Donkey Kong 64

Donkey Kong 64 is a 3D action-adventure platformer game developed by Rare and released for the Nintendo 64 console in 1999. It is a follow-up to the original Donkey Kong Country trilogy for the Super Nintendo console, taking place after the events of Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble! The game requires the use of the Expansion Pak in order to function, and was the first Nintendo 64 game to do so. In the game, Donkey Kong and his friends set off in a quest to stop the evil King K. Rool from destroying the Kongs' homeland, Donkey Kong Island, with a powerful machine called the Blast-o-Matic, which is located in a mechanical version of Crocodile Isle. So far, the title is the first and only 3D platformer game in the Donkey Kong franchise. The game was originally nicknamed Ultra Donkey Kong by the press (although Leigh Loveday denied the game was ever named that internally ) and was rumored to be for the Nintendo 64DD.

Story
“Left!” rasped a voice to his left.

“Right!” came back the immediate response from the other side.

It had seemed like a good idea at the time, but now the Klaptrap turning the wheel wasn’t so sure. His little legs were getting tired, and those two incompetent fools didn’t have a clue where they were going.

“Left!”

“Right!”

With a sudden sickening crunch of metal against rock, the King’s pride and joy came to a shuddering halt, knocking all three off their feet. The tough little Klaptrap was up first, dashing eagerly across to the broken bridge window to see what those goons had hit.

“You two are going to be in sooo much trouble!” he barked gleefully.

But that pair weren’t the only ones in trouble. Deep within the gloomy bowels of his latest creation, a furious King K. Rool sat on his throne, glaring down at the quaking generals of his vast Kremling army.

“Well? I’m still waiting for an answer...”

His plan couldn’t fail this time, or so he had thought. But like so many times in the past, he’d underestimated just how useless his scaly minions could be. It had taken years to build, but now his mighty island stronghold lay immobile off the coast of its very first target – Kong Isle. Perhaps all was not lost, though...

“Power up the Blast-o-Matic. Target is Kong Isle. Fire when ready!”

Instead of a deafening explosion, there came only a pathetic whimper.

“I’m so v-very sorry your m-majesty, but I’m afraid the Blast-o-Matic isn’t quite w-working yet...”

K. Rool turned to face the white-coated technician responsible for the bad news. The King began to cry.

“It’s just not fair...” he sobbed. “I really thought I was going to win this time.”

Klump waddled over and put a consoling arm around his distraught leader.

“Don’t get all upset now, your excellency. We’ll go and capture those nasty Kongs for you. Then we’ll steal their Golden Bananas as usual so that if any Kongs escape us, they’ll be too busy looking for them to come and ruin your magnificent plans.”

As King K. Rool watched his generals leave, he wiped away his crocodile tears and began to laugh. His little play acting had worked, and now those Kongs would soon be history. He glared down at his bemused technician.

“Well, what are you waiting for? Get the Blast-o-Matic working. I’ve got an island to destroy!” The story begins in the peaceful Donkey Kong Island, which is the homeland of the Kongs. The Kremling Krew is shown sailing a fortified, technological version of Crocodile Isle to the Kongs' island. King K. Rool is planning on destroying the island using the Blast-o-Matic. It was designed by a weasel engineer named Snide, who switched sides after a paranoid King K. Rool kicked him out. Due to Snide's absence, Kritters are charged with operating the Blast-o-Matic and piloting the island, but they are shown to be quite inexperienced and work lazily, which causes the island to crash into a rock in the way to Donkey Kong Island, and the Blast-o-Matic to become heavily damaged as a result. Crocodile Isle ends up directly in front of Donkey Kong Island, so K. Rool orders three of his minions, a Klump, a Kritter and a Kasplat, to steal Donkey Kong's Banana Hoard, which consists of two hundred Golden Bananas, and imprison the other Kongs, so as to buy time and distract Donkey Kong while the Kremling Krew repairs the damaged Blast-o-Matic.

