Five Monkey Trial

Five Monkey Trial is the sixty-third and final level before the final boss in Donkey Kong Country Returns, 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.

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 five Banana Coins must be collected in each section to progress to the next. Additionally, every time Donkey and Diddy Kong finish a section, they must collect a Puzzle Piece to progress, so it is impossible to complete the level 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.

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 appear, along with a Barrel Cannon. The barrel cannon shoots them to the first trial area.

Trial 1: In this area, the heroes 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; one coin is high above both of them, and another 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 are collected, a Barrel Cannon appears above the middle platform to blast the heroes 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 heroes. 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 are collected, a Barrel Cannon appears in the center of the area to shoot the Kongs to the next area. Trial 3: Here, the primates must use squid enemies that come from cannons 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, 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, Buzzbites move towards them. Watching out for the low walls above them, the primates 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 Barrel Cannon appears to blast the Kongs to the next area. Trial 5: In the final area, the heroes 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 if avoided, a Banana Coin shoots out of the gap between the platforms. If the coin is missed, the heroes must avoid an additional set of boulders. Once five Banana Coins are collected, a Barrel Cannon appears to take the heroes to the end of the level.

When 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. Since all of the trials end with a Puzzle Piece, they can also grab them along the way.

Trivia

 * This is the only level in the game in which getting all the Puzzle Pieces is mandatory for clearing it.
 * It is also one of the few levels in the game where its title is not composed of at least two words that start with the same letter.