Donkey Kong Island

Donkey Kong Island is the home of the Kongs and several of their enemies, it is also the location where most of the games in the Donkey Kong series take place. It debuted in the game Donkey Kong Country and was created by Rareware for Nintendo.

Overview and history
Donkey Kong Island is the home of the Kong Family. Donkey Kong is the island protector and has taken various journeys across the island with Diddy Kong.

The island has taken many different forms. Originally, it was quite diverse; it has a large jungle on the bottom, forests, icy mountains, and a lone industrial area. In Donkey Kong Land, there is a large underwater ruins area, another, larger mountain range and an entire city. In Donkey Kong 64, their were completely different levels than the original Donkey Kong Country and Donkey Kong Land, with many levels taking place on both DK Island and the newly-rebuilt Crocodile Isle. Some locations were inspired by early DKC appearances however (i.e. Kongo Jungle to Jungle Japes).

Donkey Kong Island's latest appearance was in Donkey Kong Country Returns, however, it now appears drastically different than in previous appearances. It no longer appears in the shape of Donkey Kong's head, (however if you use Freelook (Z) and look at it from directly above, it looks like a hand) and now has a large Volcano protruding from it. The majority of the locales from Donkey Kong Country still match up well, however the region known as Gorilla Glacier no longer exists. There is also a new Cliff world which features the first sign of extinct prehistoric life on Donkey Kong Island. The island is also now teeming with ancient temples, many of which appear to have been built by the Tiki Tak Tribe sometime before they were encased in the volcano. It is speculated that the emergence of this volcano may have been what drastically altered the terrain of the island.

Donkey Kong Island will return in Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze as the sixth island/world that the Kongs will have to traverse in order to defeat the Snomads and get their home and Banana Hoard back. In the game, the aforementioned vikings freeze the island over in ice and snow, after blasting the player all the way to the Lost Mangroves island.

Donkey Kong Island made two cameo appearances in Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest, it can be seen in the background of the areas Gangplank Galleon and K. Rool's Keep. In the Game Boy Advance remake of Donkey Kong Country 2, these cameos were removed.

Other Appearances
In the animated series based on the game, Donkey Kong Island was called Kongo Bongo Island and looked like a crescent island (similar to a banana) rather than the shape of Donkey Kong's head. However, it is believed to be the same island, but with a different name. Like Dinosaur Land in the Super Mario World cartoon, some location names were different on the show. For instance, Gorilla Glacier was called the White Mountains.

List of Locations

 * Kongo Jungle: The largest jungle on the island, and home to Donkey Kong, Diddy Kong, Cranky Kong, and the majority of their animal friends. It was the first world in Donkey Kong Country and has appeared in many Donkey Kong and Mario games since.


 * Monkey Mines: Abandoned mines falling into disrepair that border on ancient Kremling-built temples. Natural caves are also found in the area.


 * Vine Valley: A temperate forest along the cliff-side to Gorilla Glacier. Ruins of Kremling temples are also built here, as well as an Kong-constructed tree town. There's even a small tropical jungle nestled here.


 * Gorilla Glacier: The snowy peak of Donkey Kong Island. Among the snow and ice caverns is another tree town, a dark cave and a frigid lake.


 * Kremkroc Industries, Inc.: This was once a lush area on the island, but when Kremlings built their high-pollutant factories, most of the vegetation died off. Famous for its green-colored lake. It can be assumed that Kremkroc has since been shut down. However, Kremling presence is common.


 * Chimp Caverns: Caverns nestled into the mountainside of DK Island. Abandoned mines are also prevalent here.


 * Kremlantis: The heart of the ancient Kremling temples, Kremlantis was an offshore mini-island to itself. Unfortunately for the Kremlings, it partially submerged generations ago.


 * Monkey Mountains: High-reaching mountains that touch the clouds. They have multiple caves and are made dangerous by landslides and sheer cliffs.


 * Chimpanzee Clouds: The clouds that can be accessed from Monkey Mountains. There are several floating platforms and devices set against the backdrop of the sky that allow for (risky) movement.


 * Big Ape City: The only urban part of the island to be found. Skyscrapers, apartment complexes, and construction sites make up the city, the setting of the original Donkey Kong arcade game (which probably retcons earlier Mario continuity stating that Mario worked at the construction site). Also known as the Big-City or Big City.


 * The Northern Kremisphere: While the Northern Kremisphere is considered a location in itself, many feel that it's actually a territory of DK Island. If so, it would be a separate landmass from the main island.


 * Jungle Japes: Another jungle, similar to Kongo Jungle, with tunnels connecting different areas. The main area is a large canyon with a lake at the bottom. There is also a mine, a giant snail shell and an area with huts.


