Bonus room

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"Bonus Level" redirects here. For information about the levels in Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Tipping Stars, see Bonus Levels. For bonus rounds in other games, see Bonus Game and Bonus Stage.

A bonus room[1][2][3] (also known as a Bonus Area,[4][5][6] Bonus Level,[7][8] bonus stage,[9][10][11] or Bonus Game[12][13]) is a hidden area in the Donkey Kong games, particularly the Donkey Kong Country and Donkey Kong Land games. Bonus rooms are usually revealed either by finding a secret passage or by jumping into a Bonus Barrel. They usually have a challenge that the Kongs must complete to earn a prize needed for 100% completion. In Donkey Kong Country games developed by Rare, after the player has uncovered all the bonus rooms of a given level, an exclamation point is added after its title; in the Donkey Kong Land series, an exclamation point is still marked but is not appended to the end of the level title.

History[edit]

Donkey Kong Country[edit]

Diddy Kong throwing a tantrum after losing in a Bonus Area
Diddy Kong throwing a tantrum after losing a bonus level. This also happens when the banana hoard is empty.
Expresso and his big Animal Token
Expresso stumbling across a Big Animal Token in his Bonus Level
BonusArea.png
Donkey Kong in a "Collect the Prizes!" Bonus Level

Bonus Levels first appear in Donkey Kong Country. Here, they are entered by either breaking open certain walls with barrels or Animal Friends to reveal secret passages, or by jumping into certain Blast Barrels (changed to Bonus Barrels in the Game Boy Advance remake). In Oil Drum Alley, there is a Bonus Level entrance hidden within another Bonus Level, which can be entered by using a barrel to smash open its entrance. These rooms can only be entered once (except in the Game Boy Advance remake).

Bonus Levels appear in every level except for the underwater stages and Mine Cart Carnage. There are usually two or three Bonus Levels in a level, although five of them appear in Orang-utan Gang, which has the most Bonus Levels out of every level.

Unlike in subsequent appearances, the main idea of Bonus Levels is to obtain common items, such as bananas, animal tokens, or even a Life Balloon. The Kongs do not have to complete a challenge or collect the items within to add to their completion percentage—this occurs by simply entering the Bonus Level itself. There are 67 Bonus Levels in the game.

In the Game Boy Color remake, Candy Kong hosts a challenge in each world. The challenges are very similar to Bonus Levels, except for an award at the end (a Banana Bunch Coin); the challenges even have the same theme as a Bonus Level.

There are several types of Bonus Levels. In the Game Boy Advance version, each type received its own distinct title and splash screen:

