Donkey Kong Country (Game Boy Color)

Donkey Kong Country
For alternate box art, see the game's gallery.
Developer	Rareware
Publisher	Nintendo
Platform(s)	Game Boy Color
Release date	November 17, 2000 November 20, 2000 January 21, 2001
Language(s)	English (United States) Japanese
Genre	Platformer
Rating(s)	ESRB: - Everyone ELSPA: - Three years and older CERO: - All ages ACB: - General
Mode(s)	1–2 players
Format	Game Boy Color: Game Pak
Input	Game Boy Color: Gamepad
Serial code(s)	CGB-BDDE-USA CGB-BDDP-EUR (BDDE) CGB-BDDJ-JPN

Donkey Kong Country is a Game Boy Color remake of the Super Nintendo Entertainment System game of the same name released in 2000. While its graphics and sounds are downgraded to fit the handheld system's more limited capabilities, several new elements are also added. It acts as a spiritual successor to the Donkey Kong Land series of Game Boy games. It would later be succeeded by another remake for the Game Boy Advance.

Story

The game's manual features an abridged version of the story from the original game's manual. During a stormy night, "hero-in-training" Diddy Kong is overpowered by the Kremlings, who proceed to trap him in a barrel, toss him into the jungle, and steal Donkey Kong's banana hoard. In the morning, Donkey Kong is woken up by a smug Cranky Kong, and vows to find Diddy, beat the Kremlings, and reclaim his bananas.

Gameplay

Unlike the original game but like the Donkey Kong Land series, only one Kong appears on screen at a time. If both Kongs are in the group, the one not in play is represented by a DK Barrel icon at the bottom-left corner. By pressing , the player can switch characters, which shows the Kong in play being moved to the DK Barrel icon while the other Kong moves out to appear on-screen. When one Kong in a pair gets hurt, he falls off the screen rather than running away like in the original. The main game only supports single-player, though multiplayer-supporting minigames are present. Otherwise, the basic gameplay is the same as the original.

Characters

The Kongs

There are a few Kongs who help Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong along their journey, and they each appear in one of the supporting locations.

Playable
Image	Name	Description
	Donkey Kong	The main character of the game, Donkey Kong is stronger and heavier than his partner, Diddy Kong, and can defeat stronger enemies. He also has his own move, the Hand Slap which can defeat certain enemies and reveal hidden objects.
	Diddy Kong	Diddy is the best friend and sidekick of Donkey Kong. While he is not as strong as his partner, Diddy is faster, but his light weight prevents him from being able to defeat more powerful enemies in a single jump.
Supporting
Image	Name	Description
	Candy Kong	Candy is the love interest of Donkey Kong. She hosts a mini-game challenge at Candy's Challenge in each world.
	Cranky Kong	Cranky Kong was the original Donkey Kong from the Donkey Kong arcade game. He resides at Cranky's Cabin, where he provides various pieces of advice to Donkey Kong and Diddy along their adventure. Cranky regards himself as the greatest video game hero, and does not believe the Kongs can complete their adventure without his assistance.
	Funky Kong	Funky Kong operates a flight service at Funky's Flights, where he allows Donkey Kong and Diddy to use the Jumbo Barrel to travel throughout areas of Donkey Kong Island that they have already visited.

The Good Guys

Aside from the supporting Kongs, Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong are also assisted by Animal Friends during the game. Each Animal Friend is imprisoned within an animal crate depicting a silhouette of their face. The Animal Friends only appear in certain levels, and the Kongs cannot take them to other levels. Every Animal Friend has their own unique abilities.

Image	Name	Description	First level	Last level
	Rambi	Rambi is first found halfway through the first level. He can defeat most enemies by running into them, as well as break entrances to hidden Bonus Levels.	Jungle Hijinxs	Manic Mincers
	Enguarde	Enguarde appears in most of the underwater levels. With his sharp bill, Enguarde can defeat most aquatic enemies in his path.	Coral Capers	Poison Pond
	Winky	Winky has a high jumping ability that allows him to reach higher areas, namely Bonus Levels. Winky can defeat most enemies by jumping on them, including Zingers.	Winky's Walkway	Rope Bridge Rumble
	Expresso	Expresso has the ability to run fast and to glide across the air, although he cannot attack enemies. Due to his long legs, Expresso is unaffected by Klap Traps moving under his legs.	Temple Tempest	Misty Mine
	Squawks	Squawks only appears in the level Torchlight Trouble, where he holds a lamp to light the path forward for the Kongs. Squawks is the only Animal Friend that the Kongs cannot ride and the only one without an animal token. Squawks cannot be defeated by any enemy.	Torchlight Trouble

Enemies and obstacles

Various types of enemies appear throughout the levels, attempting to get into Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong's way. The Kremlings are the main enemies of the game.

