History YMMV / DonkeyKongCountry

* EvenBetterSequel:
** ''[=DKC1=]'' did things with graphics that no one had seen before, but ''[=DKC2=]'' streamlined that gameplay ([[ThatOneLevel for the most part]]), fixed what minor problems there were, got much more creative and fair with the bonus stage locations, included about a half dozen PlatformHell levels and a {{superboss}} for players dedicated enough to go for HundredPercentCompletion, and in general made it seem less of a ''VideoGame/SuperMarioWorld'' clone and more of its own game.
** ''Tropical Freeze'' is generally considered better than its predecessor ''Returns'', featuring better level design, more unique settings and David Wise's soundtrack.

* GoodBadBugs:
** A [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xNTiJYOsOTQ glitch]] in the first game's level can cause Rambi's sprites to be mistakenly replaced with a copy of the player's character with a messed-up palette. This can be combined with another glitch which causes Donkey Kong to get stuck in a certain animation while riding "himself," making the situation resemble [[ScrewYourself something else]]...
** There's another glitch in ''[=DKC2=]'' where you can avoid the difficult [[ThatOneLevel Bramble Race against Screech]]. If you come up right behind Screech to where the race will not start yet, and you fly upwards (you must have both characters at this point for this to work), you will then hit the the ceiling and hurt yourself causing yourself to blink. Quickly, while you are still blinking, pass Screech and head off to the rest of the level without having to worry about doing it in good time.
** The Castle Crush glitch is one of the most infamous, scariest, and a literal GameBreakingBug to go as far as being independently mentioned in the series NightmareFuel page, but with so many results and odd visuals and effects upon activating it, it can also be one of the most entertaining. If you have an emulator or a Virtual Console port, go wild, just make sure to try to back up your save files, but '''''do not attempt it with a real console'''''.

* SuspiciouslySimilarSong:
** In the first game, the second half of Gang-Plank Galleon sounds very similar to the Music/IronMaiden song "Hallowed Be Thy Name."
** The second game:
*** The music in the swamp levels has the exact same drumbeat as "In the Air Tonight" by Music/PhilCollins, which inevitably led to [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YEjoz9egJDs&feature=more_related this.]]
*** The Bramble level BGM [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J67nkzoJ_2M "Stickerbush Symphony"]] takes chord progressions, beats, and a short excerpt from [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W2wrtoloJ6k "I Will Remember You" by Amy Grant.]]
*** The ice cave level BGM, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYwx5A8Z1n0 "In a Snow-bound Land"]], is based on [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5w0Xy_6WIY0 "Theme of Antarctica" by Vangelis]].
* SugarWiki/SweetDreamsFuel:
** The song for the Enchanted Wood level from ''[=DKC2=]''.
** "Aquatic Ambiance" from ''[=DKC1=]'' is also often a big favorite among fans for its relaxing nature. Special mention goes towards the remix from ''Tropical Freeze'', thanks to modern technology. Listen [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9blO1zCCy8M here.]]
** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OG8YD-pBBc4 "Jib Jig."]]
** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0MBtxyOe3l4 "In a Snow-Bound Land".]]

** In a similar vein, the DK Rap from ''Donkey Kong 64'' is frequently lambasted by critics for being a cheesy rap song, while fans view it as [[StylisticSuck deliberately cheesy.]] Many enjoy it without a sense of irony.

** Lankyposting[[labelnote:Explanation]]A series of jokes surrounding Lanky Kong's verse in the "DK Rap", typically parodying the lines "he has no style/he has no grace/this Kong has a funny face" or even just the word "he."[[/labelnote]]

** Tiny Kong from ''VideoGame/DonkeyKong64'', who is a SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute of Dixie.

* TearJerker: The fact that Wrinkly Kong died some time between the third game and ''Donkey Kong 64''. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8N3OUFv7rxA Her theme]] is also sad.

* ContestedSequel: While still generally considered to be a good game, it’s generally agreed that ''Donkey Kong Country 3'' is weaker than the second game, though many consider it better than the first game. Those who like the game find it to be just as fun and enjoyable as its predecessors (though you'd be hard-pressed to find anyone who thinks it's ''better'' than [=DKC2=]). Those who dislike the game do so mainly for the LighterAndSofter treatment (especially compared to ''[=DKC2=]''), the absence of fan-favorite characters and the [[ReplacementScrappy Replacement Scrappies]] in their stead, and both versions of the soundtrack, with the original featuring little to no input from longtime ''[=DKC=]'' composer David Wise.

