Donkey Kong Country (Game Boy Color)
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| Donkey Kong Country | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Developer | Rare Ltd. | ||||||||
| Publisher | Nintendo | ||||||||
| Platform(s) | Game Boy Color | ||||||||
| Release date |  November 17, 2000  November 20, 2000[1]  2000  January 21, 2001 | ||||||||
| Language(s) | Donkey Kong Country: English (United States) Spanish (Spain) French (France) German Italian Donkey Kong 2001: Japanese | ||||||||
| Genre | Platformer | ||||||||
| Rating(s) |
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| Mode(s) | 1–2 players | ||||||||
| Media | Game Boy Color:
 Game Pak | ||||||||
| Input | Game Boy Color:
| ||||||||
Donkey Kong Country is a Game Boy Color title serving as a remake of the Super Nintendo Entertainment System game of the same name. It was first released in Europe, North America, and Australia in late 2000 and lastly in Japan in 2001 as Donkey Kong 2001, indicating its year of release. The game is contained within a clear cartridge case, so it is not dual compatible with original Game Boy units, unlike Conker's Pocket Tales.
Several of the game's elements are derived from the Donkey Kong Land series, particularly Donkey Kong Land, which has a similar theme and enemies to Donkey Kong Country. Some elements are also reused from Donkey Kong 64, such as the game cover art and cartridge label reusing a Donkey Kong 64 artwork of Donkey Kong swinging from a vine.
The game includes two minigame modes, Funky Fishing and Crosshair Cranky. In the main adventure mode, the game automatically saves after completing a level. Because of this, Candy's Save Point was replaced with Candy's Challenge, where she hosts a unique challenge in each world. The game adds another level in Chimp Caverns named Necky Nutmare.
The game can utilize the Game Boy Printer, and does so in a similar fashion to Super Mario Bros. Deluxe; there are unlockable DK Sticker Packs that can be collected throughout the main game to be added into the Sticker Book, accessible from the main menu, as well as an unlockable menu option where the player can create a custom banner. The stickers, alphabet images, and a custom-made banner can each be printed from the Game Boy Printer.
A few years later, in 2003, Donkey Kong Country received another remake for the Game Boy Advance, also bearing the same name. Most of its unique features are different than the Game Boy Color version, and the only thing carried over from it is the Funky's Fishing minigame.
Story[edit]
Like the original version, Donkey Kong Country's backstory is told in the instruction booklet, although it is an abridged version from the one in the original Super Nintendo Entertainment System version. The Game Boy Advance version's opening cutscene is closer to the backstory told in the Game Boy Color version's instruction booklet than the Super Nintendo one.
The Game Boy Color instruction booklet tells the story on pages 2 and 3 (page 5 in the European instruction booklet), under the "Simian Story" section:
Storms lashed the rugged terrain of Kong Island, and outside Donkey Kong's treehouse. Diddy shivered. DK had assigned him to guard duty on this awful night as part of his "hero training," and he was not happy about it... But a rustling in the undergrowth soon brought him out of his reverie.
"W-w-who goes there?!?" Diddy called. There was no answer but the flashing of claws and teeth. Diddy somersaulted into the fray but was quickly overcome by the weight of many scaly assiliants.
"It'sss the sssmall one... Ssseal him inssside thisss barrel and tosss it into the bussshesss... Donkey Kong'sss bananasss are oursss!" came a sinister voice.
The next morning, Donkey Kong awoke to the familiar rasping voice of Cranky Kong. "Take a look inside your banana cave," Cranky cackled from outside his treehouse. "You're in for a big surprise!"
Donkey's mind raced as he vaulted to the cave and peered inside. Instead of the dull golden glow of thousands of bananas, there were only a few discarded peels. These had been trampled into the dirt by hundreds of reptilian feet, judging from the many three-toed footprints that covered the damp cavern floor. But what about...
