History ThatOneLevel / DonkeyKong

* 2-7, Tidal Terror, the main gimmick in this level is a huge tsunami in the background which comes at you very fast. The walls you can hide behind are either small, weak, or need to be pulled out of the ground. Oh, and if you want 100%? You need to even faster because the wave will ''wash away anything on screen'' if not picked up in time. Also, if you couldn't tell from the numbers, this is from world ''2''!

* Riverside Race (2-2) is — as its name suggests — a race against the clock while an ''invincible swarm of bees'' are hounding you throughout the vast majority of the level unless you're underwater making backtracking a huge pain in the ass (and in order to get one of the Banana Birds, you have to {{Speedrun}} it to beat Brash the Bear's time).

* Screech's Sprint (7-1). It's another one of the dreaded bramble levels, but this time, its main gimmick is that as Squawks, you must win a race against Screech, his EvilCounterpart, to the end of [[TheMaze a large maze]] of Zinger-infested brambles. Not only is Screech just as [[VideoGame/DonkeyKong64 quick and nimble]] as Squawks, but the race itself is life or death - if he gets to the finish line before you, [[OneHitKill you're history]], forcing the player to both quickly figure out the course and stay alive. All of this makes for a very fittingly challenging and tense final level before the FinalBoss fight against Kaptain K. Rool.

Admittedly, ''Donkey Kong'' games have never been too generous regarding difficulty, but ''these'' levels take the banana cake.

* Snow Barrel Blast (4-1) combines [[InterfaceScrew poor visibility]] with barrel-shooting sequences requiring perfect timing, and a single miss resulting in instant death. Like Carnival Night Zone Act 2 in ''VideoGame/Sonic3AndKnuckles'', this level had its own entry on the Automated Help Line -- and a shortcut which allowed most of the difficult sections to be easily skipped. Going for OneHundredPercentCompletion? Good luck.

* Speaking of the GBA version, it actually added a number of minigames that weren't in the original. Now, these could practically be here as a whole (or at least under ScrappyMechanic), because ''all'' of them are annoying, and you need to complete them to get [[OneHundredPercentCompletion 103%]] and the secret ending, but Funky's fourth challenge deserves special mention. It's a racing minigame where you must use the Turbo Ski to beat four Kremlings on a 3-lap race around a river. Getting into first place isn't ''that'' hard, but you also have to avoid hitting the Kremlings or any of the walls, because taking too many hits causes you to fail automatically, even if you were a mile ahead of the pack. And the vehicle's controls are iffy at best, especially at full speed, which isn't much of an issue when using it on the world map but becomes very noticeable when not being quite accurate enough with your steering has actual negative consequences.

* Creepy Castle is a nightmare (no pun intended) for OneHundredPercentCompletion, as even just the outside segment is by far the biggest level in the game, with an absurd number of caves, catacombs, and rooms to check out, making it extremely easy to get lost or miss something. It also houses not one, but ''two'' racing minigames (a rematch between Tiny and a car character first seen in Frantic Factory's own racing game, and a difficult minecart ride for Donkey Kong that differs from the others in that it's divided in two phases; and once again there's a requirement of DK coins to claim true victory). On top of all that, this level has the hardest version of the Beaver Bother minigame, and you need to complete it ''twice''.

* Stop & Go Station (2-4). [[DemonicSpiders Rock Krocs]] cannot be killed, move insanely fast in a constant back-and-forth motion, and you can only get past them by changing the lights from green (GO) to red (STOP). These switches never last long even at the beginning of the level, but by the end of it, they switch back on literally the same second you turn them off. And the end of the level is a gauntlet of at least half a dozen Rock Krocs and switch barrels, maybe closer to 8-9. You are almost guaranteed to lose one of your Kongs before you finally dive into the exit. Luckily, Rock Krocs only appear in this level. And this is in the ''second'' world of the game. Fortunately, there's an easy way to [[DungeonBypass skip almost the entire level]]: Turn around and head back "out" the same way you came in.
* Snow Barrel Blast (4-1) combines poor visibility with barrel-shooting sequences requiring perfect timing, and a single miss resulting in instant death. Like Carnival Night Zone Act 2 in ''VideoGame/Sonic3AndKnuckles'', this level had its own entry on the Automated Help Line -- and a shortcut which allowed most of the difficult sections to be easily skipped. If you're going for OneHundredPercentCompletion? Good luck.

