History NightmareFuel / DonkeyKong64

** [[https://www.unseen64.net/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/junk-dk64.jpg An early design]] for Mad Jack, called Junk-in-the-Box, depicted him as a humanoid MonsterClown with a bear trap for a mouth. While this version is a bit more subdued than the final product, there's no denying the fact that no amount of springs can save it from the depths of the UncannyValley.

* Creepy Castle's mine cart section. It's bad enough with the loud chase music and random sirens going off constantly, but how about the tombstones that fly out the ground (with accompanying insane laughter) as you approach or the giant skeleton demon thing shooting explosive fireballs at poor DK? Worse still, it comes directly after you have to go through the above mentioned bone maze.

* The fact that the entire Hideout Helm level is ''timed'', considering that if time runs out, it's an automatic game over and all of DK Isles gets destroyed.

** K. Rool's [[EvilLaugh evil mocking laughter]] that occurs throughout the game -- mostly when you use a barrel or animal ability where it isn't allowed -- is [[TimedMission heard within every ten-minute interval in the level]]. By the time you reach the last ten minutes, [[StalkedByTheBell the laughing becomes even more frequent]] and starts occurring every minute. If it reaches the last ten seconds, the game ''[[ExactTimeToFailure counts down directly on the screen]]''. It all really hammers in the fact that unless you're '''''right''''' at the end of the stage, [[ItsAWonderfulFailure you've failed]], and the DK Isles are well and truly doomed.

** There's also the intro to the level, which implies that K.Rool [[OmnicidalManiac doesn't even care]] if the unfinished Blast-O-Matic [[TakingYouWithMe blows himself and his minions up along with DK Island]], with him [[ButtonMashing literally mashing the Fire button]] like a maniac [[BadBoss despite his minions' desperate warnings.]]
** The majority of the final level is a TimedMission where the Kongs must all work together to quickly deactivate the Blast-o-Matic before it destroys DK Isles. The music, while awesome, embodies urgency, especially if the Kongs haven't given Snide that many blueprints. And the cherry on top? You know how you're usually safe in a Tag Barrel? Well, [[StalkedByTheBell not only time is]] ''[[StalkedByTheBell still]]'' [[StalkedByTheBell going in the Tag Barrel,]] even the level music replaces the Tag Barrel music! Finally, you know how you can press start and choose the option to exit the level? Well, in Hideout Helm, while the Blast-o-Matic is still active, you can't exit the level... you can only ''[[NonStandardGameOver give up]]''.
%%** The EvilLaughter that occurs throughout the game (mostly when you use a barrel or animal ability where it isn't allowed) is heard within every 10 minute interval in the level. By the time you reach the last 10 minutes, the laughing becomes even more frequent and starts occurring every minute. When you reach the last 10 seconds, the game counts down directly on the screen...

** There's also the intro to the level, which implies that K.Rool [[OmnicidalManiac doesn't even care]] if the unfinished Blast-O-Matic [[TakingYouWithMe blows himself and his minions up along with DK Island]], with him [[ButtonMashing literally mashing]] the Fire button like a maniac [[BadBoss despite his minions' desperate warnings.]]

%%* The fact that the entire Hideout Helm level was timed, considering that if time runs out, it's an automatic game over and all of DK Isles gets destroyed.
%%** There's also the intro to the level, which implies that K.Rool [[OmnicidalManiac doesn't even care]] if the unfinished Blast-O-Matic [[TakingYouWithMe blows himself and his minions up along with DK Island]], with him [[ButtonMashing literally mashing]] the Fire button like a maniac [[BadBoss despite his minions' desperate warnings.]]

* The majority of the final level, Hideout Helm, is a TimeedMission where the Kongs must quickly deactivate the Blast-o-Matic before it destroys DK Isles. The song, while awesome, emboides urgency especially if the Kongs haven't given Snide that much blueprints. And the cherry on top? You know how you're usually safe in a Tag Barrel? Well, not only time is ''still'' going in the Tag Barrel, even the level music replaces the Tag Barrel music! Finally, you know how you can press start and choose the option to exit the level? Well, in Hideout Helm, while the Blast-o-Matic is still active, you can't exit the level... you can only ''give up''...

* Creepy Castle's mine cart section. It's bad enough with the loud chase music and random sirens going off constantly, but how about the tombstones that fly out the ground (with accompanying insane laughter) as you approach or the giant skeleton demon thing shooting explosive fireballs at poor DK?