Image	Name	Description	First level appearance	Last level appearance
	Army	An armadillo enemy that rolls up into a ball and charges at the Kongs to attack. Donkey Kong can defeat them from either a jump or roll attack. If Diddy either jumps or cartwheels into a curled up Army, the enemy is forced out of its curled posture. Diddy can defeat Army if it is not curled up.	Ropey Rampage	Platform Perils
	Bitesize	A small piranha enemy that like other underwater enemies, cannot be defeated by the Kongs. Enguarde can defeat Bitesizes and most other underwater enemies.	Coral Capers	Poison Pond
	Chomps	A large, green shark enemy that are larger than Bitesizes, but otherwise act the same, and they can also be defeated by Enguarde.	Coral Capers	Croctopus Chase
	Chomps Jr.	A small, blue shark enemy and a smaller variant of Chomps. They act similar to Chomps except they are smaller and slightly faster.	Coral Capers	Poison Pond
	Clambo	A clam enemy that attacks by spitting out pearls at the Kongs. They do not move around and are usually in a corner outside of the main path. They cannot be defeated by Enguarde.	Coral Capers	Clam City
	Croctopus	An octopus enemy that quickly treads through water to hit the Kongs. Usually, they move in fixed patterns around blocks of coral reef, while the ones in Croctopus Chase go in a set path after the Kongs once they pass them. Like Clambos, they cannot be defeated.	Coral Capers	Croctopus Chase
	Gnawty	A beaver enemy that is common, but is one of the weakest enemies. They simply walk around back and forth and can be defeated from any attack. Gnawties have a rare, red variant that ride on a Millstone, and contrarily they are invulnerable to any form of attack.	Jungle Hijinxs	Platform Perils
	Klap Trap	Klap Traps are small, four-legged crocodiles who repeatedly open and close their jaws while moving in the Kongs' direction. Because of this, the Kongs cannot attack Klap Trap by rolling into it from the front. Klap Traps can either be defeated from behind or if jumped over. They appear green in Boss Dumb Drum. Klap Traps have a rare, brown variant that jump at the same time as the Kongs do.	Stop & Go Station	Loopy Lights
	Klump	Klump is a strong, burly enemy that wears military gear. Klump's helmet defends itself from Diddy's jump attack, although Donkey Kong can defeat a Klump by jumping on it. Both Kongs can use a roll attack to defeat a Klump.	Jungle Hijinxs	Platform Perils
	Krash	A Kritter who rides in a mine cart. Krashes ride in the opposite direction of the Kongs, attempting to crash into them. Donkey Kong and Diddy must avoid Krashes by jumping over them. In Mine Cart Madness, some Krashes are in a stationary mine carts, and the Kongs can jump on them to defeat them and take over the mine cart.	Mine Cart Carnage	Mine Cart Madness
	Kritter	Kritters are the grunt soldiers of the Kremling Krew. They are one of the weakest enemies along with Gnawty. The color of a Kritter determines its movement behavior: the standard, gray (green in Boss Dumb Drum) ones walk forward, while teal ones jump while moving forward or rarely staying in place. Some, colored brown, act similar to teal ones but do an occasional higher jump and most often stay in place, while others, also colored brown in Orang-utan Gang and gray in Forest Frenzy, walk forward before doing a long forward jump. Another type appears red in Bouncy Bonanza and green in Rope Bridge Rumble and Loopy Lights, jumping left and right.	Jungle Hijinxs	Loopy Lights
