Boss Key

"Squawk! Nice going, DK. That looks like one of the keys to K. Lumsy's cage! Bwark!"

- Squawks the Parrot

Boss Keys are items that appear in Donkey Kong 64. There are eight of them, and as its name implies, each one is guarded by a boss. The only Boss Key that is not guarded by a boss is the final one, which is located behind a steel door in K. Rool's throne room in Hideout Helm. Each Boss Key's purpose is to unlock a corresponding padlock on K. Lumsy's cage. Doing so causes K. Lumsy to boisterously celebrate, and he creates a tremor to cause an event to occur on DK Isles, usually opening previously-blocked entrances to other worlds. He is freed from his cage after the Kongs unlock all eight padlocks on his cage.

Types

 * Key 1 opens Angry Aztec
 * Key 2 opens Frantic Factory and Gloomy Galleon
 * Key 4 opens Fungi Forest
 * Key 5 opens Crystal Caves and Creepy Castle
 * Keys 6 and 7 opens Hideout Helm
 * Keys 3 and 8 spawn Crocodile Isle

Trivia

 * Grabbing Key 8 in a certain manner can cause it to not be saved to the inventory; however, if the player revisits Hideout Helm, it respawns.

Boss-Schlüssel