"Diddy... gone... my little buddy..." DK murmured to himself. He was suddenly filled with conviction. "The Kremlings will pay!" he raged. "I'll hunt them down through every corner of my island, until I have every last banana from my hoard back!"
Gameplay[edit]
Donkey Kong Country stars both Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong as the playable characters. Like the original game, the Kongs have to travel through different levels found within the six different worlds, each having a boss to fight at the end. The worlds are selected from the World Map, which gives an overview of Donkey Kong Island, while the levels are accessed within each world's Regional Map. Some levels have an Animal Friend, such as Rambi, who assist the Kongs along the way, and it can be freed from an Animal Crate. Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong must avoid the different enemies and obstacles they encounter along their path. If both Kongs take damage or fall down a pit, they lose an extra life. The Kongs always start out with five lives, including whenever the player resets the game, as it does not save the number of lives. The lives counter, shown at the top-right part of the HUD, only takes the number of additional lives into account, so if the Kongs have only one life, the lives counter displays it as a zero. Losing all lives results in a Game Over, followed by the game restarting back from the title screen. It is possible to leave any cleared level, except boss levels, by pausing the game and pressing 
.
Donkey Kong Country's gameplay is closer to that of the Donkey Kong Land series than the original Super Nintendo Entertainment System version, mainly because the Game Boy (which the three Donkey Kong titles were released for) utilizes the same hardware and has similar limitations to the Game Boy Color. One of the most notable similarities is that Donkey Kong Country drops the tag-team feature from the original version in favor of only one Kong appearing on-screen at a time like in the Donkey Kong Land series. If Donkey or Diddy free the other Kong from a DK Barrel, they are represented by a DK Barrel icon at the bottom-left of the screen. If the active Kong takes damage, the player loses that Kong, causing the DK Barrel icon to disappear, and the game forcefully swaps them out for the other Kong.
Functionally, Animal Crates are the same as Animal Barrels in that they are substituted for the Animal Friend. If the Animal Friend takes damage or the player presses , it turns back into either Donkey Kong or Diddy Kong.
Out of the three Donkey Kong Land titles, Donkey Kong Country is the most similar to Donkey Kong Land, which had already retained several elements introduced in the original Donkey Kong Country, and the Game Boy Color version in turn reuses some stuff from Donkey Kong Land, mainly several of the sound effects and musical themes.
Whenever the game is started, a splash screen showing an animation of the Rareware logo being rendered by green wireframe is shown, followed by the Nintendo logo, and lastly the copyright information. A difference is that unlike in the Super Nintendo version, the Rareware logo and Nintendo logo are shown on separate screens rather than the Rareware logo minimizing to the bottom-right to make way for the Nintendo logo, which does not sparkle either. After this, a language select screen is shown, even in the North American version, and the player can select either English, French, Spanish, German, or Italian as their language. After doing so, one of three title screens are then, each designed after a specific group artwork involving Donkey Kong and Diddy: one shows both of them in a jungle area, one shows both of them in the mines, and lastly, one shows them swimming underwater. Every title screen starts at the top, showing only the logo, before slowly making its way to the bottom, where rotating KONG Letters appear, spelling out the message "PRESS START."
In the ending, after the end credits, a screen thanking the player for playing Donkey Kong Country is shown. If this is their first time completing the main game, this is followed by a screen of Diddy on top of a crate that reads "Secrets await you on another barrel option." If the game is completed at the highest completion rating of 101%, the screen instead shows the crate open, revealing a golden trophy depicting a Banana Bunch. Lastly, a "The End" screen is shown, showing Donkey Kong pulling himself out from the screen of a yellow Game Boy Color, holding on to both the left and right sides. The game remains stuck on the screen until the player resets the game.
Modes[edit]
Donkey Kong Country introduces several modes and that were not present in the original version. They are selected from the Main Menu, which is designed after the one in Donkey Kong 64, including the functionality of menu options rotating in a clockwise or counterclockwise direction (when tapping the 
right or left respectively) while selecting between options.
