Donkey Kong 64 is a 3D platforming adventure game in which the player, as Donkey Kong and his friends, explores an island and collects items to progress through minigames and puzzles.[5][6] The game follows a traditional storyline for the series: King K. Rool and his reptilian Kremlings invade the idyllic DK Isle and kidnap Donkey Kong's friends, planning to power up their Blast-O-Matic weapon and destroy the island.[5][7] After a tutorial, the player embarks as Donkey Kong to rescue the others from their kidnappers and stop K. Rool's plan.[6] While exploring the in-game world and completing puzzle minigames, the player collects two types of bananas: normal bananas, which are colored differently for each Kong character, award the player with banana medals and can be traded for access to each world's boss fight; and golden bananas, a certain number of which are required to unlock each new in-game world.[7] The game features a total of 3,821 collectibles, though only 281 are required to complete it.[8]
Most of the game's puzzles are simple and involve rearranging items, manipulating switches and tiles, or matching items as in the game Concentration. Minigames include races, minecart rides, and barrels that shoot the characters as projectiles. There are five such golden banana-rewarding objectives for each of five playable characters across seven themed worlds—200 goals in total, in addition to a connecting overworld.[6][9] Unlike in prior Donkey Kong games, the objectives can be completed in any order.[10][7] The player can fast travel between sections of the level with designated warp pads and can swap between characters in designated swap barrels.[2][11] The player also collects banana coins, which can be spent to unlock new weapons and abilities, and other collectibles such as weapon ammunition and blueprint puzzle pieces. As in other games by the developer, the player often encounters an impossible situation (e.g., an indestructible object or out-of-reach area) and must eventually backtrack to resolve the impasse after acquiring a new ability.[6]
Donkey Kong's kidnapped friends become playable characters after the player rescues them.[12] Each of the five characters begin with basic abilities and can purchase additional, unique abilities from Cranky Kong as the game progresses, which are necessary to solve certain puzzles. For example, Donkey Kong can operate levers, Chunky Kong can lift rocks, Tiny Kong can crawl through holes, Diddy Kong can fly, and Lanky Kong can float. The characters are also unique in the projectiles they shoot and the musical instruments they play. For example, some doors can be opened only with Donkey Kong's coconut projectiles and others can be opened only with Diddy Kong's guitar. There are more special abilities than face buttons on the controller, so button combinations are needed to trigger some abilities. Combinations also trigger special modes, including alternative camera angles, a sniper mode, and a snapshot mode which unlocks more in-game secrets. Playable versions of the original Donkey Kong (1981) and Jetpac (1983) are hidden within the game, and playing through them is required to finish the story.[6] The player-character can also transform into animals, such as Rambi the Rhino and Enguarde the Swordfish, who recur from earlier series games.[13] Optional hardware support includes a widescreen mode[5] and Rumble Pak compatibility.[14]
Donkey Kong 64 features a separate multiplayer mode with six[15] minigames for two to four players.[5] Monkey Smash is an open arena, deathmatch-style minigame in which up to four players find ammo and use their respective projectile weapons from the single-player game to damage other players before losing all their own lives. Battle Arena is a king-of-the-hill minigame in which players use weapons and explosives to knock each other off the edge of a platform.[6] Each mode has several sub-types in which players can compete based on time or score.
