Editing KONG Letters

'''KONG Letters'''<ref name="DKL manual EN-US"/><ref name="DKC2 SNES manual EN-US"/><ref name="DKCR PAL manual"/> (alternatively formatted as '''K-O-N-G Letters''',<ref name="DKC SNES manual EN-US"/><ref name="DKC3 SNES manual EN-US"/><ref name="DKCR manual NA"/> '''K O N G Letters''',<ref name="DKL2 3DS manual EN-GB/><ref name="DKL3 3DS manual EN-GB"/> or '''KONG letters'''<ref name="DKCTF manual EN-GB"/><ref name="Nintendo Magazine System UK"/>), also known as '''Golden Letters''',<ref name="DKC Player's Guide"/> '''KONG Golden Letters''',<ref name="DKC Prima"/> '''Letter panels''',<ref name="SNW Direct"/> or simply '''letters''',<ref name="DKC GBA manual EN-US/> are recurring collectible items in the [[Donkey Kong Country (series)|''Donkey Kong Country'' series]] and [[Donkey Kong Land (series)|''Donkey Kong Land'' series]]. They are a set of four square-shaped objects, each displaying a letter of "[[Kong]]," and the first appear in ''[[Donkey Kong Country]]''. KONG Letters are in every [[level]] except boss levels. All four letters can be collected for a reward, usually an [[extra life]]; in some games, collecting them is mandatory. KONG Letters also serve as loose progress indicators, as the letter ''K'' usually appears at the start, the letters ''O'' and ''N'' appear midway through the level, and the letter ''G'' appears near the end.

The original trilogy depicts KONG Letters as flat gold-lined objects with one of the four letters stamped on. In ''[[Donkey Kong Country Returns]]'' (as well as [[Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D|its Nintendo 3DS port]] and [[Donkey Kong Country Returns HD|its Nintendo Switch port]]) and ''[[Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze]]'' (as well as [[Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze (Nintendo Switch)|its Nintendo Switch port]]), the KONG Letters are redesigned with a more simplistic appearance, resembling plain red panels with yellow letters.

===''Donkey Kong Country Returns'' (''3D'' / ''HD'')===

In ''Donkey Kong Country Returns'', its [[Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D|Nintendo 3DS port]], and its [[Donkey Kong Country Returns HD|Nintendo Switch port]], KONG Letters are made more important collectible items, as progress for KONG Letters is tracked on the Level Selection Screen. All levels have exactly four KONG Letters, one of each. KONG Letter collection is only saved at checkpoints (hosted by [[Professor Chops|tutorial pig]]) and at the end of a level. KONG Letters collected before saving at one of these points revert to being uncollected should the player be defeated. Unlike most games with collectible items that are tracked on their equivalent of a Level Selection Screen, and unlike [[Puzzle Piece (Donkey Kong Country series)|Puzzle Piece]]s, KONG Letters that the player has already collected are not differentiated from KONG Letters the player has not collected yet. KONG Letters do not appear in the Time Attack mode.

 

When Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong obtain every letter in a level in the same playthrough, the level is marked with a KONG Letter icon<ref>{{cite|quote=Complete a level collecting all four letters to receive the KONG Letter icon|url=m1.nintendo.net/docvc/RVL/EUR/SF8P/SF8P_E.pdf|format=PDF|title=''Donkey Kong Country Returns'' PAL instruction manual|page=24|date=2010|language=en-gb|publisher=Nintendo of Europe}}</ref>: an orange pin with a black star. When the player has every KONG Letter icon in a [[world]], Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong unlock a Key Temple. This is a difficult level that lacks KONG Letters but ends with collecting one of the [[Rare Orb]]s. KONG Letters do not appear in boss levels, [[Lift-off Launch]], and [[Golden Temple]]. In ''Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D'' and ''Donkey Kong Country Returns HD''. Golden Temple's lack of KONG Letters extends to all of the levels in the [[Cloud (world)|Cloud]] world.

 

Unlocking Mirror Mode requires collecting every KONG Letter due to cascading requirements from the Rare Orbs. In Mirror Mode, the letters on the KONG Letters are flipped like the other surroundings. In ''Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D'' and ''Donkey Kong Country Returns HD'', collecting all the KONG Letters from a level in Mirror Mode changes the Kong Letter icon from orange to blue but has no further effect. This does not count for [[Completion|200% completion]].

In ''Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze'' and its Nintendo Switch port, KONG Letters retain their appearance and role from ''Donkey Kong Country Returns''. The Kongs must collect every KONG Letter in a world to unlock a temple level, which has a [[mysterious relic]] instead of a Rare Orb. On [[Hard Mode#Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze|Hard Mode]], the KONG Letters are colored blue; collecting them colors the star icon near a level's name from red to blue, although they are not required for 200% completion.

|Ita2C=<ref>{{cite|title=''Donkey Kong Land 2'' Italian manual|page=7}}</ref><ref>{{cite|date=2004|title=''[[Donkey Kong Country 2 (Game Boy Advance)|Donkey Kong Country 2]]'' (Game Boy Advance) European booklet|page=112|publisher=Nintendo}}</ref><ref>{{cite|title=''Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble!'' Spanish-Italian booklet|page=36|publisher=Nintendo}}</ref><ref>{{cite|title=''Donkey Kong Land III'' Spanish-Italian booklet|page=47}}</ref>

==Notes==