Rocket Rush (level)

Rocket Rush is the fortieth level in Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble (forty-sixth in the Game Boy Advance remake), and the fifth area of Krematoa.

The Kongs must navigate this cliff side level in a special rocket barrel. For the first half, they must descend to the bottom, conserving fuel so that they don't run out and crash. For the second half, they'll blast up the other side of the cliff, trying to reach the top without running out of fuel. Buzzes are the only enemy here, and in the SNES version of the game, both Green and Red Buzzes can be defeated by simply coming into contact with them. There are no bonus areas in this level.

The Gameboy Advance version is significantly different. Unlike the SNES version, Buzzes can damage the rocket, and the rocket can take two hits before exploding. To defeat Buzzes, the player has to hold A to brake and burn them with the exhaust fire or they can burn them with the fire made when turning left or right. Red Buzzes however, cannot be defeated. The Star Barrel is also absent from the level in the GBA version.

Trivia

 * On some copies of the SNES version of the game the 'G' letter is missing from this stage; however, it is in plain sight in the Gameboy Advance version and Virtual Console release.
 * This is the only level that has an exclamation mark at the end of the name before getting all the Bonus Coins. This is because this level does not have any bonus stages. The same is not true in the Gameboy Advance version as an exclamation mark doesn't appear at the end of a level's name when the player got all the Bonus Coins in it.
 * In the GBA remake, it is possible for the player to do a glitch which will make the Kongs fall off the screen in the Rocket Barrel. Gameplay can only be continued if the player exits the level or if the player just turns off the game.
 * When Buzzes are hit by the rocket's exhaust in the SNES version, they turn black. However, this effect is not kept in the GBA version.