Rope (ghost)

Ropes, also known as phantom ropes and ghost ropes, are long vine apparitions that appear in Gloomy Gulch in Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest and its pseudo-sequel, Donkey Kong Land 2. While ghostly ropes act as normal ropes, their main discerning is their ability to vanish and reappear every few seconds. In Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest, ropes make their first and only appearance in Ghostly Grove. They also appear in the level counterpart of Donkey Kong Land 2 and at the very start of its Web Woods counterpart.

In both games, Diddy and Dixie Kong must utilize ghostly ropes as normal ropes, specifically to safely cross over pitfalls or reach higher areas. They must often hop between ropes since they momentarily vanish. When a rope is about to vanish, it flashes as an indicator for the Kongs to get off; otherwise, they lose grip and fall down. In Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest, the ropes only blink their eyes before vanishing, but in Donkey Kong Land 2, their entire bodies blink instead. Some ropes vanish and reappear at a quicker rate, which is especially evident when Diddy and Dixie must use two of them to reach a Bonus Barrel.

In Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble!, there are similar obstacles named Boo Barrels, which also have a cycle of vanishing momentarily.