Five Monkey Trial

Five Monkey Trial is the sixty-third and final level before the final boss in Donkey Kong Country Returns and Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D, as well as the last level in the Volcano world. It is a secret level, as all of the K-O-N-G Letters in the Volcano world must be collected to unlock it. It is one of the only levels in the game that does not have an alliterative or rhyming name.

Five Monkey Trial is different than most levels because it is divided into five short parts. Each part of the level features different enemies and different obstacles, and Donkey and Diddy Kong must collect five Banana Coins and a Puzzle Piece in each section to progress to the next. This makes it the only level in the game that is impossible to complete without grabbing all five Puzzle Pieces, which unlock the Volcano diorama in the extras mode. There are no bananas found in the whole level.

Five Monkey Trial, like other temple themed levels, features no K-O-N-G Letters.

In the Time Attack mode of the game, a time of 1:54:00 is needed to get a gold medal, a time of 1:57:00 for silver, and a time of 2:01:00 for bronze.

The name "Five Monkey Trial" is possibly a reference to the Scopes Trial, also known as the "Monkey Trial" and/or the classic Nursery Rhyme, "Five Little Monkeys."

Overview
The level begins with a straight pathway leading to a large switch on the floor. If the Kongs hit it a few times, a few statues holding fruits appear and move into the background, along with a Barrel Cannon. The barrel cannon shoots them to the first trial area.

Trial 1
In this area, the Kongs must jump on trampolines while avoiding Tiki Zings to collect five Banana Coins. There are three trampolines placed next to each other; the middle trampoline holds one coin that is high above it, and the two platforms beside it have two Banana Coins. The fourth coin is high above both of them, and the fifth is placed only slightly above them. At the same time, two Tiki Zings vertically hover between the trampolines, while another two circle around the platforms next to the middle platform. Once all of the coins and the Puzzle Piece are collected, a Barrel Cannon appears above the middle platform to blast the Kongs to the second part.

Trial 2
This part is home to four small platforms. In the background, many Screaming Pillars appear and try to fall on the Kongs. They must jump along all of the platforms to avoid them. As the pillars are destroyed from hitting the ground, Banana Coins appear, which can be followed to find a safe platform away from the Screaming Pillars. If all of the coins and the Puzzle Piece are collected, a Barrel Cannon appears in the center of the area to shoot the Kongs to the next area.

Trial 3
Here, the Kongs must use Squidly enemies that come from Squid Shots in the walls to reach the top of the area. Once they bounce upwards on top of them and reach the highest possible point, they can find all five Banana Coins. Once they pick up all of them, along with the Puzzle Piece, a Barrel Cannon appears to lead the Kongs to the next area.

Trial 4
In this area, the Kongs are placed on a turning wheel. As they try to balance on the wheel to avoid the pits on both sides of the area, Buzzbites move towards them. Watching out for the low walls above them, the Kongs must jump over each of the enemies and collect Banana Coins on the way. Once all of the coins are collected and the wheel stops turning, a Puzzle Piece appears. Collecting the Puzzle Piece causes a Barrel Cannon to appear and blast the Kongs to the next area.

Trial 5
In the final area, the Kongs must move around two platforms to avoid large, spiky boulders. The boulders fall towards them in different ways from the background, and every time one set of them is avoided, a Banana Coin shoots out of the gap between the platforms. If the coin is missed, the Kongs must avoid an additional set of boulders. Once five Banana Coins and the Puzzle Piece are collected, a Barrel Cannon appears to take the Kongs to the end of the level.

Once the Kongs exit the fifth trial, they can find a red Rare Orb. Collecting it ends the level and puts another orb in the Kongs' collection to get into the Golden Temple.