Creepy Castle

Donkey Kong 64 level
Creepy Castle
Entrance requirement	80 Golden Bananas
Boss	King Kut Out
Boss requirement	400 bananas
Trapped Kongs	None
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Creepy Castle is the seventh level of Donkey Kong 64. It is a haunted Kremling castle high atop K. Rool's warship, acting as a successor to both Gloomy Gulch and K. Rool's Keep from the original Crocodile Isle. The Kongs must have at least 80 Golden Bananas for B. Locker to allow them to enter the level. The Kongs can only enter this level from its lobby where three Koshas are found from using a large Barrel Cannon near K. Lumsy's Prison. Although Creepy Castle is said to be located on K. Rool's Crocodile Isle, it also appears to be floating above ground. If the active Kong falls off the location, they respawn back from the beginning portal. The level takes place both inside and outside of the old, abandoned castle.

Like typical haunted areas, a continuous thunderstorm takes place in the area. Many of the enemies featured are undead, such as Skeleton Kremling and Ghosts, and is inhabited by Bats. The castle interior features haunted corridors, mostly-empty rooms, and haunted catacombs on the lowest floor. Additionally, this level is the first to have the red Kong Switches, which can only be activated from using the Super Duper Simian Slam move learned from Cranky Kong. In this level, the red switches are usually used for opening entrances to various parts of the castle. The boss of Creepy Castle is King Kut Out, a hastily-made cardboard cutout of King K. Rool. Lanky Kong is required to take part in the boss fight, but all Kongs may potentially be used, as whenever one misses King Kut Out, they go out of bounds and another Kong takes their place.

Creepy Castle is divided into different areas both within and outside of the castle. The outside mostly involves the Kongs climbing up around the tall castle. There are a few outside locations with a hidden Golden Banana, including a large tree and a greenhouse. The castle interior and crypt are covered in fog (similar to Angry Aztec's sandstorm mist). A loud moaning and a variety of haunted noises can be heard inside the area. The toxic waste pools featured in the level's lobby also appear in the dungeon and mausoleum. A number of rooms appear in the castle including: a museum with unknown statues, a barn and alter behind glass walls, a ball room with tile-decorated flooring, a library with a haunted passageway between bookshelves, and an empty room at the very top featuring a fan blowing upward. The lower levels inside the castle are home to a series of labyrinth catacombs filled with Skeleton Kremlings and Bats. The skull-shaped crypt also has a Mine Cart challenge against its resident demon.

Enemies

• Bat
• Skeleton Kremling
• Book
• Fly
• Ghost
• Kasplat
• Kosha
• Kroc
• Puftup (only during the boss fight)