Meanwhile, Donkey Kong is in his tree house, doing push ups while listening to the DK Rap on his radio. Squawks then suddenly appears in the house and tells Donkey Kong that all of his precious Golden Bananas are gone, and the other Kongs have vanished. Donkey Kong then goes to Cranky's Lab, where Cranky Kong offers homemade potions that give him and the other Kongs different abilities needed throughout the adventure, but only if Donkey Kong completes his training barrels first. Once Donkey Kong gains the new ability from Cranky's potion, he is able to start his quest to save the other Kongs and claim his Banana Hoard. At the beginning of his quest, Donkey Kong finds a mysterious island with a cave on it. Inside this cave is K. Lumsy, a giant Kremling that was kicked out from the Kremling Krew and trapped inside a cage for refusing to help K. Rool in his schemes. K. Lumsy asks Donkey Kong to release him from the cage by defeating various bosses and retrieving their keys. As Donkey Kong collects Golden Bananas, he eventually saves Diddy Kong in Jungle Japes, Lanky and Tiny Kong in Angry Aztec, and lastly Chunky Kong in Frantic Factory. The Kongs also meet the Banana Fairy Princess, who lives in the Banana Fairy Island and asks the Kongs to catch all the Banana Fairies with the Banana Fairy's Camera.

After the Kongs dismantle the Blast-o-Matic in three sections and collect the final boss key at Hideout Helm, K. Rool tries to desperately escape using his King Kruiser II. The Kongs, however, use the boss key to finally unlock the cage and free K. Lumsy, who starts to chase K. Rool's cruiser as it flies by Donkey Kong Island. During the chase, however, K. Lumsy accidentally trips over a rock and hits the cruiser, causing it to fall in the water. The Kongs then enter the King Kruiser's remains and battle K. Rool in a five-round boxing match. After the match, Funky Kong appears and launches a boot at K. Rool while he is distracted by Candy Kong, who pretends to flirt with him. K. Rool is finally defeated by the Kongs, and peace is restored to Donkey Kong Island.

Gameplay
The player controls one of the five available Kongs, and must venture into open and vast worlds similar to those found in Super Mario 64. Only Donkey Kong is available from the start, and the other Kongs are unlocked as part of the storyline. Unlocking all the Kongs is mandatory for completing the game, as the bosses can only be defeated by a certain Kong, with the exception of King Kut Out and King K. Rool himself, as they are battled by all the Kongs. Each Kong has a unique set of abilities that are learned when the player purchases potions from Cranky Kong at his lab. The player can select between available Kongs by entering the various Tag Barrels located around the worlds.

The gameplay is heavily based upon item collection, and each stage features several items for each Kong to collect. It is not mandatory to collect every single item, but it is required if the player is aiming for 101% completion. All of the collectibles are of a certain color, and they can only be collected by a Kong whose color matches the color of the item. The most important items are the Golden Bananas, obtainable by accomplishing certain tasks, but there are various other types of collectibles for each Kong to find, such as Banana Medals, Banana Bunch Coins, Blueprints, etc. Each world features a certain number of items that can only be collected by a certain Kong, often making use of their unique abilities.

Donkey Kong Island acts as the hub world of the game, from which the player can access other areas. The first world of the game, Jungle Japes, can only be accessed when Donkey Kong talks to K. Lumsy at his island. When the Kongs collect a new Boss Key from the boss of a world, K. Lumsy starts to happily jump in his cage, causing a tremor that unlocks the passage to a new world. However, the only way to access new worlds is by collecting the amount of Golden Bananas displayed on B. Locker, who blocks the entrance to the world. When the Kongs have the appropriate amount of Golden Bananas, B. Locker disappears, allowing access to the world. The amount of Golden Bananas needed to unlock each world increases as the Kongs progress through the game.

Found at the end of each world is a boss that can only be accessed when the Kongs feed Scoff with a certain amount of bananas. The amount of bananas required to fight the boss increases as the Kongs progress through the worlds. When the Kongs feed Scoff with the appropriate amount of bananas, he becomes heavier and allows Troff to reach the key that unlocks the door to the boss. Each boss can only be fought by a certain Kong, whose face appears in the door before the battle. If another Kong tries to head through the door, it closes immediately. The boss battles are constructed around the designated Kong's abilities. By defeating the bosses, the Kongs gain Boss Keys that are used to unlock K. Lumsy's cage.