* Slime Climb (3-5). You must avoid falling into the [[RiseToTheChallenge rising water]], and not because of the water being damaging. Rather, it's because of [[InvincibleMinorMinion Snapjaw]] homing onto your Kong's movements. If you fall into the water and he catches you, kiss one of your Kongs goodbye because he will lunge and attack. In addition, in ''Donkey Kong Land 2'', because they couldn't implement Snapjaw, the water instantly damages you.
* Bramble Blast (3-6). It's a very confusing maze of thorns (that hurt the Kongs if they touch them), shooting barrels that might catch you in an endless loop, and [[GoddamnedBats Zingers]] for good measure. [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking The DK coin is also in an obscure place]]. If it's any consolation, this level marks the first instance of [[AwesomeMusic/DonkeyKongCountry Stickerbush Symphony]], a widely beloved song within the franchise.
* Bramble Scramble (4-3). Between the massive number of invincible [[GoddamnedBats Zingers]] and other obstacles rushing at you while you flop around riding Squawks, it's just pure insanity. The invincible Red Zingers are gone in [=DKL2=], but the level still manages to throw you off with how long it is and it's still a maze. With the lesser screen visibility, it makes it almost as hard as it was in the SNES/GBA version.
* Haunted Hall (5-2). The level has you riding for your life away from Kackle, a large skeletal Kremling that serves as a OneHitKill AdvancingWallOfDoom. The only way to ward him away is to fervently collect Plus Barrels to constantly increase the time left before he attacks and avoid Minus Barrels that decrease the time, effectively combining two infamous levels from the first game: Mine Cart Carnage and Tanked Up Trouble. Perfect precision is practically necessary, as missing a single Plus Barrel or collecting a single Minus Barrel can be fatal.
* Web Woods (5-5) also qualifies. In addition to having to rely on Squitter's webs to traverse most of the BottomlessPit-laden level (a potentially frustrating feat in itself), the fact that the level's DK Coin is only available from the end-of-level roulette is capable of causing untold exasperation in itself: it's only shown for a brief moment, and your timing being even ''slightly'' off in hitting the target results in completely missing it and having to start the entire level over if you want to attempt to go back and get it.

* To elaborate on Toxic Tower (6-6), it's a level where poison keeps on rising at all times and you have to escape, taking the forms of the different Animal Buddies. The first part has you playing as Rattly the Snake, doing jumps that kill you if you miss them. The second part has you flying away as Squawks the Parrot, shooting Zingers that block your way and navigating through a dungeon labyrinth. The bonus area requires using Squitter to shoot web platforms up a long curving bramble-lined passageway to get the Kremkoin, and you don't have a lot of time to do it in. If the webs are not a skill you have thoroughly mastered by now, you're going to be in for some major headaches trying to get that magical 102% completion.

%% Please see thread to discuss a new image.

[[folder:Donkey Kong Country]]
* Mine Cart Carnage (2-2) is the first of these, with a hard-to-master mechanic introduced, as well as ''many'' tight jumps and fast-moving enemies that are easy to miss and will likely cost you a few lives.