	Krusha	Krushas are strong, muscular Kremlings, and there are green Krushas and the uncommon gray variant. Diddy cannot defeat Krushas without using a barrel. Donkey Kong can defeat green Krushas by jumping on them, but performing a roll or a Hand Slap attack are ineffective. Gray Krushas are stronger than the green ones and can only be defeated from a barrel.	Millstone Mayhem	Platform Perils
	Manky Kong	Manky Kongs are orangutans who were exiled from the Kong Family. They attack by throwing an unlimited number of barrels at Donkey Kong and Diddy. Both Kongs can defeat them by their jump and roll attack.	Orang-utan Gang	Loopy Lights
	Mini-Necky	A small vulture that attacks by spitting nuts at the Kongs. Some Mini-Neckys move up and down while spitting nuts. They can be defeated by either a roll or a jump attack.	Winky's Walkway	Necky Nutmare
	Necky	A vulture enemy who either throws nuts at the Kongs from high platforms or flies across the level. The flying Neckys can be bounced on to reach higher areas.	Jungle Hijinxs	Platform Perils
	Rock Kroc	Rock Krocs dash back and forth rapidly while the Stop & Go Barrels are set to "Go", and the Kongs get injured when they come in contact with a Rock Kroc. Donkey Kong and Diddy cannot pass the Rock Krocs safely unless the Stop & Go Barrels are set to "Stop", causing the Rock Krocs to briefly curl into a ball until the Stop & Go Barrels return to "Go". Rock Krocs are invincible and cannot be defeated.	Stop & Go Station
	Slippa	A red coral snake that slithers along the ground in caves and other subterranean areas. They are one of the weaker enemies and can be defeated by any attack.	Reptile Rumble	Misty Mine
	Squidge	A jellyfish type enemy that swims up and down through underwater areas in zigzag lines. They can be defeated by Enguarde.	Croctopus Chase	Poison Pond
	Zinger	Zingers are wasps and very common enemies who appear in almost every level. The Kongs cannot defeat Zingers themselves and must use either a barrel or an Animal Friend to defeat them. The Kongs must usually avoid the Zingers along the way. Unlike the original, all Zingers are yellow regardless of behavior.	Ropey Rampage	Platform Perils
Obstacles
Image	Name	Description	First level appearance	Last level appearance
	Black drum	A drum obstacle that fires out an indefinite supply of a specific enemy, such as Slippas and Gnawties. They can only be destroyed from a TNT Drum. They are a smaller variant of Dumb Drum.	Winky's Walkway	Necky Nutmare
	Cannonball	Giant iron balls that fall across the screen sequentially when K. Rool performs his floor-slam attack.	Gang-Plank Galleon
	Coconut	The favored projectiles of the Necky family, they may be launched straight horizontally or in bouncing arcs.	Jungle Hijinxs	Necky's Revenge
	Crownerang	K. Rool's primary weapon, his own crown. When he throws it, however, he renders himself vulnerable to stomp attacks.	Gang-Plank Galleon
	Millstone	Millstones are enormous invulnerable stone wheels ridden upon by Gnawties.	Millstone Mayhem	Temple Tempest
	Mincer	Mincers are spiked tire obstacles who either move in a pattern or remain in a single spot. They are invincible and must be avoided by the Kongs.	Torchlight Trouble	Manic Mincers
	Oil drum	Oil drums resemble black drums except for their taller appearance and ability to emit fire. The word "OIL" is embedded on them.	Torchlight Trouble	Necky Nutmare
	Pearl	Projectiles shot in numbers from one to five at once in straight lines by Clambos.	Coral Capers	Clam City

