History YMMV / DonkeyKongCountry2DiddysKongQuest

** Cat-O-9-Tails, due to the unpredictability of where they will throw you.

* PortingDisaster: The GBA port. While the GBA ports of the other ''Donkey Kong Country'' games are divisive, ''2''[='=]s port is considered to be the worst (though far from unplayable), as the brighter palettes and downgraded soundtrack destroy the dark atmosphere of the original, and it does not have the pragmatic alterations done to it much like ''Donkey Kong Country 3''[='=]s port.

* EsotericHappyEnding: The GoldenEnding - in terms of both canon and meta. [[spoiler:Crocodile Isle's destruction is treated as the ultimate SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome for the Kongs. However, along with the InferredHolocaust, this also means that many beloved levels are gone as well.]]

* EsotericHappyEnding: The GoldenEnding -- in terms of both canon and meta. [[spoiler:Crocodile Isle's destruction is treated as the ultimate SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome for the Kongs. However, along with the InferredHolocaust (see below), this also means that all of those awesome and beautiful levels that spawned all of that great music are gone as well.]]

** The GBA port has the new boss [[https://www.mariowiki.com/Kerozene Kerozene]]. While the idea of having a new boss for the port sounds like a good idea, Kerozene ends up looking very out-of-place.[[labelnote:*]]The fact that he wasn't in the SNES original may have something to do about it.[[/labelnote]] Not only do his sprites manage to be ConspicuousCGI thanks to being poorly modeled (in a game that ''already'' has CG sprites), his animations are incredibly choppy and lifeless. He ends up looking very hastily thrown together just to add more content to the GBA version.

* EsotericHappyEnding: The GoldenEnding — in terms of both canon and meta. [[spoiler:Crocodile Isle's destruction is treated as the ultimate SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome for the Kongs. However, along with the InferredHolocaust (see below), this also means all those awesome and beautiful levels that spawned all that great music are gone as well.]]

* UnintentionallySympathetic: Some fans can't help but pity Krow. After already dying once, he later comes BackFromTheDead as Kreepy Krow for {{Revenge}}... only to get beaten DeaderThanDead on top of it. And his ghost {{Mooks}} (implied to be his children) tend to give him EvenEvilHasLovedOnes points with said fans, too.

* HilariousInHindsight: At the ranking screen when completing the game, you can see [[Franchise/SuperMarioBros Mario]], [[Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda Link]], and [[VideoGame/YoshisIsland Yoshi]] as the top three heroes, while [[Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog Sonic's shoes]] and [[VideoGame/EarthwormJim Jim's gun]] are lying near a trash can labeled [[TakeThat "No Hopers"]]. The jab at Sega after the company's jab at Nintendo with their infamous "Sega does what Nintendont" advertisements is funny enough, but it becomes cruelly funnier seeing this after knowing how much the ''Sonic'' franchise [[VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog2006 has]] [[DorkAge suffered]] [[BrokenBase/SonicTheHedgehog in its]] later years. And once Sega went third-party, Sonic would end up in official Nintendo games such as ''VideoGame/MarioAndSonicAtTheOlympicGames'' and ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros''.

** The GBA port has the new boss [[https://www.mariowiki.com/Kerozene Kerozene]]. While the idea of having a new boss for the port sounds like a good idea, Kerozene ends up looking very out-of-place. Not only do his sprites manage to be ConspicuousCGI thanks to being poorly modeled (in a game that ''already'' has CG sprites), his animations are incredibly choppy and lifeless. He ends up looking very hastily thrown together just to add more content to the GBA version.

* SugarWiki/BestLevelEver: Rickety Race. It's a [[MinecartMadness wheeled-vehicle level]] much like Target Terror and Haunted Hall...that's also a ''race'', in which the 1st-place prize is the DK Coin.

** This is the only game in the series where you have to pay to ''save your game.''

* SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic: A lot, but the tune that really stands out to a lot of people is [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J67nkzoJ_2M Stickerbush Symphony]], which even got an [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_g1_Txfqnc encore performance]] in ''VideoGame/DonkeyKongCountryTropicalFreeze''!
** There's also Crocodile Cacophony, easily the most intense and climactic of K. Rool's battle themes.