- Adventure: This is the main game mode in which the adventure takes place. It is the game's equivalent to the original Super Nintendo version's menu; there are three game files to choose from as well as a Copy and Erase option, which copies an existing game file to one of the other two game files or deletes the selected game file, respectively.
- Bonus: This sub-menu primarily features two bonus games, Funky Fishing and Crosshair Cranky. It has an option to view their Funky Fishing hi-scores and to check which Banana Coins have been collected. It is neither possible to reset the hi-scores nor their progress in Crosshair Cranky.
- Funky Fishing: A timed fishing minigame where Donkey Kong has to catch as many Bitesizes and Croctopuses as possible, but must avoid fishing in any trash. This minigame would later return in the Game Boy Advance version, where it was elaborated upon by being included within the main adventure mode and featuring a greater variety of challenges.
- Crosshair Cranky: A shooting minigame that takes place on islets off the western coast of Donkey Kong Island. Most of the stages have a unique objective, although most of them involve shooting coconuts at Kritters.
- Hi-Scores: Here, the player can view their hi-scores for Funky Fishing, including default ones set by the game.
- View Items: The player can view which of the six Banana Coins that they have collected in the main Adventure mode. The ones that have not yet been collected are instead shown as a black silhouette.
- Link-Up: An unlockable two-player mode where players can compete in either Funky Fishing or Crosshair Cranky. It is unlocked by clearing at least one of Candy's Challenges in Adventure, although this is not suggested in-game nor in the instruction booklet.
- Print: If they have a Game Boy Printer, the player can print out various graphics, such as any DK Sticker Packs that the Kongs have acquired during their journey, or design their own custom banner.
- Sticker Book: The player can print from one of eighteen unlockable DK Sticker Pack, each depicting a certain group artwork associated with Donkey Kong Country.
- Alphabet: The player can print out a large letter, including some with a diatric, or number, each having a character, enemy, item, or barrel with it.
- Make Banner: The player can create their own banner. This mode is unlocked by completing Crosshair Cranky.
- Options:
- SFX: The player can turn the sound effects either on or off.
- Sound Test: The player can toggle between different sound effects using left and right on the
. The mode still shows the Main Menu background, and can be exited by pressing 
. - Star Barrels: This option removes the Star Barrels, and is unlocked by completing Adventure. Some DK Sticker Packs can only be found with this option turned off.
- DK Barrels: This option removes the DK Barrels, and is unlocked by completing Adventure. Some DK Sticker Packs can only be found with this option turned off. Furthermore, the player automatically begins a level with both Kongs.
Controls[edit]
- (left and right) - Move Donkey Kong or Diddy Kong left or right / scroll between menu selections / toggle between sound effects on the Sound Test
- (down) - Duck
- Jump or swim / make a menu selection- - Run / Perform a Barrel Roll (Donkey Kong) or a Cartwheel Attack (Diddy Kong) / cancel selection
- (hold) - Pick up and carry a barrel (release the button to throw it)
- Pause the game / make a menu selection (like with )
- Exit an already completed level / switch between Kongs or from an Animal Friend back to a Kong
Characters[edit]
Playable[edit]
- Donkey Kong: The titular protagonist, Donkey Kong is the initial playable character. He is stronger although slower than Diddy, and has distinct move called Hand Slap.
- Diddy Kong: He is Donkey Kong's sidekick, and can be freed from a DK Barrel at the start of the game. Diddy can jump slightly higher and farther than Donkey Kong, especially if it follows after Diddy performing a cartwheel attack.
Allies[edit]
Kongs[edit]
- Cranky Kong: He is the original Donkey Kong from the Donkey Kong arcade game, and is the first Kong whom Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong can optionally decide to visit. In every world, Cranky can be found outside his cabin. While Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong visit Cranky, he rambles to them about how things were better during his time, often breaking the fourth wall in the process. In the midst of his rambling, Cranky provides various level hints to the Kongs.