The Bosses

At the end of every world, the Kongs must fight a boss, each guarding a portion of the stolen bananas. Most of the bosses are a larger version of an enemy.

Image	Name	Description	Level appearance
	Very Gnawty	A giant Gnawty that jumps around, trying to hit the Kongs. Donkey Kong and Diddy must jump on it five times to defeat it. For each hit, Very Gnawty bounces and moves around faster.	Very Gnawty's Lair
	Master Necky	A giant Necky that creeps his head out from one of four corners of the screen, spitting large nuts at the Kongs. Master Necky spit nuts faster each time he is jumped on. Donkey Kong or Diddy can defeat the boss by jumping on his head five times.	Necky's Nuts
	Queen B.	A giant Zinger who flies around the arena. The Kongs can attack her with a barrel. When hit, Queen B. temporarily turns red and moves up and down in a wavy pattern before returning normal. She must be hit five times to be defeated.	Bumble B. Rumble
	Really Gnawty	A boss who looks and acts similar to Very Gnawty. Really Gnawty can move faster and jump a lot higher than Very Gnawty. The Kongs must jump on Really Gnawty five times to defeat it. After each hit, it performs a consecutive amount of high jumps corresponding to the total amount of times it has been hit.	Really Gnawty Rampage
	Dumb Drum	A giant black drum that attempts to crush the Kongs. After that, Dumb Drum sends out a pair of a specific enemy before continuing its attempt to crush the Kongs. The order in which Dumb Drum releases the enemies are: Kritters, Slippas, Klap Traps, Klumps, and Armys. The boss is defeated once the Kongs defeat every enemy.	Boss Dumb Drum
	Master Necky Snr.	Master Necky Snr. is a similar boss to Master Necky except he is stronger. He spits nuts much faster than Master Necky. Each time Master Necky Snr. is hit, he spits out one more nut than the previous turn. The Kongs can defeat Master Necky Snr. by jumping on it five times.	Necky's Revenge
	King K. Rool	The final boss and main antagonist, King K. Rool has stolen Donkey Kong's banana hoard. He has a variety of attacks, including throwing his crown, jumping at the Kongs, and causing cannonballs to rain from above. After King K. Rool throws his crown, the Kongs can jump on his head to attack him, before K. Rool puts his crown back on.	Gang-Plank Galleon

Items

Image	Name	Description
	Bananas	Bananas are the equivalent to coins from the Super Mario series, as collecting 100 of them gives the Kongs an extra life. They are the most common item of the game.
	Banana Bunches	Banana Bunches grant ten bananas when collected. They are less common than normal bananas and often appear in Bonus Levels and hidden areas.
	Green bananas	Green bananas appear in a few levels, marking the general location of a DK Sticker Pack. Once the DK Sticker Pack is collected, the green bananas are replaced by a normal banana bunch.
	Giant bananas	A giant banana is held by each boss. Claiming one marks the completion of one of the game's worlds.
	Animal tokens	Animal tokens are small tokens that depict one of the Animal Friends (excluding Squawks). If three animal tokens depicting the same Animal Friend are collected, the game redirects the player to a bonus area where they control the corresponding Animal Friend. In the area, the Animal Friend must collect as many Mini Animal Tokens depicting them within a time limit in exchange for extra lives.
	Mini Animal Tokens	Hundreds of Mini Animal Tokens fill the Animal Friend-themed bonus stages. For every hundred collected, an extra life is earned.
	Big Animal Tokens	A single Big Animal Token is hidden in each of the Animal Friend-themed bonus stages. Collecting it doubles the held amount of Mini Animal Tokens.
	Donkey Kong Balloons	Similar to 1-Up Mushrooms from the Super Mario series, these balloons give the Kongs extra lives when collected. The balloons come in three different colors: red, green, and blue. Red Life Balloons are the most common and give one extra life, the less common green 2-Up Balloons give two lives, and the rare Blue Balloons give three lives.
	K-O-N-G Letters	Four of these special objects are hidden in every level, and each of them are a letter of the word "KONG". If the Kongs collect all four letters in a level, they are rewarded with an extra life. Each letter is found in order, meaning that the letter K is found first in the levels, then the O, then the N, and lastly the letter G. In the "Spell it Out!" Bonus Level challenges, there are circling letters that the Kongs must jump in a certain order to spell out a word.
	DK Sticker Packs	New items that are hidden in certain levels with their positions marked by green bananas. They unlock images in the Sticker Book.
	Coins	Coins appear as the goals of Candy's Challenge.