* VisualEffectsOfAwesome: It's easy to miss because you're busy dealing with the level's hazards, but the background in Lockjaw's Locker is actually a fully 3D ship deck that changes your angle of view depending on your vertical position in the level. This was pulled off on the Super Nintendo, but it wouldn't look out of place in a PlayStation 1 game.

* HilariousInHindsight: At the ranking screen when completing the game, you can see [[Franchise/SuperMarioBros Mario]], [[Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda Link]], and [[VideoGame/YoshisIsland Yoshi]] as the top three heroes, while [[Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog Sonic's shoes]] and [[VideoGame/EarthwormJim Jim's gun]] are lying near a trash can labeled [[TakeThat "No Hopers"]]. The jab at Sega after the company's jab at Nintendo with their infamous "Sega does what Nintendont" advertisements is funny enough, but it becomes cruelly funnier seeing this after knowing how much the ''Sonic'' franchise [[VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog2006 has]] [[DorkAge suffered]] [[BrokenBase/SonicTheHedgehog in its]] later years.

* AntiClimaxBoss: The TrueFinalBoss with K. Rool at the end of the Lost World, while not a cakewalk by any means, is regarded as an easier fight than the fight against him in the Flying Kroc since it only takes one hit to defeat him, especially after the extremely difficult levels you have go through to reach him in the Lost World.

* EsotericHappyEnding: The GoldenEnding -- in terms of both canon and meta. [[spoiler:Crocodile Isle's destruction is treated as the ultimate SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome for the Kongs. However, along with the InferredHolocaust (see below), this also means all those awesome and beautiful levels that spawned all that great music are gone as well.]]

* GoddamnedBats: The green and yellow Klobbers, which only bump you around. They're rarely much of a threat, but they're often very annoying--especially in Klobber Karnage.
* HilariousInHindsight: At the ranking screen when completing the game, you can see [[Franchise/SuperMarioBros Mario]]. [[Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda Link]] and [[VideoGame/YoshisIsland Yoshi]] as the top three heroes while [[Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog Sonic's shoes]] and [[VideoGame/EarthwormJim Jim's gun]] lying near a trash can labeled [[TakeThat "No Hopers"]]. The jab at Sega after the company's jab at Nintendo with their infamous "Sega does what Nintendont" advertisements, but it becomes cruelly funnier seeing this after knowing how much the Sonic franchise had suffered in its later years.
* InferredHolocaust: The "true" ending features [[spoiler:Crocodile Isle exploding and sinking beneath the waves]], and the only survivor that we see is K.Rool sailing away by himself on a raft. Obviously the Kremlings weren't completely wiped out, considering that we see more of them in the following games, but that had to cause a ''lot'' of casualties.
* PortingDisaster: The GBA port. While the GBA ports of the other ''Donkey Kong Country'' games are divisive, ''2''[='=]s port is considered to be the worst as the brighter palettes and downgraded soundtrack destroy the dark atmosphere of the original, and it does not have the pragmatic alterations done to it much like ''Donkey Kong Country 3''[='=]s port.

** Much like with Winky in the previous game, it is common to hear complaints about Rattly being difficult to control due to his constant hopping. That he is mandatory in [[RiseToTheChallenge Toxic Tower]] and Animal Antics--two of the hardest levels in the game--does not help. He's much easier to control in the GBA version, where his hopping is merely just a normal running animation.

*** It should be noted that Web Woods is ONLY one of the two levels (Mudhole Marsh being the first) in which the end-of-level roulette features a DK coin, and - unlike every other prize on the roulette line-up, it only appears VERY briefly each cycle, barely half a second. So your timing has to be absolutely PERFECT to nab that damn coin.

