Ghastly King
| Ghastly King | |
|---|---|
| |
| Species | Kong (gorilla-based) |
| First appearance | Donkey Kong Jungle Beat (2004) |
| Latest appearance | Donkey Kong Bananza (ver. 2.0.2, DK Island & Emerald Rush, statue cameo) (2025) |
| Latest portrayal | Toshihide Tsuchiya |
| Member of | Kong boss group (leader) |
- “THE WORLD IS MINE! ALL MINE!”
- —A monkey imitating Ghastly King's voice, New Play Control! Donkey Kong Jungle Beat
Ghastly King is the leader of the Kong boss group and the main antagonist of Donkey Kong Jungle Beat. He first appears as Cactus King in the game, although their shared appearance and Japanese name indicates that they are the same being. He appears as a monstrous and unnaturally colored Kong several times larger than the others. In New Play Control! Donkey Kong Jungle Beat, an eavesdropping Helper Monkey says he plans on taking over the world.
History[edit]
Donkey Kong Jungle Beat[edit]
Before reaching him, Donkey Kong must go through a gray cavern. Once he enters the King's lair, Donkey Kong sees Cactus King on Boss Pig Poppo. Once the battle begins, Boss Pig Poppo begins to breathe out fire. Donkey Kong must clap at the fire until he can approach Boss Pig Poppo and stun it, allowing him to attack it. Once Donkey Kong has landed enough blows on Boss Pig Poppo, Cactus King will jump and crush it. Donkey Kong must fight Cactus King by wall jumping at him, swinging his legs, or knocking him forward. If he is knocked down, the player can pound on him. During the second fight, however, the level is much harder. The new attacks include the ability to spit balls of energy out of his mouth at Donkey Kong, as well as being able to kick him in midair. However, the balls of energy can be destroyed by using the Sound Wave Attack.
Like the other bosses, Ghastly King has 500 HP in both fights. He can be attacked by either encountering him face to face, or by throwing him into the walls, which momentarily knocks him out and allows the player to punch him. If the player attacks him face to face, Ghastly King attacks Donkey Kong with a backhand slap, throwing him into the wall. If Ghastly is attacked enough times, he flies into the wall and is momentarily knocked out.
When Ghastly King is defeated both times, Donkey Kong receives 800 beats.
At the very beginning of both fights against Ghastly King, there is an arrangement of the song that plays when Donkey Kong is climbing up the construction site in the original Donkey Kong.
Donkey Kong Bananza[edit]
In Donkey Kong Bananza, Ghastly King makes a cameo appearance as a statue that was obtainable in the third Emerald Rush event,[1] Dig the Beat, taking place in the Landfill Layer. It required obtaining 1,000,000 emeralds in a single run to unlock.
On the American Nintendo website, Ghastly King's name was misspelled as Ghastly Kong.[2][3]
Unused appearances[edit]
Super Mario Galaxy[edit]
He appears as an unused model under the name BlackMistCreature in Super Mario Galaxy, missing all but his "action" animation directory from Donkey Kong Jungle Beat.[4]
Gallery[edit]
Ghastly King's in-game model
Silhouette of Cactus King
Ghastly King riding the Boss Pig Poppo
Ghastly King after Donkey Kong defeats the Boss Pig Poppo
Donkey Kong and Ghastly King
Ghastly King defeated
Names in other languages[edit]
| Language | Name | Meaning | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Japanese | ファイナルコング[?] Fainaru Kongu |
Final Kong | |
| ファイナルコング（覇王）[5] Fainaru Kongu (Haō) |
Final Kong (Supreme King) | ||
| Chinese (traditional) | 法怒剛[6] Fǎnù Gāng (Mandarin) Faatnouh Gōng (Cantonese) |
Final Kong; includes「怒」 (nù / nouh, "wrath") by phono-semantic matching | |
| French | Le Despote[?] | The Despot | |
| Italian | Egemone[?] | Italian word for "hegemonic", someone who has control over someone else. It is also similar to the word demone ("demon"). | |
| Portuguese (NOA) | O Déspota[?] | The Despot |
References[edit]
- ^ 「こちらのイベントでは、2004年発売のゲームキューブ用ソフト『ドンキーコング ジャングルビート』に登場する 『ブシドーコング』 と 『ファイナルコング』のキャラク ターフィギュアが獲得できます。」– News application on Nintendo Switch 2. Nintendo (Japanese). (Archived via Reddit by Dinoman96YO.)
- ^ Donkey Kong™ Bananza: DK Island & Emerald Rush. nintendo.com. Retrieved December 16, 2025. (Archived December 16, 2025, 19:21:53 UTC via Wayback Machine.)
- ^ December 16, 2025. Time for the next Emerald Rush event in the Donkey Kong Bananza game: Dig the Beat. nintendo.com. Retrieved December 16, 2025. (Archived December 16, 2025, 18:55:48 UTC via Wayback Machine.)
- ^ TCRF. Super Mario Galaxy § Jungle Beat Leftovers. The Cutting Room Floor (English). Retrieved July 4, 2024.
- ^ 2004. Donkey Kong Jungle Beat Shogakukan book. Shogakukan (Japanese). Page 175.
- ^ Nintendo (December 16, 2025). 《DK島＆綠寶石淘金》的第3回遊戲內活動「挖掘＆節拍」於本日12月16日（二）開始舉行！. nintendo.com (Traditional Chinese). Retrieved December 17, 2025.