[[folder:Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest]]

[[folder:Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble]]
* Barrel Drop Bounce definitely deserves a mention. Basically, the level has barrels falling from a waterfall way too fast for the player to keep up with. Needless to say, you're going to spend hours on this frustrating level.
* Lightning Look-Out. If you find constantly running from deadly and extremely annoying lightning bolts that not only track where you are but ''anticipate'' where you will be to be fun, then you will have a masochistic blast with this level. It's even worse the first time you play it because [[DepthPerplexion the lightning strike warnings look like nothing more than background effects]]. The worst part is the pool of water with floating barrels and three Buzz's in the middle: even if you're quick enough to get in and out of the water before lightning strikes (if it touches the water ''anywhere'' while you're in it you take a hit) you won't be quick enough to dodge it if it comes down on top of the barrel you're now standing on. Whether or not it does ''[[LuckBasedMission is purely random]]''. And just to mock you, it blocks your way to the next save point!
* Poisonous Pipeline, to an insane degree considering the fact that it's a ''very'' long swimming level with ''tons'' of enemies in it. That wasn't the [[SarcasmMode "best"]] part about this level, oh no, not by a long shot. The [[NintendoHard "greatest"]] feature in this level is that ''the controls are reversed'', so have fun getting through a tough level, with incredibly tough bonus stages with reversed controls. It probably didn't help that if you were jumping out of the water (to get the DK coin, the level goal, etc.), your controls would quickly transition from reversed to normal, resulting in the Kong plunging back into the water instead of landing onto the platform. It's no wonder that this is the last level before the K. Rool boss fight.
* Ripsaw Rage, the tree-styled level where a [[RiseToTheChallenge giant saw rises up to kill you]] and you have to out run it. So they put in sections where you have to move laterally while the saw moves up. More frustrating than hard.
* Kong-Fused Cliffs is even worse. This time it's a burning rope with Buzzes and other crap coming down from above that are [[TrialAndErrorGameplay nigh-impossible to anticipate]]. Good thing there are quite a few DK barrels along the way as well.
* Low-G Labyrinth. The level's main gimmick is, [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin obviously]], [[GravityScrew low gravity]]. Dodging the onslaught of Buzzes is very tough considering you move slower than usual, and the moving ones aren't slowed down one bit. Then you have to navigate the place with the purple parrot, and that gets... tricky.
* Koindozer Klamber contains [[PaletteSwap pink versions of Koin]], an enemy which you get one of the PlotCoupons from. The only problem? You have to land exactly on top of them- if you land any other direction on them other than the top, they'll bump you off a ledge to your doom. Dixie's gliding ability makes this a bit easier, but if you lose her, you'd better be good with Kiddy!
* Riverside Race is—as its name suggests—a race against the clock while an ''invincible swarm of bees'' are hounding you throughout the vast majority of the level unless you're underwater making backtracking a huge pain in the ass (and to get a prize from a Brother Bear you have to beat ''his'' time on the course).
* Demolition Drain-Pipe and Tearaway Tobbogin (and Surf's Up in the GBA remake) are both annoying due to the wonky controls of the sled the Kongs ride in and loads of hazards that can easily make you lose one of them.
* Fish Food Frenzy is a major pain of a level. In that level, a Nibbla follows your every move. He'll protect you by eating the fish in your way, but if he eats too many Lurchins (spiked enemies) in a row, which usually means two, he'll turn on your Kongs instead. Even if he doesn't attack you right away then, you probably won't be able to get to a fish before he does. And the level is ''crawling'' with Lurchins. He'll also take a bite out of your Kongs if he goes too long without eating a regular fish, which is difficult because they're less common than the Lurchins, and getting him close enough to one without touching the fish yourself can be quite a pain; Lurchins, on the other hand, he'll eat even if he's not particularly close to.
* Ripcurl Reef in the GBA version. You know the aforementioned Animal Antics with its windy, bramble-filled torture chamber? Well... how about a WHOLE LEVEL with such a gimmick? This level has you swimming underwater rather than being in the air with Squawks, and instead of brambles, you have lots of palette-swapped Lurchins to get around. The current here does not change directions constantly as the wind does in Animal Antics, which is a double-edged sword: you don't have to worry about keeping track of which way you're being blown, but on the other hand, you don't have a consistent pattern to keep track of. Unless you've memorized the level, you have no way of knowing whether the current will be blowing left, right, or not at all.
* Speaking of the GBA version, it actually added a number of minigames that weren't in the original. Now, these could practically be here as a whole (or at least under ScrappyMechanic), because ''all'' of them are annoying, and you need to complete them to get [[HundredPercentCompletion 103%]] and the secret ending, but Funky's fourth challenge deserves special mention. It's a racing minigame where you must use the Turbo Ski to beat four Kremlings on a 3-lap race around a river. Getting into first place isn't ''that'' hard, but you also have to avoid hitting the Kremlings or any of the walls, because taking too many hits causes you to fail automatically, even if you were a mile ahead of the pack. And the vehicle's controls are iffy at best, especially at full speed, which isn't much of an issue when using it on the world map but becomes very noticeable when not being quite accurate enough with your steering has actual negative consequences.