Image and type (GBA) Level appearances Description
Bash the Baddies! Bonus Area title card in Donkey Kong Country
Bash the Baddies!
(B) Vulture Culture
Temple Tempest
(B) Torchlight Trouble
(B) Trick Track Trek
Manic Mincers
The Kongs must jump on a Klaptrap, sometimes two or three, for it to release bananas. Each time it is jumped on, the Klaptrap moves faster and releases one more banana (always in the shape of banana Bunches) than it did the previous time. They must be jumped on about ten times to be defeated, when they release a whole Banana Bunch. By defeating the Klaptrap(s), the Kongs are usually rewarded with a Life Balloon. If a Klaptrap bites Donkey Kong and Diddy, they are sent back into the main level. In Trick Track Trek's Bonus Level, the Klaptrap is purple.
Collect the Bananas! Bonus Area title card in Donkey Kong Country
Collect the Bananas!
Reptile Rumble (2)
(B) Bouncy Bonanza
Stop & Go Station
(B) Tree Top Town
Forest Frenzy
(B) Snow Barrel Blast
(B) Slipslide Ride
(B) Ice Age Alley
Oil Drum Alley
(B) Trick Track Trek
Elevator Antics
(B) Mine Cart Madness
The Kongs must collect as many bananas as possible, usually by blasting from a series of Barrel Cannons and Blast Barrels.
Collect the Prizes! Bonus Area title card in Donkey Kong Country
Collect the Prizes!
Barrel Cannon Canyon
(B) Winky's Walkway
Stop & Go Station
(B) Millstone Mayhem
Orang-utan Gang (3)
(B) Blackout Basement
The Kongs are in a Barrel Cannon and have to shoot themselves upward to collect various prizes. There always are three vertical lines of individual bananas. Above the bananas are either an animal token, a Life Balloon, or a Banana Bunch.
Find the Exit! Bonus Area title card in Donkey Kong Country
Find the Exit!
Jungle Hijinxs
(B) Ropey Rampage
Reptile Rumble
Barrel Cannon Canyon
Vulture Culture
Temple Tempest
Orang-utan Gang
(B) Snow Barrel Blast
(B) Rope Bridge Rumble
(B) Oil Drum Alley
Elevator Antics
Mine Cart Madness
Manic Mincers
Misty Mine
Loopy Lights
The Kongs must go through the Bonus Level and reach the exit on the other side.
Spell it Out! Bonus Area title card in Donkey Kong Country
Spell it Out!
(B) Millstone Mayhem
(B) Vulture Culture
(B) Tree Top Town
Orang-utan Gang
Slipslide Ride
Oil Drum Alley
Elevator Antics
(B) Necky Nutmare
(B) Platform Perils
K-O-N-G Letters either spin in a circle or switch around in barrels. In the case of the latter, "KONG" is always the word in the barrels. Each letter spells out a word, and the
Kongs have to jump at the ones in the right order to win a prize.
Stop the Barrel! Bonus Area title card in Donkey Kong Country
Stop the Barrel!
Jungle Hijinxs
(B) Ropey Rampage
Bouncy Bonanza
Millstone Mayhem
(B) Forest Frenzy
(B) Snow Barrel Blast
Slipslide Ride
(B) Ice Age Alley
Torchlight Trouble
(B) Rope Bridge Rumble
Oil Drum Alley
(B) Trick Track Trek
(B) Tanked Up Trouble
Manic Mincers
Misty Mine
(B) Mine Cart Madness
Blackout Basement
(B) Platform Perils
An item (banana, Banana Bunch, animal token, or Life Balloon) rapidly moves through multiple barrels. Once the item stops moving, the Kongs must jump at the
consisting barrel to win that prize. Sometimes in this variation, the Kongs have to match three barrels depicting the same prize. They have to respectively jump and hit the
same object on all of those barrels.

*Levels with a (B) are accessed via a Bonus Barrel. Levels with a number (e.g. 2) tells how many of that type is in the level. There is also a specific type of Bonus Level that features an Animal Friend, either Rambi, Expresso, Winky, or Enguarde. Each Animal Friend's stage has a unique theme and layout, and some are based on their most common environment. Additionally, just like regular Bonus Levels, each of the Animal Buddy ones also received their own splash screen and title in the Game Boy Advance remake. The Bonus Levels revolving around Animal Friends do not reappear in any of the subsequent Donkey Kong Country or Donkey Kong Land titles.

An Animal Friend's Bonus Level can be accessed by collecting three animal tokens of the same Animal Friend. Upon collecting the third token, the Kongs are warped into a Bonus Level, where they play as the corresponding Animal Friend. The goal of these Bonus Levels is for the Animal Friend to collect as many Mini Animal Tokens within the time limit. A Big Animal Token is also hiding in the location, which doubles the Kongs' Mini Animal Token total. When the time runs out, the Mini Animal Tokens are subtracted, and the Kongs receive an extra life for every 100 Mini Animal Tokens they have collected (similar to bananas). Additionally, in the Game Boy Advance version, if an Animal Friend manages to obtain 600 Mini Animal Tokens (400 for Enguarde), a photograph of that Animal Friend is added into the Scrapbook.

Image and name (GBA) Setting
Enguarde Bonus! Bonus Area title card in the Game Boy Advance version of Donkey Kong Country
Enguarde Bonus!
Underwater
Expresso Bonus! Bonus Area title card in the Game Boy Advance version of Donkey Kong Country
Expresso Bonus!
Jungle
Rambi Bonus! Bonus Area title card in the Game Boy Advance version of Donkey Kong Country
Rambi Bonus!
Snowscape
Winky Bonus! Bonus Area title card in the Game Boy Advance version of Donkey Kong Country
Winky Bonus!
Cavern

Donkey Kong Land[edit]

An exclusive type of Bonus Area in Donkey Kong Land, where the Kongs shoot out their collected Kong Tokens from a Barrel Cannon
The new type of Bonus Level from Donkey Kong Land involving Kong Tokens

Bonus Levels reappear in Donkey Kong Land. Just like with Donkey Kong Country, the Bonus Level variations do not have a name, and every Bonus Level must at least be accessed to add to the 100% completion score. While many of the Bonus Levels are accessed via the same methods, some are accessed via a new method: by falling on a ground patch from a height, causing a vertical rope to fly out. By grabbing on the rope, the Kong is dragged up into a Bonus Level.