Objects

Mechanisms

Image	Name	Description
	Animal crates	These crates contain a certain Animal Friend, which is indicated by a silhouette of their face on the side. Aside from Squawks, the animal crates transform the Kongs into the pictured Animal Friend.
	Arrow Signs	These signs indicate the Kongs are approaching the end of a stage.
	Elevators	Many lifts appear throughout the game with many different designs and behaviors. Although a few of them are stationary, some move back and forth over gaps, and some move vertically. In later levels, there are platforms with an arrow on them, and when the Kongs step on the platform, it moves in the direction that the arrow is pointing. There are other moving platforms in later levels such as Tanked Up Trouble, which has a platform that runs on fuel canisters.
	Exits	These signs indicate the Kongs have reached the end of a stage.
	Mine Carts	Mine Carts only appear in two levels, and when the Kongs enter one, it automatically starts moving along the track. While riding a Mine Cart, the Kongs can jump with the Mine Cart to go over broken parts of the track. Sometimes there are tipped over mine carts that appear as obstacles along the tracks.
	Ropes	Ropes are objects that appear in many levels, and the Kongs can climb up and down them. Many of them swing over wide abysses, so the Kongs can use them to cross the gaps. In Slipslide Ride, there are white and blue ropes that automatically send the Kongs up and down respectively.
	Tires	Tires bounce the Kongs to higher areas. There are half tires, which are stuck in the ground, and full tires that can be pushed around.

Barrels

Throwable barrels
Image	Name	Description
	Regular Barrels	Regular Barrels are the most common type of barrel, and the Kongs can pick it up and throw it. If the barrel hits the ground, it starts rolling, useful for defeating an enemy or opening a secret passage.
	DK Barrels	DK Barrels are the most common barrels in the game, as a few of them appear in certain areas of every level. If either Donkey Kong or Diddy are missing from the group, the active Kong can break a DK Barrel to release the other Kong. DK Barrels can also be picked up and used like Vine Barrels.
	TNT Drums	TNT Drums are a type of barrel that explode after being thrown into an enemy or surface. They are often used to destroy powerful enemies or break a fragile wall leading into a Bonus Level.
	Steel kegs	Steel kegs are silver barrels that act like normal barrels, but are more durable. Steel kegs can roll into an unlimited number of enemies and bounce off walls. The Kongs can jump on a rolling steel keg to ride it.
Enterable barrels
Image	Name	Description
	Barrel Cannons	These barrels are common and appear in nearly every level. They can shoot the Kongs over gaps or to other Barrel Cannons. Some may also move in a specific direction as first seen in Barrel Cannon Canyon.
	Blast Barrels	This is a type of Barrel Cannon that automatically fires the Kong when entered. Additionally, some Blast Barrels send the Kongs to a bonus room or near the end of the level.
	Jumbo Barrel	The Jumbo Barrel can be entered in Funky's Flights, where it flies the Kongs to any place in Donkey Kong Island that they have visited.
	Spin Barrel	The Spin Barrel is found at Candy's Challenge, and serves as a warp to the challenge itself.
Triggerable barrels
Image	Name	Description
	Continue Barrels	A Continue Barrel is a checkpoint in the middle of every level, except boss levels. If both Kongs are defeated anytime after breaking the Continue Barrel and restart the level, they continue from where it was activated.
	Roulette Barrels	Appearing in certain Bonus Levels, Roulette Barrels float in the air in groups. Depending on the challenge, they may switch between displaying different items which stop when touched, and as such need matched (or in some cases spell the word "KONG"), or they may switch an Extra Life Balloon around in a shell game-type manner where the final location must be guessed.
	Stop & Go Barrels	These barrels appear only in Stop & Go Station, where they are used to control the Rock Krocs' movements. By default the barrels are on the "Go", and the level has a green lighting. The Rock Krocs are active while the barrels have the "Go" setting. If the Kongs jump at a Stop & Go Barrel, every barrel changes to the "Stop" setting for a few seconds, causing the Rock Krocs to stop moving temporarily and the lighting to turn red.
	ON/OFF Barrels	ON/OFF Barrels only appear in Loopy Lights and act almost like Stop & Go Barrels, except they affect the lights in the level. While the barrels are set to "OFF", the lights in the level are off. The Kongs must jump at an ON/OFF Barrel to change the setting to "ON", allowing them to see ahead.
	Fuel canisters	Fuel canisters only appear in the level, Tanked Up Trouble, as a fuel supply for the platforms that the Kongs ride. Donkey Kong and Diddy are required to jump at every fuel canister along the way because the platform quickly runs out of fuel. If the platform runs out of fuel, if falls off the tracks, and the Kongs lose a life.

Supporting locations

During their adventure, Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong are assisted by three other members of the Kong Family who operate their own location in every world.

