KONG Letters

KONG Letters
Artwork of the KONG Letters from Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D
First appearance	Donkey Kong Country (1994)
Latest appearance	Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze (Nintendo Switch) (2018)

“Keep your eyes open for those KONG Letters, they might be worth something!”

—Cranky Kong, Donkey Kong Country Returns

KONG Letters (alternatively formatted as K-O-N-G Letters, K O N G Letters, or KONG letters), also known as Golden Letters, KONG Golden Letters, Letter panels, or simply letters, are recurring collectible items in the Donkey Kong franchise, first appearing in Donkey Kong Country. They are a set of four square-shaped objects, each displaying a letter of "Kong," and they appear 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.

In the original Donkey Kong Country trilogy, KONG Letters are flat gold-lined objects with a letter stamped onto each of them. In Donkey Kong Country Returns and Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze (and its Nintendo Switch port), the KONG Letters are redesigned with a more simplistic appearance, resembling plain red panels with yellow letters.

History

Donkey Kong Country / Donkey Kong Land trilogy

Artwork of all four KONG Letters in Donkey Kong Country

KONG Letters appear in every level except for boss levels. The letters always appear in a specific location, either in plain sight or hidden. In the first Donkey Kong Country, a KONG Letter sometimes appears in a ground cache, and it can be unearthed by landing from above. In Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest and Donkey Kong Land 2, a KONG Letter is sometimes hidden inside a treasure chest, and in the former game, the letter G is sometimes a reward at an End of Level Target, such as in Krockhead Klamber.

Artwork of the KONG Letters from Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble!

In rare cases, there are two of a letter in a level, and by collecting either one, the duplicate letter disappears. For example, in Donkey Kong Country's Snow Barrel Blast, there are two letter G's, each appearing in a path that the Kongs can take. In Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest's Chain Link Chamber, there are two letter O's in the same area. In certain versions of the original Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble!, the letter G does not appear in Rocket Rush.

In Donkey Kong Country, yellow letters similar to the KONG Letters appear in the "Spell it Out!" bonus room challenges. In them, there are letters spinning around in a circle, and the Kongs must jump at the highlighted letters to spell out a word (such as "RARE" in Vulture Culture's first Bonus Level). In the Game Boy Advance version of Donkey Kong Country, the Kongs are required to collect every letter to add to the 101% completion, and the player can check the statistics for KONG Letters from the overworld map's menu. However, in the latter two Game Boy Advance remakes, collecting every KONG Letter remains optional.

In Donkey Kong Land, the KONG Letters' purpose was changed to saving the player's game progress. To do so, Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong must collect all four KONG Letters in a level and complete it. The KONG Letters have a unique role in one of the levels, Kong Krazy, which has numerous sets of KONG Letters. Shortly after collecting all letters in a set, the active Kong encounters a button, which he must press to form a bridge from the letters, thus allowing him to cross over a gap. Contrarily, in the game's two sequels, Donkey Kong Land 2 and Donkey Kong Land III, the KONG Letters have the same role as in the first three Donkey Kong Country games.

In the original version of Donkey Kong Country, the KONG Letter sprites sparkle and shimmer. In the sequels and Game Boy Advance version, however, they spin instead.

Donkey Konga 3

In Donkey Konga 3, the KONG Letters are hung as decorations, surrounded by garlands in the Christmas background.

DK: Jungle Climber

In DK: Jungle Climber, KONG Letters were renamed KONG Panels, and they retain their role as collectible items. Like in Donkey Kong Country's Game Boy Advance version, the KONG Panels are required collectibles, and they grant an extra life if all four in a level are collected.

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Donkey Kong Country Returns / Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D / Donkey Kong Country Returns HD

In Donkey Kong Country Returns and Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D, KONG Letters are required collectible items. When Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong obtain every letter in a level, an orange pin with a black star appears under the name of the level. When they collect every KONG Letter in a world, Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong unlock a Key Temple featuring one of the Rare Orbs. In Mirror Mode, the letters on the KONG Letters are flipped like the other surroundings. Unlike in the normal mode, it is optional for the player to collect the KONG Letters in a level, though doing so changes the orange pin to blue. KONG Letters do not appear in the Golden Temple or in Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D's other Cloud levels.

