The 10 Most STRESSFUL Moments in Donkey Kong Games

10 Most Stressful Moments in Donkey Kong Games

Welcome to MojoPlays, and today were looking at the most stressful moments, levels, and boss fights in the Donkey Kong series!

Snow Barrel Blast

Donkey Kong Country (1994)

Thought of by many to be the hardest level in the original Donkey Kong Country, we have to say we agree. A level set on top of a mountain brings the expected stress inducers. The ground is slippery with ice, and features more than a few slanted sections, making it easy to slide into a parade of oncoming enemies or one of the many pits. The blizzard also gets thicker as you progress, obscuring your vision. Then there are the tricky blast barrel sections that require extreme patience and timing. Snow Barrel Blast forces you to take your time while barraging you with elements that make it hard to do so. Youve got all the ingredients necessary for losing lots of lives.

Crowded Cavern

Donkey Kong Country Returns (2010)

If you thought the mine cart sections in the original Country games were hard, Returns brought a whole new level of Hell with rocket barrels. And of all those, Crowded Cavern is the most tense. Youre being chased by a gigantic bat while a bunch of what we can only assume are its babies, fly at you from the front. Meanwhile, the cavern around you is falling apart, littered with obstacles to avoid. While the giant bats bites cant actually reach you, you wont know that while playing, and it will eventually fire off sonic blasts. There are so many causes of death flying at you throughout that your hands will soon grow clammy and youll be swearing at the TV.

King Krusha K. Rool

Donkey Kong 64 (1999)

To call the final boss fight of Donkey Kong 64 long would be a huge understatement. King K. Rool faces all five of the Kongs, one at a time. You cant just attack him regularly, as each round has different mechanics. And since theyre all timed, and your ability to deal damage only appears at certain moments, theres almost no room for error. Putting a time limit on each round, even if it is three minutes, makes it so its easier to make mistakes. And it isnt as if he doesnt put up a tough fight. Things dont start off too bad with DK, but Diddy and Tiny have the hardest roles. Plus, if you run out of time or one of the Kongs runs out of health, you start all over.

Bopopolis

Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze (2014)

A surefire way to stress your players out in a platformer game is to limit the ground they can actually stand on. Case in point: Bopopolis from Tropical Freeze. Most of the level consists only of enemies whose heads you use to hop between them. Even the platforms that divide these sections start to crumble and fall the moment you land on them. So, you have no time to plan what youre going to do. The whole level is just Go, go, go! Naturally, it takes a lot of trial and error, and a ton of falling into a bottomless pit, before you can reach the other side.

Toxic Tower

Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddys Kong Quest (1995)

A lot of old school platformers feature a vertical level where some kind of danger constantly rises from the bottom, forcing you to climb to safety. And they are always the most frantic and stressful. In Diddys Kong Quest, that level is Toxic Tower. Here, the hazard is toxic waste, and you transform into three animal buddies for different sections. The hardest of these is actually the first, Rattly the rattlesnake. Because if you mess up a jump, either to a high up platform or off of an enemys head, youre basically done for. Squawks has it easiest, since he can fly, and Squitter can at least make their own platforms. Still, the threat of constant danger makes the entire thing nerve-wracking.

Perilous Passage

Donkey Kong Country Returns (2010)

Naturally, Returns is a continuation of the older games in many ways. And it too has an extremely hard vertical climb where instant death chases you. This time, its lava. You arent forced to play as animal buddies, but that certainly doesnt mean the Kongs have it any easier. When not worrying about being snuffed out by the rising magma, you also have to look out for falling platforms and flaming enemies that roll down the walls. From the start, its constant tension, and thats especially the case if youre trying to collect all the hidden puzzle pieces. Also, screw those stupid invincible electric bees that chase you around towards the end of the level. As if things werent stressful enough already.

Koindozer Klamber

Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kongs Double Trouble! (1996)

Do you like falling into pits when it isnt your fault? No, of course you dont. And thats what makes this level such a drag. In Koindozer Klamber, Dixie and Kiddie must try their hardest to avoid being rammed by annoying little Kremlings who bash them with shields to knock them away. Since Koindozers angle their shields towards you, you can use them as platforms. But if you dont land on them just right, youll bounce in the opposite direction. Theyre often placed right next to pits, too. So youll get pretty used to dying over and over again. Thankfully, Dixie can hover to slow down each jump. But since each jump comes with the risk of death by these little twerps, its undeniably frustrating.

Beaver Bother

Donkey Kong 64 (1999)

There are a lot of mini-games in Donkey Kong 64, and not all of them have aged well. But Beaver Bother is in a league of its own, and deserves to burn in the lowest pits of the underworld. I am not exaggerating; even the games staunchest defenders dread having to play this garbage. The rules are simple enough, as you control a Klaptrap trying to herd beavers into a hole. But you only have 60 seconds and it genuinely feels broken. The beavers will often stop right at the edge before turning a different direction, as if theres some invisible barrier ushering them away. If you try to get close to force them in, chances are good youll fall right in yourself and have to start over. Worse, this game appears three times. So if you want all the golden bananas, youll be putting yourself through a ton of stress, and rage, with this one.

Jagged Jewels on Mirror Mode

Donkey Kong Country Returns (2010)

After beating each hidden level in each of the games worlds, and then beating the Golden Temple that unlocks afterwards, youll get Mirror Mode in Donkey Kong Country Returns. This lets you replay the game with levels flipped, but locks Diddy Kong and makes it so you die in one hit. Any level in this mode is understandably more stressful. But the peak is Jagged Jewels. There are spikes either surrounding or coming out of every single surface here. With so many things to avoid, the stage is pretty hard already. But in Mirror Mode, without the safety net of Diddys jetpack to hover between jumps and the prospect of one mistake meaning you start all over, this is a nightmare.

Lord Fredrik on Hard Mode

Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze (2014)

In a similar vein, if you beat every level in Tropical Freeze, you unlock Hard Mode. While levels arent flipped and youre allowed to choose your character, you still die in one hit. Naturally, Lord Fredrik, the final boss and already one of the hardest bosses in the series, makes for an exceptionally frustrating challenge here. Hes fought across three phases. While the first isnt too bad, its when he begins freezing the ground during the second, making your movement harder, thatll youll be in trouble. If you reach the third, one of the quick-moving ice dragons he fires will probably do you in. A hard fight with only a single-hit health bar is going to truly test whether youre worthy of the games coveted 200% goal.

Did we leave off any other stressful moments that made your heart rate skyrocket? Be sure to share your experiences with us in the comments!