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=== Ahhh...the Tropes... ===
* [[Accidental Innuendo]]: "HisDonkey coconutKong's gunpart canof firethe inDK spurts!Rap IFgives HEus SHOOTS YA, it's'this'' gonnamemorable hurt!"quote.
{{quote|"His coconut gun can fire in spurts! If he shoots ya, it's gonna hurt!"}}
* [[Awesome Music (Sugar Wiki)|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]]: ArmyThe Dillorematch inwith Crystal CavesArmy-Dillo, he'swhich almostis thesandwiched samebetween asseveral intough Junglebosses. JapesWhile excepthe's yougot havea threefew melonsupgrades now,(his makinghoming himmissile aand bithis easierjetpack), inthey thatdon't regard.add Themuch onlyto upgradeshis heold moveset. hasThanks areto the fireballfact cannonthat andyou heathave seeking''way'' missile.more Despitehealth that,than he'sthe onlyfirst atime smidgeyou harderfight thanhim, thesome firstfind twothis bossesfight ''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 [[Plot Coupon|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 [[Reviews Are the Gospel|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.
** [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ldtju8Py4iI 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).
** Diddy (who started finding his way into other Nintendo games with his power-ups from this one) and Funky.
** 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 {{spoiler|hilarious role in King K. Rool's defeat}}.
** Mad Jack is one of the series' most memorable bosses.
** Mad Jack is one of the series' most memorable bosses. He's a [[Ninja Pirate Robot Zombie|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.
** Lanky Kong from this game onward, as his only other appearance in the franchise ever since was as a playable character in ''Barrel Blast''.
* [[Genius Bonus]]: LankySince Kongorangutans isare associatedgood withswimmers water. Orangutans(and are, in fact, the ONLYonly non-human primates,apes inthat [[Realactively Life]]enjoy it), toLanky actuallyKong's enjoyheavily 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!
** Using Donkey Kong's air attack while approaching a slope and then immediately using his grounded kick attack (it makes sense through actually playing) might cause him to soar through the air. It has been dubbed the "Moonkick" and is useful for sequence breakers and speedrunners.
* [[Hell Is That Noise]]: That strange moaning in the crypt of Creepy Castle...
** '''GET OUT.''' That sound can give players nightmares.
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** 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!".
* [[Most Wonderful Sound]]:
* [[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 likegenuinely itenjoy unironicallyit.
** ''Ohhh, banana!''
** The monkey sounds that show up whenever you solve a puzzle. Often followed up by the above sound.
** "Don, Don, Don-key Kong!" Played whenever you get a Golden Banana, and certain other items.
** DK's "YEAH" voice clip, which he uses after the aforementioned Golden Banana sound.
** DK's voice is overall very well-received, fitting DK's laid-back tough guy persona he has in this game.
* [[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 like it unironically.
* [[Nightmare Fuel]]: [[Donkey Kong Country (video game)/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.
** For as horrifying as Frantic Factory's boss Mad Jack can be, defeating him causes him to utter out a small "Uh Oh..." while waving to the camera, before he stumbles to the ground.
** 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 [[Bedsheet Ghost|''literal bedsheets!'']]
** The [[Bedsheet Ghost]] Kremlings are intentionally this.
* [[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.
* [[Polished Port]]: The Wii U release doesn't have any of the framerate lag the N64 original did, making it feel smoother, and allows players to create "restore points" so they can redo sections more quickly. The only drawback is that, because of the absence of slowdown derived from the faster pace, some parts of the game that were balanced to fit the original framerate are made more difficult than intended (though making use of the built in "restore point" feature of the Wii U's Virtual Console can help mitigate the problems).
* [[Replacement Scrappy]]: Tiny, whowas replacedthis fan-favoriteat first for replacing Dixie,. at[[Rescued leastFrom the Scrappy Heap|Time would be a lot kinder to someher reception among the peoplefanbase.]]
* [[The Scrappy]]: That ''stupid'' beetle that you have to race for a few Golden Bananas. She's as big of a cheater as [[Banjo-Kazooie|Canary Mary]], and ''laughs at you'' for losing her blatantly unfair races.
* [[The Scrappy]]:
* [[Signature Song]]: The ever-memetic DK Rap.
** The goddamn racing Beetle and his hellish slide races, where you have to collect a certain number of coins AND win.
* [[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 [[Vindicated by History|nowadays]] consider it to be [[Crowning Music of Awesome|genuinely good.]]