** Ellie the Elephant from ''[=DKC3=]'', who replaced the series' most iconic animal buddy, Rambi the Rhino. Not helping matters was she is one of the few animal buddies with a specific weakness, namely her [[EekAMouse extreme fear of rats,]] which would make some levels needlessly longer and would play a role in the infamously hard [[ThatOneLevel ''Stampede Sprint''.]]
** Kiddy Kong. Aside from holding things in front of him instead of over his head, being able to bounce off of water, and having tag actions (which weren't possible in ''[=DKC1=]''), he plays exactly like Donkey Kong. There were those who wondered why Donkey Kong was only playable once in a series named after him and felt that there was no excuse to not have those changes applied to Donkey Kong instead of creating an entirely new character. Some even felt as if it made him look less badass since he got kidnapped twice in a row by the same villain, whom he's already been shown to be able to beat[[note]]Though fair play he was a DamselOutOfDistress in the second game and so did just that again[[/note]]. Chunky Kong, who replaced Kiddy in ''VideoGame/DonkeyKong64'', was better received since he played the bruiser role without replacing Donkey Kong, as well as having a more endearing personality compared to Kiddy who is just a generic baby.

** The third game:
*** When you enter Wrinkly's Save Cave, on occasion Wrinkly will be playing her UsefulNotes/{{Nintendo 64}}, as evidenced by the music being an {{Expy}} of the ''VideoGame/SuperMario64'' "Inside the Castle Walls" theme [[note]]note they are not the same pieces of music: compare the original theme [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LpOP0L3A7_Q here]] and the [=DKC3=] version [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PEBqm9bGi3g here]][[/note]].
*** Also in Wrinkly's Cave, sometimes she will be sleeping, and the BackgroundMusic will be the baseline from the "Jungle Hijinx" tune from the first game.
*** The mill music, appropriately named [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LiXLRjclk1s "Mill Fever"]], is based on [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JGb5IweiYG8 "Fever" by Peggy Lee]].
*** The opening part of Nuts & Bolts sounds somewhat similar to the main riff of [[Music/LedZeppelin Kashmir.]]

** "Why did I use up my best material on this shindig?!"[[labelnote:Explanation]]In "Message in a Bottle Show", after Donkey Kong realizes he's not actually being elected the future ruler, everyone realizes they threw a farewell party for him for nothing and leave, with Diddy wondering why he even bothered telling jokes at it. The scene is commonly edited to make it sound like Diddy's [[CurseCutShort trying to swear before getting cut off]] One edit even has it cut to the credits to make it seem like this CurseCutShort is what the GrandFinale of the series ends on.[[/labelnote]]

** The episode title "A Thin Line Between Love and Ape" is meant to be a play on the movie ''A Thin Line Between Love and Hate'', but considering what "ape" rhymes with...

** Does Candy Kong genuinely love Donkey Kong [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold despite her constantly butting heads with him]], or is she [[GoldDigger only in it because of his future status]] as ruler of the island?

** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P3G5_rwvIi8 "King K. Rool's Finest Hour"]]

** In ''A thin Line Between Love And Ape'' K Rool tests Bluster's Love Potion out on Klump directly, making him speak of his undying affection towards his king. He even seems to be satisfied with the results until Klump starts getting a bit too forward.

%%** K. Rool screaming "'''WHYYYYY NOOOOTTTT!!!???'''" from "Bug a Boogie." (Zero-Context Example)

** "Why did I use up my best material on this shindig?!"[[labelnote:Explanation]]In "Message in a Bottle Show", after Donkey Kong realizes he's not actually being elected the future ruler, everyone realizes they threw a farewell party for him for nothing and leave, with Diddy wondering why he even bothered telling jokes at it. The scene is commonly edited to make it sound like Diddy's [[CurseCutShort trying to swear before getting cut off]].[[/labelnote]]

