DK: King of Swing
Template:Infobox DK: King of Swing is a puzzle game starring Donkey Kong for the Game Boy Advance. It is the first installment of the DK series. Its gameplay is similar to the NES game Clu Clu Land, but has been re-formatted in certain aspects to provide more of an adventure game feel. In this game, Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong must quest across five worlds to win back the Jungle Jam medals that King K. Rool has stolen and scattered across the levels. The game is the first Donkey Kong franchise game developed by Paon for Nintendo, who also made the sequel, DK: Jungle Climber and the racing title Donkey Kong Barrel Blast.
Story
The game takes place during the Jungle Jam Tournament, where a huge festival held on Donkey Kong Island occurs. During the tournament, medals (which are actually DK Coins) are handed out as prizes to participants in contests like breaking barrels and jumping pegs, with the winner being crowned the hero of the jungle. King K. Rool, however, steals all the medals before the tournament commences, proclaiming himself the jungle hero. Donkey Kong pursues King K. Rool to get the medals back and restore peace to Donkey Kong Island.
Game modes
- Adventure: The main mode of the game.
- Single Jungle Jam Tournament: There are a total of twelve events that can be played in this mode. The player can choose between Donkey Kong, Diddy Kong, Dixie Kong, and Funky Kong, the player can unlock Bubbles, Wrinkly Kong, King K. Rool, and Kritter too. The CPU uses the other characters. The first accessible events are: Climbing Race 1, Climbing Race 2, Obstable Race 1 and Attack Battle 1.
- Multiplayer Jungle Jam Tournament: The same as above, but in multiplayer with four players using the GBA Link cable.
- Extras: It features Cranky's Lectures (the tutorial from the beginning of the game), a Time Attack Mode, and Diddy Mode, which allows the player to use Diddy Kong in the place of Donkey Kong during the Adventure mode.
Diddy Mode Differences
- The tutorial stage is no longer present.
- Bananas laying out in the open are no longer there; the player can only collect them by destroying enemies or crates.
- Crystal Coconuts were removed, and as a result, Bonus Barrels and the bonus stages they led to are no longer present.
- Diddy is slightly faster and jumps slightly higher than Donkey Kong.
Time Attack Mode
A Time Attack appears in DK: King of Swing, where it can only be played after the player has completed the adventure mode. It can be found under the Extras menu. When the player selects the mode, they are given a list of every level, each with its only best time that the player can beat. Three other times also exist in the high scores list that the player can beat. However, beating the times are optional and do not allow the player to unlock any new mode or item.
During the mode, the player is given three hearts of life. If all three are lost, they must start the Time Attack over. Additionally, hearts can be restored if they collect ten bananas and use them for Donkey Kong's "Going Bananas" move. Unlike in adventure mode, though, the player is given no bananas to start with and must find them around the course. After the level is completed, the player's time is recorded if it beats a score on the high scores list.
Gameplay
As mentioned earlier, the gameplay is very similar to the NES game Clu Clu Land, and mainly consists of swinging across boards of pegs. However, in this game the player must climb, swing, and even shoot their way to reach the top, all the while collecting the medals. The player cannot face the boss without beating each level; once all levels have been completed, the player may face the boss at the designated boss stage. After the boss is beaten, the player may continue to the next world.
If the player chooses to collect each Crystal Coconut, hidden items concealed inside crates, boxes, nooks and crannies, or even inside enemies, Wrinkly Kong is unlocked as a player in the single player Jungle Jam Tournament. There are twenty Crystal Coconuts in all.
Controls
The controls are made to be simple: 
swings Donkey Kong left, 
swings Donkey Kong right. If the button is held down, DK will swing on a fixed spot from left to right, and vice versa for the button. If the button is lightly tapped, Donkey will go flying of in whatever direction he is pointing. To get a better aim, DK must swing about until he is facing the right way.
When on the ground, DK can walk about quite quickly using the and buttons; when they are tapped simultaneously he will lift off from the ground in a flying leap.
Donkey Kong can also Attack by holding down both the and buttons at once. DK will clutch the pegs, and slowly start to glow red; once he is totally glowing, the buttons should be released and DK will go flying off into an aerial attack.
Finally, DK can either Charge using the 
Button (uses ten bananas; restores one health unit) or Go Bananas using the 
Button (uses twenty bananas; makes DK invincible and able to leap great heights).
Characters
This article is under construction. Therefore, please excuse its informal appearance while it is being worked on. We hope to have it completed as soon as possible.