- Funky Kong: A surfer Kong who operates a flight service in every world. Here, he allows Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong to use his Jumbo Barrel to quickly travel between worlds they have already visited via the World Map as well as levels that they have already accessed in a world's Regional Map.
- Candy Kong: The love interest of Donkey Kong, Candy runs a shack called Candy's Challenge in each world, replacing Candy's Save Point in the original. Here, Candy offers Donkey and Diddy to complete a challenge for a Banana Coin.
Animal Friends[edit]
Certain levels feature Animal Friends who directly assist Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong in a level. They can be freed by jumping on to an Animal Crate depicting their silhouette. Many Animal Friends have their own Token Area that can be accessed by collecting three Animal Tokens of their type. Token Areas are filled with Mini Animal Tokens, and the objective is for the Animal Friend to collect as many as possible before the timer runs out.
- Rambi is a powerful gray rhino who is first found in the first stage in the game. He can easily defeat several enemies just by running into them. With his horn, Rambi can break open any fragile wall leading to a bonus room. Rambi's Token Area takes place within a snowy area.
- Enguarde is a swordfish with a long, sharp bill. He only appears in underwater levels, and is found in most of them. He can move around quickly underwater and, like Rambi, defeat most enemies in his path. Unlike the Kongs, Enguarde does not automatically move down to the ocean floor if left idle. Enguarde's Token Area takes place within an underwater area.
- Winky is a dark green frog with a high jumping ability, which allows him to reach certain areas that Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong cannot otherwise access on their own. Winky cannot instantly defeat most enemies within his path, unlike Rambi and Enguarde, although Winky can jump on several enemies to defeat them. Winky's Token Area takes place in a cavern area.
- Expresso is an ostrich with the ability to run fast and glide far distances, which is sometimes required to reach a bonus room. Expresso is weaker than the other Animal Friends as he cannot defeat or even attack any enemy, and attempting to do so causes Expresso to take damage. Expresso's Token Area takes place in a jungle area.
- Squawks is a small, green parrot who is different from the other Animal Friends in that he is not directly controlled by the player. Instead, Squawks carries a flashlight that illuminates an entire dark area while he follows behind the active Kong. Squawks is the only Animal Friend to neither have his own Animal Token nor a corresponding Token Area.
Enemies[edit]
- Armys
- Bitesizes
- Chomps
- Chomps Jrs.
- Clambos
- Croctopuses
- Gnawtys
- Klaptraps
- Klumps
- Krashes
- Kritters
- Krushas
- Manky Kongs
- Millstone Gnawtys
- Mincers
- Mini-Neckys
- Neckys
- Rockkrocs
- Slippas
- Squidges
- Zingers
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Bosses[edit]
Bosses are fought within a boss level found at the end of each world. They are usually enlarged versions of regular enemies. The bosses guard a large portion of the stolen bananas, which are featured in the background scenery for most boss fights. Additionally, if one of the Kongs are missing, there is a DK Barrel that always breaks open at the start, freeing the Kong. Defeating a boss earns Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong a Giant Banana, although it is merely symbolic and has no gameplay effect.
- This section is a stub. You can help DKpedia by expanding it.
Items[edit]
- Banana: The most common collectable in the game. Inside stages, they sometimes indicate which path to follow and can also hint locations of secrets. By collecting 100 bananas, the player will earn one extra life.
- Banana Bunch: Each Banana Bunch consists of ten bananas. There are also green Banana Bunches, which indicate the location of a nearby DK Sticker Pack.
- Extra Life Balloons are balloons in the shape of Donkey Kong's face, and collecting one grants the Kongs either one, two, or three extra lives, depending on the color. Red Balloons grant one life, Green Balloons grant two lives, and Blue Balloons grant three lives. On the HUD, the Kongs' number of extra lives are represented by a Red Balloon. Whenever the Kongs lose a life, the Red Balloon next to the lives counter pops while the counter subtracts by one.
