This article is about the first game in theDonkey Kong Land series. For the series itself, seeDonkey Kong Land (series). For the game called "Donkey Kong Land" in Japanese releases, seeDonkey Kong Land 2.

Not to be confused withDonkey Kong Island.

Donkey Kong Land
For alternate box art, see thegame's gallery.
Developer	Rareware
Publisher	Nintendo
Platform	Game Boy,Virtual Console (Nintendo 3DS),Game Boy - Nintendo Switch Online
Release date	Game Boy: June 26, 1995[?] July 27, 1995[1] August 24, 1995[?] Player's Choice: September 1, 1997[2] Virtual Console (3DS): April 2, 2014[3] October 16, 2014[?] October 17, 2014[?] February 26, 2015[?] Game Boy - Nintendo Switch Online: November 21, 2024[4] November 22, 2024[5] November 22, 2024[6] November 22, 2024[7] November 26, 2024[8]
Languages	English Japanese
Genre	Platformer
Ratings	Game Boy: ESRB: - Kids to Adults[?] ACB: - General[?] Virtual Console:[9][10][11] ESRB: - Everyone[?] PEGI: - Three years and older[?] CERO: - All ages[?]
Mode	Single-player
Format	Nintendo Switch: Digital download Game Boy: Game Pak Nintendo 3DS: Digital download
Input	Nintendo Switch: Joy-Con Joy-Con (horizontal) Nintendo Switch Pro Controller Game Boy: Gamepad Nintendo 3DS: Gamepad
Serial codes	DMG-YT-USA DMG-YT-NOE DMG-YT-UKV DMG-YT-AUS DMG-YTJ-JPN

Donkey Kong Land is aplatformer video game developed byRareware for theGame Boy. Released in 1995, it is a handheld follow-up ofDonkey Kong Country. It is one of the few Game Boy games with a uniquely colored cartridge (yellow), which is also the case for its two sequels,Donkey Kong Land 2 andDonkey Kong Land III.Donkey Kong Land is among the first Game Boy titles specifically designed to haveSuper Game Boy features, including a rendered jungle border across the television screen.

Donkey Kong Land was later released for the3DS'sVirtual Console in Japan on April 2, 2014, in Europe on October 16, 2014, in Australia on October 17, 2014 and in North America on February 26, 2015. In November 2024, it was released onGame Boy - Nintendo Switch Online for theNintendo Switch.

The game is often mistaken as a Game Boy port ofDonkey Kong Country. Although the two games play similarly, the storyline is different andDonkey Kong Land has unique levels, enemies, and bosses from the ones featured inDonkey Kong Country.

Story

The story is told in the game's instruction booklet and features a lot offourth wall references; it takes place after the events ofDonkey Kong Country, whereDonkey Kong andDiddy Kong discuss their latest adventure toCranky Kong. Cranky admits that it was more successful than he thought, but claims that it was only because of "fancy graphics" and that "Kids'll buy anything nowadays." As Cranky rambles about the games of his time, DK and Diddy try to convince him thatDonkey Kong Country was great because it "was just plain fun."

Cranky remains unconvinced, and he challenges Donkey and Diddy to an adventure on an 8-bit monochrome system (the Game Boy). After they make the bet, Cranky arranges forKing K. Rool to steal thebanana hoard overnight. While Diddy originally agrees to the bet, Donkey Kong is furious because he wanted to watch theBanana Bowl. However, he reluctantly decides to go on an adventure with Diddy to retrieve the bananas from K. Rool.

Gameplay

The title screen forDonkey Kong Land, as seen with the Super Game Boy adapter

Donkey Kong near aContinue Point

Donkey Kong Land is a 2D platformer, designed for the Game Boy. Because of the Game Boy's limitations, the game offers less than its 16-bit predecessor. Graphics were ripped fromDonkey Kong Country and downgraded to 8-bit to fit Game Boy's limitations. On the level select screen, names of the stages are no longer present, and each level has very fewBonus Areas, usually one or two. Only one Kong displays on-screen at a time, eitherDonkey Kong orDiddy Kong.

Additionally, after theKongs find all the Bonus Areas in an area, an exclamation point appears above the level's circular marker in the overworld.