Playable Characters
- Starting Characters
| Image | Name | Description |
|---|---|---|
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Donkey Kong | Donkey Kong is the first Kong to be playable in Adventure Mode. He is also available in the Jungle Jam Tournament mode. In the Jungle Jam Tournament mode, Donkey Kong is the most balanced character statistically-wise, as his jump and attack abilities are at 3/5 apiece. |
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Diddy Kong | Diddy reappears as Donkey Kong's buddy. He is available to play as in Adventure Mode, after the player defeats King K. Rool as Donkey Kong. Diddy is also a playable character in the Jungle Jam Tournament mode. His jump ability is high at a 4/5 due to his weight. However, this negatively affects his attack ability, as it is only at a 2/5. |
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Dixie Kong | Dixie Kong is Diddy Kong's girlfriend. She is playable in the Jungle Jam Tournament mode. Her apparent feather-like weight results in her jump ability being maxed out at a 5/5. However, her attacking ability is as weak as possible, as it sits at a 1/5. |
| File:DKkingosfwingFunkykong sprite.PNG | Funky Kong | Funky Kong makes his first appearance in any game as a playable character. He is the fourth and final starting character in the Jungle Jam Tournament mode. He prefers the attack-based contests, as his attacking ability ranks at a 4/5, while his jumping is at 2/5. These stats are exact opposite to Diddy's. |
- Unlockable Characters
| Image | Name | Description |
|---|---|---|
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Kremling | Kremling appears as an unlockable playable character. He is simply a Kritter, but the game refers to him as "Kremling". Kremling is unlocked when the player earns 6 Gold Medals in the Jungle Jam Tournament. This game marks the first time where a Kritter is a playable character. His stats are exactly like Donkey Kong's: 3/3 jump, 3/3 attack. |
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Wrinkly Kong | Wrinkly Kong is available to play as in Jungle Jam Tournament mode after the player collects all 20 of the Crystal Coconuts while playing as Donkey Kong in Adventure Mode. This game marks the first and only time Wrinkly is a playable character in any game. It is also the first time she appears as a ghost. Because of her weightlessness, Wrinkly's jump ability is maxed out at 5/5, tying her with Dixie Kong for the best jump rating. Her attack is weak, as it is only a 2/5. |
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King K. Rool | King K. Rool appears as the final boss in Adventure Mode. Upon earning 12 Gold Medals in the Jungle Jam Tournament, he is also available as a playable character in the Jungle Jam. This marks his first game as a playable character. He is the strongest character in the game with an attack rating of 5/5. His jump, however, is extremely weak, as it only ranks 1/5. |
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Bubbles | Bubbles is unlocked after the player completes Diddy Mode while collecting all 24 Medals. She makes her first and only appearance in a Donkey Kong game. Her stats are the most balanced out of any character, as her jump and attack rate a 4/5 each. |
Supporting Characters
| Image | Name | Description |
|---|---|---|
|
Cranky Kong | Cranky Kong returns as Donkey Kong's grandfather and mentor. His main role is to preside in Cranky's Lectures, where he teaches Donkey Kong the controls for the game and gives a couple of tips. |
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Candy Kong | Candy Kong's appearance in DK: King of Swing is extremely minimal, as she only appears in the opening cutscene in which King K. Rool crashes the Jungle Jam Tournament and in the final cutscene in which Donkey Kong has returned with the Medals. |
Bosses
| Image | Name | Description |
|---|---|---|
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Congazuma | |
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Fire Necky | |
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Davy Bones | |
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Sassy Squatch | |
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King K. Rool |
Worlds
Jungle World
Wild West World
Aqua World
Ice World
K. Kruizer III
- Booster Barrel Skyway
- K. Kruizer III Artillery
- K. Kruizer III Hull
- K. Kruizer III Engine
- King K. Rool
Staff
- Main article: List of DK: King of Swing staff
Quotes
- Main article: List of quotes in DK: King of Swing
Pre-release and unused content
DK: King of Swing went through some changes during its development.
| Image | Description |
|---|---|
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This screen shows five heart points, while in the final, there's only three of them. It was not possible to go beyond that number in the final release. |
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Everything in this image is the same as it is in the final game, minus the five heart points and different background. |
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This screen features explosive pegs that weren't present in the final game. |
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These spikeballs weren't found in this area in the final game. |
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This area doesn't exist in the final game. |
Gallery
Trivia
- A level in Donkey Kong Country Returns is called King of Cling, a title very similar to this game.
- This game marks the first playable appearances of Funky Kong, Wrinkly Kong, Kritter, and King K. Rool.
- This is the first, and currently the only game were Dixie Kong does not wear her top tied.
References
