List of Donkey Kong 64 pre-release and unused content

This article pertains to the beta elements of Donkey Kong 64.

Early iteration
The game was originally called Ultra Donkey Kong, Donkey Kong World, and Donkey Kong Universe while in development, and it was originally developed exclusively for the 64DD add-on.

Early builds
Early screenshots of Donkey Kong 64 showed that Donkey Kong's Treehouse originally had a shower stall in it with a poster of Banjo and Kazooie on it. Also, the boss Mad Jack was originally known as "Junk-in-the-Box" and was also drastically different in appearance. Mad Jack/Junk-in-the-Box was also originally a mini-boss fought in the R&D Room in Frantic Factory instead of being a full boss fought at the area's end.

The weapons the Kongs wielded in the early screenshots looked like real-world weapons instead of the wooded, somewhat cartoonish ones seen in the final version of the game. Donkey Kong's Coconut Shooter resembled a double-barreled shotgun while Diddy Kong's Peanut Popguns resembled actual pistols. It's unknown if the weapons were changed for the E-rating or they were just placeholders in the first place.

Another factor is that Army Dillo originally was able to hover in the air and shoot fire in the air in Jungle Japes, which he was only able to do in Crystal Caves in the final version of the game, as evidenced in the kiosk of the game.

Box Art
The game's original box art before being released depicted only Donkey Kong in a jungle background before being replaced with a group picture of all five Kongs riding on the minecart in the jungle. However, the cartridge artwork still retains the original prototype box art.