The game is divided into four worlds, each with seven normal levels, with the exception of the game's first world,Gangplank Galleon Ahoy!, which contains a total of nine. A boss level also appears in each world and must be completed to progress. Though most levels are unlocked after beating its previous level, some levels can be accessed before later levels. This can be done by finding rare, barrel-shaped bombs inside some levels and blasting away large boulders. With these boulders destroyed, a passageway to a certain level can be found. Unlike inDonkey Kong Country, the Kongs are able to travel freely to any level without any assistance, as they can simply journey world-to-world on foot.

Like in most platformer games, the goal is to reach the end of the level, without being defeated by an enemy or falling into a trap. The Kongs must make their way through each level carefully, or else an enemy may attack. When this happens, one of the Kongs in the group will run away. With one hero remaining, the player must be careful, as being hit by an enemy or obstacle results in losing a life. The missing Kong can be recovered from aBuddy Barrel, which appears in every level.Star Barrels were replaced with a different type ofcheckpoint, theContinue Points. Up to three can appear in a level. If the Kongs activate a Continue Point, their progress is temporarily saved at the point, and they will return to that point if they lose a life. Every level has a small portal for an endgoal, theend of stage. The Kongs must jump into it to exit the level.

Also, asCranky's Cabin does not appear in this game, players must collect theKONG Letters to save their progress, unlike inDonkey Kong Country and laterDonkey Kong Land games, where collecting the letters only granted an extra life.

Playable characters and abilities

As in the SNES game, Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong are the only playable characters. The stats of these Kongs both vary, just as in the previous game.

Image		Name	Description
GB	SGB
		Donkey Kong	The leader of the pair, Donkey Kong, does not move very fast. He is, however, very strong and is the only character able to beat the powerful foes,Krushas, without using aTNT Barrel. He carries barrels over his head.
		Diddy Kong	Donkey Kong's sidekick, Diddy Kong is smaller, lighter, and quicker, and can get through tight areas more easily. He carries barrels in front of himself.

The basic ability, jumping, can be done by both Kongs to defeat enemies, cross pits, or to simply jump to access higher areas. Both Kongs also have the ability to roll or cartwheel into foes. This can defeat the enemies much more easily than jumping on them, and it also gives the heroes an extra speed boost. Sometimes, the Kongs will find themselves required to cross a wide abyss too large to jump over. With their cartwheel and roll moves, they can perform a super-jump, making them roll over the gap and jumping in mid-air for an extra boost. Bouncing on atire can give them an extra boost in the air as well.

Though not used as much as jumping and rolling, the Kongs can also climb ropes and swim through water. To climb, the heroes must simply jump up and touch a rope. Climbing can be useful when crossing large gaps, though it can only be done on ropes. Jumping rope-to-rope is common in some levels, but luckily, the Kongs have no trouble in grabbing onto other ropes. During underwater levels, the Kongs will also use their ability to swim. Tapping the while swimming can make the Kongs move higher as they slowly float downwards. When the Kongs swim, they do not have as much control as on land. Additionally, unlike inDonkey Kong Country, underwater enemies are invincible due toEnguarde not being present.

Animal Friends

UnlikeDonkey Kong Country,Donkey Kong Land has only twoAnimal Friends,Rambi andExpresso, with each appearing in only four levels apiece. The Animal Friends here are unable to shoot through barrels, and they will suddenly drop to the ground once these obstacles are approached.

Image		Name	Description	First level appearance	Last level appearance
GB	SGB
		Rambi	The rhino buddy is able to charge into enemies to easily defeat them. He can also break through certain walls to create an opening to a Bonus Area.	Jungle Jaunt	Mountain Mayhem
		Expresso	The ostrich is able to help the Kongs cross wide abysses with his useful flying abilities. Out of his four appearances, three of them take place in a Bonus Area. Expresso is able to defeat enemies in this game by jumping on them, unlike inDonkey Kong Country.	Deck Trek	Collapsing Clouds

Enemies and hazards

Donkey Kong Land involves over twenty different enemies and hazards, although most first appeared inDonkey Kong Country. Noticeably, many of them remain common throughout the whole game, not making a final appearance until the last world, theBig Ape City.

