Vulture Culture

Level
Vulture Culture
Level code	3 - 1
World	Vine Valley
Game	Donkey Kong Country
Music track	Forest Frenzy
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Vulture Culture is the eleventh level in Donkey Kong Country and the first level of the Vine Valley area. Vulture Culture is a forest-themed level featuring several Neckys and Mini-Neckys, many of which can be bounced off of to get across pits. There are also a lot of Barrel Cannons, many of which are used to launch into Neckys.

Layout

Vulture Culture's appearance in the Game Boy Color version, top, and Game Boy Advance version, bottom

When the Kongs begin the level, they find themselves in front of a barrel that sits next to a small ledge with a Mini-Necky and some bananas on it. An abyss follows the bird enemy, but the primates can cross it if they use the aid of a Barrel Cannon and a Necky hovering over it. The Barrel Cannon is able to blast them into the Necky, causing them to bounce off of the foe and land on a solid area of ground with a DK Barrel. The Kongs can find another pit ahead of here that contains a Blast Barrel, a Barrel Cannon, and then a Necky. The Blast Barrel can shoot them to the Barrel Cannon, which can then blast them into the Necky, causing them to bounce onto the area of land ahead. This area features a raised piece of land in the center of it. A tire sits on top of the land with a Necky standing on top of it. The enemy throws nuts in the area below it. The primates can discover another wide abyss ahead, which holds a Blast Barrel, a Barrel Cannon, and a Necky.

These obstacles are set up in a similar way to the ones in the previous pit. Once the Kongs cross the abyss, they reach an area of land composed of several stair-like structures. A barrel sits at the top of the large platform, and a Mini-Necky flies at the end of it, where another abyss can be found. It contains a Barrel Cannon that is able to shoot them towards two Neckys. They can bounce off of the Neckys to safely land on another solid platform with a Mini-Necky on it. Another pit follows this area, and it also contains a Barrel Cannon that can blast the primates to a pair of Neckys. They can bounce on the foes to access a solid area of ground that holds a Mini-Necky. In a wide abyss located ahead of here, the primates can find a Barrel Cannon that can blast them to a Necky moving in a circular path. After bouncing on the vulture, they can reach another cannon that is able to shoot them towards several Neckys. With the ability to bounce on the foes, the primates are able to reach a strong structure that they must walk down to progress. A Barrel Cannon floats in a wider abyss nearby, and the level's Continue Barrel hovers right above it.

The Kongs can shoot over the remaining part of the abyss with this Barrel Cannon. On the other side of the pit, they can find two tall pieces of land with Neckys on them. The enemies throw nuts off of the edge of the platforms, trying to hit the heroes with them. If the Kongs manage to pass the two Neckys, they reach a wide pit that must be crossed with the use of two Barrel Cannons. These barrels tilt towards each other, so the primates must blast whenever the barrels are aimed in the correct direction. After blasting over this pit, the duo reaches a large platform carrying a Mini-Necky. It is followed by two small pits. The letter O stands on a platform after the first pit. The second pit is wider than the previous, and the Kongs must rely on a Barrel Cannon and two Neckys to cross it. They must shoot to the two foes with the Barrel Cannon, and then bounce off of them to reach a solid area holding a barrel and a pair of Mini-Neckys stacked on top of each other. In a large pit located ahead of here, Donkey and Diddy Kong can find a Barrel Cannon that must be used to blast towards a Necky that orbits a Zinger. After bouncing off of this foe to cross the pit, the two friends land on a slightly slanted pathway with another abyss following it.

Three barrels that tilt when entered are located in it, and the Kongs must shoot when they are aimed correctly to survive. They must also watch out for a Zinger as they blast between the last two barrels. Once they cross the abyss, they come up to a long pathway with a structure raised in the center of it. A Necky is perched at the top of the structure, and it throws nuts at the heroes as they pass through the area. After passing the vulture, they reach an abyss that contains two Barrel Cannons that tilt upon being entered. As before, they must shoot only when the barrel they are in is aimed correctly. A solid platform with a few bananas along it follows this pit. A small pit is ahead of it that can be crossed with a simple jump. The primates can find a Mini-Necky on a small platform after this pit. It hovers near a sign that indicates that the level is near complete. Using several Barrel Cannons that tilt when entered, the Kongs are able to blast over a nearby abyss. As they cross, a few Zingers fly in their path. They also find the letter G between two Zingers as they cross. On the opposite side of the abyss, the primates can find a pathway holding a Mini-Necky, a few bananas, and an exit sign. A passage leading out of the level follows the sign.

Enemies

The following enemies appear in the following quantities, and enemies marked in bold make their debut:

• 

  Klaptrap (2) (Bonus Level only)

• 

  Mini-Necky (9)^a

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  Necky (19)^b

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  Zinger (7)^c

^a - In the Japanese version, there are eight, as the Mini-Necky at the end was removed.
^b - Of the 19 Neckys, fifteen are flying, and four of them are perched.
^c - Of the seven Zingers, three are yellow, three are orange, and one is red.

