Red-Hot Ride

Red-Hot Ride is the ninth level of Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest and Donkey Kong Land 2. It is the fourth area of Crocodile Cauldron.

The level takes place within a volcano, but unlike in Hot-Head Hop, solid ground is hard to come by. The Kongs must cross the lakes of lava by riding atop Hot Air Balloons, which are exclusive to this level. The Kongs must be careful though, as the balloons will slowly descend into the lava unless they're on top of the thermals found throughout the level. Rambi can also be found and used throughout the first half of the level. Klomps, Klobbers, Flitters, Krunchas, Zingers, Click-Clacks and Neeks are all be found here.

Donkey Kong Country 2
From the start, Diddy and Dixie need to travel east and hop onto the the Hot Air Balloon, while jumping over an evil Klobber. They should cruise over the pit of lava on the balloon, and reach land again. Not long after, the Kongs will have to get on yet another balloon and ride over the burning-hot fire. When they get back on the ground, the monkeys can break open a Rambi box and gain the ability to ride on Rambi. The Animal Buddy will make the adventure much easier! Eventually, the group will meet up with another Hot Air Balloon over the blistering fire. They must ride over it on the helpful balloon, and attack Zingers on the way over. Rambi can beat the pests with a single touch, but if the monkeys have lost the buddy, they must maneuver around the bees. There are also some steam geysers on the way, which can push the Kongs' balloon higher in the air, without falling into the fire. After the heroes face those obstacles, they need to get back on land and defeat a few enemies. Nearby, there is a Star Barrel that they can break.

Halfway through the level, the heroes should jump onto the next Hot Air Balloon and ride across the fire pit. There are Zingers and other insects on the way, as well as more steam geysers to keep the balloon in the air. A TNT Barrel also waits upon another balloon that can beat three Zingers, allowing the monkeys to get a hidden Banana Coin. They will finally be back on land, but not long after, they need to get on another balloon nearby. Over the burning fire, the Kongs will avoid more enemies and also hop balloon-to-balloon, as not many steam geysers are around to hold up one balloon the whole time. They monkeys will eventually have to go under three Zingers, but while being pushed up by steam. This makes it quite tricky to pass, but if they wait long enough and get close to the fire below, they can just make it without hitting any Zingers above. Dixie can also flutter over them. Finally, the heroes can hop off a falling Hot Air Balloon and finish the level.

Donkey Kong Land 2
From the start of this level, the heroes must travel east and watch out for a few enemies, then hop on the Hot Air Balloon. On the balloon, they need to simply continue in the same direction over the boiling lava. A few moments later, they will end up back on land. Here, the Kongs must jump up to a raised piece of land and get on top of another balloon. On this, the small group should move along and jump on the next balloon nearby. This is followed by yet another balloon to hop on, right next to a Zinger. When they get back on solid ground, they must move forward and get into the Animal Barrel. It will turn them into Rambi, who will make the level a bit easier! The rhino needs to jump on the next Hot Air Balloon floating by and travel over to another balloon nearby. After jumping balloon-to-balloon, the animal must hop on Flitters and other insects until he gets to the letter O, where he can fall down and land on solid ground, safely. Eventually, Rambi will cross the "No Animal Buddy" sign and turn back into Diddy and Dixie. These two heroes must then break open the Star Barrel.

Now, the Kongs are halfway through the level. Here, they need to go to the right and get on the Hot Air Balloon, then jump over a Zinger and land on another balloon. Once they travel all the way back to the ground, the monkeys must move on and jump across two Flitters. Then, they should jump on the next Hot Air Balloon. They will need to they move a little east and jump over a Zinger and off a Flitter to the following balloon after it. Afterwords, the group must jump on another balloons and then hop off of three insects to get to the next balloon. This one will finally take them back to solid ground, where they will beat some Klobbers and other enemies. Unfortunately, they will have to jump on another Hot Air Balloon and ride across the fire pit, followed by a second balloon there. Finally, the heroes will hop off a Flitter and back onto land, where they can exit the level.

Bonus Level(s)
At some point, the heroes will see two Krunchas and a "No Rambi" sign. Right before this part, they should use Rambi's special move to ram a wall open. The Bonus Level is inside. Here, the group needs to simply defeat all the Klomps and Flitters around the area. When they are all bested, a Kremkoin will appear.

Right under the Star Barrel, Diddy and Dixie may notice a banana under the rocks they are standing on. There is a Bonus Barrel under that banana. However, since it is underground, they can obviously not reach it from where they are now. So, the monkeys must hop onto the Hot Air Balloon, and go to the left, instead of right. They will go through the ground and be ale to access the Bonus Level. Here, the heroes will get onto another balloon and grab stars as they travel above the burning pit below. Once all the stars are collected, the Kremkoin will appear.

DK Coin
After leaving the stone platform with the Star Barrel on it, the Kongs must travel across the pit of fire, where they will eventually see two Zingers lined up with a Hot Air Balloon right between them. If the heroes can jump over these bees (possibly sacrificing a monkey), they will see the DK Coin there, in reach to grab.

Golden Feather (GBA Only)
This Golden Feather is quite easy to find. To get it, the Kongs must find the letter G. If they travel backwards from there, the feather will be right above a steam geyser in plain sight.

Bonus Level(s)
Right after the first fire pit past the Star Barrel, they Kongs must get up to a slightly higher elevation and jump to the left, using Dixie to flutter over with her ponytail. There should be a Hot Air Balloon that they can land on. On this, they must continue west and hop into the Bonus Barrel, leading to the Bonus Level. Here, the heroes need to collect stars in the air on a balloon. They must act fast, because the balloon is falling fast and the clock is ticking. When they get all the stars, they may obtain the Kremkoin.

DK Coin
When going over the third pit of fire after the Star Barrel, they group must get on the second balloon. Here, they should see a banana below them. If they fall down a little bit on the Hot Air Balloon, the DK Coin should be in sight for grabs.