Donkey Kong Land

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This article is on the Game Boy game released as Donkey Kong Land in America. For the game released as Donkey Kong Land in Japan, see Donkey Kong Land 2.

Donkey Kong Land

Developer(s)	Rareware
Publisher(s)	Nintendo
Release date(s)	June, 1995 November 23, 1996
Genre(s)	Platform game
Mode(s)	Single player
Rating(s)	ESRB: K-A (Kids to Adults)
Platform(s)	Game Boy
Media	Cartridge

Donkey Kong Land is a video game developed by Rareware for the Game Boy. It was released in 1995. Unlike the other games in the Donkey Kong Land series for the portable, this is not a port but in fact a completely original follow-up to the first Donkey Kong Country. This time, a bitter Cranky Kong, jealous of all the success Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong have had from DKC, states that the only reason their first adventure was such a big hit was because of all the fanciful graphics and sound. He challenges that they'd never cut it on an 8-bit system, and then proceeds to get King K. Rool to steal the banana hoard once again. There were several gameplay mechanics that were changed to better suit the Game Boy. For example, only one character was displayed at one time because of the smaller screen, while the second one would teleport in when players needed him.

There were four worlds in Donkey Kong Land, all brand new but including some of the same level archetypes as seen in Donkey Kong Country. They all took place on and off the coast of Donkey Kong Island. The new worlds included:

Gangplank Galleon Ahoy!: This area took place in the western areas of the Kongo Jungle from the first game, extending out to the pirate ship first seen at the end of DKC, the Gangplank Galleon. This is notable because the first world of Donkey Kong Country 2, to be released later that year, was also the Gangplank Galleon.

Kremlantis: The second world of the game was the sunken Kremlantis, an extension of the ancient Kremling ruins found in DKC, and an obvious riff on the mythical Atlantis.

Monkey Mountains and Chimpanzee Clouds: The third world was a mountain range that extended up into the clouds, providing some of the more original levels of the game.

Big Ape City: The fourth and final world was actually the location of the original Donkey Kong arcade game, retconned by Rare to be located on Donkey Kong Island. Construction sites, apartment buildings, and a hot-air blimp created the most urban backdrop of any Donkey Kong levels to date. It is here where players had their final showdown with K. Rool until Donkey Kong Country 2.

Returning characters, besides DK, Diddy, and K. Rool, included Rambi the Rhino and Expresso the Ostrich. DKC alumni Cranky Kong, Funky Kong, and Candy Kong did not make an appearance, although Cranky was mentioned in the off-screen storyline.

This was also one of the few Game Boy games to feature a specially colored cartridge ("banana yellow"). The yellow cartridge was also used on the following two games in the series for the Game Boy, Donkey Kong Land 2 and Donkey Kong Land III. It was also one of the first to feature Super Game Boy special features, including a rendered jungle border across the television screen.