Prima refers to the KONG Letters individually as the K Block, O Block, N Block, and G Block.

Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze

The letter K from Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze

In Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze and its Nintendo Switch port, KONG Letters retain their appearance and role from the previous game, 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, 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.

Profiles

Donkey Kong Land series

Donkey Kong Land

• Nintendo 3DS Virtual Console manual description:
  • English (British):
    There is one of each letter to be found in each level. Collect them all and you will be able to save your progress.
  • French (Europe):
    Ces 4 lettres se trouvent dans chaque niveau. Obtenez-les toutes pour pouvoir sauvegarder votre progression.
  • German:
    Diese Buchstaben können in jedem Level gefunden werden. Wenn du sie alle sammelst, kannst du deinen Fortschritt speichern.
  • Italian:
    In ciascun livello del gioco si celano le quattro lettere della parola KONG. Trovale tutte per salvare i tuoi progressi.
  • Spanish (Europe):
    En cada fase podrás encontrar las letras que forman la palabra KONG. Si consigues reunirlas todas, podrás guardar la partida.

Donkey Kong Land 2 / Donkey Kong Land III

• Nintendo 3DS Virtual Console manual description:
  • English (British):
    Retrieve all of the K O N G letters in a single stage to receive an extra heart.
  • French (Europe):
    Récoltez toutes les lettres K O N G dans un niveau pour obtenir un cœur supplémentaire.
  • German:
    Sammele alle K-O-N-G-Buchstaben in einem einzelnen Level ein, um ein zusätzliches Herz zu erhalten.
  • Italian:
    Scova le lettere KONG disseminate in ciascun livello per ottenere un cuore extra.
  • Spanish (Europe):
    Si recoges las letras K O N G en una misma fase, conseguirás un corazón adicional. (Donkey Kong Land 2)
    Si recoges todas las letras K O N G en una misma fase, conseguirás un corazón adicional. (Donkey Kong Land III)

Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest

• Wii U Virtual Console manual description:
  • English:
    Collect the letters to spell KONG and earn an extra life.

Gallery

For this subject's image gallery, see Gallery:KONG Letters.

• 

  Letter K sprite from Donkey Kong Country

• 

  Letter O sprite from Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest

• 

  Letter N sprite from Donkey Kong Country (Game Boy Color)

• 

  Letter G sprite from DK: Jungle Climber

Names in other languages

Language	Name	Meaning	Notes
Japanese	K・O・N・Gの文字もじ K O N G no Moji	K O N G Letters	Super Donkey Kong
	K・O・N・Gの文字もじパネル K O N G no Moji Paneru	K O N G Letter Panels	Super Donkey Kong 2 and Super Donkey Kong 3
	「KONG」のパネル[?] "KONG" no Paneru	“KONG” Panels	Super Donkey Kong 2, Wrinkly
	K・O・N・Gパネル K O N G Paneru	K O N G Panels	Donkey Kong: Jungle Climber
	「K」「O」「N」「G」[?] "K" "O" "N" "G"	“K” “O” “N” “G”	Donkey Kong Returns and Donkey Kong Tropical Freeze
French (NOE)	Lettres KONG	-
	Lettres K O N G
German	KONG-Buchstaben	-
	K-O-N-G-Buchstaben	?
Italian	Lettere di K-O-N-G	K-O-N-G's letters
	Lettere K-O-N-G	K-O-N-G letters
	Lettere KONG	KONG letters
Spanish (NOA)	Letras	Letters
Spanish (NOE)	Las letras de la palabra KONG	?
	Letras K O N G

Trivia

• In Donkey Kong Country, in some bonus games, other letters exist in K-O-N-G Letter form. All letters except F, H, J, L, Q, V, and Z are used in-game.