Collection essentials #404: Donkey Kong 64 (N64)

Donkey Kong’s leap from the 2D platformers of the Super Nintendo to 3D on the Nintendo 64 would be much like Mario’s, going from a more linear structure to a full three-dimensional world that’s more vast and open-ended. Rare already had experience making a game like this as they had developed Banjo-Kazooie previously, so the choice made sense. Unlike Mario, Donkey Kong wouldn’t be going at it alone, as this game features the five-member “DK Crew” in which each Kong has unique abilities that are all needed at various points in the game. 

Donkey Kong 64 feels even more open-ended than the console’s previous 3D platformers. There’s often not much direction on where to go, which I suppose can be either a blessing or a curse because some people don’t like having their hand held so much while others may be annoyed when they’re unsure of where they can or should go next. There’s also even more of an emphasis on collecting tons of items littered all over the game, which led to some people calling this type of game a “collect-a-thon”, a term that is sometimes not used very positively. Guinness recognizes this game as having more collectible items than any other platform game in history. Again, some people don’t like that, but others may find that delightful. 

You start out only having just Donkey Kong himself on your side, but before long you’ll come across the other Kongs imprisoned somewhere waiting to be freed. Once freed, you can swap out which Kong you’re controlling at certain dedicated spots. Diddy Kong is the only other returning Kong. There’s also Lanky Kong who has long and stretchy arms, Tiny Kong who can hover through the air by spinning her pigtails, and Chunky Kong who is incredibly strong. It’s a little weird that they didn’t bring back Dixie Kong or Kiddy Kong who could have filled in those last two roles. There are other abilities each Kong has and I can’t be bothered to list them all. Some abilities can only be activated at certain locations, which is good because some of them would be blatantly overpowered otherwise. Each Kong has their own unique gun and musical instrument, too. A rather controversial design choice is the fact that many collectible bananas scattered all over the levels are arbitrarily given a certain color so that only a particular Kong may pick them up, so the player has no choice but to backtrack through every level five times to actually get everything (but thankfully you don’t need to get literally everything to beat the game).

Finding collectibles can be as simple as finding them lying around in broad daylight, or they can be in hard-to-reach places, or you may have to play some sort of minigame or challenge to earn it. There are occasional boss battles too, of course, and the final boss fight is quite memorable. The game doesn’t really change up the 3D platformer formula all that much, but it didn’t really need to. There are also multiplayer modes for up to four friends, including a deathmatch mode and a coin-collecting mode, and I never played these much but it’s cool that they’re here.

This game required a new peripheral called the “Expansion Pak” to increase the Nintendo 64’s RAM from 4 MB up to 8 MB. The Pak is inserted into a visible spot on the top-front of the console. Thankfully, Rare was kind enough to bundle an Expansion Pak with every copy of this game, so no kids had to be disappointed to find out they needed to buy another thing before getting to play their new game. The one I have (shown in the photo) is actually not one that came with this game, and it is in fact a third-party iteration made by a company other than Nintendo, which I wasn’t aware of for a long time. 

And now I must address the big thing that you’ve likely been waiting for me to mention if you know this game at all, and that is the “DK Rap”. Upon turning on the game, you’re greeted to a rap music video in which an unnamed singer raps about the DK Crew and gives a verse to each of the five members describing their abilities. It’s very cheesy, silly, and extremely memorable. If you talk to anyone who is or was a fan of this game, it’s very likely that they can recite the entire rap from memory on the spot. Count me among one of those people! The DK Rap is seriously one of the most famous things about this game and something that a lot of people think of right away when the game is mentioned. 

When Donkey Kong 64 first came out, it received glowing critical acclaim from reviewers and it eventually became the second-best-selling platformer on the console behind Super Mario 64. However, interestingly, in recent years the game’s reputation has fallen off quite a bit, as there are a lot of people that really dislike this game, and its flaws tend to be mentioned in public discourse more than its redeeming qualities. So it’s an odd case of where a game may have originally been overrated, but wound up becoming underrated. I think the existence of other high-quality 3D platformers on the console does hurt its reputation a bit due to comparison’s sake.

As for my experience, my cousins down the street owned this game, so I got to try it out from time to time, and of course I immediately grew fond of the DK Rap. When I eventually got the game for myself, though, it took me a long time to play it. I tried to get started with it a few times, but I found the beginning of the game a little too aimless for my taste and not very appealing, so I kept putting it down. Years later, in 2013, I decided it was time once and for all that I seriously play Donkey Kong 64, and I pushed past the early portion of the game. And sure enough, the game gets a lot better once you get going. And while I don’t like it as much as Mario 64 or the Banjo games, I did enjoy it a lot and I am more than happy to consider it a collection essential.

Come on Cranky, take it to the fridge! Walnuts, peanuts, pineapple smells! Grapes, melons, oranges and coconut shells, oh yeah!