Rickety Rails

Rickety Rails is the twenty-third level in Donkey Kong Country Returns and Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D and the first level of the Cave world.

This level takes place in a cave, which can only be opened by blasting away its entrance, where Donkey and Diddy Kong must use minecarts to progress over a rickety track. Unlike the previous minecart level, Crazy Cart, the Kongs jump out of their cart in this level, instead of jumping with it. This way, they can access more than one cart. This level's main obstacle is its many falling platforms and sections of the track. Even in the short portions of the level where the primates are on land, platforms continue to fall. Sometimes, sections of the rickety track fall from in front of the Kongs as well as behind them, so they have to use Barrel Cannons to survive. Additionally, the track occasionally tilts up or down, making the Kongs ride faster or slower. Falling crystals can also break parts of the track, creating large gaps for the primates to cross. The only enemies in this level are bats and Tiki Goons.

In the Time Attack mode of the game, a time of 1:26:00 is needed to get a gold medal, a time of 1:36:00 for silver, and a time of 1:45:00 for bronze.

Overview
The level begins on top of a small waterfall in a jungle-like area. When the Kongs slide down the watery pathway, they can find a stone pathway leading to a Barrel Cannon. This barrel can shoot them into the background, where there are some plants that can be smashed to reveal collectibles. A Barrel Cannon is in the background as well, shooting the heroes back into the foreground on a smaller platform, which has a DK Barrel and a switch on it. If the Kongs pound on the switch, the dynamite in background blows up, revealing a hidden passage into the caves. Here, there is a trail of bananas and some Tiki Goons. A few planks hanging from the walls can be climbed to reach another Barrel Cannon. This cannon blasts them over a wall and down a small slope, where there is a fourth Barrel Cannon. It shoots them to a minecart, which immediately starts moving when entered. The cart rides along the track to a few banana trails, which must be collected by jumping. The letter K is also in a group of bananas near a few bat enemies. If the Kongs jump out of the minecart before it crashes into a roadblock, they can reach a Barrel Cannon that shoots them to a moving Auto Fire Barrel; a Banana Coin is between the two objects. When the Auto Fire Barrel blasts them to the next platform, the ground breaks, dropping them down to a Tutorial Pig who marks the checkpoint.

When The Kongs progress across the next platform, which is covered in Banana Bunches and Banana Coins, it breaks apart and falls, even though an area of land is below the heroes to catch them. More falling platforms are ahead, some of which are very small. They lead into another Barrel Cannon that blasts them into a minecart. As the heroes ride, they come across the letter O after the first gap, which is created by a falling crystal. More gaps are farther ahead, with new minecarts on the ends of them so the heroes can continue to ride after their carts falls into an abyss. The rails begin to fall here, so the primates must quickly jump out of the carts, eventually making it to another platform that falls with their weight on it. Using the Barrel Cannon nearby to blast to the next minecart, the heroes start to ride along a track that falls into pieces in front of and behind them. If they manage to jump up into a Barrel Cannon into the air, they are shot past a wall of dynamite through more cannons. When the last cannons shoots them back into the track, the rail breaks, causing the track to tilt. As the primates slowly ride up the tilted track, they are attack by many bats. Soon, their weight makes the track tilt downwards, causing the minecart to quickly ride down. A platform, which holds the letter N, is at the end of the rails for them to land on, but it breaks quickly, so they must jump into a Barrel Cannon to avoid falling. The cannon shoots them to other cannons, which them blast the heroes closer to the foreground on a different track. As the primates ride on this track and the one following it, the rails begin to break again, so they have to jump earlier than usual.

Eventually, the Kongs shoot through some more Barrel Cannons; the final cannon blasts them into a wall, where they then fall onto a few wooden boards. The weak boards break as soon as their weight is put on them, so the Kongs begin to fall through the area, landing on solid rocks at the bottom, or on another set of falling platforms. A trail of bananas leads into another Barrel Cannon, which takes them back into a minecart. The cart moves across a short, but straight track. At the end of the rails, the Kongs must jump into the nearby Barrel Cannon and blast farther up onto a second track. The minecart here rides them to the left here (or right in Mirror Mode), and, as the track before, does not break. It leads to another Barrel Cannon. Near this cannon, one can find a Puzzle Piece on a small, thin platform. The Barrel Cannon shoots the heroes to more Barrel Cannons, until they reach the level's final minecart. This carts heads down a hill on the track, but as it does this, the Kongs are able to access a floating Barrel Cannon to shoot to the letter G and back in the cart. At the end of the track, the Kongs land on a flat and solid platform with the Slot Machine Barrel right above it. If they hit the barrel, the level ends.

Enemies

 * Squeekly: 13
 * Tiki Goon: 2

Items and objects

 * Banana Coins: 14 (6 of which are in the bonus rooms)
 * Heart: 1
 * Red Balloon: 1

K-O-N-G Letters

 * K: When the Kongs start riding in a minecart, they come up to a group of bananas floating in the air. The letter K is between the bananas.
 * O: Near the beginning of the level, a crystal falls and smashes part of the track. Immediately after the gap created from it, the letter O is in air near a Squeekly.
 * N: After the Kongs jump away from the tilting section of the track, they can find a platform with the N on it. The platform breaks when the Kongs step on it.
 * G: When the Kongs ride the last minecart, they must jump into a Blast Barrel as the minecart goes down a small hill. The Blast Barrel blasts the Kongs along a banana trail with the letter G and back into the minecart.

Puzzle Pieces

 * 1) At the start of the level, the Kongs must go left into the background and enter a hole in a large tree. A Blast Barrel shoots them out with the first Puzzle Piece.
 * 2) Inside the cave before the Kongs get in a minecart, they must go up some planks to reach a Barrel Cannon. By going into the wall in the area, the Kongs can reveal a hidden alcove with the Puzzle Piece.
 * 3) Right after the checkpoint, the Kongs walk along a platform that falls apart with their weight. Under the platform is an opening that leads into a Bonus Level. Here, they must use a bouncy platform to reach many moving bananas. After the Kongs collect every banana, the third Puzzle Piece appears.
 * 4) After the Kongs break through a few wooden boards near the end of the level, they can reach the bottom of the area, where they must stand on a platform that breaks from their weight. By doing so, the Kongs can enter a Blast Barrel that sends them into another Bonus Level, where they must collect 60 bananas, two Banana Coins, and a Red Balloon around many small platforms. After collecting every object, the Puzzle Piece appears for the Kongs.
 * 5) Before the Kongs enter a Barrel Cannon at the end of the second-to-last minecart track, they must jump to the small platform nearby to collect a Puzzle Piece.