The game takes place at the time of the Jungle Jam Tournament, a huge festival in the jungle. Just when Cranky Kong was about to start the festival, King K. Rool arrives at the scene on his hovercraft and steals all the DK Medals. Donkey Kong is told to recover them, so the primate sets off to explore the jungle. K. Rool drops some DK Medals during his escape.
The simplistic game has the player using the L and R buttons to move left and right along flat surfaces but also using them to close their left and right fists to grasp pegs and peg boards to climb the level. Each level is beaten by having to climb to the top, which sometimes involves having to manipulate gadgets found in the levels. Basically, think Clu Clu Land but as a platformer instead of a maze game.
In addition to the Adventure Mode, the game has a few extra modes known as Jungle Jam. Jungle Jam consists of a few minigames: Climbing Race, Obstacle Race, Attack Battle, Barrel Blast, and Color Battle.
The game was re-released on Wii U Virtual Console in November, 2014. A sequel, DK: Jungle Climber, was released in 2007.
This game provides examples of:
- All Deserts Have Cacti: Wild West World has cacti here and there, but it's taken up to eleven with Cactus Woods, a level set in a massive thicket of giant cacti.
- Build Like an Egyptian: Puzzling Pyramid in Jungle World takes place scaling the inside of a large pyramid.
- Cool Airship: The K. Kruizer III, the game's final world, definitely counts. It's a massive airship resembling a flying submarine, with sprawling interiors, countless cannons, and a yellow-and-green paintjob with painted-on sharp teeth.
- Crossover: Bubbles from Clu Clu Land is the final unlockable character. Appropriate considering the game is a
Spiritual Successor in some ways to Clu Clu Land. - Eternal Engine: The final level of the game takes place inside the K. Kruizer III's engine.
- Flying Dutchman: Ship of Souls in Aqua World is a huge ship filled with ghost enemies.
- Funnel Cloud Journey: Treacherous Twister in Wild West World takes place at the center of a raging tornado.
- Gangplank Galleon: Aqua World features two somewhat piratey levels: Kremling Kamp, a seaside cave filled with boardwalks and treasure chests; and Ship of Souls, a haunted galleon.
- Ice Palace: Ice Castle in Ice World is a big, icy palace.
- Idiot Ball: Cranky Kong, normally a wise character, believes the medals for the contest will be safe if he just keeps them in a barrel that is out in the open. Sure enough, King K. Rool flies in and swipes them all.
- Invincibility Power-Up: The player can use the Going Bananas move at the cost of twenty bananas, making them immune to damage and granting higher jumps.
- Jungle Japes: Following in typical Donkey Kong tradition, the first world of the game is Jungle World.
- Levels Take Flight: Every K. Kruizer III level, with the exception of Booster Barrel Skyway, takes place entirely aboard King K. Rool's massive airship.
- Ruins for Ruins' Sake: The Underwater Ruins in Ice World since it's not known what (if any) kind of civilization built them, or why they exist underwater. Puzzling Pyramid may also count; it appears to have been built by Kremlings, judging by the murals, but what the place is actually for is anyone's guess.
- Secret Character
- Completing Adventure Mode unlocks Diddy Mode, allowing you to play the adventure again as Diddy Kong.
- Jungle Jam lets you play as Donkey Kong, Diddy Kong, Dixie Kong, or Funky Kong by default, but you can also unlock Wrinkly Kong, a Kritter (called "Kremling" in-game), King K. Rool, and Bubbles by meeting various criteria.
- Shifting Sand Land: Wild West World, particularly the level Necky's Canyon.
- Slippy-Slidey Ice World: Ice World, featuring a snowy forest, an icy ravine, underwater ruins, and an ice castle.
- Temple of Doom: Puzzling Pyramid in Jungle World, again. It's filled with mechanisms that you have to operate to proceed, one of which might even qualify as a trap.
- The Bus Came Back: Bubbles from Clu Clu Land can be unlocked as a playable character in Jungle Jam, her second ever playable appearance after 20 years.