** Animal Antics. A long level where you play as the cast of animal buddies. Not that bad until we're in a Bramble scenario with Squawks and there's ''a lot'' of wind throwing you right at the spikes. If you don't master the controls you'll die. A lot. Have fun.
** [[AdvancingWallOfDoom Toxic Tower]]. Especially the first half where you're playing as Rattly, and even the slightest mistake will flat out kill you. The segments with Squawks and Squitter aren't any easier as fooling around for too long will cause the toxic waste below to catch up and quite possibly spell your death.

** It is common to hear complaints about Rattly being difficult to control due to his constant hopping. That he is mandatory in [[RiseToTheChallenge Toxic Tower]] and Animal Antics--two of the hardest levels in the game--does not help. He's much easier to control in the GBA version, where his hopping is merely just a normal running animation.

* SpecialEffectFailure: In the lava stages, beginning with Hot-Head Bop, the kill barrier is located at the bottom of the screen, but the surface of the lava isn't, allowing you to pass below the surface of the lava without getting hurt. It's especially noticeable in the stage Red Hot Ride, which has slowly descending hot-air balloon platforms. Of course, no one's complaining from a gameplay standpoint, as it makes this already NintendoHard game somewhat easier, but it still looks weird.

* AwesomeMusic: A lot, but the tune that really stands out to a lot of people is [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J67nkzoJ_2M Stickerbush Symphony]], which even got an [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_g1_Txfqnc encore performance]] in ''VideoGame/DonkeyKongCountryTropicalFreeze''!

* EsotericHappyEnding: The GoldenEnding -- in terms of both canon and meta. [[spoiler:Crocodile Isle's destruction is treated as the ultimate MomentOfAwesome for the Kongs. However, along with the InferredHolocaust (see below), this also means all those awesome and beautiful levels that spawned all that great music are gone as well.]]

* UnintentionallySympathetic: Some fans can't help but pity Krow. After already explicitly dying once, he later comes BackFromTheDead as Kreepy Krow for {{Revenge}}... only to then get beaten DeaderThanDead on top of it. And his ghost {{Mooks}} -- implied to be his children -- tend to give him EvenEvilHasLovedOnes points with said fans, too.

** The code to start with 50 lives can only be applied when starting a new file, and lives are reset back to 5 every time you load a file that's already been started.

* ScrappyMechanic: It is common to hear complaints about Rattly being difficult to control due to his constant hopping. That he is mandatory in [[RiseToTheChallenge Toxic Tower]] and Animal Antics--two of the hardest levels in the game--does not help. He's much easier to control in the GBA version, where his hopping is merely just a normal running animation.

** As mentioned above, Bramble Scramble can be incredibly infuriating if you don't take extra care with your jumps, since all the walls are covered in deadly spikes. Not to mention, it is a ''very'' long level and you'll be begging for a checkpoint before long.

* EsotericHappyEnding: The GoldenEnding -- in terms of both canon and meta. [[spoiler:Crocodile Isle's destruction is treated as the ultimate MomentOfAwesome for the Kongs. However, along with the InferredHolocaust (see below), this also means all those awesome and beautiful levels (You know, the ones that spawned all that AwesomeMusic (see above)?) are gone as well.]]

* AntiClimaxBoss: The TrueFinalBoss with K. Rool at the end of the Lost World, while not cakewalk by any means, is regarded as an easier fight than the fight against him in the Flying Kroc since it only takes one hit to defeat him, especially after the extremely difficult levels you have go through to reach him in the Lost World.

** Web Woods. [[GratuitousGerman Mein Gott]], Web Woods. It's one of the longest levels in the game, possibly longer than the infamous Bramble Scramble; you have to play 90% of it as Squitter the Spider, a character that gets hurt if he jumps on ''any'' enemy, and traverse extremely long {{bottomless pit}}s using Squitter's quickly-vanishing spider webs while avoiding tough enemies like Mini-Neckies and Kannons. You also have to leave two specific Kannons alive and use their projectiles to break open the door to a ''diabolically'' hidden bonus room ''and'' get a prize from the end roulette... one of which is the DK Hero Coin. Meaning that if you miss it, the level is beat and you have to go through the whole thing again for another shot.