Controls

 * Jump, swim fast underwater
 * Attack, swim slowly underwater, swim faster overwater, grab and throw objects, shoot weapon (with weapon out), hold to charge up shockwave attack and release to use it, take picture
 * Crouch, dive underwater, activate pad move (when standing on Cranky's Kong Pad), stand still (with weapon out), use Bananaport Pad, release vine
 * Center camera behind the character (hold to fixate the camera in a position), face the other direction when holding vines
 * Move character, move cursor in menus
 * Pause/Unpause, view status screen
 * Rotate camera left
 * Rotate camera right
 * Enter first-person view
 * Zoom out/in
 * + : Pony Tail Twirl (Tiny)
 * + : Jumping attack
 * + : Simian Slam, Super Simian Slam, Super Duper Simian Slam
 * + : Backflip
 * + : Special Move (Diddy, Lanky, Chunky)
 * + : Throw an Orange
 * + : Take out weapon/put away weapon, cancel Cranky's Kong Barrel ability
 * + : Take out the Banana Fairy's Camera
 * + : Play instrument
 * + : Running attack
 * + + : Long jump
 * + + : Roll (Donkey, Tiny)

Donkey Kong
Donkey Kong is the main and starting character. Donkey Kong is a powerful character, with good attacking strength, but is slightly slower than Lanky. He can execute a kicking attack if the player presses the button, and he can also use a double-handed punch while in the air by pressing the  button while jumping. Donkey Kong's weapon of choice is the Coconut Shooter, which he can use to shoot coconuts that can press certain switches. Donkey Kong is the only character who can access Baboon Blast challenges through the use of his Pad Move, and later on he gains the ability to pull rusty levers with his strength. Donkey Kong can collect yellow Bananas, Banana Bunch Coins and Blueprints, and his instrument is the bongo.

Book's Description
"'He's the only ape who still cares enough to wear a tie. DK may not be the most powerful Kong - or the quickest - but he applies a strong blue-collar work ethic to the business of Kremling Crushing. That may be why he's the leader of the Kong Clan.'"

Diddy Kong
Diddy Kong is the first character to be unlocked, and the second Kong overall. Diddy Kong is unlocked in the first world of the game, Jungle Japes, where he is found imprisoned in a cell in a mountainside. Once he is freed, he becomes a playable character. Diddy Kong's attacks are not as strong as the other Kongs, such as Donkey, Lanky and Chunky Kong, but he is much faster and more agile. He is the second fastest Kong, losing only to Tiny Kong. Diddy's main attack is his trademark cartwheel which can be used to attack enemies, and he also has a tail attack done by pressing the button while he is in the air. Diddy Kong's weapon of choice is the Peanut Popgun, which can shoot peanuts that can hit certain switches. His instrument is the guitar, and he can collect red Bananas, Banana Bunch Coins and Blueprints.

Book's Description
"'You'll probably recognize his familiar furry mug from past adventures. A mere bantamweight in bulk, this courageous chimp is the heavyweight champion of hard-core attitude. Whether he's rocking out on a six-stringed, amplified guitar or rocketing through the sky, he's always giving it 100 percent - Diddy Style.'"

Lanky Kong
Lanky Kong is one of the unlockable characters. He is unlocked in the second world, Angry Aztec, but the player can unlock Tiny first. Lanky is the most balanced Kong, having balanced speed, strength and agility, with good range on his attacks courtesy of his long arms. Lanky can stretch his arms to attack enemies by pressing the button, and he can also use his long arms to activate switches. During the game, Lanky learns how to inflate and float like a balloon when he stands on pads with his face on them, and he also learns how to walk around on his hands using the Orangstand and Orangstand Sprint, both allowing him to move climb up steep slopes and the latter making him move very fast. His weapon of choice is the Grape Shooter, a blowgun that can fire grapes to hit certain switches and attack enemies. His instrument is the trombone. Lanky Kong is able to collect blue Bananas, Banana Bunch Coins, and Blueprints.

Book's Description
"'This knuckle-dragging Kong looks like a clown, and it's more than just a coincidence. Think of him as a twisted twig on a distant branch of the family tree. Kremlings and Klaptraps may snicker at his goofy gait as he ambles in their direction, but there's nothing funny about a hyper extended sucker punch.'"

Tiny Kong
Tiny Kong is the fourth unlockable character, and is the only female Kong to be playable. She, along with Lanky, can be unlocked in Angry Aztec, the second world of the game, and she can be unlocked either after or before Lanky, depending on if Diddy was rescued beforehand. Tiny is the fastest and most agile out of all the playable characters, but she has the weakest physical attacks among the Kongs. Her most prominent move is the Pony Tail Twirl, which allows her to float in the air and reduce her falling speed. Tiny can also shrink herself to access certain places once she learns the Mini-Monkey ability. Her main attack is using her hair to beat up enemies, done by pressing the button. She uses the Feather Bow as her weapon of choice, allowing her to shoot feathers that can hit certain switches and defeat enemies. Her instrument is the saxophone, and she can collect purple Bananas, Banana Bunch Coins and blueprints.