- K-O-N-G Letters: These are found in every level (excluding boss levels), and collecting all four letters (K, O, N, and G) in a level earns the Kongs an extra life.
- Animal Tokens: These are golden tokens pertaining to a specific Animal Friend: Rambi, Enguarde, Winky, or Expresso. Collecting three Animal Tokens of the same type causes the game to redirect into a Token Area, where the player plays as the corresponding Animal Friend, who has to collect as many possible Mini Animal Tokens (also in their likeness) within the time limit. Once the timer reaches zero, the total number of collected Mini Animal Tokens are counted down, with every 100 of them rewarding the Kongs an extra life. After this, the Kongs are taken back into the main level, either at the start or at the Star Barrel, if they have activated it beforehand.
- DK Sticker Packs are collectible items exclusive to the Game Boy Color version of Donkey Kong Country. They are found buried in the ground near green Banana Bunches. A DK Sticker Pack can be uncovered by either having Donkey Kong perform a Hand Slap on the exact spot they are found or, if possible, falling onto the spot from a height. There are a total of 18 DK Sticker Packs, and any collected one can be found in the Sticker Book option via the Main Menu and printed via the Game Boy Printer. There is a DK Sticker Pack in each of the six worlds, and some only appear by turning off Star Barrels and DK Barrels respectively.
Barrels[edit]
- Barrels: These are the standard type of barrel used in the game, and they can be picked up and thrown by either Donkey Kong or Diddy Kong. Upon being thrown onto the ground, the barrel either rolls or instantly breaks, depending on each barrel, with the latter type formerly being a property of Vine Barrels from the original Super Nintendo Entertainment System version. A barrel can be used to attack an enemy, including stronger ones such as Zingers and gray Krushas. They can also break open certain walls to reveal a hidden entrance to a bonus room.
- Barrel Cannons have an opening that Donkey or Diddy can climb into. Upon entering a Barrel Cannon, either Kong can be launched into the direction it is facing. Some Barrel Cannons remain in a fixed position, some move up and down, and some rotate the direction that they are facing upon being climbed into. Several levels have gaps that can only be crossed using Barrel Cannons.
- Blast Barrels: These are a type of Barrel Cannon that automatically fire the Kongs upon being climbed into. Some change direction upon being climbed into. Some Blast Barrels take the Kongs to a bonus room, giving the same functionality as Bonus Barrels in other Donkey Kong titles, while some are invisible and warp Donkey and Diddy toward the end of the level, like Warp Barrels in other Donkey Kong titles.
- DK Barrels: If either Donkey or Diddy are missing, the other Kong can throw a DK Barrel to free them. Aside from this, DK Barrels are functionally the same as regular barrels that break upon hitting the ground. If Donkey or Diddy start a boss level without the other Kong, a DK Barrel automatically breaks open at the start and frees them. Completing the Adventure mode once unlocks an option to remove every DK Barrel.
- Fuel Barrels: Found exclusively in Tanked Up Trouble, Fuel Barrels are the fuel supply used for the moving platforms. Because the platforms rapidly run out of fuel, Donkey or Diddy must repeatedly collect Fuel Barrels along their path to keep it afloat, otherwise the platform falls down into the pit, causing the Kongs to lose an extra life.
- Jumbo Barrel: An airplane shaped-barrel at Funky's Flights that Funky allows Donkey and Diddy to use to access the Donkey Kong Island map and quickly travel between worlds that they have already visited, including any previously-visited locations within those worlds. The Jumbo Barrel travels more quickly on both the World Map and the Regional Maps than Donkey and Diddy can do on their own.
- On & Off Barrels: These utilize a similar mechanic to Stop & Go Barrels, and are also only found in one level, Loopy Lights. By default, these barrels are set to "OFF," covering the entire level in darkness, but Donkey or Diddy can jump at an On & Off Barrel to temporarily change all of them to "ON," which temporarily lights up the entire level.