Image		Name	Description	First level appearance	Last level appearance
GB	SGB
		Army	These armadillos roll at the Kongs on sight, and their quick and erratic movements can make them troublesome to deal with. Donkey Kong can jump on them to instantly defeat them, but Diddy Kong can only do so when it is not rolling; if he does so while it is, it will simply uncurl temporarily.	Tire Trail	Button Barrel Blast
		Chomps	Chomps are sharks that swim back-and-forth or endlessly forward while bobbing up-and-down slightly. Their sprites take the appearance ofChomps Jr. from the previous game.	Chomp's Coliseum	Oil Drum Slum (Bonus Area)
		Clambo	Unlike inDonkey Kong Country, Clambos block narrow passages by opening and closing their large, upwards-pointing shells.	Nautilus Chase
		Fangfish*	Fangfish are large basses even bigger than Chomps. Their attack pattern is the same, but with more erratic bobbing.	Kremlantis Kaos	Oil Drum Slum (Bonus Area)
		Flapper*	Flappers are mussels that live in the waters of Kremlantis. When a Kong approaches a Flapper, it emerges from its shell and starts alternating between slowly floating downwards and flapping its valves to quickly move back up.	Kremlantis Kaos	Chomp's Coliseum
		Gloop*	Gloops are fish smaller than Chomps that act similar, but do not bob at all. They are often found in parallel pairs.	Kremlantis Kaos	Oil Drum Slum (Bonus Area)
		Gnawty	Gnawties are beavers who are the weakest enemies in the game; they can be defeated by any attack from the Kongs. They usually have a set path, but can also be found walking forward endlessly.	Freezing Fun	Oil Drum Slum
		Hogwash the Flying Pig*	Hogwashes are flying pigs that either have a path to follow or fly in a straight line. They can be defeated with any attack method.	Freezing Fun	Skyscraper Caper
		Klap Trap	Very small crocodiles that crawl fast on the ground while gnashing their teeth. Neither Donkey nor Diddy Kong can roll or cartwheel over a Klaptrap, because its teeth are harmful; not even attacking from behind is safe in this game. A single stomp on its back or throwing a barrel at it is necessary to defeat it.	Riggin' Rumble	Skyscraper Caper
		Kritter	A Kritter is a generic Kremling found in most of the levels in the game. Kritters are as vulnerable as Gnawties, and they also harm the Kongs by simply walking into them. However, Kritters may also jump in various ways.	Jungle Jaunt	Oil Drum Slum
		Krusha	Krushas act similar to walking Kritters but are among the tougher enemies, being resistant to all of the Kongs' attacks except for Donkey Kong's stomp or a thrown barrel. When Donkey or Diddy Kong roll into a Krusha, it will push them back and start laughing at them.	Tricky Temple	Oil Drum Slum
		Mini-Necky	Miniature vultures that fly in place and spit volleys of coconuts at the Kongs periodically.	Deck Trek	Fast Barrel Blast
		Necky	Rare vultures that stay on the top of small hills and cover themselves with one wing, occasionally peeking out to throw three nuts in different directions.	Congo Carnage	Pot Hole Panic
		Nemo*	Nemos are enormous nautiluses that act similar to theCroctopuses inDonkey Kong Country, but are more aggressive and agile. Before pursuing the Kongs and after reaching the end of one's territory, Nemos stay inside their shells, inertly.	Nautilus Chase
		Slippa	Slippas are coral snake-like reptiles that crawl on the ground and can be defeated by any attack the Kongs have. Some instead slide down ropes and can only be defeated with barrels.	Jungle Jaunt	Oil Drum Slum
		Swirlwind*	Swirlwinds are sentient, invincible tornadoes found in temple levels. They are harmful when they are touched by the sides, yet also helpful to reach higher areas, as Swirlwinds send the Kongs up high when they bounce on them. When a Kong is close to a Swirlwind, the tornado will start to chase him; bouncing on a Swirlwind also makes it move.	Snake Charmer's Challenge	Swirlwind Storm
		Zinger	The Zingers are wasp enemies found in almost every level ofDonkey Kong Land. They fly from one point to another, in circles, or just flap their wings in the air while remaining still.They can only be defeated with a thrown barrel or jumping on it while riding an Animal Friend.	Freezing Fun	Oil Drum Slum
Obstacles
Image		Name	Description	First level appearance	Last level appearance
GB	SGB
		Basket of snakes*	An infinite amount ofSlippas can come out of a snake basket, an obstacle which replaces theblack drums fromDonkey Kong Country. The baskets themselves are only dangerous when they roll down the stairs and towards the Kongs. Otherwise, they can even be used as platforms, and when stood upon, Slippas will not come out. Baskets of snakes can be broken with TNT Barrels.	Snake Charmer's Challenge
		Boulder*	Boulders fall from holes in the wall or from the top of the screen in mountain stages.	Mountain Mayhem	Landslide Leap
		Coconut	Projectiles used by both Neckys and Mini-Neckys.	Deck Trek	Fast Barrel Blast
		Crownerang	Hard Hat and K. Rool throw their headwear as a boomerang as their respective primary attack.	Mad Mole Holes	K. Rool's Kingdom
		Mincer	Indestructible tires with spikes that fly in the same patterns as Zingers. Mincers usually appear in Bonus Areas.	Deck Trek (Bonus Area)	Button Barrel Blast (Bonus Area)
		Oil drum	Oil drums are rare obstacles in the game. They can hover in the air immobile, serving as platforms, but some of them host dangerous flames of fire that burst out of them and retract from time to time, necessitating good timing to pass them. An oil drum can be destroyed with aTNT Barrel.	Landslide Leap (Bonus Area)	Oil Drum Slum
		Pearl	TheGiant Clam shoots these at the Kongs; rebounding them is key to defeating it.	Seabed Showdown