Golden Banana locations

• Donkey Kong
  1. Inside the old tree by the castle entrance, DK can go inside and shoot the targets to raise the water. Once risen he can swim to the Golden Banana.
  2. DK can go into the lower catacombs of the castle to solve a lever puzzle, granting access to the Ghost Train Ride mine cart. He must collect 25 coins to receive his Golden Banana.
  3. Inside the castle dungeon, DK must flip various puzzle switches to form his face. If successful, a Golden Banana is rewarded.
  4. On the upper level of the castle, DK can Simian Slam a DK Switch to open the door to the castle Library, which he must race to before the timer on the switch runs out. Inside, he can then get a DK barrel and turn into Strong Kong to effortlessly go through each booby trap to get to the Golden Banana.
  5. Inside the old tree outside the castle lays DK's Kasplat.
• Diddy Kong
  1. Diddy can use a Diddy barrel at Bananaport 2 to Jetbarrel to the top of the tower on the roof. Atop the tower is a Bonus Barrel, where Diddy can play Big Bug Bash and win a golden banana.
  2. Diddy will find the entrance to the Ballroom just to the right of the greenhouse by Bananaport 4. Diddy should press the Diddy Switch and enter the Ballroom and, once inside, defeat all of the enemies to make a Diddy barrel appear. He should then enter the barrel and use the flames of the Jetbarrel to light the candles in the ballroom. When all the candles are lit, a Bonus Barrel appears. Diddy can fly to it and beat the minigame to collect the Golden Banana.
  3. Inside the castle catacombs, Diddy should take the leftmost path to reach a large tomb behind a Peanut Switch door. Diddy will need to Chimpy Charge the switches on the giant coffin in order from 1 to 4 to open it, and get a Golden Banana. Pressing the switches out of order will spawn enemies from the coffins on the sides of the room.
  4. Through the door by the castle moat is the entrance to the Castle Dungeon. Diddy's Kong Switch inside the dungeon grants him access to a long hallway, with a Golden Banana atop the electric chair at the end of it. If the player gets too close while on the floor, the entire wall flips around, preventing access to the banana. Using Funky's Sniper Scope upgrade, Diddy should shoot the Peanut Switch above the electric chair to make some chains come down from the ceiling. Swinging on the chains leads Diddy to the Golden Banana.
  5. Diddy's Kasplat is located in the crypt, where the entrances to the Catacombs and Mausoleum are.
• Lanky Kong
  1. Lanky must enter the mausoleum, shoot the Grape Switch, then quickly jump into the nearby Lanky Barrel. He should then Orangsprint left down the corridor to the slime pit before the gate closes, activate the Trombone Pad ( + ), then swing across the vines that appear to get a Golden Banana.
  2. Lanky must press the Lanky Switch in the castle dungeon and activate the Trombone Pad ( + ) to make several Lanky Pads appear in the slime. Lanky can then float from pad to pad to reach the Bonus Barrel to play Kremling Kosh. Beat the game to win a Golden Banana.
  3. Near Bananaport 4 is a Greenhouse. Lanky should pound the Lanky Switch on the left side of the Greenhouse to open the door, then enter to find a large hedge maze. Lanky should then go left and jump into the Lanky Barrel, then Orangsprint through the maze in less than 30 seconds to get a Golden Banana.
  4. At the top of the castle, Lanky can will be able to enter the tower by pressing the Lanky Switch. By defeating all the enemies inside, a Lanky Pad appears. With Funky's Sniper Scope upgrade, Lanky must shoot the three Grape Switches in the upper part of the tower to open the grate and let wind flow into the tower so that Lanky can Baboon Balloon up into a Bonus Barrel. He can then play Beaver Bother to win a Golden Banana.
  5. Lanky's Kasplat is just past the drawbridge on the path up the castle.
• Tiny Kong
  1. Inside the Mausoleum, Tiny should head down the path to the right, then pound the Tiny Switch to make several dead hands rise and fall in the slime. By timing Ponytail Twirls from one hand to the next, she can reach the hand on the far wall to get a Golden Banana.
  2. Tiny must Ponytail Twirl over the chasm in the tunnels leading to the dungeon. Jump into the Bonus Barrel to play Teetering Turtle Trouble to win a Golden Banana.
  3. Tiny must use the Tiny Barrel next to the Greenhouse to shrink, then jump onto the red mushroom to bounce to the roof of the trash can. Inside, she must shoot all the flies to get a Golden Banana.
  4. First, Diddy Kong should press the switch to open the Ballroom door, then swap with Tiny and enter it. Tiny should step onto the Tiny Pad and Monkeyport () into the museum, jump into the Tiny Barrel on the roof to shrink, then enter the small opening at the bottom of the barn structure to trigger a rematch with the Mini Car from Frantic Factory. Winning the rematch grants Tiny a Golden Banana.
  5. Tiny's Kasplat can be found on a ledge by the path leading to the crypt.
• Chunky Kong
  1. Inside the old tree by the castle entrance, Chunky can Primate Punch the wall on the left to find a path towards a Bonus Barrel. By shooting the Pineapple Switch above the door, the cage the barrel is in will open, allowing him to Play Beaver Bother to win a Golden Banana.
  2. Chunky must enter the Catacombs and take the path to the right. He must then shoot the Pineapple Switch on the door to enter a room with a large coffin in the center, then turn right and follow the right wall to the first coffin. After Primate Punching the coffin door, Chunky should enter and jump into a Bonus Barrel, then play Searchlight Seek to win a Golden Banana.
  3. Chunky must Primate Punch the door on the wooden shack next to the Greenhouse by Bananaport 4, then enter. Inside, he must Primate Punch the ? Box in the center of the room to find a Chunky Pad, then press the to become invisible. Chunky should then play the Triangle Trample ( + ) to defeat all the Bats to get a Golden Banana.
  4. Chunky will find the entrance to the museum just to the left of the greenhouse by Bananaport 4. After pressing the switch and entering the museum, he must Primate Punch the three brass switches on the shields, then continue around to the statue that opened its mouth and get the boulder. Chunky must set the boulder on the table in the center to make the second statue open its mouth, then enter to get a Golden Banana.
  5. Chunky's Kasplat is located in the tunnels leading to the Dungeon, right in front of Candy's Shop.

Profiles

“It’s a castle, and it’s creepy. Will that do? Mmm... apparently not. Alright, I’ll try my best to make this sound exciting. Ahem, steel your nerves as you hesitantly edge around the precarious exterior, desperately trying to find a way into the fortress’s foreboding walls. Once inside, the horrors of the creepy crypts, the haunted regal ballroom and the mad museum await, their hideous inhabitants eager to welcome unwanted guests. There, not bad, eh? Almost makes you want to play it.”

—Cranky Kong, Donkey Kong 64 instruction booklet, page 21

“The Kongs are one step away from K. Rool's lair, but before they can challenge the tyrant, they'll have to explore a spooky stone structure high atop the warship. Beware-a storm rages in the dark skies above and evil prowls the castle walls.”

—Donkey Kong 64 Player's Guide, page 97

Gallery

Exterior

• 

  Castle's exterior

• 

  Moat

• 

  Graveyard

• 

  Yard

• 

  Upper

Interior

• 

  Inside

• 

  Dungeon

• 

  Crypt

• 

  Catacombs

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  Mine cart ride

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  Mausoleum

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  Library

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  Ballroom

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  Wind tower

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  Museum

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  Tree

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  Greenhouse

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  Trashcan

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  Tool shed

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  Boss arena

Miscellaneous

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  Chunky Kong exploring the exterior of Creepy Castle

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  Mist screen

Names in other languages

Language	Name	Meaning	Notes
Japanese	ゾゾゾ～キャッスル[?] Zozozo~ Kyassuru	From「ゾゾゾ～」(zozozo~, Japanese onomatopoeia for fearsome laughter) and "castle"
French	Château-Chocotte[?]	Scary Castle
German	Kamikaze Kastell[?]	Kamikaze Castle
Italian	Il Castello Spettrale[?]	The Spectral Castle
Spanish	Castillo Canguelo[?]	Fear Castle

Trivia

• The background music for Creepy Castle, as well as some of the dungeons, is an arrangement of the "Game Kaishi" theme from Donkey Kong, heard as Pauline is taken to the top of the construction site. This theme was composed for a Banjo-Kazooie level called "Prickly Pear Island," a level that was ultimately cut while the game was still known as "Project Dream".
• The museum's background music has a sample of Bach's Toccata and Fugue. A similar sample can be heard in Banjo-Kazooie when entering the haunted church in Mad Monster Mansion. This snippet was also used in the arcade versions of Donkey Kong Jr.
• The piano part of this level's theme was composed by Grant Kirkhope before being employed by Rare. He then included it in the music for Creepy Castle, as he found it fit its theme.