* Mad Jack: a giant Jack-in-the-Box resembling a demented cyborg crocodile with WesternAnimation/DonaldDuck's voice and part of its paint job chipped off, revealing a glowing red eye. If it isn't all that scary, [[ItMakesSenseInContext it ought to be.]] What'll really get to you is his introduction: he drops out of the reject chute ([[EvenEvilHasStandards in a factory already creating]] ''[[EvenEvilHasStandards evil toys]]'', [[EvenEvilHasStandards no less]]) pops out, does the standard boo scare, then laughs snidely at you. Not only, this WakeUpCallBoss has everything: a dark room, small platforms raised to great heights, a MonsterClown CreepyDoll, and EvilLaughter in the accompanying music. In other words, every single childhood phobia in the book in one single boss.

* The wind-up Kremlings from Frantic Factory are Nightmare Fuel incarnate. Everything about them is unsettling: glowing red eyes, circular walking pattern when not seeing you, squeaky noises when seeing you.

* Angry Aztec has an eerie temple with ominous music that just makes you feel uncomfortable, and once you grab the banana at the end, a voice suddenly shouts "[[GetOut GET OUT!]]" and aims at you with some sort of gun. You then have 25 seconds to get out of there before being shot down. Said "GET OUT!" comes from an assassin who tries to kill you once you get the bananas. In certain Crystal Caves challenges and in the greenhouse in Creepy Castle, he returns if you fail a challenge and gives you only 10 seconds to escape this time.

* The Game Over screen (thankfully skippable, though) has the evil laughter K. Rool showing the Blast-O-Matic about to blow DK Isles up, which was pretty intense for some back when they were children, joining the ranks of ''VideoGame/BanjoKazooie'' in the "save and quit is not an option" territory.
* Fungi Forest at night is pretty scary to those unfamiliar with the level layout. Actually, it's pretty scary even when you ''do'' know the layout. You hear wolves howling in the background, followed by owls sounding off and a very ominous [[DarkReprise reprise]] of the level's daytime music. The atmosphere is just incredibly spooky.
* Creepy Castle's mine cart section. It's bad enough with the loud chase music and random sirens going off constantly, but how about the tombstones that fly out the ground (with accompanying insane laughter) as you approach or the giant skeleton demon thing shooting explosive fireballs at poor DK?
* The game gives you SuperNotDrowningSkills, as per ''Donkey Kong Country'' tradition. However, Rareware seems to have used this as an excuse to make some very deep hydrophobe-unfriendly water areas, such as those in Gloomy Galleon. Beyond all of that, there is something genuinely unsettling about this level from the get go. The tense music and sheer enormity of the stage gives one a sense of claustrophobia and keeps players constantly on edge.
** The sunken ship rooms of Gloomy Galleon, thanks to the bad lighting, killer starfish and exploding (and creepy looking) pufferfish (both of those enemies can't be fought due to the Kongs lacking underwater combat moves). Some of those rooms actually feature jail cells and skeletons of prisoners chained to walls, because it can always get worse.

* K. Rool himself from [=DK64=]. The ominous music is a bonus, but the voice acting in the intro is a bit of NightmareRetardant given its similarities to [[WesternAnimation/InspectorGadget Dr. Claw]].
* Dogadon in Fungi Forest: after dealing a certain amount of damage to him, he starts making the platform sink, as the music gets faster and faster as the platform gets lower.
** It's entirely possible for the platform to fully sink into the lava. If you take too long with the fight, it will end with him laughing and flying away, as Chunky is left to burn.

* Creepy Castle has ''rotting hands'' as platforms. Inside the actual castle, there's a torture chamber after a dark maze and a very realistic skull-shaped portal leading to a red maze made completely out of bones.
* Creepy Castle had an unseen individual moaning constantly.