Image	Name	Description
	Cranky's Cabin	This area is ran by Cranky Kong, who gives random level hints while rambling about how the 8-bit era was better than the 16-bit era.
	Funky's Flights	In this special area, the Kongs can meet Funky Kong and use his Jumbo Barrel to travel to any unlocked world.
	Candy's Challenge	The area is operated by Candy Kong, and the Kongs must go through a Bonus Level and collect a golden coin.

Levels

Like Super Mario World, Donkey Kong Country's levels and worlds are accessed from a world map. The main overworld is Donkey Kong Island, where the Kongs can travel between the worlds they have visited. Every world has a progression system where the Kongs must complete a level to unlock the next and so forth until reaching the boss level at the end. Every world has five to six levels. After the Kongs complete the boss level, they unlock the next world. The Kongs can return to the main Donkey Kong Island map by either defeating the world boss or by renting Funky's Jumbo Barrel.

A head of either Donkey Kong or Diddy Kong appear on the location of every world and level that either Kong has completed. A Kritter head appears only on the next level or world that the Kongs have not yet completed. In the Super Nintendo version, there is a glitch in single player mode where if Diddy completes a level and then Donkey Kong completes it afterward, his head does not appear on that level.

Most levels have Bonus Levels in them, two or three on average. They allow the Kongs to collect items and prizes. While it is optional for the Kongs to enter the Bonus Levels, entering every Bonus Level is required for 101% completion. Unlike the Super Mario series, the Kongs are not required to traverse a whole level to reach the end boss.

Levels and Bonus Areas
Kongo Jungle
#	Level	Bonus Areas	Type of level	Music theme
1	Jungle Hijinxs	2	Jungle	DK Island Swing
2	Ropey Rampage	2	Jungle	DK Island Swing
3	Reptile Rumble	3	Cave	Cave Dweller Concert
4	Coral Capers	0	Underwater	Aquatic Ambiance
5	Barrel Cannon Canyon	2	Jungle	DK Island Swing
6	BOSS LEVEL: Very Gnawty's Lair	0	Boss arena	Bad Boss Boogie
Monkey Mines
#	Level	Bonus Areas	Type of level	Music theme
7	Winky's Walkway	1	Walkway	Life in the Mines
8	Mine Cart Carnage	0	Minecart/Mineshaft	Mine Cart Madness
9	Bouncy Bonanza	2	Cave	Cave Dweller Concert
10	Stop & Go Station	2	Mineshaft	Mine Cart Madness
11	Millstone Mayhem	3	Ruins	Voices of the Temple
12	BOSS LEVEL: Necky's Nuts	0	Boss arena	Bad Boss Boogie
Vine Valley
#	Level	Bonus Areas	Type of level	Music theme
13	Vulture Culture	3	Forest	Forest
14	Tree Top Town	2	Treetops	Treetop Rock
15	Forest Frenzy	2	Forest	Forest
16	Temple Tempest	2	Ruins	Voices of the Temple
17	Orang-utan Gang	5	Jungle	DK Island Swing
18	Clam City	0	Underwater	Aquatic Ambiance
19	BOSS LEVEL: Bumble B. Rumble	0	Boss arena	Bad Boss Boogie
Gorilla Glacier
#	Level	Bonus Areas	Type of level	Music theme
20	Snow Barrel Blast	3	Snow	Ice Cave Chant
21	Slipslide Ride	3	Ice cave	Kremlantis
22	Ice Age Alley	2	Snow	Ice Cave Chant
23	Croctopus Chase	0	Underwater	Aquatic Ambiance
24	Torchlight Trouble	2	Cave	Cave Dweller Concert
25	Rope Bridge Rumble	2	Treetops	Treetop Rock
26	BOSS LEVEL: Really Gnawty Rampage	0	Boss arena	Bad Boss Boogie
Kremkroc Industries
#	Level	Bonus Areas	Type of level	Music theme
27	Oil Drum Alley	4	Factory	Fear Factory
28	Trick Track Trek	3	Walkway	Life in the Mines
29	Elevator Antics	3	Cave	Cave Dweller Concert
30	Poison Pond	0	Underwater	Aquatic Ambiance
31	Mine Cart Madness	3	Minecart/Walkway	Mine Cart Madness
32	Blackout Basement	2	Factory	Fear Factory
33	BOSS LEVEL: Boss Dumb Drum	0	Boss arena	Bad Boss Boogie
Chimp Caverns
#	Level	Bonus Areas	Type of level	Music theme
34	Tanked Up Trouble	1	Walkway	Life in the Mines
35	Manic Mincers	2	Cave	Cave Dweller Concert
36	Misty Mine	2	Mineshaft	Mine Cart Madness
37	Necky Nutmare	1	Cave	Cave Dweller Concert
38	Loopy Lights	2	Mineshaft	Mine Cart Madness
39	Platform Perils	2	Walkway	Life in the Mines
40	BOSS LEVEL: Necky's Revenge	0	Boss arena	Bad Boss Boogie
Gang-Plank Galleon
#	Level	Bonus Areas	Type of level	Music theme
41	BOSS LEVEL: Gang-Plank Galleon	0	Ship	Gang-Plank Galleon

