List of Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest glitches

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This is a list of glitches in Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest. Unless otherwise noted, all names are conjectural.

Glitches

Backwards running Kutlass

In the level Gusty Glade, there is an area where two Kutlass enemies guard treasure chests (top one containing a cannonball and the bottom one containing an 'N'). Sometimes when the player has Diddy or Dixie jump on the top mound where one Kutlass is and take a chest, that Kutlass will mysteriously be stuck in an animation running backwards until he falls off into the nearby pit.

Broken ending pad

To perform this glitch, the Kongs must get to the end of Lava Lagoon. Then, they should jump on the Klobber nearby and pick up the barrel it is in, placing it about an inch away from the Ending Pad. Quickly, before the enemy emerges from its barrel and attacks, the heroes need to get in position to do a team up move right next to the Ending Pad, but in front of the foe. As soon as the Klobber jumps out of the barrel, they must throw a monkey straight up in the air, above the Ending Pad. While the one monkey moves through the air, the Klobber runs by, hitting the monkey on the ground. That Kong is bounced on top of the Ending Pad, which should make the level end. However, if done correctly, the other Kong should still be in the air. As a result, the music stops playing, and the heroes are still in the level. Also, the Ending Pad no longer works, as the group goes right through it.

Castle Crush glitch

Warning! Performing this action may corrupt your game's save file.

NOTE: This glitch only works in the SNES, Wii U, and Nintendo Switch Online versions. It was fixed for the Game Boy Advance and Wii Virtual Console versions.

Two examples of the glitch's effects.

To perform this glitch, the player must enter Castle Crush with Diddy Kong as the lead character (Dixie is optional but cannot be the lead character). Then, the player must pick up the first DK Barrel and hold it against a wall. The player must now drop the barrel and quickly pick it up again; if done correctly, the barrel will break but Diddy will act as if he is still holding it. Upon throwing the "invisible barrel", it will be replaced with a nearby object, with the exact object depending on how much of the level had been traversed before throwing. Throughout most of the level, this will cause an enemy to warp in front of Diddy, following which the enemy will either die immediately or immediately damage Diddy and move at a faster speed. If thrown near the top, it will be replaced with the "No Rambi" sign. In several cases otherwise, nothing will happen after the barrel is thrown. All of these outcomes are relatively harmless.

However, if thrown shortly after being "picked up," the invisible barrel will be replaced with the nearby Rambi Barrel. The transformation aspect of the Rambi Barrel becomes broken after this happens. If the game does not immediately crash after the barrel finishes shaking, Diddy will usually turn into a glitched Animal Buddy, such as a screen-sized glitchy mess, an incorrectly-colored Kudgel/Klubba with a transparent club, which stands in place, or a fully-black Kleever, which moves slowly to the side while spinning. Nonetheless, the game typically will jump to arbitrary code shortly afterwards and thus usually crash. Whether any additional buttons on the controller is pressed, the direction Diddy is facing, the version/region of the game, the presence of Dixie Kong, and if Diddy gets damaged during the transformation all have an effect to the outcome of the glitch. If the invisible barrel is dropped down normally without throwing it, no ill effects will occur as the object spawns with their normal properties, thus causing the Rambi Barrel to spawn Rambi normally. As arbitrary code execution occurs at this state, these crashes can cause the SRAM to possibly be corrupted, resulting in save data loss or game corruption upon restarting the game. Additionally, the game may jump to other screens such as a glitchy mess, the game's title screen, the game's credits, or the irregularity/anti-piracy error screen. Contrary to popular belief, this glitch cannot actually damage console or cartridge hardware.

It is also possible to perform this glitch near the end of the level as the last DK Barrel and regular Barrel can be held in the same manner. However, the outcomes when doing it at this point of the level are not as damaging compared to early on, often resulting in an enemy warping to Diddy, or if done at the End of Level Target, a nearby Banana Bunch warping near Diddy if it has not been collected. If timed properly though, it is possible to spawn the End of Level Target itself, which if not hit before the elevator covers it, will render the level unwinnable (and require the console to be restarted if the player hasn't completed the level beforehand). Using a TNT Barrel does not work, as it simply phases through the wall (and floor as the elevator moves up).

A similar bug can also be done in levels with a treasure chest with a DK Barrel inside it if the BARRALAX cheat is enabled by grabbing the DK Barrel from a treasure chest before it is removed, although the levels where it is possible for this bug to occur experiences no ill effects and an enemy or Banana Bunch will often spawn instead.

Chest roll glitch

Diddy or Dixie must grab a chest, then be near a wall and throw the chest against the wall. The chest will walk slowly as if it were a rolling barrel.

Dark palette glitch

In levels with Diddy & Dixie Barrels, if the player switches between Kongs or loses a Kong due to taking damage, the darkened palette usually applied to the non-controlled Kong will often be applied to the new playable character instead of changing to the lighter palette used for the controlled Kong.

This glitch can also occur if the player, as Diddy or Dixie, jumps into their corresponding barrel and continually presses select, with player being able to end the glitch by continually pressing select or exiting the level.

Destroy Them All glitch

"Destroy Them All" Bonus Levels require the player to defeat a certain number of enemies for the Kremkoin to appear. However, due to a programming oversight, taking an animal buddy past its corresponding No Animal sign will count as an enemy being defeated. As such, in certain bonus rooms such as the one in Lava Lagoon, it is possible to complete the bonus level while still leaving one of the enemies alive.