^* - Was not inDonkey Kong Country

Bosses

Throughout the Kongs' quest, they not only find the enemies listed above, but also severalbosses, who require a little more skill to beat. Each boss appears at the end of all the game's worlds, and must be defeated to allow the heroes to progress. Each one has a simple attack pattern, but their speed goes up considerably the more times they are hit.

Image		Name	Description	Location	Level name
GB	SGB
		Wild Sting	Wild Sting is the first boss of the game, encountered onGangplank Galleon. It is a flying stingray that swoops back-and-forth at the Kongs, and must be stomped several times in order to defeat it.	Gangplank Galleon Ahoy!	Wild Sting Fling
		Giant Clam	The Giant Clam is the second boss in the game. It is fought underwater, and continuously shoots pearls at the Kongs. They need to lure it into shooting a dormant-but-warping Clambo with a pearl, causing its shell to open and knock the pearl back at the boss. It needs to be hit like this several times in order to make it fall off-screen.	Kremlantis	Seabed Showdown
		Hard Hat	Hard Hat is a mad mole fought in a cavern whose ground is dug up in three holes, from which the boss comes out. The battle with Hard Hat is similar to a "whack-a-mole" game; he pops out of one of the three holes, looks cautiously at the Kongs, then takes off the mine helmet he wears on the head and hurls it at them, at which point the Kongs need to carefully dodge the mine helmet and then stomp on the boss's head. After being hit, Hard Hat will enter back in his den and burst out of another hole. The process must be repeated until Hard Hat is defeated.	Monkey Mountains & Chimpanzee Clouds	Mad Mole Holes
		King K. Rool	The king of the Kremlings is the final boss ofDonkey Kong Land. He appears to be much smaller than inDonkey Kong Country, but nonetheless, he attacks the Kongs just like he did before, as well as similar to Hard Hat. King K. Rool throws his crown at the heroes, which inflicts damage to them. While the Kremling does not have his crown on the head, Donkey or Diddy need to stomp him, after which he will run around the arena and occasionally leap over the Kongs. They must repeat this process until K. Rool falls beaten.	Big Ape City	K. Rool's Kingdom

Items

Many items can be found aroundDonkey Kong Land, and each help the duo complete levels or defeat enemies. Each item has a different purpose.

