Mole Train
It has been requested that this article be rewritten to have excessive details removed for the following reason(s): Cut down to focus more on the vehicle itself than a repeat of the boss fight/level (MarioWiki:Once and only once)
- This article is about the train. For the boss level in which it appears, see The Mole Train.
The Mole Train,[1] also known as the mine train[2] or simply train,[3] is a vehicle operated by Mole Miner Max and the Mole Miners in Donkey Kong Country Returns and its Nintendo 3DS and Nintendo Switch ports. It is a five-cart diesel train with a giant mechanized drill in the chassis.
The Mole Train first appears in Mole Patrol, where it carries crystals in its carts. In the level, Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong ride a Rocket Barrel through a mine. A little ways into the level, the Mole Train bursts from a blocked off tunnel in the background, drives along in the main plane, and sends out a Mole Miner that is held aloft by a balloon. The Mole Train moves to the background a bit, then returns to the main plane. It treads water while sending out two more Mole Miners. It again retreats into the background and rises off the screen. Next, it descends from the top of the screen in the background while sending out two more Mole Miners, then enters a spiral going through the foreground and background while dropping four Mole Miners. The spirals, and the track as whole, end with a ramp in the main plane. The Mole Train launches from this ramp slams into a wall, and drops its carts. The engine drills into the side of the cave, starting with a gentle slope downward and reversing direction slowly as it approaches the edges of the screen. This forms a major obstacle in Mole Patrol, as the Rocket Barrel has to be navigated through the tunnel. At the end of the wall, the engine is launched into the air by some steep rocks serving as a ramp, and finally crashes back into the ground. The impact causes seven crystals ahead to break off from the ceiling and land in the ground. These crystals are the final obstacle of Mole Patrol.
The Mole Train is featured in the eponymous boss level, where the carts are used to carry bananas from the Banana hoard. Mole Miner Max is hypnotized by Banjo Bottom and the former starts up the Mole Train. Only four carts are attached to the Mole Train for most of the level, with the Kongs hopping on a leftover Mine Cart and chasing after the Mole Train. The Mine Carts in this fight are not normal Mine Carts, being platforms that move erratically because of the track rather than vehicles. The fight is divided into two phases and a final phase. For the first phase, a Mole Miner pops out of the fourth car to throw pickaxes and bombs at the Kongs. When the Kongs reach the Mole Train, the engine decouples from the cargo and the Kongs' Mine Cart connects to the other four. Fore the second phase, Mole Miners hiding in the Mine Carts surface and retreat periodically. If they are stomped, they fall out of the Mine Cart. When Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong defeat every Mole Miner, all but one Mine Cart wobbles while blue sparks emit from their wheels. Those carts fall off the track, leaving only one Cart from the cargo left. This cart is the spare Mine Cart again, and has to be used to reach the Mole Train again. While it is off screen, the Mole Train's engine obtains four new Mine Carts.
After the Kongs defeat three sets of Mole Miners, the final Mine Cart couples with the Mole Train's Mine Carts while the engine does not flee. For the final phase, Mole Miner Max jumps out of the cockpit to fight the Kongs. After being hit four times, Mole Miner Max is defeated, and the Kongs knock him back into the Mole Train's cockpit. The Mole Train's wheels stop moving and the drill breaks loose, causing the Mole Train to slow on the rails. The Mole Train stops at the discontinued rails over a wide pit. The Mole Train nearly falls off the tracks, and its drill breaks off and falls into the pit.
A separate Mole Train engine appears from the left of the screen during The Mole Train if the player does not defeat the Mole Miners of the cargo fast enough. It is operated by three Mole Miners. The drill on this engine defeats the Kongs in one hit and destroys any Mine Cart it touches, serving as a time limit for each battle on the cargo. It slows down and leaves if all Mole Miners in the cargo are defeated. This engine does not appear when fighting Mole Miner Max.
Gallery[edit]
Concept artwork of Mole Miner Max and two Mole Miners riding the Mole Train
The Mole Train nearly falling off the discontinued rails after the boss fight ends
References[edit]
- ^ "Hypnotised by Banjo Bottom, Mole Miner Max and his workers use the Mole Train and its carts to move massive amounts of bananas around." – 2014. Super Smash Bros. for Wii U.
- ^ Knight, Michael. Donkey Kong Country Returns Prima Official Game Guide. Page 84.
- ^ Knight, Michael (November 21, 2010). Donkey Kong Country Returns Prima Official Game Guide. Prima Games (American English). ISBN 978-0-307-47102-4. Page 84-85.
