Gangplank Galleon

Gangplank Galleon (also spelled Gang-Plank Galleon) is the name of King K. Rool's ship, which first appears in the game Donkey Kong Country. In Donkey Kong Country the Gangplank Galleon is only visible from the overworld map, but after Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong make their way through the Chimp Caverns area, they gain access to the ship. Going onboard they encounter and fight the demented Kremling ruler King K. Rool. After a long fight, K. Rool is defeated and Donkey Kong's coveted banana hoard is returned to him. In this game, it is simply depicted as around the size of a real galleon, while in later games it is depicted as far larger since it's a set of stages.

In Donkey Kong Country's Game Boy sequel, Donkey Kong Land, Gangplank Galleon Ahoy! is the game's first area. Here, the Gangplank Galleon is docked on the coast of Donkey Kong Island. Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong must travel on the ship itself, but also on the surrounding grounds. Instead of King K. Rool, a large ray named Wild Sting is the boss of the Gangplank Galleon.

Later, in Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest and its pseudo-port Donkey Kong Land 2, Diddy and Dixie Kong venture to Crocodile Isle in order to rescue Donkey Kong, prisoned by Kaptain K. Rool. The first place the Kongs travel through is the shipwreck of the Gangplank Galleon, which had become beached on the rocky shore of the island. Diddy and Dixie have to venture through the ship's remains to reach the area's guardian, Krow, who fittingly resides in the ship's crow's nest. The Gangplank Galleon is much larger in this game, having five levels, while in the previous game it was only large enough for the fight with K. Rool. After defeating the giant bird, the Kongs venture to the nearby Crocodile Cauldron. A sunken pirate ship similar to the Gangplank Galleon appears in Krem Quay. At the end of Donkey Kong Country 2, the Gangplank Galleon sinks to the bottom of the ocean, along with the rest of Crocodile Isle.

What are presumably the remains of the Gangplank Galleon appear in the Donkey Kong 64 stage: Gloomy Galleon.

The Gangplank Galleon stage itself does not appear in Super Smash Bros. Brawl; an arrangement of its theme song, however, does. It can be heard at Rumble Falls and one of the stages of the Subspace Emissary. The arrangement reappears in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U on the Kongo Jungle stage.

Appearances in other media
Though the Gangplank Galleon was never named as such, it did appear on the Donkey Kong Country television series. Here, the ship was owned by the dreaded pirate Kaptain Skurvy instead of King K. Rool. On the show the ship often met with disaster, such as being eaten by Klaptrap in the episode "Booty and the Beast" and accidentally being blown up by Klump in the Christmas-based episode "The Kongo Bongo Festival of Lights".

The Gangplank Galleon, though only referred to as "King K. Rool's ship", also appeared in the Club Nintendo comic "Donkey Kong Country". Like in the game of the same name, it served as the location for the fight between the Kongs and K. Rool. Besides the latter, several other Kremlings can be seen on the ship.

Trivia

 * In Donkey Kong Country, it is never explained how the ship sails away from DK Island just before the battle with King K. Rool.
 * In Donkey Kong 64, although the bow and midsegment of the sunken ship are seen, the stern is nowhere to be seen.