 * Angry Aztec: A desert area with many ancient temples and buildings from long-lost civilizations containing odd puzzles. There is a constant sandstorm outside and a lot of shifting sand.


 * Fungi Forest: A strange, fairy-tale-like forest seemingly located on a floating platform accessible by via a cannon on an island off of DK Island. The central area contains a huge cuckoo clock that can be used to change day to night and vice-versa with two buttons. Other landmarks include a giant mushroom, abandoned mills and barns and a huge redwood tree.


 * Crystal Caves: An icy cave filled with crystals, ice, snow and water. There is three cabins of varying sizes, an ice castle and an igloo. A gigantic Kosha in an area near the ceiling causes rock-falls regularly with its club but can be beaten by Tiny Kong.


 * Jungle World: Another jungle, possibly connected to Kongo Jungle or Jungle Japes, with an ancient pyramid and other traces of a past civilization, and, like the previous ones, a cave.


 * Wild West World: A dry, dusty canyon which, like the name suggests, resembles the classical "Wild West, with a mine, a forest of cacti and an area containing a constant, ceaseless twister.


 * Aqua World: A shallow sea with a waterfall pouring down into it as well as a coral reef, a haunted shipwreck and a Kremling base in a water-filled grotto.


 * Ice World: A cold, icy region, likely high up near Gorilla Glacier, with a snowy forest, another ice castle, a chilly pool full of sunken ruins and a frosty ravine.


 * Jungle: Another jungle area introduced in Donkey Kong Country Returns which is "replaces" Kongo Jungle, containing Donkey Kong's treehouse and banana hoard.


 * Beach: A simple beach area infested with crabs and home of Squiddicus. A beautiful oceanic view is visible from all its areas and numerous spiraling sand dunes decorate its beaches. There also appears to be a large monument or natural formation in the shape of Squiddicus. Many pirate ships are also located in this area and it acts as turf of the Scurvy Crew.


 * Cave: An area of caverns, with most of the levels having mine carts. Large crystals decorate the caverns numerous walls and are mined by Mole Miners. Because of the low light levels it is the perfect home for Squeeklys.


 * Forest: Possibly the former location of the Tiki Tak Tribe. A large forest much like Vine Valley. Much like it, there are a number of treetop villages. Living totem poles can be seen here. There is a large amount of Skittlers and Muncher nests here as well.


 * Cliff: A mountainside which is oddly inhabited by undead dinosaur fossils. Giant fossils fill its landscape and large tar pits are a common hazard. Many of the platforms in the area are unstable due to age and will brake when jumped on.


 * Factory: Where the main tiki grunts are produced and is run by Colonel Pluck.


 * Volcano: A generic volcano which houses many difficult levels, not to mention the final boss of DKCR.

Neighboring Islands


There are several neighboring islands of Donkey Kong Island. These are all part of the Rare Island Chain. These include:


 * Crosshair Cranky areas (pictured).


 * Crocodile Isle: The home and birthplace of the Kremlings, it was accidentally destroyed by Diddy and Dixie Kong at the conclusion of Donkey Kong Country 2. When it was standing, it was the closest neighbor to DK Island, and therefore meant frequent Kong/Kremling interaction. The Kremlings now primarily live on DK Island. In Donkey Kong 64, Crocodile Island returned, this time in a mechanized form.


 * Banana Fairy Island: Home of the banana fairies.


 * Timber's Island: Home of Timber and his Tiger family.


 * The Fruit Kingdoms: Kingdoms dominated by the bosses of Donkey Kong Jungle Beat. The wildlife is much more bizarre and insane on these islands.


 * Sun Sun Islands: Islands that were featured in DK Jungle Climber, they were the vacation destination for the Kongs until the Kremlings showed up with the Crystal Banana. Each Island in this series of Islands also has a "small" counterpart to itself.

Islands in Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze

 * Lost Mangroves: A faraway island with sandy shores and massive mangrove forests. The island is littered with aeroplane wreckages.


 * Autumn Heights: An island with a national park-like setting, with mountains, canyons, and many hot air balloons hovering overhead.


 * Bright Savannah: An island with tall grass and small flat-topped trees.


 * Sea Breeze Cove: A beach-themed island with what appears to be a large wooden factory on it. The area is full of shipwrecks and underwater levels; many of which lead deep down into the sea.


 * Juicy Jungle: A jungle island in close proximity to DK Isle. The island has a processing plant on it, (which is responsible for the gelatinous platforms in Jelly Jamboree.

Trivia

 * It is implied that the events of Banjo-Kazooie, Conker and Viva Piñata take place on areas close in proximity to Donkey Kong Island.