Donkey Kong 64/YMMV

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.


Ahhh...the Tropes...

"His coconut gun can fire in spurts! If he shoots ya, it's gonna hurt!"

  • Awesome Music: Frantic Factory, Fungi Forest, King Kut-Out and Hideout Helm. Props also go to the boss intro theme.
  • Badass Decay: Happens in-game. King K. Rool starts out as a legitimately menacing Darth Vader Clone, but eventually devolves into a complete goof and Villain Ball-holder.
  • Breather Boss: The rematch with Army-Dillo, which is sandwiched between several tough bosses. While he's got a few upgrades (his homing missile and his jetpack), they don't add much to his old moveset. Thanks to the fact that you have way more health than the first time you fight him, some find this fight easier.
  • Contested Sequel: Not at first, but time was not kind to this game's reception and has led to it developing a vocal hatedom. Critics accuse it of being an overly-padded slog of a game thanks to the gargantuan amount of collectibles there are, as well as the many frustrating minigames you have to play to get some of those coveted Gold Bananas. Other points against it are the incredibly expansive worlds, the crazy amount of backtracking you have to do to get everything, and the tedium that comes from being unable to swap Kongs on the fly. Fans however think these criticisms are overblown and often a product of people parroting the opinions of internet celebrities. To them, the worlds are entertaining and whimsical enough to avoid overstaying their welcome, and the varied gameplay styles split between the Kongs make up for the constant switching and backtracking.
  • Ear Worm:
    • The DK Rap.
    • Funky's theme can sneak up on you and make you whistle it when you least expect it.
  • Ensemble Darkhorse:
    • The playable Kongs in general count as this. While already popular, Diddy's cool moveset would be incorporated into many of his playable appearances in other games. Tiny Kong, likewise, would graduate to this trope once the controversy over her replacing the beloved Dixie Kong cooled down (thanks to Dixie making a comeback in later games, usually alongside Tiny). And then there's Chunky and Lanky, Kongs hailing from this game thanks to their goofy antics and fun playstyles. Chunky's especially notable for being the exact opposite of a Replacement Scrappy: he's way more popular than Kiddy Kong, who he's replacing (and related to).
    • Out of the non-playable Kongs, this game is where Funky Kong really began to hit his stride thanks to his helpful weapon upgrades, cool theme song, and hilarious role in King K. Rool's defeat.
    • Mad Jack is one of the series' most memorable bosses. He's a robotic mish-mash between a Jack-in-the-Box and a Kremling, has an awesome Evil Laugh and even cooler boss theme, and oozes Crazy Awesome vibes out of his every pore.
  • Genius Bonus: Since orangutans are good swimmers (and are, in fact, the only non-human apes that actively enjoy it), Lanky Kong's heavily associated with water and swimming in this game.
  • Good Bad Bug:
    • Using Lanky's arm stretching move, you can enter worlds with B.LOCKER on them, allowing you to access worlds you don't have enough golden bananas for. Chunky can do it too thanks to the Primate Punch.
    • The last Banana Fairy to be photographed is in the final room, and is nearly impossible to capture on film since due to her frantic flying. However, she only flies about when you're actually in the room, and you can take her picture through a window with no trouble at all. It's unclear if this is actually a glitch or a treat for thinking outside the box.
    • DK's "Moon Kick", which can be executed by using his kick attack while trying to climb a slope. If you pull it off correctly, the big ape goes soaring through the sky!
  • Hell Is That Noise: That strange moaning in the crypt of Creepy Castle...
    • GET OUT. That sound can give players nightmares.
    • Crystal Cave's calm, serene music suddenly being replaced every minute or so with intense music when the stupid guy in the ceiling begins making stalagmites rain down on you.
  • Memetic Mutation: The "Puzzle in the Caves" and "Demon Resident Mine Cart" themes have gained more notice than others thanks to Painis Cupcake. Oh, banana! Well done! Okaaay. Yeeeeah.
  • Most Annoying Sound:
    • The slide beetle's laugh, which you will hear many times if you bother going after her bananas.
    • King Kut Out's voiceover. AWAH AWAH AWAH AWAH AWAH AWAH AWAH YEEOWOHOH
    • Also, everytime Lanky gets hit.
    • That annoying sound the Gnawtys make, which goes Up to Eleven if you even bother (pun intended) to attempt any of the Beaver Bother minigames.
    • Most of Tiny's voice clips. WOOHOO! WHEEEEE! WOOHOO! WHEEEEE! WOOHOO! WHEEEEE...!
  • Most Wonderful Sound: Many of Donkey Kong's voiceclips are a joy to listen to, standouts being his memetic "YEAHHHHH" and his even more memetic "OK!".
  • Narm Charm: The DK Rap was deliberately written to be So Bad It's Good. It actually succeeded on that front to the point where people genuinely enjoy it.
  • Nightmare Fuel: As always.
  • Nightmare Retardant:
    • While he's creepy enough to have given plenty of kids nightmares, Mad Jack's still a very silly character at the end of the day. He makes goofy-sounding Donald Duck noises when he isn't laughing, and when you kill him, he faces the camera and waves goodbye while letting out a sad little "Uh oh" as if he were a Looney Tunes character.
    • Probably as a way to take the edge off a genuinely creepy level, the "Ghost" Kremlings you fight in Creepy Castle are intentionally silly and non-threatening. They wear literal bedsheets!
  • Polished Port: The Wii U port is a weird example of this trope and a Porting Disaster. It doesn't have the input lag that the original had, and thanks to having access to Restore Points, it makes a lot of the tougher Golden Bananas a lot easier (or at least less tedious) to get. However, the game was built around the input lag, so the lack of it can really mess you up.
  • Replacement Scrappy: Tiny was this at first for replacing Dixie. Time would be a lot kinder to her reception among the fanbase.