Book's Description
"'Dixie's VERY little sister brings a big dose of flower power to the Kong's campaign. You'll find her pigtails perfect for pugilism and not too bad for a helicopter ride from the treetops. Tiny never shrinks from her responsibilities - even when she shrinks herself physically for a mouse's eye view of the action. '"

Chunky Kong
Chunky Kong is the one of the Kongs to be unlocked, and he is found in the third world of the game, Frantic Factory. Chunky is the strongest Kong, which allows him to easily lift boulders and other heavy objects, as well as attack enemies with powerful punches. However, he is the slowest and least agile Kong, and has the lowest maximum jump height of all the characters. His main attack is spinning rapidly, attacking enemies close to him. Throughout the game, Chunky also learns to become invisible when he stands on a pad with his face on it, and he also learns to become giant upon entering a barrel with his face on it. Chunky Kong's weapon of choice is the Pineapple Launcher, which can fire pineapples that are used to hit certain switches and defeat enemies. His instrument is the triangle, and he can collect green Bananas, Banana Bunch Coins, and Blueprints.

Book's Description
"'He's big. He's bad. He plays the triangle. Chunky is something of a primate paradox: brutal when the situation demands it, yet almost meek at other times. He's also not the sharpest knife in the drawer, so he'll need all the help you can give him. If there's heavy lifting to be done, however, Chunky is the Monkey to see.'"

Rambi the Rhino
Rambi the Rhino is one of the two playable Animal Friends in this game. He can use his strong horn to smash crates, attack enemies, and break huts and wooden walls with his face on them. Rambi appears in the first world, Jungle Japes, and also makes an appearance in one of Donkey Kong's minigames in Hideout Helm. Rambi has an unlockable arena where he makes an appearance. Donkey Kong is the only character that can transform into Rambi by entering his Animal Crate.

Enguarde the Swordfish
Enguarde the Swordfish can use his pointy bill to smash open treasure chests and reveal hidden items. He can also leap out of water to pass through DK logos floating in the air. Enguarde appears only in the world Gloomy Galleon, and in his unlockable arena. Lanky Kong is the only character who can turn into Enguarde.

Krusha
Krusha is a Kremling originating from Donkey Kong Country, and is a character playable only in the game's Multiplayer mode. He is unlocked once the player collects fifteen Banana Fairies. He has similar attributes to Chunky Kong, as he is one of the strongest characters physically but lacks in speed and agility, although he has a few unique attacks, such as a fast sliding punch. His weapon of choice is the Orange grenade launcher, which is used to launch Oranges.

Klaptrap
Klaptrap is a regular enemy that appears in various locations throughout the game, but he is playable in a minigame, "Beaver Bother". He must bark to scare away the numerous Gnawties into the hole in the middle of the arena before the time runs out.

Banana Fairy Princess
The Banana Fairy Princess is the princess of the Banana Fairies and lives in a fairy shaped structure on an island surrounding DK Isles. Only Tiny Kong can visit her, and when she does, the Banana Fairy Princess will request that the Kongs search for and return her Banana Fairies to her. The Banana Fairy Princess will then give away the Banana Camera Film and also gives the Kongs the ability to do a shockwave attack that can defeat almost any enemy in one hit.

K. Lumsy
K. Lumsy is a large Kremling who is first seen locked up in a large cage on an island beside Crocodile Isles. Unlike the other members of the Kremling Krew, K. Lumsy is a kind hearted Kremling who refuses to destroy DK Isles, which resulted in King K. Rool locking him up. The Kongs agree to collect the keys to K. Lumsy's prison and set him free, which is one of the game's main tasks.

Wrinkly Kong
Wrinkly Kong appears in the lobbies to each world (save for Hideout Helm) where she appears as a ghost, having died prior to the start of the game. Here she gives the Kongs hints towards one of their Golden Bananas in each level. The Wrinkly Doors are color coded to match each of the Kong's main colors.

Troff and Scoff
Troff and Scoff are a pig and hippopotamus, respectively, that appear in each boss portal. They appear standing beside each end of the boss door, with Troff trying to reach the key to unlock it and Scoff on the other end. The Kongs must feed Scoff in order for Troff to reach the key to open the boss door.