* EnsembleDarkHorse: [[GadgeteerGenius Funky Kong]], DK's TotallyRadical friend that rents out and repairs vehicles and weapons. His status as a BreakoutCharacter led to him being included on the roster in ''VideoGame/MarioKartWii'', before being PromotedToPlayable in ''[[VideoGame/DonkeyKongCountryTropicalFreeze Tropical Freeze]]''

* DancingBear: While the SNES trilogy has always been loved for its super-fun gameplay, it's obvious that the main draw of the series in its heyday (and the obvious key to its staggering success) was [[SugarWiki/VisualEffectsOfAwesome the superb pre-rendered CGI sprites]], which were nothing short of jaw-dropping for a SNES game, and all without any add-ons or even a Super FX chip. This ironically became a criticism of the game, saying it wouldn't have been as loved or fun without the graphics—-which prompted Rare to develop the ''Donkey Kong Land'' series on UsefulNotes/GameBoy (and later successfully porting the first ''DKC'' onto UsefulNotes/GameBoyColor) which kept the solid gameplay of the consoles intact, in spite of the inevitable downgrade to 8-bit (but still first rate for handheld) graphics. In hindsight, while the graphics are dated now, the series (particularly the first two) are still acclaimed as legitimate platformer classics, once again owing to their still first-rate gameplay, and the appealing cartoon art has helped take the burden off the dated CGI.

* ScrappyMechanic: Happens in all games except ''VideoGame/DonkeyKong64'' (more commonly occurring in the ''Donkey Kong Land'' trilogy due to hardware limitations), when any of the character(s) fall down from a great height faster than the game can keep up with them. The game mistakenly thinks you fell down a bottomless pit, resulting in you losing a life. Have fun repeating part of the level again due to FakeDifficulty! This was fixed in the GBA ports, since the GBA has a more powerful processor than the SNES.

* GeniusBonus: The pronunciation of King K. Rool's name in the show being "King Kuh-rool" seems like a mispronunciation, until one realizes that that's how his name actually ''is'' pronounced in Japanese.

* ValuesResonance: "Speak No Evil, Dude", the episode in which Diddy avoiding his vaccination causes him to contract a deadly disease, hits closer to home in light of COVID-19.

* SignatureSong: The two most well-remembered songs from the show are "Our Love Is Stronger Than a Golden Banana" for its [[MemeticMutation infamous]] [[AccidentalInnuendo "I'll shower you in coconut cream pies,"]] and "I'm Nobody's Hero" for being a genuinely good song and TearJerker moment compared to the rest of the show, to the point where it doesn't even feel like a cartoon song when taken out of context. "Finest Hour" has joined the ranks as well, especially after King K. Rool was announced for ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosUltimate''.

* JerksAreWorseThanVillains: Diddy and Candy are more disliked by fans than the actual villains of the show, King K. Rool and Kaptain Skurvy. Despite being Donkey Kong's closest friends and allies, they are prone to mistreating him, sometimes for little or no reason. This is one of the main contributors to RootingForTheEmpire below.

** The series ''used'' to have one with ''VideoGame/{{Metroid}}'' after the revival of the series by Retro Studios turned out to be much more successful than the hated ''VideoGame/MetroidOtherM'', which caused the revival to get a sequel making ''Metroid'' fans angry of how Donkey Kong is "stealing the spotlight" away from ''Metroid''. Once ''Metroid'' got two new games announced at E3 2017, however, the rivalry died down. It helps that in ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros'', there's almost always a ''Donkey Kong'' newcomer for each ''Metroid'' newcomer.

** The Donkey Kong featured in the DKC games and the modern Mario spin-offs is not the Donkey Kong from the original arcade games. The original arcade DK is explicitly confirmed to be Cranky Kong, with modern DK being a LegacyCharacter who inherited the name from Cranky. Trying to suggest otherwise is a good way to raise the hackles of ''DKC'' fans.

* LoveToHate: [[BigBad King K. Rool]] is a despicable tyrant who [[BadBoss abuses his minions]] and is perfectly [[WouldHurtAChild willing to kill children]]. However, his [[BewareTheSillyOnes goofy, yet intimidating demeanor]] and [[AdiposeRex iconic design]] make him one of the most memorable and well-liked antagonists in the ''Mario'' canon.

