Gettin' Down with DKC2

Some memorable moments from Donkey Kong Country 2... Always got a kick out of Krazy Kremland (World 4), the ridiculously dangerous and evil amusement park.

 

A bit bummed that 4 of 6 levels take place on the outskirts of the park. Still, the whole world is really fun to explore... Despite the fact I was cursin' like a sailor every time I died in the bramble patches and beehives.

Hornet Hole (4-1)

Took me a while to locate an elusive bonus area in Hornet Hole... Turns out, there are two bonus areas hidden near the ceiling at the very beginning of the level. I found one, and simply did not enter the other door, assuming it would take me back to bonus area I had just came from.

 When you venture into a bee hive, it's always more fun if you've got your own spider... The trademark lone banana beneath this Zinger invites you to explore a hidden area to uncover the DK coin.

Target Terror (4-2)

An awesomely unsafe amusement park ride! The Kremling riding his own cart offers a clue to a bonus area... After Klank tosses a few barrels at you, he drops down and off screen. If you follow him, you'll find a bonus room hidden on a lower section of track.

Bramble Scramble (4-3)

Some rules can be bent... Others can be broken. I remember it took me forever to figure out how to reach this lone banana on the other side of the wall to the right of the save barrel. Seems they thought it would be clever to add a few invisible passages in the thorny maze. Just gotta hop through the prickly wall to find Squitter and the DK coin, a move that would normally lead to your death.


Rickety Race (4-4)

Failing to locate the DK coin yet passing the level with a third place finish, I figured that uncovering the elusive coin involved getting first place... Sure enough, the Kremling that you need to overtake to finish first in Rickety Race is carrying the coveted coin.

Mudhole Marsh (4-5) 

The DK coin here is is up for grabs at the end-level target...
Only catch, is that you have to NOT kill the Kannon (aka Klump) who's firing the barrels, and perform a skilled jump off a flying barrel and onto the target. If you time it right, you'll be rewarded with the DK coin. This is the first of two coins found at the end level target, second one being in Web Woods (5-5).

Rambi Rumble (4-6)

As much as I prefer not to be stuck in a beehive, I absolutely love the atmosphere of the hive levels, especially, with the ominously epic music. I was sure that the Zingers watching from the walls were suddenly going to come out and swarm me. Not to mention the creepy, pulsing sacs of larvae. Honey everywhere... It's even dripping off the screen.

The DK coin is collected before transforming into Rambi, by climbing over the Rambi room.

King Zing Sting (World 4 Boss)

I believe this is the first time in the DKC series that we've had an animal buddy involved in a boss battle... King Zing gave me more trouble than any boss in the series so far, and I gotta say I was relieved when he and his minions finally bit the dust. Where's a can of Raid when you need one?

Gloomy Gulch (World 5)

Haunted Hall (5-2)

Jumping off the tracks onto another section of track with a hidden bonus area seems like the norm now... But this time, they've hidden a bonus room ABOVE the other... The game actually lets you enter both rooms, provided that you get the top one first. Once finished, you'll roll back down the track, and automatically roll forwards into the lower bonus room.

Parrot Chute Panic (5-4)

Definitely not a simple level, but has a bonus room that's easy to miss. After dodging a bunch of Zingers, it takes a hard and deliberate left to drift over to this hidden ledge with a bonus room.

Interestingly, Parrot Chute Panic also contains a room with bananas in the shape of a Rareware logo. It's broken into with a crate like many bonus areas, but it does not count for anything.

Some banana coins upon exit, but pretty much a hidden room just for the sake of a hidden room.

  It's one of two banana "Rareware" logos that I know of in the game... (The other being found in the Enguarde portion of Animal Antics in the Lost World)

Web Woods (5-5)

A Rare logo in the "Collect the Stars" bonus game. I could have sworn that there was another Rareware logo made of stars somewhere else in the game, but can't seem to locate it at the moment.

Considered one of the most difficult stages in the game, Web Woods is a slow, cautious crawl using Squitter's webs as both platforms and projectiles... A rather unconventional bonus level is found here, where you follow a slow moving cannonball back towards a wall that exposes a bonus area.

It's a tedious trek to get to the end, and the DK coin is available as a prize at the end-level target. Only problem is that it only flashes on screen for a fraction of a second, requiring impeccable timing to snag it. You're bound to miss it your first few tries, and because you hit the target and finished the level, the game forces you to start the level all over again for another chance at the cursed coin. (If you can manage to rapidly pause and unpause the game four times while the preceding lone banana is displayed, you can immediately hit the A button when you unpause to stack the odds in your favor.)

Kreepy Krow (World 5 Boss)

Mortally wounded in his first fight against the Kongs, it look's like Krow's spirit has returned for revenge. Kreepy Krow gets a bit out of hand with his egg chuckin', but he's not quite as tough as King Zing.