Diddy and Rattly morphing

In Topsail Trouble, the player must get Rattly and have both Diddy and Dixie. Then, go to the pole near a mast with a Kruncha on it. Diddy must leave Rattly on the pole, team up with Dixie, jump to the Kruncha and right before he bumps into the Kruncha, throw Dixie up. When Diddy bumps into the enemy, he will fall and ride Rattly, who is turned into a red and green Diddy sprite. After the No Animal Sign, Diddy will be unable to touch enemies.

Dixie in Diddy's Dash

In the Game Boy Advance version of Donkey Kong Country 2, inputting the code ROCKARD or WELLARD will allow Dixie Kong to enter Diddy's Dash. However, if Diddy and Dixie change positions, Diddy's icon in the top-right corner does not change into Dixie's icon; it only shifts slightly upward or downward. Though, if the level is restarted while Dixie is in the lead, her icon takes the place of Diddy's. The glitch's effects wear off if the level is exited or completed.

Golden instruments

In Hot-Head Hop, there is a No Squitter sign right before the Ending Pad. The player should then take Squitter right up next to the sign without passing it, jump off of Squitter, and then hit the Ending Pad hard enough to obtain its prize. If done correctly, Dixie's electric guitar or Diddy's boom box will be colored golden during their victory animation. This is due to Squitter's color palette still being loaded since he is technically still on-screen.

Klobber's long Respawn

In any level where Klobbers are in and with pits (Hot-Head-Hop, Red Hot Ride, Ghostly Grove etc.) the player should find one, pick him up and walk over to be near the pit enough to wear they could fall off and drop him in. His usual sound effect occurs and he disappears. The player should stay within the area of where they found Klobber and wait for a very long time. Eventually the same Klobber will fall from the sky, but depending on where the player is, he might be seen briefly before falling back through the pit making a loop or if the player has Diddy or Dixie a bit of space away from Klobber's spot then he may fall behind them or in front and attack again it depends on where the player is.

Krockhead glitch

In the level Mudhole Marsh if the player has Diddy or Dixie they should get a cannon ball and throw it left then pick it up again and head towards the brown Krockhead but should stay on the ledge of the platform above it then drop the cannonball on it. This will cause the Krockhead to roar and Diddy or Dixie will be tossed into the air even though they are not on it.

Kudgel's Kontest glitch

In the Game Boy Advance version of Kudgel's Kontest, Diddy and Dixie can be trapped after they defeat Kudgel (the arena's backgrounds are also sometimes removed), and a loud buzzing noise loops continuously. The Kongs trigger this glitch if the lead one tosses the sixth and last TNT Barrel at Kudgel while he is in mid-air during the boss fight. The only way that Diddy and Dixie can exit the boss stage is if the player resets the game or, if the Kongs re-battle Kudgel, via the Pause menu. The buzzing noise does not end when the stage is exited, but stops if the player opens up the world map menu.

Rambi fluttering

The player must go to a level that contains Rambi. Using Dixie, the player must flutter until they fall on Rambi's back. Then, they must jump quickly, without stopping the helicopter spin. Rambi will float like Dixie.

Rickety Race glitch

In Rickety Race, the player must stay in last place until the end of the race, taking caution to not defeat the Klank at the start. When the 10th place indicator flag appears at the end of the race, defeat the second-to-last place Klank. This will cause the graphics to severely glitch, and in most cases, cause the game to crash. This is due to a programming oversight; the game is normally supposed to never update the flag when a Klank is defeated near the end, but this only applies to the first digit only displayed for 1st to 9th place. As a result, the game jumps to arbitrary pointers switching the second digit, which causes the game to read garbage data. This glitch only occurs in the SNES version.

Screech glitch

In Screech's Sprint, the player should make the Kongs turn into Squawks and then head behind Screech. If the bird is to pass his opponent, a race will begin, causing him to speed around sharp brambles. However, if the player does not want to do this, they can perform a glitch to keep Screech out of the race. To do so, they must control Squawks and make him hit into the brambles right behind Screech. Squawks will then blink for a short amount of time; while blinking, he should quickly pass the bird and continue through the level. If done correctly, the parrot will be able to go through the rest of the level without needing to worry about racing Screech, as the foe will simply wait at the starting line. This only works in the SNES version of the game since Screech is placed low enough to allow Squawks to pass the trigger to start the race; the Game Boy Advance version of the game fixes this oversight by placing Screech directly above the top bramble, always forcing the race to start no matter where Squawks is.

Tire throw glitch

In the level Jungle Jinx, the Kongs must approach a lower part of the floor, where a Tire rolls back and forth. In order to execute this glitch, the Kongs need to do the team up move, and one Kong must throw the other in the tire. The tire will then crush the thrown Kong against the wall, but the Kong will still return to the player, as if the ape was alive. If the player dies, the second Kong will remain alive, but the player will still lose a life.

Through the roof

In Pirate Panic, the player must use Diddy or Dixie and team up with the partner right in the front of the door leading to Kaptain K. Rool's letter. Then, throw the partner to the ground above the door and quickly enter the place. If done correctly, the character inside the room goes through the floor to get near the partner.