* EnsembleDarkHorse: [[GadgeteerGenius Funky Kong]], DK's TotallyRadical friend that rents out and repairs vehicles and weapons. His status as a BreakoutCharacter led to him being included on the roster in ''[[VideoGame/MarioKartWii Mario Kart Wii]]'', before being PromotedToPlayable in ''[[VideoGame/DonkeyKongCountryTropicalFreeze Tropical Freeze]]''

* BeamMeUpScotty: There is a memetic screencap from the series consisting of [[https://knowyourmeme.com/photos/1450827-donkey-kong Donkey Kong looking surprised, as well as the text "that wasn't part of my plan".]] However, Donkey Kong never says that in the scene the screenshot is from, and it is actually from the song "The Mirror Never Lies".

** Also in "From Zero to Hero," Diddy discusses a movie he and DK watched together, which featured a giant ape fighting a mutant lizard. While this was a reference to ''Film/KingKongVsGodzilla'', there has since been another movie where the two fight, ''Film/GodzillaVsKong''.

* SignatureSong: The two most well-remembered songs from the show are "Our Love Is Stronger Than a Golden Banana" for its [[MemeticMutation infamous]] [[AccidentalInnuendo "I'll shower you in coconut cream pies,"]] and "I'm Nobody's Hero" for being a genuinely good song and TearJerker moment compared to the rest of the show, to the point where it doesn't even feel like a cartoon song when taken out of context. "Finest Hour" has joined the ranks as well, especially after King K. Rool was DLC for ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosUltimate''.

* SignatureSong: The two most well-remembered songs from the show are "Our Love Is Stronger Than a Golden Banana" for its [[MemeticMutation infamous]] [[AccidentalInnuendo "I'll shower you in coconut cream pies,"]] and "I'm Nobody's Hero" for being a genuinely good song and TearJerker moment compared to the rest of the show, to the point where it doesn't even feel like a cartoon song when taken out of context. "Finest Hour" has join the ranks as well, especially after King K. Rool was DLC for ''Smash Ultimate''

* SignatureSong: The two most well-remembered songs from the show are "Our Love Is Stronger Than a Golden Banana" for its [[MemeticMutation infamous]] [[AccidentalInnuendo "I'll shower you in coconut cream pies,"]] and "I'm Nobody's Hero" for being a genuinely good song and TearJerker moment compared to the rest of the show, to the point where it doesn't even feel like a cartoon song when taken out of context.

** [[https://tenor.com/view/donkey-kong-mine-cart-ride-dispair-diddy-kong-gif-22844465 This gif]] tends to be used in instances describing a group of people riding in a vehicle and leaving after something disappointing, such as a group of people in the UsefulNotes/FightingGameCommunity heading out after participating in a tournament and getting zero wins between all of them, or a family returning home after going out to an event that turned out to be terrible.

* SoBadItsGood: Thanks to the way the CGI in the cartoon was done through motion capture in an bizarre and unconventional way, how surreal and absurd the whole show is, and how hilariously bad the writing and story was, makes up for some viewer enjoyment with how cheesy and funny the whole show was.

** Most songs featuring Donkey Kong. Sterling Jarvis (the singing voice for Donkey Kong sans for "Our Love is Stronger Than a Golden Banana") has an ''excellent'' singing voice, making the songs sound like actual 90’s hits.

* SoBadItsGood: Thanks to the way the CGI in the cartoon was done through motion capture in an bizarre and unconventional way, how surreal and absurd the whole show is, and how hilariously bad the writing and story was, makes up for some viewer enjoyment with how cheesy & funny the whole show was.
* SignatureScene: The two most well-remembered songs from the show are "Our Love Is Stronger Than a Golden Banana" for its [[MemeticMutation infamous]] [[AccidentalInnuendo "I'll shower you in coconut cream pies,"]] and "I'm Nobody's Hero" for being a genuinely good song and TearJerker moment compared to the rest of the show.

** Also in "From Zero to Hero," Diddy discusses a movie he and DK watched together, which featured [[Film/KingKongVsGodzilla a giant ape fighting a mutant lizard]].

* Also in "From Zero to Hero," Diddy discusses a movie he and DK watched together, which featured [[Film/KingKongVsGodzilla a giant ape fighting a mutant lizard]].