Rare Orb
Rare Orbs, also called Orbs and titled crystal balls,[1] are items in Donkey Kong Country Returns and its Nintendo 3DS and Nintendo Switch ports. They appear at the end of each secret temple levels of the first eight worlds, and are differently colored to represent said worlds.
Each Rare Orb is on a pedestal in the background. They float into the main plane when a Kong approaches. The Kongs can then collect the Rare Orb by touching it, which ends the level. In the ending screen of temple levels, a display featuring the door of the hidden Golden Temple replaces the display for KONG Letters. The first time a temple level is completed, the collected Rare Orb flies into the slot on the display. All Rare Orbs collected prior to it are also present. (KONG Letters do not appear in temple levels, as unlocking one requires the player have a KONG Letter icon for every level in a world.) If a level is played in Time Attack mode, the Slot Machine Barrel serves as the goal instead and the end screen is normal. At the Golden Temple, the Kongs can press a button at the entrance to use their Rare Orbs. All of them float out around the player, but without all eight Rare Orbs nothing will happen. With all eight orbs, they slot into the door and cause it to roll to the side, opening the path into the Golden Temple.
Rare Orbs appear in the following levels:
- Green Orb - Platform Panic
- Blue Orb - Tumblin' Temple
- White Orb - Shifty Smashers
- Magenta Orb - Jagged Jewels
- Yellow Orb - Blast & Bounce
- Orange Orb - Perilous Passage
- Gray Orb - Treacherous Track
- Red Orb - Five Monkey Trial
In New Mode of Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D and Modern Mode of Donkey Kong Country Returns HD, after the game is beaten, each Rare Orb appears in Cranky Kong's Shop in their respective worlds and can be purchased for 50 Banana Coins, so the player does not have to clear the temple levels to access the Golden Temple and therefore the Cloud world. Buying all eight Rare Orbs costs a total of 400 Banana Coins. The player cannot purchase Rare Orbs they already have, and they appear grayed out in the shop.
Rare Orbs do not appear in Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze, although the game features mysterious relics, which serve a similar purpose.
Names in other languages[edit]
| Language | Name | Meaning | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Japanese | オーブ[?] Ōbu |
Orb |
Notes[edit]
- Rare Orbs appear to be named after Rare, who previously developed the Donkey Kong Country series and related games.
References[edit]
- ^ Knight, Michael (November 21, 2010). Donkey Kong Country Returns Prima Official Game Guide. Prima Games (American English). ISBN 978-0-307-47102-4. Page 155, 157, 159, 161, 163, 164, 167, 168.