Snide
Snide is a weasel character who was once the chief technician for King K. Rool. However King K. Rool threw him out because he found him untrusting. Snide set out for revenge against him by asking the Kongs to locate the blueprints to the Blast-O-Matic and helping them with destroying it. Snide's HQ can be found in every level (excluding Hideout Helm) as well as DK Isles where the Kongs can exchange blueprints for Golden Bananas, as well as play bonus games after returning all the blueprints.

Minor Characters
Throughout the game, the Kongs meet various characters within certain worlds. These characters often don't appear outside said world, with a few exceptions.

Cranky's Lab
Cranky's Lab is a location that Cranky Kong resides in, and it appears in every area of the game, with the exception of Hideout Helm. Cranky has seemingly taken up science as a hobby, and in his lab, the player can buy different potions in exchange for Banana Bunch Coins to learn new techniques and abilities needed to progress throughout the game. Also, if the Kongs visit Cranky at his lab with at least fifteen Banana Medals, Cranky allows them to play a game called Jetpac (an early Rare game). The Kongs must get 5000 points in the game in order to obtain the Rareware Coin.

There are three kinds of potions that are available for the Kongs and each type of potion gives them a different ability. The types of abilities are as follows:


 * Pad Move - These abilities are activated when any of the Kongs stand on a circular pad with their face on it.
 * Barrel Move - To activate a Barrel Move, the playable Kong has to enter a wooden barrel with their face on it.
 * Special Move - Most of the Kongs' Special Moves can be used anytime, with the exception of Donkey Kong's, which can only be used near rusty levers.

There are also shared potions which give all the Kongs the same ability - to press Kong Switches with their face on them.

Funky's Store
Funky's Store is a shop owned by Funky Kong where the Kongs can buy and reload their weapons. Each Kong has his or her own personalized weapon. They can use these weapons to shoot a variety of fruit-based projectiles to attack enemies, hit certain switches that have a certain fruit emblem on them, and hit Banana Balloons. Initially, the Kongs can have 50 rounds of ammunition, but this amount increases when the Kongs buy Funky's upgrades. The prices of his upgrades are as follows:


 * Shooter Installment - 3 coins
 * Ammo Belt 1 - 3 Coins
 * Homing Ammo - 5 Coins
 * Ammo Belt 2 - 5 Coins
 * Sniper Scope - 7 Coins

Candy's Music Shop
Candy Kong owns a music shop where she provides the Kongs with powerful instruments that they can use to make a variety of things happen. At certain points of the game, Candy also gives the Kongs an extra melon, increasing their health. Usually, when the Kongs play their instruments on certain locations, doors open or areas that were previously impossible to reach become accessible. The power of the instrument can also defeat all the enemies on the screen, but playing it reduces its energy. The Kongs can touch Candy's Headphones to replenish their instruments' energy, or visit Candy to reload the energy. The instrument, however, does not lose any energy if the Kongs play it when they are standing on a Music Pad.


 * Music Installment - 3 Coins
 * Upgrade 1 - 5 Coins
 * 3rd Melon and Music Energy - 7 Coins
 * Upgrade 2 - 9 Coins

Snide's H.Q.
Over the course of the game, the player may find Kasplats holding pieces of blueprint. If the player takes them to Snide's H.Q., Snide will trade the blueprints for Golden Bananas. There are a total of 40 blueprints in the game, 5 per world along with 5 in DK Isles. If the player delivers all of Snide's Blueprints, he will then allow the Kongs to play the various Bonus Stage games.

Wrinkly Doors
Wrinkly Doors are found in the lobby of each level (excluding Hideout Helm). As the name suggests, Wrinkly Kong will come out of each door if a Kong approaches it and give the Kong advice on one of their Golden Bananas hidden in each level. The doors are color coded for each Kong; yellow for Donkey Kong, red for Diddy Kong, purple for Tiny Kong, blue for Lanky Kong and green for Chunky Kong.

Bosses
Troff the Pig and Scoff the Hippo guard the doors that lead to the bosses who hold seven of the eight keys to K. Lumsy's cage. By feeding Scoff a certain number of bananas, it allows Troff to reach the key to open the door. The players need to feed Scoff more bananas each progressed level and the combined total of all the Kongs' bananas can be pertained. Once all the bananas reach to 0, the key opens the door and a roulette spins, determining which Kong is going to battle against the Boss. Only the designated Kong can enter the door. The door will close if a different Kong tries to go inside the door at any time. Once the correct Kong enters the door, the door slams shut, and evil laughter can be heard before the screen fades to the Boss Battle.

