DK: Jungle Climber

DK: Jungle Climber, known as Donkey Kong: Jungle Climber in Japan and Europe, is the sequel to DK: King of Swing, and uses much the same controls as the original. Donkey Kong, Diddy Kong, Dixie Kong, and Funky Kong are playable. Other characters include Cranky Kong, Candy Kong, Wrinkly Kong and King K. Rool. Also, some of the enemies from the original DK: King of Swing, such as Neeks, Zingers, and Click-Clacks appear in the game. Other enemies include Kritters, Flitters, Shuris, Puftups, and Brambles.

Plot
Donkey Kong and his friends mistake a Banana Spaceship for a real banana while on vacation on Sun Sun Island. Xananab appears from the spaceship and tells Donkey Kong that King K. Rool had stolen his Crystal Bananas, which K. Rool can use to take over the jungle and the entire universe. Donkey Kong knows that he has to retrieve them, so he and Diddy Kong set out on their journey.

Controls
DK Jungle Climber uses basically the same controls as its predecessor; the player using to swing left and  to swing right. Pressing both and  causes Donkey Kong to jump, and pressing  does a charge jump. Also, pressing allows the player to talk to NPCs. More than one Kong will be playable at once in a style similar to the Donkey Kong Country/Land series, with one Kong following the other. However, the player can split the Kongs up to solve certain puzzles.

Characters
Several familiar characters appear in this game. Although DK and Diddy are the only playable characters in Story Mode, Dixie and Funky are playable in Wireless Multiplayer.

Playable

 * Donkey Kong
 * Diddy Kong
 * Dixie Kong
 * Funky Kong

Non-playable

 * Cranky Kong
 * Candy Kong
 * Wrinkly Kong
 * King K. Rool
 * Xananab

Items
Many items, including items from past games as well as new items, are in DK Jungle Climber. Three different groups of Bananas are in the game, being single bananas, Banana Bunches for five bananas, and Double Banana Bunches for ten bananas. DK Coins, Banana Coins, KONG Letters, Bonus Barrels, and DK Barrels are returning, with the same purpose has previous games. TNT Barrels appear mid-level. Barrel Cannons also return, now providing a dotted line to help the player aim. New items include Oil Barrels, which are used to fly Funky's plane, and several weapons and upgrades, including a pair of feathers that grant the Kongs the ability to fly, a barrel hammer that Diddy uses, and a flamethrower that can be used to melt ice. Another upgrade that can be obtained is from jewels. Collecting 100 of these items will cause a Crystal Star to appear on the touch screen, and pressing it will grant temporary invincibility, similar to Going Bananas.

Minigames
Several minigames appear in this game. There are several single-player, all of which must be unlocked, as well as multi-player games. The single-player games consist of a log jumping game, a banana eating game, a barrel destroying game, and many more. The multi-player games include a barrel racing game and a "race to complete the level first" game.

Bonus Barrels will also send the player to a minigame named Banana Bonanza, which consists of a banana-catching game, in which Donkey Kong is given a random-sized barrel and must catch as many bananas as the player can.

List of minigames

 * Banana Bonanza
 * Banana Grab
 * Booster Battle
 * Orange Picker
 * Rolling Panic
 * Speed Climb
 * Throw 'n' Crush

Worlds

 * Sun Sun Island
 * Cranky's Teachin's
 * Sun Sun Beach
 * Jungle Beach
 * Cool Cool Cave
 * Cliffy Peak
 * Little Sun Sun Island
 * Lost Island
 * Tropical Treetops
 * Glass Labyrinth 1
 * Road to Ruins
 * Forest Ruins
 * Toybox 1
 * Little Lost Island
 * Ghost Island
 * Spooky Woods
 * Vegie Patch
 * Boogity Bog
 * Toybox 2
 * Panic Factory
 * Little Ghost Island
 * Chill 'n' Char Island
 * Falling Falls
 * Snowful Slope
 * Glass Labyrinth 2
 * Fiery Volcano
 * Kremling Dock
 * Little Chill 'n' Char Island
 * High-High Island
 * Space A Go-Go
 * King Kruiser IV
 * Little High-High Island
 * Wormhole
 * Glass Labyrinth 3
 * Toybox 3
 * Planet Plantaen

Reception
The game received positive reviews and was considered an improvement over DK: King of Swing. The game was also praised for its fun, practical controls and its vibrant visuals.

Pre-release and unused content
In several screenshots, there are some early levels such as a foggy area that was possibly the original Panic Factory. Another screenshot shows an underwater level in the sea with a Lockjaw. There were originally swing-like objects that were in the game. Also, some objects and backgrounds had different palettes. Lastly, the working title for this game was DK: King of Swing DS.

References to other games

 * Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest: A cover of "Funky the Main Monkey" can be heard.

Trivia

 * This is most of the Kongs' and Kremlings' only appearance in a DS game.