- Star Barrels: These barrels serve as a checkpoint in every regular level, and are usually found midway through a level. Activating a Star Barrel makes it so that if the Kongs lose a life, they can continue the level from where the Star Barrel is located instead of the start as well as retain any K-O-N-G Letters that they have collected up to that point. Like DK Barrels, completing the Adventure mode once unlocks an option to remove every Star Barrel.
- Steel Kegs: These function similar to regular rolling barrels, but are sturdier and can bounce off walls. Donkey or Diddy can even ride on top of a Steel Keg.
- Stop & Go Barrels: These exclusively appear in the level Stop & Go Station. By default, the barrels are set to "GO," and during this Rockkrocs quickly move back and forth. Donkey or Diddy can jump at a Stop & Go Barrel temporarily to temporarily change all of them to "STOP," during which the Rockkrocs are curled up and dormant.
- TNT Barrels: They are explosive barrels that, upon being thrown, create a short wave of fire that can defeat any enemy within its range. If Donkey or Diddy pick up a TNT Barrel and then put it back on to the ground, it explodes a few seconds later.
Objects[edit]
- Mine Carts are a type of vehicle used by Donkey or Diddy to travel along the tracks in Mine Cart Carnage and Mine Cart Madness. As the Mine Cart travels along, the Kongs must carefully jump over any obstacles in their path, including pits, tipped over mine carts, and enemies, especially Krashes.
- Tires are round, bouncy objects that Donkey or Diddy can jump from to reach higher areas, and are sometimes required to reach a bonus room. Some tires are partially buried into the ground while others can be pushed around.
Worlds and levels[edit]
There are six worlds, each consisting of five or six regular levels and a boss level at the end. Every world has three supporting locations, Cranky's Cabin, Funky's Flights, and Candy's Challenge, belonging to Cranky Kong, Funky Kong, and Candy Kong respectively. Uncleared worlds and levels are indicated by a Kremling icon in the map, and cleared ones are indicated by the icon of whichever Kong had completed it.
If all bonus rooms in a level are accessed, that level's name is highlighted red from the world map, unlike the Super Nintendo version, which instead shows an exclamation mark.
| # | Level name | Bonus rooms | Environment | Music theme |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kongo Jungle | ||||
| 1 | Jungle Hijinxs | 2 | Jungle | DK Island Swing |
| 2 | Ropey Rampage | 2 | Jungle | DK Island Swing |
| 3 | Reptile Rumble | 3 | Cave | Cave Dweller Concert |
| 4 | Coral Capers | 0 | Underwater | Aquatic Ambiance |
| 5 | Barrel Cannon Canyon | 2 | Jungle | DK Island Swing |
| 6 | Boss level: Very Gnawty's Lair | 0 | Boss arena | Bad Boss Boogie |
| Monkey Mines | ||||
| 7 | Winky's Walkway | 1 | Walkway | Life in the Mines |
| 8 | Mine Cart Carnage | 0 | Mine shaft | Mine Cart Madness |
| 9 | Bouncy Bonanza | 2 | Cave | Cave Dweller Concert |
| 10 | Stop & Go Station | 2 | Mine shaft | Mine Cart Madness |
| 11 | Millstone Mayhem | 3 | Ruins | Voices of the Temple |
| 12 | Boss level: Necky's Nuts | 0 | Boss arena | Bad Boss Boogie |
| Vine Valley | ||||
| 13 | Vulture Culture | 3 | Forest | Forest |
| 14 | Tree Top Town | 2 | Treetops | Treetop Rock |
| 15 | Forest Frenzy | 2 | Forest | Forest |
| 16 | Temple Tempest | 2 | Ruins | Voices of the Temple |
| 17 | Orang-utan Gang | 5 | Jungle | DK Island Swing |
| 18 | Clam City | 0 | Underwater | Aquatic Ambiance |