Boss Requirements
Note: The final boss, King K. Rool, does not involve help from Troff & Scoff.

Mini-Bosses
There are only three mini-bosses in the game:

Barrels
There are several types of barrels that the Kongs encounter during their adventure. They have varing effects, although most of them are helpful. The standard, wooden barrels from previous Donkey Kong Country games also appear in this game, and have the same purpose - the Kongs can grab them and throw them at other enemies to defeat them. Once thrown, the barrel rolls in the direction it was thrown and breaks when it hits something. There are also various types of different barrels:

Switches
Another aspect of the gameplay Donkey Kong 64 are the various switches found in the game's worlds. There are several types of switches, and they usually affect the landscape of the location they are found in, allowing access to new areas or collectibles. The switches are either found on the ground, or in the walls, requiring a special ability to hit them. There are three types of switches:

Mystery
When the players manage to collect a certain amount of Banana Fairies in any file, the Mystery option will be unlocked in the main menu. Depending on the number of Banana Fairies collected, the players will unlock the following things:

Similarities between Donkey Kong 64 and Banjo-Kazooie
As both Donkey Kong 64 and Banjo-Kazooie were games made by Rare, huge similarities were inevitable, to name a few:
 * In an early version, Banjo and Kazooie's faces could be seen on a shower stall in DK's Tree House. Similarly, pre-release material of Banjo-Kazooie shows a picture of DK as he appeared in the original Donkey Kong Country above Banjo's bed, but was eventually replaced with a picture of Tooty, Banjo's sister.
 * The gameplay of Donkey Kong 64 shares many things with Banjo-Kazooie, like the different pads (and their appearance), the Golden Bananas (collected and used in the same way as Banjo-Kazooie ' s Jiggies), somes moves (The OrangStand, for example, being extremely similar to the Talon Trot) and the Blast-o-Matic (which is more or less the Donkey Kong 64 equivalent of the B.O.B., the Big-O-Blaster, used by Gruntilda in Banjo-Tooie).
 * Fungi Forest was originally intended for Banjo-Kazooie, but got canned due to time constraints, before being moved to Donkey Kong 64 with minor changes.
 * Donkey Kong 64 was part of the incomplete feature called Stop 'n' Swop. It involved six different colored eggs and a key of ice, found in Banjo-Kazooie, and only two eggs and the key were shown in the ending cinematic (after collecting all 100 Jiggies). Their locations were sealed off, and it was told that they would be unlocked in Banjo-Tooie. After hackers found the codes to access their hiding places, the eggs proved useless. Rare intended to use them as a connection between Banjo-Kazooie, Banjo-Tooie, and Donkey Kong 64, unlocking secret features in all of them. After accessing a special pause menu, gamers were supposed to stop their current game and swap the Game Paks for another. Stop 'n' Swop got canned by Nintendo, due to concerns about players damaging their systems and the possibility that it would not be possible in some revisions of the Nintendo 64 hardware. Due to fact that the necessary chunk of the code for Banjo-Kazooie was already complete and compiled in the game after its release when Nintendo changed the N64's hardware, Stop 'n' Swop remained a mystery until the Xbox Live Arcade re-release of Banjo-Kazooie and Banjo-Tooie where Rare completed the contraption they started, replacing Donkey Kong 64 with Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts. However, the use of the Eggs and Key for Donkey Kong is still unknown.
 * Donkey Kong 64 holds many cameos to the Banjo-Kazooie series, including the enemies resembling Swellbellies, and the relation between the enemy Gnawty and the character Gnawty, who is a minor character in Banjo-Kazooie.
 * Inside of Candy's Shop are three of the instruments that appeared in the intro to Banjo-Kazooie, which are Banjo's banjo, Kazooie's kazoo, and Mumbo's xylophone.
 * The tune that plays when Troff and Scoff unlock a boss door is almost identical to the tune that plays whenever Banjo enters a room containing a Stop 'N' Swop item in Banjo-Kazooie.
 * In both games, the first three worlds share the same themes; the first being a mountain like valley, the second being set in a sandy like environment, and the third is set in an industrial facility.
 * In both games, world 5 features two races, the first one not requiring a new move, but the second one requires a move that allows the player to run at a very fast speed. In both games, the move must be learned in the next world.
 * In both games, world 7 takes place in a haunted like environment and even share similar music.

