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Donkey Kong 64 for Nintendo 64
Donkey Kong 64 for Nintendo 64 is a three-dimensional platform adventure in which you stop King K. Rool and recover the stolen Golden Bananas. From Kong Isle, you unlock areas containing jungles, temples, a factory and underwater passages. You run, jump, swim and climb, but a conspicuous door or switch does not always respond to the Kong you currently control. As you rescue Donkey Kong's friends, you gain more ways to investigate such places.
Donkey, Diddy, Tiny, Lanky and Chunky each have their own abilities, weapons and musical instruments. Diddy uses a jetpack, for example, and Tiny can shrink. You switch characters in a Tag Barrel, then return to an obstacle you discovered earlier. Coloured bananas belong to particular Kongs; Golden Bananas open further access. You spend coins at Cranky, Funky and Candy's shops to gain new capabilities. Minecart rides, minigames and boss battles break up the searching and route planning along the way.
You play the main adventure alone. After collecting one Battle Arena Crown, you also unlock local competitions for two to four players, each with their own Nintendo 64 controller. These battles are separate from the campaign and do not provide a cooperative adventure. A Nintendo 64 Expansion Pak is required to play Donkey Kong 64; a standard Jumper Pak does not replace that memory expansion.
Region and language
Our Nintendo 64 games are PAL editions, unless stated otherwise. This product contains a loose cartridge for the European market. A box is only included if explicitly stated in the product details. We note any different region in the product details. In almost all cases, the game is playable at least in English, and often in the other five common European languages too.
Donkey Kong 64 requires a Nintendo 64 Expansion Pak. This memory expansion must be installed in the console to play the game. A Controller Pak in the controller does not replace the Expansion Pak.
This loose cartridge does not include an Expansion Pak. You need the required memory expansion separately if it is not already installed in your Nintendo 64.
Manual
With Donkey Kong 64 for Nintendo 64, you receive a loose cartridge. A box and manual are not included unless we explicitly state otherwise in the product details. This is the standard way we supply this copy.
The history of Donkey Kong 64
Rare developed Donkey Kong 64, and Nintendo released it for Nintendo 64 in 1999. After the side-view Donkey Kong Country games on Super Nintendo, Donkey Kong received an adventure whose environments could be explored in three dimensions. Rare had already gained experience on the same console with Banjo-Kazooie. Donkey Kong 64 then placed more emphasis on a group of individually controllable heroes, larger areas to search and objectives that could only be completed by a particular character.
In retrospectives, the original developers explain that the five Kongs were intended to give the game its own structure. An obstacle you spotted with Donkey might, for example, prompt you to return later with Chunky. Minecart rides and slides were also intended to add faster sections between exploration. Lead artist Mark Stevenson described how each Rare team's technical foundation differed: according to him, Donkey Kong 64 was not simply built on the Banjo engine. Teams did share ideas and certain techniques while developing their own solutions.
Grant Kirkhope wrote the music and wanted to find a different character from the Banjo games he was working on. The opening rap introduced the five Kongs before the journey began. The game launched with an explicit requirement to use an Expansion Pak; that accessory was also included in original retail bundles. With a second-hand copy, the specific product edition determines what is included. This description covers the N64 cartridge, not save states or other features of later digital rereleases.
Similar games for Nintendo 64
Banjo-Kazooie likewise has you search themed areas, learn moves and find collectibles behind hidden routes on Nintendo 64. The bear and bird usually work as one controllable duo, keeping their combined abilities available as you travel. Donkey Kong 64 divides many objectives and coloured items between five Kongs. You therefore more often plan a trip back to a Tag Barrel and another visit with the character who can overcome the obstacle.
Banjo-Tooie expands the bear and bird's Nintendo 64 adventure with larger areas and new uses for their abilities. Both games ask you to remember places that you can only investigate further later on. In Banjo-Tooie, Banjo and Kazooie can also travel separately; Donkey Kong 64 switches between five independent Kongs. Coloured bananas and character-specific switches make it immediately clear which character a route or objective is intended for in Donkey Kong.
Super Mario 64 is also about exploring three-dimensional worlds and earning important collectibles on Nintendo 64. Mario retains one core set of moves and re-enters a painting world for different stars. Donkey Kong 64 has you buy more equipment and return within an area with different Kongs. Both involve learning a landscape's layout; Donkey Kong adds the division of tasks between five characters.
Donkey Kong 64 shares the combination of large areas, hidden passages and new abilities on Nintendo 64. You rescue five Kongs and switch between them to complete character-specific objectives. Ocarina of Time keeps Link as its central hero and changes his capabilities through equipment and age. Donkey Kong divides collecting explicitly between different colours and characters; Zelda builds longer puzzle sequences around a single new item.
Rayman 2: The Great Escape also offers three-dimensional platforming, shooting attacks and hidden collectibles on Nintendo 64. Rayman's hovering and climbing usually guide you along a clearer continuous route. Donkey Kong 64 gives you more room to retrace your steps within an area, investigate side paths and switch characters. Players mainly interested in consecutive jumps will find a different rhythm in Rayman from unravelling five connected collecting routes.