** One Chunky Kong challenge in Crystal Caves has you avoiding lights. Hit a light, and you get killed instantly after one second!
* [[SlippySlideyIceWorld The Crystal Caves]] seem like a relatively calm place at first, it's very ambient and you're just walking around gazing at the serenity of the area until a scary noise accompanies stalactites falling everywhere.
** [[spoiler: Good news: it's possible for Tiny Kong to locate the source of the falling stalactites. The bad news: it's a gigantic Kosha, which is about ten times her size! He still goes down normally, but YEESH!]]
* The fact that the entire Hideout Helm level was timed, considering that if time runs out, it's an automatic game over and all of DK Isles gets destroyed.
** There's also the intro to the level, which implies that K.Rool [[OmnicidalManiac doesn't even care]] if the unfinished Blast-O-Matic [[TakingYouWithMe blows himself and his minions up along with DK Island]], with him [[ButtonMashing literally mashing]] the Fire button like a maniac [[BadBoss despite his minions' desperate warnings.]]
** The EvilLaughter that occurs throughout the game (mostly when you use a barrel or animal ability where it isn't allowed) is heard within every 10 minute interval in the level. By the time you reach the last 10 minutes, the laughing becomes even more frequent and starts occurring every minute. When you reach the last 10 seconds, the game counts down directly on the screen...

* The Golden Banana where you have to swim into the giant mechanical fish in Gloomy Galleon. Not helped by the fact that a late-game glitch renders the banana almost impossible to obtain after getting the Sniper Scope if you don't know how to circumvent it.
* Anytime you asked Wrinkly - Cranky's dead wife - for hints, she would always enter with her wailing.
** Wrinkly herself stated that she died sometime between Donkey Kong Country 3 and [=DK64=].
** The constant crying of the Banana Fairy is unnerving as well.
* The EvilLaughter that occurs throughout the game is nerve-wracking, especially when you least expect it, like when using a barrel ability or an animal pal ability where it's not allowed.
* The Green Klaptraps in Angry Aztec wear snapping dentures with tongues in them that give chase after you should you kill one.
** If you didn't know any better, you'd think that you knocked their teeth and tongue out directly, with these chasing you for one last attempt at revenge from beyond the grave!

** While we're on the subject of Fungi Forest, the Killer Tomatoes probably deserve a special mention. These oversized, scary-faced creatures with fangs the size of shivs pop out of the ground and attack any random passer-by unlucky enough to cross their path. Fortunately, you can destroy these things using Chunky for a Golden Banana, but they are still menacing adversaries.

* The tunnels in Jungle Japes and Gloomy Galleon have whispers echo throughout.
* The secret cavern reached in Jungle Japes by pounding a large X as Chunky has a narrow path above a BottomlessPit lined with massive torches and a giant skull at the end. The music certainly doesn't help matters.
** Said creepy music is reused in a beehive within the same level, and the ghost ship in Gloomy Galleon.
* As Donkey Kong, you have to complete a few Barrel Cannon challenges that are set in the sky, while a windy and lonely rendition of the aforementioned cave music plays. These challenges tend to invoke feelings of acrophobia.
* [[BeeAfraid Zingers]] are back, and you can shoot them down. Not scary? Well then, try aiming at one at first-person close enough for it to bear down on you. The only thing scarier than regular Zingers are the '''mechanical''' Zingers in Frantic Factory. Oh jeez...
** And later they start dropping grenades at you, making the task of getting past them from below incredibly unnerving as you hear that [[StockSoundEffects falling sound]] followed by a loud explosion that might get you by surprise.
* The game gives you SuperNotDrowningSkills, as per ''Donkey Kong Country'' tradition. However, Rareware seems to have used this as an excuse to make some very deep hydrophobe-unfriendly water areas, such as those in Gloomy Galleon.
** The sunken ship rooms are probably the worst thanks to the bad lighting, killer starfish and exploding (and creepy looking) pufferfish (both of those enemies can't be fought due to the Kongs lacking underwater combat moves). Some of those rooms actually feature jail cells and skeletons of prisoners chained to walls, because it can always get worse.
*** Hell, the skeletons themselves are pretty nasty if you think about them. It seems implied that these prisoners drowned when the ship went down because they couldn't escape their chains. And this is supposed to be a kid's game!
*** They may have already been startling in their appearance in [[VideoGame/DonkeyKongCountry2DiddysKongQuest Donkey Kong Country 2]], but the pufferfish, known as Puftup, look far more menacing here. A couple of bonus stages in the sunken ship rooms actually drop you off in areas where one of them can ''greet'' you with an explosion after slightly inflating which notably affects its face. They also become moving obstacles in two bosses, [[Main/GiantMook Puftoss]] and King Kut Out. While they're not found as often, their [[Main/{{Expy}} expies]] in [[VideoGame/BanjoKazooie Banjo-Tooie]] only take the creepiness factor even further.
** Beyond all of that, there is something genuinely unsettling about the level from the get go. The tense music and sheer enormity of the stage gives one a sense of claustrophobia and keeps players constantly on edge.
* The intro to Diddy’s boss fight. He squishes a random dragonfly and smiles in satisfaction. Then a low buzzing starts behind. Diddy slowly turns...and the bug’s bigger badder brother roars.
* The intro to Creepy Castle. K. Rool blatantly declares he’s going to kill a fleeing minion for his failure to protect the blueprints to his Blast-O-Matic machine. While the king taunts his hapless victim, some unknown beast is stomping close by, loudly enough to shake the whole screen. Just when the Kasplat can breathe a sigh of relief, the camera pans to reveal a snapping Klaptrap...only it’s bigger than Dogadon and it’s looking right at him.
* Due to the game's impressive lighting effects for an N64 game, quite a few areas are pitch black, only lit by swinging lamps, colored lights, and torches, making just exploring extremely unnerving.