| 19 | Boss level: Bumble B. Rumble | 0 | Boss arena | Bad Boss Boogie |
| Gorilla Glacier | ||||
| 20 | Snow Barrel Blast | 3 | Snow | Ice Cave Chant |
| 21 | Slipslide Ride | 3 | Ice cave | Kremlantis |
| 22 | Ice Age Alley | 2 | Snow | Ice Cave Chant |
| 23 | Croctopus Chase | 0 | Underwater | Aquatic Ambiance |
| 24 | Torchlight Trouble | 2 | Cave | Cave Dweller Concert |
| 25 | Rope Bridge Rumble | 2 | Treetops | Treetop Rock |
| 26 | Boss level: Really Gnawty Rampage | 0 | Boss arena | Bad Boss Boogie |
| Kremkroc Industries | ||||
| 27 | Oil Drum Alley | 4 | Factory | Fear Factory |
| 28 | Trick Track Trek | 3 | Walkway | Life in the Mines |
| 29 | Elevator Antics | 3 | Cave | Cave Dweller Concert |
| 30 | Poison Pond | 0 | Underwater | Aquatic Ambiance |
| 31 | Mine Cart Madness | 3 | Walkway | Mine Cart Madness |
| 32 | Blackout Basement | 2 | Factory | Fear Factory |
| 33 | Boss level: Boss Dumb Drum | 0 | Boss arena | Bad Boss Boogie |
| Chimp Caverns | ||||
| 34 | Tanked Up Trouble | 1 | Walkway | Life in the Mines |
| 35 | Manic Mincers | 2 | Cave | Cave Dweller Concert |
| 36 | Misty Mine | 2 | Mine shaft | Mine Cart Madness |
| 37 | Necky Nutmare* | 1 | Cave | Cave Dweller Concert |
| 38 | Loopy Lights | 2 | Mine shaft | Mine Cart Madness |
| 39 | Platform Perils | 2 | Walkway | Life in the Mines |
| 40 | Boss level: Necky's Revenge | 0 | Boss arena | Bad Boss Boogie |
| Final level | ||||
| 41 | Boss level: Gang-Plank Galleon | 0 | Ship | Gang-Plank Galleon |
Crosshair Cranky[edit]
In Crosshair Cranky, a mode exclusive to the Game Boy Color version, the first five levels each take place on an islet to the west of Donkey Kong Island, and the sixth and final level takes place outside of Gang-Plank Galleon. Like the main Adventure mode, each level is accessed from the world map, and one must be completed in order for the next one to become available. The levels are as follows:
List of differences from the original version[edit]
It has been requested that this section be rewritten.
- The starting cutscene from the SNES version where Cranky Kong plays a phonograph and Donkey Kong drops a boombox is removed for the Game Boy Color version.
- Three alternate title screens featuring special artworks are shown: the first being underwater, the second being in the jungle and the third in a mining area.
- The rotating menu selection screen is based on the one from the game Donkey Kong 64.
- Two minigames have been added in the Bonus menu: Funky hosts a fishing game known as Funky Fishing (which would be later reappear in the Game Boy Advance version) and Cranky oversees a shooting game called Crosshair Cranky.
- There is also a Sticker Book in the Printer menu. Through the three difficulty modes, the player can find Stickers inside stages nearby green Banana Bunches and unlock a total of eighteen of them. These same stickers depict special artworks, and they can be printed via a Game Boy Printer.
- Despite no being separated between two halves, the world maps sport very similar designs to the ones from the SNES version, with most of the stage locations keeping the same order. However, a few supporting Kong services have swapped places.
- Candy now runs Challenge stalls where certain challenges have to be completed to get single special Banana Coins, also added in this game version.
- The gameplay physics are similar to the ones from the SNES version. However, the main characters are capable of jumping slightly higher, especially following a roll move, and momentum for defeating multiple enemies by using roll attacks is longer.