[[folder:Donkey Kong Land]]

[[folder:Donkey Kong 64]]

[[folder:Donkey Kong Country Returns]]

* World 4, the Cave, could very well be one as a whole. ''All'' of its levels have minecarts and rocket barrels, are full of TrialAndErrorGameplay, and it's home to the aforementioned Crowded Cavern. Oh yeah, and a difficult boss (The Mole Train) is at the end.
* Many of the Temple levels become this for different reasons:
** Level 1-K, Platform Panic. Aside from being the first bonus level, meaning the largest difficulty spike in the game if you like to beat all the levels before moving on, you get no Diddy, you have to know ''exactly'' when to jump (or not) or you lose one of your valuable hearts or just outright die.
** If you liked 1-K, you'll love 2-K, Tumblin' Temple. It has whole platforming ''sections'' coming down and sinking into the lava, and they don't start coming until the previous one is ''just'' about to be completely submerged. There's even one covered with spikes that you have to let sink and wait for another, and one that comes down ''behind'' you. Oh, and LedgeBats. You do get a Diddy this time, though.
** Level 4-K, Jagged Jewels. Either you're dealing with invincible enemies, spike platforms that are very difficult to determine whether it's safe to pass, gyroscopic bladed rings, or tilting logs with more spike rings. It's so difficult that you get Diddy for it - most temple levels don't give him to you.
** Level 5-K, Blast and Bounce. There is no solid ground for the entire level, and it's either spent waiting for the perfect opportunity to go through or jumping on enemies and ''hoping'' you bounce off of them due to the [[SomeDexterityRequired tiny window of time the jump button registers as a "bounce"]].
** Level 6-K, Perilous Passage. It's a RiseToTheChallenge level with many chances to die, and about halfway through you're chased by invincible electric bees. To make things worse, ''[[CheckPointStarvation there's no checkpoint]]'', as with all Key Temples.
** 7-K, Treacherous Tracks. Let's take Tanked Up Trouble from the first game, replace the fuel barrels with switches that put retracted pieces of track back in place, make the platform faster, and remove the checkpoints. This means that if you miss even one switch, it's goodbye platform.

* 2-7, Tidal Terror, the main gimmick in this level is a huge tsunami in the background which comes at you very fast. The walls you can hide behind are either small, weak, or need to be pulled out of the ground. Oh, and if you want 100%? You need to even faster because the wave will ''wash away anything on screen'' if not picked up in time. Also, if you couldn't tell from the numbers, this is from world ''2''!
* [[spoiler:[[BrutalBonusLevel The Golden Temple]] (9-1 in the original Wii version and 9-9 in the 3DS version).]] It's only unlocked after beating all 8 other {{Brutal Bonus Level}}s, and has tiny platforms everywhere, some of which explode, sink, or are nearly impossible to judge when they're safe to jump on; [[GoddamnedBats Invincible enemies which lead their shots incredibly well and appear in groups]] and flying enemies only killed by the bombs they throw, and all of this [[CheckpointStarvation without any checkpoints]]. Good luck on [[HarderThanHard Mirror Mode]].