A new type of Bonus Level is introduced in the game. In it, the Kongs' collected Kong Tokens are shot out of a revolving Barrel Cannon. The cannon fires out one Kong Token a time, if DK or Diddy jump on a ground switch. By collecting a Kong Token, the Kongs win an extra life. The only other type, which is also the most common one, involves the active Kong trying to reach the end goal, much like "Find the Exit!" from Donkey Kong Country.

Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest / Donkey Kong Land 2[edit]

Dixie in a Collect the Stars! challenge in Hot-Head Hop from Donkey Kong Country 2

In Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest, Bonus Levels are entered much like in its predecessors, except that the Blast Barrels leading to a Bonus Level were replaced with Bonus Barrels. Every level has between one to three Bonus Levels. The types of Bonus Levels were narrowed down to three, none of which reappeared from Donkey Kong Country. Each type is a time-based challenge that the Kongs must complete to be rewarded with a Kremkoin. In the Lost World, every level only has a single Bonus Level, with a Video Game Hero Coin as a reward (given that Kremkoins' purpose is to unlock a level of the Lost World). Unlike in the first game, Bonus Levels can now be reentered. Bonus Levels were also featured in Donkey Kong Land 2 where their role is unchanged, and the same three types were retained.

Uniquely in Donkey Kong Land 2, no Collect the Stars! bonus stages used in the game have any enemies, and no Destroy Them All! bonus stages have any bananas. This is because the star counter for Collect the Stars bonus stages is shared with the enemy counter for Destroy Them All bonus stages, and collecting stars/bananas and defeating enemies all affect the counter, regardless of which type of stage is played.

The Bonus Level types first received their own title card each in Donkey Kong Country 2, and the title cards were retained for Donkey Kong Land 2:

Type Description
Collect the Stars! Bonus Area title card in Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest Collect the Stars! Bonus Area title card in Donkey Kong Land 2
Collect the Stars!
Diddy and Dixie must collect all of the stars in the Bonus Level to make the Kremkoin appear. In a few cases, there are more Stars featured than the amount required; for example, in Haunted Hall.
Destroy Them All! Bonus Area title card in Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest Destroy Them All! Bonus Area title card in Donkey Kong Land 2
Destroy Them All!
Diddy and Dixie must defeat all of the enemies to make the Kremkoin appear then collect it. This type is the equivalent of "Bash the Baddies!" from Donkey Kong Country. In the Game Boy Advance remake, an enemy counter was added at the top-left corner of the screen (next to the head icon of a Kremling) to show the number of enemies yet to be defeated.
Find the Token! Bonus Area title card in Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest Find the Token! Bonus Area title card in Donkey Kong Land 2
Find the Token! (SNES) / Find the Kremkoin! (GBA)
Based on "Find the Exit!" from Donkey Kong Country, Diddy and Dixie must go through the Bonus Level and collect the Kremkoin at the other side before the time runs out.

Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble! / Donkey Kong Land III[edit]

Lakeside Limbo
Dixie and Kiddy in a "Collect 50 Stars!" Bonus Level in Lakeside Limbo from Donkey Kong Country 3.

In Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble!, Bonus Levels have a similar role as in Donkey Kong Country 2, except that all of them are accessed by entering a Bonus Barrel and none from breaking open a wall. The reward for completing a Bonus Level was changed from a Kremkoin to a Bonus Coin. There is always a consistent number of two Bonus Levels per level, except for Krematoa, where the number of Bonus Levels varies from zero to three. Rocket Rush is the only level without any Bonus Levels. All the Bonus Levels from the previous game returned (although with different titles), and a fourth, new type was introduced, "Grab 15 Bananas!". "Collect the Stars!" was renamed to feature the number of stars in the title, for example, "Collect 50 Stars".

In Donkey Kong Land III, the Bonus Levels have a similar role as in Donkey Kong Country 3, except that Grab 15 Bananas! is not featured. Therefore, every Bonus Level type is the same as in Donkey Kong Country 2 and Donkey Kong Land 2, even going as far to retain the original names (except for "Bash the Baddies!"). An extra exclamation mark was added in each Bonus Level's title, except "Collect the Stars!".

In addition, unlike in Donkey Kong Land 2, some Collect the Stars! bonus stages have enemies, and some Bash the Baddies! bonus stages have bananas. (While the enemy counter is still shared with the star counter, like in Donkey Kong Land 2, the counter is only affected by enemies outside of a Collect the Stars! stage, and is only affected by stars/bananas within a Collect the Stars! stage).