** Troff and Scoff, for having very unappealing designs.
* [[That One Boss]]: A lot of them, surprisingly.
* [[Scrappy Mechanic]]: Beaver Bother. It's a basic herding game where, as a Klaptrap, you have one minute to scare Gnawtys 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 Gnawtys also have a slowish respawn, and frequently get stuck on the wall. There's one game that requires you to herd 12 Gnawtys in the hole, which is difficult, but then there are two, count 'em: ''TWO'', versions that require you to herd 15.
** Mad Jack.'s Heofficially combineswhere thisthe withkid [[Goddamngloves Boss]]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. The secret is to stay in the middle four platforms, but this isn't even perfect because his panels can appear anywhere.
** It should also be mentioned that the two that require herding 15 are both ''in the same freaking level!'' Way to be original, Rare!
** 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 {{spoiler|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}}. [[Violation of Common Sense|Too bad that isn't intuitive in the slightest.]]
** 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.
** 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.
** 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]]''.
** 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.
** The submarine in Gloomy Galleon deserves a mention. You have to play Diddy's guitar on top of the lighthouse, get to the other section, dive underwater, and get into the submarine and then the fun begins. You have to shoot out all three of the lights (hit them three times to turn them from red to white to busted) but the propellor and respawning Zingers make this the last banana many players get. And that countdown timer gives you barely enough time if you do it exactly right. It's not only much tougher than Beaver Bother but at least with Beaver Bother you can jump right in the banana barrel again, here you have to go back to the top of the lighthouse and do that all over again.
** 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 ''don''t, 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.
* [[Signature Song]]: The DK Rap.
* [[That One Level]]:
* [[So Bad It's Good]]: The DK Rap, the lyrics of which composer Grant Kirkhope has admitted were written to be deliberately cheesy.
** 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.
* [[That One Boss]]: Several DK bosses more than qualify for this.
* [[That One Level]]:* 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.
** Mad Jack. He combines this with [[Goddamn Boss]]. 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. The secret is to stay in the middle four platforms, but this isn't even perfect because his panels can appear anywhere.
** King Kut-Out also qualifies for some who haven't mastered the patterns in his third stage. However, King Kut-Out becomes ''much'' easier once you realize you need to shoot him when he's ''actually'' in front of you, not when you ''predict'' he will be. Once you actually see him at any of the openings, you can shoot freely; once a shot is fired he stops moving, so if he was somewhere else you'll lose a Kong, but if he was right in front of you it's a guaranteed hit.
** Dogadon, the second time around. The final "form" of this boss involves him pounding the battle platform into molten lava. It's unclear exactly how much HP he has in the sections where you need to get big with Chunky and punch him. Chunky's stronger moves seem to be less effective than [[Button Mashing|using his neutral B move over and over and over again.]]
** How about the Gloomy Galleon boss, Puftoss? To damage the boss, you have to pilot a little motorboat through a series of checkpoints. The problem is, it handles about as well as the hovercraft in [[Diddy Kong Racing]], and the checkpoints get smaller and smaller. The first phase is deceptively easy, but then it gets cruel. In the second phase the checkpoints are still as large as the first time where it's easy, but it becomes hard because they're all next to him and he spams you with shockwaves that are an instant one-hit kill. So you can avoid them or risk jumping over them. In the third phase, the stars vary from close to far as they will in the last three. His shockwaves are less frequent thankfully, and disappear in the fourth and are replaced by heat seeking missiles that do half a melon's worth of damage (still better than one hit kill). Fifth stage of the battle near the end can be either almost impossible or easy, depending on if you have enough health left to take one or two hits since the star reappears in the same location.
* [[That One Level]]: 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.
** Crystal Caves also has that spinning maze which you have to complete at a fixed camera angle, [[Pun|slices a whole melon]] from your health meter if you touch the wall, and gives DK only a marginal amount of space to move around in.
** 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 [[Nintendo Hard|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? [[Guide Dang It|Nowhere!!]]
* [[ScrappyThat MechanicOne 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 Gnawtysbeavers 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 Gnawtysbeavers also have a slowish respawn, and frequently get stuck on the wall. There's one game that requires you to herd 12 Gnawtysbeavers 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.
* [[The Woobie]]: K. Lumsy.
** 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 ScrappyWoobie]]:
** 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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