[[folder:Donkey Kong Country Tropical Freeze]]

* The Key Temple levels in this game do not slouch. The actual level design tends to be ''slightly'' more lenient than it was in ''Returns'', but to make up for that and then some, they are ''longer'' and [[FakeDifficulty still]] [[CheckPointStarvation lack checkpoints]].
** 1-K, Swinger Flinger, is full to the brim with [[SpikesOfDoom spikes]], [[VineSwing vines]], [[BreadEggsBreadedEggs spikes ON vines]], [[TemporaryPlatform collapsing platforms]], collapsing ''ceilings'' (with vines attached to them), and [[BottomlessPit almost no solid ground]].
** 2-K, Bopopolis, consists purely of [[GoombaSpringboard bouncing off enemies]] to progress. Mistakes in timing are not an option.
** 5-K, Platform Problems, has the ''Donkey Kong Country'' equivalent of [[VideoGame/MegaMan1 Guts Man's lifts]] ''for an entire level''. In this case, though, it's not the ''difficulty'' that makes these [[TemporaryPlatform platforms]] a [[TitleDrop problem]] as much as the ''length'': 5-K is probably the longest K level in the game, and it does not give you many places to rest.
* On the non-temple side of things, there's 4-B, Shoal Atoll. What's worse than an [[UnderTheSea underwater level]] with an OxygenMeter and noticeably sparse air bubbles, a FetchQuest [[TheMaze maze]], or a level with [[CheckPointStarvation no checkpoints]] (the only one not to have any that isn't a bonus level or boss)? How about ''all three at once?!''

* [[spoiler:[[BrutalBonusLevel World 7 (Secret Seclusion)]] in general. The world has only three levels, but all of them are longer and more difficult than the temple levels. And, of course, [[CheckPointStarvation no checkpoints]]]].

* To elaborate on Toxic Tower, it's a level where poison keeps on rising at all times and you have to escape, taking the forms of the different animal buddies. The first part has you playing as Rattly the Snake, doing jumps that kill you if you miss them. The second part has you flying away as Squawks the Parrot, shooting Zingers that block your way and navigating through a dungeon labyrinth. The bonus area requires using Squitter to shoot web platforms up a long curving bramble-lined passageway to get the Kremkoin, and you don't have a lot of time to do it in. If the webs are not a skill you have thoroughly mastered by now, you're going to be in for some major headaches trying to get that magical 102% completion.
* Screech's Sprint. Just take that infamous Animal Antics Squawks part and replace the gusts of wind with a RACE THROUGH A MAZE OF THORNS AND ZINGERS! At least you can glitch the level by taking damage to skip the race, if you mess that up though...
* If there's any level from the "Gloomy Gulch" world that deserves to be on this list, it's DEFINITELY "Haunted Hall". The level has you riding for your life away from ghosts that kill you if you touch them and bombards you with awful placing of plus and minus barrels. Oh, by the way, if you touch even ONE of the Minus Barrels while the ghosts are chasing you, then you are going to DIE and go back to square one.
* Web Woods also qualifies. In addition to having to rely on Squitter's webs to traverse most of the level (a potentially frustrating feat in itself; see Toxic Tower above), the fact that the level's DK Coin is only available from the end-of-level roulette is capable of causing untold exasperation in itself: it's only shown for a brief moment, and your timing being even ''slightly'' off in hitting the target results in completely missing it and having to start the entire level over if you want to attempt to go back and get it.
* "Castle Crush" definitely deserves a mention for how irritatingly quick it is. You need to have cat-like reflexes if you want to make it through this level alive, and if you don't, get ready to throw your controller out the window.
* Bramble Scramble. Between the massive number of invincible [[GoddamnedBats Zingers]] and other crap rushing at you while you flop around riding Squawks, it's just pure insanity. The invincible Red Zingers are gone in [=DKL2=], but the level still manages to throw you off with how long it is and it's still a maze. With the lesser screen visibility, it makes it almost as hard as it was in the SNES/GBA version.
* Glimmer's Galleon. Seemingly long stage, entirely underwater with no Enguarde (which means no way to attack enemies) save for the very end, and very dark save for your animal buddy Glimmer providing a cone of light, which, in the SNES version, makes the screen flash entirely white whenever you turn to face the other direction and so does he.
* Slime Climb. You must avoid falling into the [[RiseToTheChallenge rising water]], and not because of the water being damaging. Rather, it's because of [[InvincibleMinorMinion Snapjaw]] homing onto your Kong's movements. If you fall into the water and he catches you, kiss one of your Kongs goodbye because he will lunge and attack. (and no, he can't be killed. Good luck!) In addition, in ''Donkey Kong Land 2'', because they couldn't implement Snapjaw, the water instantly damages you. And the level is [[NintendoHard harder]] than Toxic Tower in ''either'' game.
* Also in [=DKL2=], it makes a level late in the game more frustrating - Clapper's Cavern. In a ridiculous example of damaging water, the water you just swam in Arctic Abyss, now hurts you for no apparent reason. Like in the Super NES version, you have to use Clapper to freeze the water to traverse over the icy waters, and master the slide to avoid getting hit by [[GoddamnedBats Zingers]].
* Bramble Blast. Just. Bramble. Blast. Let's put a very confusing maze of thorns (that hurt the Kongs if they touch them), shooting barrels that seemingly lead to an endless loop, [[GoddamnedBats goddamned Zingers]] and an awesome soundtrack in the same level. [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking The DK coin is also in an obscure place]].
* For the players looking for OneHundredPercentCompletion, there's the Fiery Furnace Bonus Barrel. You have to get to the very end of the stage to even reach the barrel, and then, if you don't have both Kongs so you can do a team throw, you have to rely on a Cat-O-Nine-Tails to decide to throw you in the right direction to enter it. The bonus stage itself involves riding a directional barrel through a narrow bramble maze lined with Zingers, and you fail if a single pixel of the barrel touches an obstacle, or if the extremely short timer runs out. Finally, the exit drops you into a Barrel Cannon pointed directly at the level goal; that's right, you only get ''one chance'' to collect the DK Coin per level playthrough!