Type Description
The intro to the "Bash The Baddies!" Bonus Areas. Bash the Baddies! Bonus Area title card in Donkey Kong Land III
Bash the Baddies!
The successor of "Destroy Them All!" from Donkey Kong Country 2.
Collect the Stars! Bonus Area title card in Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble! Collect the Stars! Bonus Area title card in Donkey Kong Land III
Collect __ Stars! (DKC3) / Collect the Stars! (DKL3)
The successor to "Collect the Stars!" from Donkey Kong Country 2. The number of stars to collect is displayed from the title card.
Find the Coin! Bonus Area title card in Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble! Find the Token! Bonus Area title card in Donkey Kong Land III
Find the Coin! (DKC3) / Find the Token! (DKL3)
The successor of "Find the Kremkoin!" from Donkey Kong Country 2. Dixie and Kiddy must go to the end of a Bonus Level and obtain its Bonus Coin.
Grab the Bananas! Bonus Area title card in Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble!
Grab 15 Bananas!
In this Bonus Level, a green Banana spawns at one of few possible locations. After a few seconds, the banana flickers then disappears, and the next banana appears. When the Kongs collect a banana, the next one automatically spawns for them to collect. After collecting all 15 green bananas, a Bonus Coin appears for the Kongs to collect.

Donkey Kong 64[edit]

“Welcome to bonus stage!”
Narrator, Donkey Kong 64

Bonus Levels return in Donkey Kong 64, where they were renamed "bonus stages." Most bonus stages are accessible by jumping in a Bonus Barrel. Only the Minecart Race is the one that can be entered by entering a specific area. After the player has cleared a stage, the player is rewarded with a Golden Banana. Some of them can be played in Snide's H.Q. after collecting all blueprints. The following is the list of all bonus stages in Donkey Kong 64:

Type Snide's H.Q. Description
Batty Barrel Bandit from the game Donkey Kong 64
Batty Barrel Bandit
Check mark.svg Stop the four reels of the slot machine on four bananas to earn a point. The player must do this a required number of times to win.
Beaver Bother in the game Donkey Kong 64
Beaver Bother
Check mark.svg The player controls a Klaptrap and tries to chase the Gnawties into the hole in the center of the barrel. Klaptrap must be careful not to fall into the hole itself, else it automatically loses at the mini-game.
Big Bug Bash in the game Donkey Kong 64
Big Bug Bash
Check mark.svg The player must use a fly swatter to swat a given number of flies within the time limit.
Busy Barrel Barrage in the game Donkey Kong 64.
Busy Barrel Barrage
X mark.svg Standing the middle of a big barrel, the Kong must fire ammo at incoming Kremlings. The Kong loses if hit by an enemy.
Krazy Kong Klamor in the game Donkey Kong 64.
Krazy Kong Klamor
Check mark.svg Lights repeatedly flicker on and off. When they turn on, the player must shoot at Golden Banana while avoiding the Kongs.
Some Kritters in Kremling Kosh in the game Donkey Kong 64
Kremling Kosh
Check mark.svg The player uses a watermelon-firing cannon to shoot at Kritters who pop out from the barrels. Normal, green Kremlings are worth one point, while red ones are worth two points. The player's objective is to shoot the required number before time runs out.
Mad Maze Maul in the game Donkey Kong 64.
Mad Maze Maul
X mark.svg The active Kong must defeat every enemy in a maze and then cross the finish line.
Minecart Mayhem in the game Donkey Kong 64.
Minecart Mayhem
X mark.svg The active Kong rides around in a Mine Cart and must avoid being hit by moving TNT Barrels by switching lanes until time runs out.
Peril Path Panic from the game Donkey Kong 64
Peril Path Panic
Check mark.svg The objective is to fire watermelons at the Klaptraps to temporarily subdue them, allowing the Banana Fairies to safely cross the path.
Searchlight Seek in the game Donkey Kong 64
Searchlight Seek
Check mark.svg Using a spotlight, the player locate the Klaptraps and then fire at it.
Speedy Swing Sortie in the game Donkey Kong 64.
Speedy Swing Sortie
X mark.svg The active Kong must climb up a tree and swing from vines to collect the coins.
Splish Splash Salvage in Donkey Kong 64
Splish Splash Salvage
X mark.svg The active Kong must swim all the way down a large barrel and collect all the coins below.
Stash Snatch in the game Donkey Kong 64.
Stash Snatch
X mark.svg While going around a maze, the player must collect all the coins while avoiding Kremlings and then cross the finish line.
Stealthy Snoop in the game Donkey Kong 64.
Stealthy Snoop
X mark.svg The player must go through a maze and find the finish line while avoiding the Kremling cops, who shine their flashlight onto the Kong.
Teetering Turtle Trouble in the game Donkey Kong 64.
Teetering Turtle Trouble
Check mark.svg Turtles are spinning around on the snakes' tails. To keep them spinning, the player must shoot a melon into a snake's mouth.