Bonus games

The remake features two bonus games, which can be played single-player or two-player.

Crosshair Cranky

Crosshair Cranky is a shooting game where the players need to hit Kremlings with coconuts.

Funky's Fishing

Funky's Fishing (or just Funky Fishing) is a minigame where players compete to catch fish while avoiding reeling in garbage. They can also use the fish to try sinking each other's boats.

Differences from original

Diddy Kong in Necky Nutmare, a level exclusive to the Game Boy Color remake

• The GBC version prompts the player to select a language before going to the title screen; in the SNES version the language select menu is found in the file select. Also unlike the SNES version, all of the text will be in the selected language instead of having menus still in English.
• There are three different title screens.
• There is no two-player option for adventure mode.
• The mode selection menu is reminiscent of Donkey Kong 64's.
• Much like the Donkey Kong Land games, only one Kong appears at time. A DK Barrel icon is shown if both Kongs are in a group.
• In the German version, many levels' names were changed to ones that more closely resemble their English names.
• DK Sticker Packs are newly collectible photographs hidden in a level of each world. They are viewable from the Sticker Book, and can even be printed from the Game Boy Printer.
• Due to the graphical limitations, the stormy weather effects in the levels Ropey Rampage and Snow Barrel Blast are not present in this version. Also, the misty effect in Misty Mine is portrayed as a slow-pulsing lightening of the screen.
• The light in Torchlight Trouble does not have a beam of light, but rather lights up the whole screen.
• The level Winky's Walkway has been extended with some more enemies and a different layout.
• Millstones are much smaller, and the Gnawties don't sit in the center hole, but rather on top of the millstone.
• A new level called Necky Nutmare has been added in Chimp Caverns.
• The Kongs do not ride the Animal Friends; rather, they transform into them when jumping on the animal crate. If an Animal Friend comes in contact with an enemy, it reverts to Donkey Kong or Diddy Kong, who cannot transform back into the Animal Friend unless they find another animal crate.
• The Kongs do not travel between levels on the world map along dots in a straight line, but rather following paths, similar to Donkey Kong Land.
• Two mini-games have been added: Funky hosts a fishing game known as Funky's Fishing (which would be later reprised in the GBA remake) and Cranky hosts a shooting game called Crosshair Cranky.
• Two additional difficulties have been added: the first one removes DK Barrels and the other removes Star Barrels. After beating the game in the normal difficulty, the player has to replay the game with each new difficulty in the same file to achieve 101% completion.
• Most of the music and sound effects were taken from Donkey Kong Land or downgraded for Game Boy Color. Most notably:
  • "Forest Frenzy" is an entirely new composition in this game.
  • "Misty Menace" was removed, with "Minecart Madness" being used in its place for the levels that used the theme.
  • Snow Barrel Blast and Ice Age Alley use "Ice Cave Chant", while Slipslide Ride uses the Kremlantis theme from Donkey Kong Land. "Northern Hemispheres" was removed.
  • DK's Tree House uses the Donkey Kong Land title screen theme.
  • The "bonus level loss" theme is similar to the ones used in Donkey Kong Country 2 and 3.
• The warping Blast Barrel in Mine Cart Carnage was removed.
• The game saves automatically after completing a level. As a result, Candy's Save Point was replaced by Candy's Challenge where Donkey Kong or Diddy must complete a challenge in each world.
• Upon defeating a boss, the banana floats down in mid-air and spins, rather than dropping down and slamming on the floor.
• When King K. Rool is hit 3 times, the "bonus level win" theme plays, and the fake "kredits" play the actual credits theme.
• The staff credits shows various screenshots instead of taking place in DK's Treehouse. The cast of characters no longer appears in the game.