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Madjack.jpg]]

* The intro to Crazy Castle. K. Rool blatantly declares he’s going to kill a fleeing minion for his failure to protect the blueprints to his Blast-O-Matic machine. While the king taunts his hapless victim, some unknown beast is stomping close by, loudly enough to shake the whole screen. Just when the Kasplat can breathe a sigh of relief, the camera pans to reveal a snapping Klaptrap...only it’s bigger than Dogadon and it’s looking right at him.

* K. Rool himself from [=DK64=]. The ominous music is a bonus, but the voice acting in the intro is a bit of NightmareRetardant given its similarities to [[InspectorGadget Dr. Claw]].

* K. Rool himself from [=DK64=]. The ominous music is a bonus, but the voice acting in the intro is a bit of NightmareRetardant given its similarities to Dr. Claw from InspectorGadget.

* The Golden Banana where you have to swim into the giant mechanical fish. Not helped by the fact that a late-game glitch renders the banana almost impossible to obtain after getting the Sniper Scope if you don't know how to circumvent it.

* Fungi Forest at night is pretty scary to those unfamiliar with the level layout.

*** They may have already been startling in their appearance in [[VideoGame/DonkeyKongCountry2DiddysKongQuest Donkey Kong Country 2]], but the pufferfish, known as Puftup, look far more menacing here. A couple of bonus stages in the sunken ship rooms actually drop you off in areas where one of them can ''greet'' you with an explosion after slightly inflating which notably affects its face. They also become moving obstacles in two bosses, [[Main/GiantMook Puftoss]] and King Kut Out. While they're not found as often, their [[Main/{{Expy}} expies]] in [[VideoGame/BanjoKazooie Banjo-Tooie]] only take the creepiness factor even further..

* Mad Jack from ''VideoGame/DonkeyKong64'': a giant Jack-in-the-Box resembling a demented cyborg crocodile with WesternAnimation/DonaldDuck's voice and part of its paint job chipped off, revealing a glowing red eye. If it isn't all that scary, [[ItMakesSenseInContext it ought to be.]] What'll really get to you is his introduction: he drops out of the reject chute ([[EvenEvilHasStandards in a factory already creating]] ''[[EvenEvilHasStandards evil toys]]'', [[EvenEvilHasStandards no less]]) pops out, does the standard boo scare, then laughs snidely at you. Not only, this WakeUpCallBoss has everything: a dark room, small platforms raised to great heights, a MonsterClown CreepyDoll, and EvilLaughter in the accompanying music. In other words, every single childhood phobia in the book in one single boss.

** Wrinkly is heavily implied to have died between Donkey Kong Country 3 and [=DK64=].

** The DA Nintober event put Mad Jack on their list, and part of his description was: "King K. Rool's Frantic Factory puts out dangerous toys unsuitable for all ages. When [[NoOSHACompliance health and safety is of no concern]], it takes a very special toy to end up in the reject chute.".

** The DA Nintober event put Mad Jack on their list, and part of his description was: "When [[NoOSHACompliance where health and safety is of no concern]], it takes a very special toy to end up in the reject chute.".

** The DA Nintober event put Mad Jack on their list, and part of his description was: "In a toy factory [[NoOSHACompliance where health and safety are not a concern]], it takes a very special toy to end up in the reject bin...".

* Creepy Castle's mine cart section. It's bad enough with the loud chase music and random sirens going off constantly, but how about the tombstones that fly out the ground as you approach or the giant skeleton demon thing shooting explosive fireballs at poor DK?