Hideout Helm additionally has ten unnamed bonus stages (two for each Kong) accessed by entering metal barrels with an image of K. Rool's head on them, all of which must be completed to shut down the Blast-o-Matic. Rambi Arena and Enguarde Arena are unlockable minigames somewhat in the style of a bonus stage that can be played from the main menu. Both games can be unlocked after capturing six Banana Fairies and entering Rambi and Enguarde's respective animal crates in the main game.

Donkey Kong Country Returns / 3D[edit]

It has been requested that more images be uploaded for this section. Remove this notice only after the additional image(s) have been added. Reason: Add image here once uploaded for remaining levels that need them, specifically the Cloud levels from 3D.

Bonus stages return in Donkey Kong Country Returns and Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D, once again accessed by Blast Barrels (as Bonus Barrels do not return in this game) and secret passages, although now with only one objective. The Kongs have thirty seconds to get all bananas, Banana Bunches, Banana Coins, and Red Balloons available. If they successfully collect all of them, the clock stops and a Puzzle Piece appears for them to collect.

Like in the past Donkey Kong Country games, the setting of a bonus stage depends on the world it can be found in, and it is always set in a cavernous or dimly lit room. Despite the aesthetic changes, bonus stages repeat themselves throughout the course of the game, meaning they are not unique to their levels, unlike in previous games.

Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze[edit]

Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong in a secret area of Mangrove Cove in Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze.
A bonus room in Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze. This one is from Mangrove Cove, although it reappears in other levels of the game.

Bonus stages appear in Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze, having been renamed "bonus rooms" in the American English version. The objective of bonus rooms remains almost the same as in the previous game – the player has to collect all 100 bananas on-screen within thirty seconds, receiving an additional Banana Coin and a Red Balloon along with the Puzzle Piece. However, the setting of a bonus room is not related to the world it appears in anymore. Instead, all bonus rooms take place in what appears to be a treasury, with some of them being adorned with large statues in the background, suggesting they are connected to or branched off Secret Seclusion. As in the previous game, bonus rooms repeat themselves.

Names in other languages[edit]

Language Name Meaning
Spanish Salas de bonus[citation needed]
Bonus room

References[edit]

  1. ^ "I'm sure there must be some bonus rooms you haven't found!" – Cranky Kong in Donkey Kong Country
  2. ^ Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze American English electronic manual, tab 9: "Basic Play". nintendo.com. Retrieved July 28, 2017.
  3. ^ Nintendo Magazine System (Australia) issue 47, page 46.
  4. ^ Nintendo Power volume 66, page 11.
  5. ^ "There are plenty of opportunities to score 1-Ups, especially in the Bonus Areas where you play games of skill." – Donkey Kong Country Nintendo Player's Guide, page 22
  6. ^ "This special Barrel Kannon will send you through time and space to a Bonus Area." – Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest Nintendo Player's Guide, page 18
  7. ^ "Bonus Barrels launch you into Bonus Levels when you jump into them." – Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest instruction booklet, page 18; Donkey Kong Land 2 instruction booklet, page 15; Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble instruction booklet, page 24; Donkey Kong Land III instruction booklet, page 18
  8. ^ "There are dozens of Bonus Levels found in Donkey Kong Country. Some are easy to find, while some are almost impossible. All will give you extra lives, bananas or other surprise items." – Donkey Kong Country SNES instruction booklet, page 23
  9. ^ "Welcome to bonus stage!" -- Donkey Kong 64 announcer, when entering a bonus stage
  10. ^ Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D electronic manual, tab 9: "Basic Play". nintendo.com. Retrieved July 22, 2017.
  11. ^ Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze British English electronic manual, tab 9: "Basic Play". nintendo-europe.com. Retrieved July 25, 2017.
  12. ^ Nintendo Power volume 68, page 56.
  13. ^ Nintendo Power volume 91, pages 58 and 59.