  • The Scrappy: That stupid beetle that you have to race for a few Golden Bananas. She's as big of a cheater as Canary Mary, and laughs at you for losing her blatantly unfair races.
  • Signature Song: The ever-memetic DK Rap.
  • So Bad It's Good: The DK Rap was an intentional example of this thanks to its goofy lyrics and Totally Radical presentation. However, most people nowadays consider it to be genuinely good.
  • That One Boss: A lot of them, surprisingly.
    • Mad Jack's officially where the kid gloves come off. You're forced to twirl back and forth between platforms to avoid being smashed. Worst of all, he speeds up as the battle goes on, so you need to land precisely on the edge of every platform or else you won't have enough time to reach the next one. This repeats for 10-15 times, and if you fall off, the pattern starts over. Also the camera is known to make a switcheroo mid-twirl.
    • King Kut-Out also qualifies if you haven't mastered the patterns in his third stage, where he moves around the arena really fast, making it easy to waste all the Kongs you fire at him. It turns out he's surprisingly easy to hit because you have to fire right when he's in front of you, instead of trying to time your attack for when he'll be in front of you after you fire. Too bad that isn't intuitive in the slightest.
    • Dogadon's rematch, mainly because the end of the fight has him try to sink the platform you're fighting on into the lava, and you've got to deal with wide-reaching attacks that can stall you out while you desperately try to beat him to death.
    • Puftoss, because you're basically playing Superman 64 but with Diddy Kong Racing's hellish hovercraft controls. You have to race through several series' of rings on a strict time limit while he's firing off a ton of attacks at you, all while controlling a hovercraft that drives like a wet bar of soap.
    • King K. Rool is a grueling five-round slugfest where each Kong gets a chance to beat him up. It's also hilariously lopsided in his favor, because if you run out of time during a round, he gets a complete health refill while you dont, and losing to him at any point means you have to start the fight all over again. DK and Diddy's rounds aren't too tough, but the rest of the Kongs have to deal with frustrating attack patterns and surprisingly strict attack timing on their end. A fitting end for a game loaded with frustrating challenges.
  • That One Level:
    • Gloomy Galleon's the first example that you run into. It's a water level with all the annoyances you expect, and is ridiculously huge even by the game's standards, which makes it a nightmare to find everything if you're going for 100% completion.
    • Crystal Caves, at least until you kill the guy bringing the ceiling down on your head. Many golden bananas are also difficult to get, leading to a difficulty spike.
    • Also, contrary to Super Mario 64, either of the slides. Even in Angry Aztec, which is overall an easy level.
    • The arcade Donkey Kong game in Frantic Factory. It has to be beaten twice in order to reach the final boss, but you have to beat the entire game with one life both times. If you can get ten thousand points (reasonably easy in the second round), you can get another, but that's a small consolation when playing a game where the average player's lifespan, according to The King of Kong, is thirty seconds.
      • It's made even more annoying by the fact that you get sent back to the factory when you lose, and go through the whole cinematic of DK grabbing the lever and the title screen before you can try it again.
      • If you use the D-pad instead of the analog stick, it tightens up the controls a lot and makes things somewhat easier. Where is this hinted at? Nowhere!!
  • That One Sidequest: If you want to trigger a PTSD episode in people who have played this game, all you need is two words: Beaver Bother. It's a basic herding game where, as a Klaptrap, you have one minute to scare beavers into a tiny hole in the center of a round stage. Problem is, the collision detection for the beavers vs. the hole is a little too good, and your Klaptrap can't simply push them in, also due to collision mechanics. The beavers also have a slowish respawn, and frequently get stuck on the wall. There's one game that requires you to herd 12 beavers in the hole, which is difficult, but then there are two, count 'em: TWO, versions that require you to herd 15. Those are downright impossible. There are certain tricks that make it easier (spiraling around the barrel, nudging in the Gnawties from the side), but they're stupidly unintuitive.
    • A lot of those barrels are infuriating, especially Splish-Splash Salvage, where you have to collect eight submerged coins in a barrel. The biggest problems stemmed from the fixed camera and the fact that the coins used 2D sprites, which could render them nearly impossible to see if they were underneath the camera.
    • Also any of the races that require you to collect a certain number of coins and still beat your opponent. In particular, the slides. It seems Rare didn't learn their lesson from Diddy Kong Racing.
  • Vindicated by History: The DK Rap was conceived as a deliberately corny So Bad It's Good ditty, and was often enjoyed ironically at best and hated at worst, which made it a frequent target of mockery during the ugliest period of the Console Wars. As time passed, however, these sentiments all but vanished entirely thanks to people growing to appreciate its deliberately silly nature, as well as finding it to be a genuinely catchy song that does a good job at characterizing the Kongs and showing what they're all about.
  • The Woobie:
    • K. Lumsy, because he's a lovable lunk that K. Rool locked up because he wouldn't destroy DK Isle for him. Fewer things feel better than delivering a key to his cage, and watching his happy dance every time he gets closer to freedom.
    • The Banana Fairy Queen also counts. The way she cries when you first meet her is bound to tug at your heartstrings. Like with K. Lumsy, cheering her up by finding her missing Banana Fairies feels very good.
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