Image		Name	Description
GB	SGB
		Bananas	Bananas are the most abundant items in the game. Donkey or Diddy Kong can collect 100 of them in exchange for anextra life.
		Banana Bunch	Banana Bunches are a group of Bananas, bunched together for a value of ten Bananas.
		Life Balloon	Life Balloons give anextra life to the Kongs. These balloons fly away quickly, so the Kongs must make sure they act fast to get them. UnlikeDonkey Kong Country, the player cannot distinguish between value or color because of the Game Boy's monochrome palette. Therefore, every Life Balloon only grants one life.
		Kong Tokens	Kong Tokens first appear in this game. They are featured in almost every level, mainly inBonus Areas. In certain Bonus Areas, the Kongs can exchange a certain number of Kong Tokens for extra lives.
		KONG Letters	KONG Letters are an essential item. Every level has each letter of KONG letter scattered throughout in order. KONG Letters have a different role than inDonkey Kong Country because all four of a level's KONG Letters must be collected to save the game. This mechanism replacesCandy's Save Point. Additionally, in the level,Kong Krazy, KONG Letters can be used as platforms.

Objects

Many objects can also be interacted with in different ways.

Mechanisms

Image		Name	Description
GB	SGB
		Animal crate	These contain either Rambi or Expresso, depending on which is pictured.
		Balloon	Small platforms that constantly rise and fall as they inflate and deflate.
		Boulders	Aside from the harmful falling boulders in mountain levels, some boulders appear as roadblocks on the world map and require anExplosive Barrel to destroy.
		Button	Large switches that trigger different effects. Usually, they are used to exchange Kong Tokens for lives, though inButton Barrel Blast, they change theButton Barrels' direction.
		Cloud	Platforms that dissipate after being landed on.
		Continue Point	This object replaces theStar Barrel fromDonkey Kong Country. When touched, it automatically saves the player's progress at that point into that level. Continue Points appear in every non-boss level and can be found more than once in a level.
		Elevator	Platforms that move in various ways. Some simply move back-and-forth, some move along a lengthy path, and some change movement direction when jumped on or hitting a wall.
		End of stage	These portals take the Kongs back to the world map and open the following path on the map if there is one.
		KONG button	Special switches only found inKong Krazy, where they turn the player'sKONG Letters into platforms.
		Rope	Vertical ropes can be climbed. Some can carry the Kongs horizontally, and others rise from holes in the ground and can be ridden to abonus room. InRope Ravine andTricky Temple, some ropes are instead swung from and inSkyscraper Caper andOil Drum Slum, they move the Kongs up or down automatically. In construction site stages, ones in the background are visually replaced by chains.
		Sponge[12]	A harmless,Clambo-like creature appears in the corners of the arena atSeabed Showdown, and is used to knock back the pearls the Giant Clam shoots using its shell.
		Tire	Bouncy wheels that can be used to jump high. Some are embedded in the ground, some can be rolled on top of it, and some float in one position in the air.

Barrels

Most of the barrels inDonkey Kong Land originate fromDonkey Kong Country.

Throwable barrels
Image		Name	Description
GB	SGB
		Barrel	These wooden kegs are very rare items and only appear in three levels. They can be thrown at enemies and bust open walls, both of which destroy the Barrel.
		Buddy Barrel	Buddy Barrels are the most common Barrel. They can provide a missing Kong, most likely from if it was hit by an enemy. Upon being freed, an icon of the freed Kong displays at the bottom-right corner of the screen, as only one Kong appears on screen at a time. If both Kongs are present, they can use a DK Barrel like a normal one.
		Steel keg	Steel kegs are a stronger projectile than normal barrels. If a steel keg hits a wall, it rebounds instead of breaking. They cannot be destroyed, and can roll into more than one enemy. DK or Diddy can even ride on a rolling steel keg by jumping onto it.
		TNT Barrel	TNT Barrels are often found in levels, and can be defeat enemies if thrown at them, includingoil drums. They are explosive and are able to blast away more things than normal Barrels.
Enterable barrels
Image		Name	Description
GB	SGB
		Barrel Cannon	Barrel Cannons shoot out the Kongs when the player pushes a button.
		Blast Barrel	Blast Barrels are Barrel Cannons that shoot out the Kongs automatically.
		Button Barrel	Button Barrels are Blast Barrels whose direction is adjusted through in-game buttons.
Triggerable barrels
Image		Name	Description
GB	SGB
		Explosive barrel	These can be collected in a few stages to destroy roadblockingboulders on the overworld.

