \| |/ /-------------------------------------------------------------------- | |) ) ( Thank You's [THANX] |___/|_|\_\-------------------------------------------------------------------- Thank you very much to the following: - Retro Studios for bringing us yet another amazing game (even if it isn't Metroid). - GameFAQs (www.gamefaqs.com) for being a great reference to gamers everywhere. ___ _ _ | \| |/ /-------------------------------------------------------------------- | |) ) ( Copyright Information [CPYRT] |___/|_|\_\-------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright Tom Farello, 2014 This guide is for topical use only, and should never be ingested. It is never to be used to make a profit. If you bought this, you got ripped off. Do not reproduce this guide in part or in its entirety without the permission of its author, Tom Farello (a.k.a. nuclearlemons). I have put in a lot of time and effort into writing this guide, and copying the guide and putting your name on it is not only taking advantage of the work I have put into writing this, but it's also illegal and, frankly, not cool. Not adhering to these instructions is a violation of copyright law, and will make me sad. So don't plagiarize. Here is the list of sites that is allowed to directly link to this guide: www.gamefaqs.com www.cheatcc.com www.gamesradar.com www.cheatplanet.com www.neoseeker.com www.supercheats.com www.gamershell.com If any other site directly links to this guide, or you suspect that anyone has plagarized my work, please contact me at guar[email protected]. This guide should not, for any reason, be accompanied by and advertisement on the same URL. I do not get paid for making this kind of content, so I feel pretty strongly that no-one should be able to profit off of the work that I have done.