References to other games

 * Donkey Kong: A full version of this game can be played at Frantic Factory. Notably, this is the only rerelease of the Arcade version since the Ikegami Tsushinki lawsuit. Part of the song that plays in Creepy Castle (as well as in the dungeons) incorporates the melody heard while Donkey Kong is climbing to the top of the construction site with Pauline.
 * Donkey Kong Country: The Jungle Japes theme is an arrangement of "DK Island Swing," the jungle level theme first heard in Jungle Hijinxs. Also, King K. Rool has the same appearance as that game, and Squawks has shrunken back down to his original size from that game.
 * Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest: Pictures of Kaptain K. Rool can be spotted in the sunken ship of Gloomy Galleon, in the museum of Creepy Castle and in some cabins in Crystal Caves.
 * Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble!: When the Kongs visit Wrinkly Kong for the first time, she says that she has been deceased since Donkey Kong Country 3. The alarm sound effect from Krack Shot Kroc is used for the K. Rool's Mobile Island Fortress and the conveyor belts in the Jungle Japes mine when they are set to "low."

References in later games

 * Donkey Kong Country: The Game Boy Color remake features several minigames that were included in Donkey Kong 64, while the Game Boy Advance version features voices of DK, Diddy, and King K. Rool that were used in Donkey Kong 64. In addition, the menu selection for the former was taken directly from Donkey Kong 64.
 * Super Smash Bros. Melee: The DK Rap was rearranged for background music on the Kongo Jungle stage. Jungle Japes appears as a stage, with many elements from its original appearance.
 * Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour: Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong's voices from this game are recycled from Donkey Kong 64.
 * Donkey Kong Country 2: After the Kongs complete Funky's "Cool Sounds" mission in the Game Boy Advance remake, he mentions the Monkey Rap. Some of Dixie's voices are Tiny's recycled. Tiny Kong appears in Funky's minigames during Kongnapped and Kongnapped 2 where the player must rescue a certain amount of her.
 * DK: King of Swing: Crystal Coconuts made a return, although they served an entirely different purpose. Also, Wrinkly Kong was a ghost in this game, just as she was in Donkey Kong 64. DK and Diddy's 64 voices are recycled yet again, although they are the edited versions heard in Donkey Kong Country for Game Boy Advance. Flipflaps returned as enemies.
 * Donkey Kong Country 3: Lanky, Tiny and Chunky make cameos in one of Funky's minigames, in the Game Boy Advance remake.
 * Mario Hoops 3-on-3: Diddy's Special Shot involves the use of his Rocketbarrel Jetpack.
 * Donkey Kong Barrel Blast: Chunky's Pineapple Launcher, Crystal Coconuts, Golden Bananas and Banana Fairies were usable items. Also, the entire concept of barrel-rocket belts originated from DK64. Lanky was also reintroduced in that game as well.
 * Diddy Kong Racing DS: The game's title logo was similar to DK64's and Tiny Kong was a playable racer.
 * Super Smash Bros. Brawl: Diddy Kong was included as a playable character, and his move-set (specifically his Rocketbarrel Boost and Peanut Popguns) came straight from Donkey Kong 64. Also, Diddy Kong, Lanky Kong, Tiny Kong and Chunky Kong appear as stickers straight from Donkey Kong 64.
 * Donkey Kong Country Returns: Diddy Kong can use a Rocketbarrel Jetpack to slow Donkey Kong's fall and in multiplayer when facing either Mugly or Thugly the player can have Diddy Kong shoot peanuts at them and Mugly or Thugly will eat them being distracted.
 * Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U: Trophies of the Peanut Popgun and Rocketbarrel Pack appear in these games. Trophies of Lanky Kong and Tiny Kong appear in the Wii U version.
 * Mario Party 10: DK's description says He's finally back to kick some tail!.
 * Skylanders: SuperChargers: Chunky Kong's special ability, Primate Punch, is used as Turbo Charge Donkey Kong's primary ability in this game.
 * Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle: A rearrangement of the Jungle Japes theme is used as Rabbid Kong's battle theme in this game.