Levels

Note: Some musical compositions of the game are 8-bit arrangements of other compositions fromDonkey Kong Country, which were created byDavid Wise. They are listed with their original title in the "Music theme" sectors of the following table. Graeme Norgate also participated with several new tunes, also listed here. Their names were posted onNorgate's website, and according to him, they pertain to the game's soundtrack filenames.

The world map plays the Bonus Area theme, rather than a rendition of the world map theme fromDonkey Kong Country.

Staff

Main article:List of Donkey Kong Land staff

Main Programming

• Paul Machacek

Support Programming

• Steve Patrick
• Oliver Norton

Scenery

• Dean Smith

Sprite Graphics

• Steve Mayles
• Mark Stevenson
• Keri Gunn
• Carl Tilley
• Kevin Bayliss

Additional Graphics

• Neil Crook

Glitches

Instant death

If Donkey or Diddy fall with no visible ground below, the game will mistake the player for falling into a pit and will count it as an instant death, even if both Kongs are present. This includes being knocked back by enemies, but also can happen if either Kong falls to a platform below that is off screen.

Missing nuts

In some levels, particularly jungle levels, there areNeckys that sit on platforms and spit nuts, hoping to hit the Kongs when they are below him. However, if Necky is on the top of the screen, the sound effect of spitting nuts can be heard, but no nuts are actually fired.

Missing Kong

In some cases the player can obtain the second Kong from a DK barrel, but after getting hit it will still result in a death instead of the other Kong appearing in his place.

Super Game Boy title screen palette glitch

When playing on aSuper Game Boy, if the game is on the title screen and the user overrides the palette (either by pressing to quickly toggle the palette, or+ to open the palette selector), the screen has an inverted palette, causing graphical weirdness. This is because this screen has four palettes (for the logo, the Kongs, and Rambi), and the Super Game Boy only allows one background color to be shared across all palettes, which in this case is black (leaving only three colors left for each palette). Since the background color is black, the game inverts the Game Boy's background palette colors to work around this limitation, and then assigns the other colors in a way to hide the inversion. However,Donkey Kong Land does not block the player from replacing the colors, so many of the Super Game Boy's built-in palettes appear inverted relative to other games.

InDonkey Kong Land 2 andDonkey Kong Land III, the palettes are inverted throughout the entire game, since every screen has more than one palette (the life bar and level names at the bottom of the screen use a different palette from the rest of the screen), and the shared background color is once again black. However, these games prohibit the user from changing the colors by using the Super Game Boy'sICON_EN command, which hides this issue and effectively fixes the bug.

Nintendo eShop description

Cranky Kong doesn't think Donkey Kong has proven himself to be a hero yet. So, he decides to work out a deal with the closest villain that he knows. K. Rool and his baddies have hidden bananas in new places across Donkey Kong Island in another attempt to outwit the best-friend duo. And the only response is for Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong to go off on another adventure! With over 30 levels plus tons of hidden secrets, swing, roll, jump, and barrel blast through worlds swarming with returning and original enemies. Creep along a mysterious pirate ship, trudge through fierce snow, swim in an unbelievable aquatic temple, and start some crazy capers in the sky. There will also be some animal friends waiting to help out. Cranky Kong is off his rocker if he thinks Donkey Kong won't step up to the challenge.

Reception

On release, Famitsu scoredDonkey Kong Land a 24 out of 40.

Pre-release and unused content

Main article:List of Donkey Kong Land pre-release and unused content

Gallery

For this subject's image gallery, seeGallery:Donkey Kong Land.

• 

  Donkey Kong,Diddy Kong,Rambi, andExpresso

• 

  Fangfish

• 

  Hard Hat

• 

  Nemo

• 

  Hogwash the Flying Pig

Multimedia

Main Theme

File infoMedia:Main_Theme_Menagerie_-_Donkey_Kong_Land.mp3 ​

Jungle theme

File infoMedia:DKL Jungle.oga ​

Gangplank Galleon

File infoMedia:Gangplank Galleon DKL.oga ​

Help:Media •Having trouble playing?

Names in other languages

References

Donkey Kong Land coverage on otherNIWA wikis:

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