Quotes

Main article: List of Donkey Kong Country quotes

Reception

The Game Boy Color remake was praised for taking a graphically-impressive title and putting it to the platform in a complete and technically competent form, in contrast to other unsuccessful attempts at directly porting or remaking home console games for handhelds.

Reviews
Release	Reviewer, Publication	Score	Comment
Game Boy Color	Frank Provo, Gamespot	9.1/10	"Donkey Kong Country is one of the most playable and replayable Game Boy Color games ever created. Despite being a little rough around the edges, Donkey Kong Country once again proves that stereotypes and misconceptions can be broken. The quality of a game doesn't rest with what system it's on, but with those who make it. As such, Donkey Kong Country may be on the Game Boy Color, but it's still as impressive and pertinent as it was in 1994 on the Super Nintendo."
Aggregators
Compiler		Platform / Score
GameRankings		90.38%

References to other games

• Donkey Kong 64: The Select Screen is a digitized version of the Donkey Kong 64 one.

Staff

Main article: List of Donkey Kong Country staff § Game Boy Color version

Gallery

For this subject's image gallery, see Gallery:Donkey Kong Country (Game Boy Color).

• 

  Logo

• 

  Game cover

• 

  Title screen (water variation)

• 

  Title screen (jungle variation)

• 

  Title screen (cavern variation)

Media

For a complete list of media for this subject, see List of Donkey Kong Country media.

Theme

File infoMedia:DKC GBC Theme.oga ​

Help:Media • Having trouble playing?

List of pre-release and unused content

It has been requested that more images be uploaded for this article. Remove this notice only after the additional images have been added. Specific(s): Mode selection and early victory animation

There exists a prototype of Donkey Kong Country timestamped July 17, 2000, four months before the retail release of the Game Boy Color version. The prototype has several differences from the retail version.

Differences

• Only the Adventure and Option modes are accessible, suggesting that the Link-Up and Bonus modes were not yet or in the process of being implemented.
• Like the original Super Nintendo version, accessing every bonus room in a level adds an exclamation mark after the level's name. In the retail Game Boy Color version, the level name is highlighted red instead.
• Diddy's victory animation involves him throwing his cap up once rather than repeatedly.
• In the prototype build, Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong can roll through crawlspaces. This was fixed in the retail version.
• Candy's Challenge is inaccessible.
• In Very Gnawty's Lair, Very Gnawty's starting position is closer to the Kongs than in the retail version.
• The moment that Very Gnawty is defeated, the Giant Banana and Kongs' victory animation is shown. In the retail version, this is only shown once Very Gnawty pants repeatedly and faints. After this, the game resets.
  • Even after resetting the game and reopening the game, Monkey Mines is inaccessible, but like the retail version, once Kongo Jungle is completed, Gangplank Galleon is shown from a distant view on the world map, and Kongo Jungle is marked by a Kong head instead of a Kremling head.

Prototype

Final

The message that is shown when booting the game in Game Boy mode is longer in the prototype than in the final version.

Prototype

Final

The prototype version has a Title option in the Options menu. Selecting it changes the option to Title 2, 3, 4, and lastly 5 before switching back to Title 1.

Prototype

Final

The sprite for a DK Sticker Pad is much smaller in the prototype. When either Kong collects a DK Sticker Pad, it is not added to the total, but instead floats up and offscreen.

Prototype

Final

In a Stop the Barrel! minigame, after the prize stops alternating between the barrels, the red question mark sprites do not appear on-screen.

Gallery

• 

  Prototype screenshot of Diddy cartwheeling under a crawlspace.

• 

  Prototype screenshot showing that Monkey Mines is inaccessible despite Kongo Jungle being completed.

• 

  Early sprite of a DK Sticker Pad

Names in other languages

Language	Name	Meaning	Notes
Japanese	ドンキーコング2001[?] Donkī Kongu 2001	Donkey Kong 2001
German	Donkey Kong Country[?]	-

External links

• Nintendo UK Game Boy Color site
• Japanese Game Boy Color site