Development
Donkey Kong 64 started development immediately after the conclusion of Donkey Kong Country 3's. The original incarnation of Donkey Kong 64 was meant to be more similar in design to the Donkey Kong Country series than the final game, featuring linear levels played through a combination of forward-scrolling and side view sections, similar to . After around 18 months, development as rebooted after Rare took notice of the trend of open 3D games started by Super Mario 64.

Donkey Kong 64 was not initially meant to require the Expansion Pak. Near its release date, Rare was unable to fix a memory leak bug that would cause the game to crash after 30 minutes of gameplay, but found that the issue did not occur when the Expansion Pak inserted. As a result, the game was bundled with the Expansion Pak, a move that took a large toll on the game's profits.

Staff
Donkey Kong 64 was developed by Rare Ltd. and published by Nintendo. The game's core development team was largely formed of people who had no involvement with Rare's previous Donkey Kong games, although several Donkey Kong Country veterans such as Gregg Mayles and Chris Sutherland are credited as support staff.

The game's soundtrack was composed by Grant Kirkhope. Initially meant to assist Eveline Fischer, Kirkhope ended up composing the entire soundtrack (including the DK Rap) and also provided the voice of Donkey Kong.

Reception
Donkey Kong 64 was the subject of universal acclaim at release. Critics praised the game's length and large amount of content, the variety brought about by the game's tasks and different player characters, and the graphics, although multiple outlets expressed disappointment that Donkey Kong 64 did not feel like a massive technological leap over the developer's previous work on Banjo-Kazooie despite requiring the Expansion Pak accessory. A reoccurring criticism of the game was that Donkey Kong 64 was derivative of Super Mario 64 and Banjo-Kazooie, and not a revolutionary step like the critics judged Donkey Kong Country to be.

In a 1999 interview, Shigeru Miyamoto said of Donkey Kong 64 that Rare "really perfected the art" of making 3D action games and that "I bet you that it turns out to be the absolute best 3D action game available on any hardware - even including .", although he ultimately judged that Donkey Kong 64 would not be a game that would attract new players to the Nintendo 64.

In later years, critical reception to Donkey Kong 64 has been more mixed. Modern retrospectives of the Donkey Kong series and reviews of the game's Wii U rerelease have criticized various aspects of Donkey Kong 64's design such as the excessive gating of collectables and switches by characters, the tedium of having to backtrack to switch characters through the Tag Barrel, and the low quality and frustrating nature of many of the Bonus Stages. Publications such as  blamed Donkey Kong 64 as one of the factors in the decreasing fortunes of the 3D platformer genre. Former Rare employee and Donkey Kong 64 composer Grant Kirkhope was quoted as saying the game and fellow Rare platformer  were "too much", and the game's lead tester Gavin Price mocked its high amount of collectibles in an interview.

In a 2016  poll to determine the "most memorable" games for each console, Donkey Kong 64 ranked 7th for the Nintendo 64 with 129 votes, being the only Donkey Kong game to make the list.

Quotes

 * "I've been waiting a long time for this moment. Soon, Donkey Kong and his pretty little island will be no more!" - King K. Rool
 * "Well, if it isn't my good-for-nothin' son..." - Cranky Kong
 * "Snide's my name, revenge is my game!" - Snide

Pre-release and unused content
Early screenshots show that DK's Tree House was meant to have a shower stall with Banjo and Kazooie on it. The Kong's weapons originally resembled actual weapons, such as Donkey Kong's Coconut Shooter resembling a double barreled shotgun.

Glitches
Donkey Kong 64 contains a variety of glitches, to a degree that the game is often considered to be one of the most broken games on the Nintendo 64, lag issues were very common, most noticeably in Frantic Factory and few other places, the developers noticed that, and implemented a movement speed-to-lag system, where the more lag there is, the faster characters move. This led to there being a lot of wall clips in this game. Oranges explosion causes massive lag, and the fact that the player can enter first person mode and throw oranges faster allowed the use of many more sequence breaks and wall clips. Most of the lag issues were fixed in the Virtual Console release of the game, but due to this, timed challenges in the game were considerably harder, because there was less lag. The first person mode allows even more glitches, like swimming through most walls, and clipping through stairs.

Trivia

 * Wrinkly Kong is the only Kong not seen during the credits.
 * Wrinkly Kong is also the only supporting Kong to offer her service for free.
 * In , another Rare game, one of the questions Gruntilda asks during the final battle is "What is the name of the first game I appeared in?". One of the three answers to this question is Grunty Kong 64, referencing this game.