Donkey Kong Island (world)

Donkey Kong Island is the last main island (and, technical-wise, world) the Kongs have to venture through in Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze, a game for the Wii U. The player learns in the prologue of the game that the Kong family, consisting of Donkey, Diddy, Dixie, and Cranky, has been exiled on a faraway island by dreaded warriors called Snowmads. These warriors, having a barbaric behavior that is undoubtedly close to that of vikings from the real world, raided the Kongs' mother island and conquered it, transforming the tropical paradise into an improvised arctic inferno.

The levels of this world, with the exception of the optional stages, are each orderly based on a world from Donkey Kong Country Returns (the predecessor of Tropical Freeze), since Donkey Kong Island was the main area in this game. That said, Homecoming Hijinx, the first level of this world, corresponds to the Jungle world from the past game; Seashore War to the Beach world, and so on until Meltdown Mayhem, a volcanic area that takes place inside the Volcano world.

Under the Snowmad monarchy, Donkey Kong Island is a fundamentally dystopian place. Frozen still, guarded by Snowmad ships and forts, and reminding little about what it used to be, this island indicates an hostile atmosphere, heavily suggested not only by the surrounding snow heaps or the unlively vegetation, with palm trees burdened by snow, but even by the dramatic music that plays in its levels during the game. The fauna of the whole island seems to have been replaced in its entirety by Snowmads, as there are almost no allusions to enemies from the past game. In Blurry Flurry, which is linked to the Cave world, the mischievous Mega Squeekly that guarded the place is now frozen in a solid block of ice, watching the Kongs as they pass past it. Mugly can also be seen frozen in the Donkey Kong Island diorama. The only enemy returning from Donkey Kong Country Returns, whom the Kongs can physically interact with, is the Electroid in Frozen Frenzy (a stage in the Factory area).

In order to return the island to its initial state, the heroes first have to travel from area to area until they finally greet the Snowmad king, Lord Fredrik, in the Volcano Dome. Thereafter, they would have to confront him in a lofty yet perilous arena inside the dome, and ultimately beat him to determine the withdrawal of the Snowmads.

During the events of the game, the transportation between the levels of Donkey Kong Island is released through Barrel Cannons. Whereas the paths are not physically marked on the map of the island, there are arrows that indicate the player where it is possible to go, provided he or she finds the exit that unlocks the respective paths.

Music featured

 * "Snowmads Theme" – plays in Homecoming Hijinxs, Cliffside Slide, and Meltdown Mayhem.
 * "Seashore War" – plays in Seashore War.
 * "Freezie Breezie" – plays in Forest Folly and Icicle Arsenal.
 * "Frozen Frenzy" – plays in Frozen Frenzy.

Trivia

 * This is the first occasion since the original Donkey Kong Country when the Kongs can explore snowy places on Donkey Kong Island, as the aforementioned game featured Gorilla Glacier, the summit of the island. It was subsequently replaced in Donkey Kong Country Returns with the Volcano.
 * The fact that the waters of Donkey Kong Island are very cold and dangerous in Tropical Freeze, and that Donkey Kong Country Returns lacked the ability to swim, makes the original Donkey Kong Country the only game from its series where the player can explore the waters of Donkey Kong Island.