- Donkey Kong's Hand Slap move is still present in this version, being capable of defeating regular enemies when used nearby them, but it no longer generates single bananas from enemies. The same move must be used nearby green Banana Bunches inside stages in order to uncover Stickers for the Sticker Book.
- Much like Donkey Kong Land series games, only one playable Kong appears on the screen at a time.
- The main characters do not ride the Animal Buddies, rather, the primates transform into them after bouncing on Animal Crates. After they taking damage once, the current main playable Kong will reappear in their place. The same can also be accomplished by the player pressing the "Select" button as an Animal Buddy. And, by leaving the screen and returning to the same locations of Animal Crates, the player can use them multiple times to turn the heroes into Animal Buddies again.
- Unlike the SNES version, DK Barrels in the air or underwater will not break when touched even if one of the main characters in the secondary position is already present.
- In the GBC version, most of the land enemies have predetermined patrol routines. Unlike the SNES and GBA versions, they rarely wander off their locations across environments of stages, including not falling off platforms nor into pits.
- The game automatically saves after the player clearing any single stage. But the game files do not keep track of the current number of extra lives. After loading any files, the number always returns to five. The same also happens to collected Animal Tokens, with the numbers of each type returning to zero.
- The exploit of earning extra lives by bouncing on consecutive enemies is no longer present in this game version.
- Finding all Bonus Rooms inside a stage and clearing it, and completing a Candy's Challenge are indicated by a red font at their names in the world maps.
- Over half of the music themes from the game Donkey Kong Land was reused.
- The Monkey Mines stage Winky's Walkway is extended, containing more enemies, and Star Barrel and some K-O-N-G Letters being placed further in it. The same stage also contains a single Mini-Necky, enemy which would only debut in later stages of the SNES and GBA versions.
- The Blast Barrel used as warp point to the final section is removed from Mine Cart Carnage.
- The stages Stop & Go Station, Misty Mine, and Loopy Lights now play the Mine Cart Madness theme instead of Misty Menace, despite neither being a Mine Cart stage.
- In the GBC version, the enemies Millstone Gnawtys are orange/red and ride on smaller stone wheels when compared to the SNES and GBA versions. And instead of riding on the interior of the wheels, these variants of Gnawties ride on the top of them.
- Unlike the SNES and GBA versions, variants of Croctopuses appearing only in the Gorilla Glacier stage Croctopus Chase are not visually distinct from their regular counterparts.
- There is no alcove containing an Animal Crate for Enguarde in the Gorilla Glacier stage Croctopus Chase.
- A second Animal Crate for Expresso the Ostrich no longer can be found inside the first Bonus Room of the Gorilla Glacier stage Ice Age Alley, unlike the SNES and GBA versions.
- The world Kremkroc Industries Inc. is now called just Kremkroc Industries in the Game Boy Color version.
- Unlike the SNES and GBA versions, a single regular Krusha is no longer present at the final section of the Kremkroc Industries stage Trick Track Trek.
- A new level called Necky Nutmare has been added to the world Chimp Caverns, being located between the stages Misty Mine and Loopy Lights. The same stage also features stronger variants of Krushas earlier, and, unlike the SNES and GBA versions, it is an additional one to a single location in the game to do that.
- Instead of taking place in Donkey Kong's Treehouse, the end credits instead shows various screenshots, including locations that do not appear to be featured as levels. The Cast of Characters has also been removed.
- Clearing the main game at certain percentage rates unlocks options in the Options menu of turning off DK Barrels and Star Barrels, respectively, during the Adventure mode, creating new difficulty modes.
Gallery[edit]
- For this subject's image gallery, see Gallery:Donkey Kong Country (Game Boy Color).
Media[edit]
 North American commercial | File info 0:30 |
| Australian commercial featuring the Atomic Purple Game Boy Color | File info 0:14 |
Names in other languages[edit]
| Language | Name | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Japanese | ドンキーコング2001 Donkī Kongu 2001 |
Donkey Kong 2001 |
