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.