Donkey Kong Island

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Donkey Kong Island as seen on the SNES version of Donkey Kong Country.
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Donkey Kong Island as seen on the SNES version of Donkey Kong Country.

Donkey Kong Island (AKA DK Island or the DK Isles) is the fictional home of Donkey Kong, his family, friends, and several enemies. It was created by Rareware for Nintendo and first appeared in 1994's Donkey Kong Country. While it's considered a tropical island, snowfall reaches its higher elevations. Among the known areas on Donkey Kong Island are:

  • 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: Mines that border on ancient Kremling-built temples.
  • Vine Valley: A temperate forest along the cliffside to Gorilla Glacier. Kremling temples are also built here, as well as an ape-constructed tree town that resembles the Forest moon of Endor. 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.
  • 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. Mines are also prevalent here.
  • Kremlantis: The heart of the ancient Kremling temples, Kremlantis was an offshore mini-island to itself. Unfortantely for the Kremlings, it partially submerged generations ago.
  • Monkey Mountains: High-reaching mountains that touch the clouds.
  • 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 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.

There are several neighboring islands of Donkey Kong Island. These include:

  • 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.
Kongo Bongo Island from the Donkey Kong Country cartoon.
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Kongo Bongo Island from the Donkey Kong Country cartoon.

In the animated series based on the game, Donkey Kong Island was called Kongo Bongo Island and looked like a crescent island 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.