Items and objects

The following items and objects appear, in the following quantities:

• 

  Banana (118)^c

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  DK Barrel (4)

• 

  Expresso token (1)

• 

  Life Balloon (1)

^c - Of the 118 bananas, 39 are in the main level, 66 are in the second Bonus Level, and 13 are in the third Bonus Level.

K-O-N-G Letters

• K: The first Necky is perched on a platform and throws nuts at the Kongs. Donkey Kong and Diddy must jump onto a piece of ground to release the letter K.
• O: The Kongs find the letter O on a small platform shortly after the level's Continue Barrel.
• N: The letter N is between the last two Barrel Cannons in the third Bonus Level.
• G: The letter G is between the final two Zingers, both of which appear above the final abyss.

Bonus Levels

The second Bonus Level in Vulture Culture

Ropey Rampage has three Bonus Levels, listed by their type in the Game Boy Advance version:

• Spell it Out!: When the Kongs find the first perched Necky, they must defeat it and push the tire to the left off the small ledge it was on. They must then push it right, to the edge of the cliff, and bounce from it there, following a trail of three visible bananas. If they bounce high enough, Donkey Kong and Diddy land into a Bonus Barrel. In the Bonus Level, the Kongs must jump at some letters orbiting the center of the stage to spell "KONG". They must avoid jumping at the Kritter heads (which both speed up the spinning and reverse the direction in which the letters rotate). If the Kongs spell the letters in the correct order, they are rewarded an Expresso Token. After winning or losing, the Kongs are sent back into the main level.
• Bash the Baddies!: Before the Continue Barrel, the Kongs cross an abyss while bouncing on several Neckys. After this, the Kongs go back on land. They must jump on a Mini-Necky and land on a patch on the ground to reveal a barrel. They must pick up the barrel and break away a wall to the left. The Kongs can walk into an opening to go into a Bonus Level (there is also a glitch in the original version where Donkey Kong can break open the wall simply by landing near it). In the Bonus Level, the Kongs must jump on two Klaptraps repeatedly until they are defeated after ten hits; each time either Klaptrap is hit, they release a Banana Bunch that initially represents one banana, but gives out more for each subsequent hit (except in the Game Boy Advance version, where they always give out 10 bananas). The Kongs are rewarded a Life Balloon for defeating both Klaptraps.
• Find the Exit!: Around the end of the level, the Kongs can discover a Necky perched on a high platform. The Kongs must jump off the platform and land on the ground below to release a barrel. They must pick up the barrel and use it to destroy a wall to the bottom-right of Necky. They must walk through the wall opening to enter the third and final Bonus Level. The Bonus Level is comparable to the first bonus of Barrel Cannon Canyon, because the Kongs must blast from several Barrel Cannons to get across a wide abyss. The Kongs can collect some bananas and the letter N between some Barrel Cannons along the way. At the end of the gap is a platform leading to the exit through an opening. Donkey Kong and Diddy can also exit by falling into the abyss below.

Warp Barrel

The Kongs should race through the beginning of the level until they reach the third pit in the level. If they reach the pit fast enough, a Blast Barrel appears in it that they can use to skip to a sign near the end of the level. However, only Donkey Kong can use this barrel; if Diddy is leading, switch to Donkey Kong and, if the player was fast enough, the barrel will appear out of thin air. This warp does not appear in the remakes.

Gallery

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  The level begins

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  The first Necky of the level

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  Diddy bounces from some Neckys

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  The location of the letter K

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  The first Bonus Level

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  Diddy stands near the Continue Barrel.

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  The Kongs dodge the nuts from a Necky

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  The location of the letter O

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  The location of the letter N, in the third Bonus Level

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  The location of the letter G

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  Diddy shoots out of a Barrel Cannon.

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  Diddy jumps off of a Necky in the Game Boy Color version.

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  Donkey Kong shoots out of a Barrel Cannon in the Game Boy Advance version.

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  Diddy jumping near a perched Necky in the Game Boy Advance version.

Names in other languages

Language	Name	Meaning	Notes
Japanese	ネッキーのもり[?] Nekkī no mori	Necky's Forest
French	Culture du Vautour (SNES) Culture Vautour (GBC)[?]	Vulture Culture
German	Geier-Feier[?]	Vulture Party
Italian	Volo di Avvoltoi[?]	Flight of Vultures
Spanish	Cultura Buitre[?]	Vulture Culture

Trivia

• "Vulture Culture" is the name of a popular album by The Alan Parsons Project (released in 1985). The name of the title track was a play on the term "culture vulture," which is used for people well versed in the fine arts.
  • The name was reused later in another Rareware game, Conker's Pocket Tales, where it is used for a group of Native American-esque acorn people.