[[/folder]]

[[folder:Rom Hacks]]
* ''Asshole Donkey Kong Country'' as a whole is a hard game, but the absolute peak of its difficulty has to be stage 5-5, which can rival any VideoGame/KaizoMarioWorld level in hair pulling insanity despite its short length. When you start the level, there's an unavoidable enemy that will kill you off the bat unless you have Diddy with you as an extra hit point. But that's just the beginning--through the rest of the level, you have two Kremlings on minecarts riding directly above and below you. Due to the way the minecart tracks are arranged combined with the game's hit detection, you need to have both very careful jumping reflexes and ''frame perfect'' timing to dodge them--there is absolutely no room for error. Oh, and the level has a KaizoTrap at the end to rub salt in the wound--if you miss the barrel that takes you to the real exit, you'll just go offscreen and lose a life, forcing you to start the whole level again. Check out [[https://youtu.be/Cr2_Q0wU1sI this playthrough]] of it to get an idea of how hard it is.

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/squawks.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:Deadly brambles. Invincible enemies. ''Gusting wind.'' Have fun.]]
[[foldercontrol]]

* The bonus level Animal Antics is almost certainly the most difficult level in the game (even more than Toxic Tower), thanks to a specific part. You must transform into each of the various animal companions in the game. At one point, you turn into Squawks the Parrot, and must navigate a thorn-lined maze. There is no platform to sit and stop for a breather; you constantly have to keep flapping your wings to maintain altitude in a narrow space, as well as avoid deadly Zingers. Unfortunately, you also have to deal with ''gusting wind'' that will blow the parrot into the thorns, forcing you to constantly hold the opposite direction on the control pad. To say it's frustrating is an understatement, considering the rest of the level is a cakewalk. Oh, and the wind constantly shifts the direction it's going, forcing you to constantly adjust the direction you're flying to compensate. The GBA remake made Animal Antics ''slightly'' less frustrating by moving the Continue barrel further in the level (past Squitter's area, which was probably the easiest of that level) so you don't have to redo quite as much if you lose a life later.

* Another one is Klobber Karnage. The second part of the map is entirely composed of parts where you are put in a rotating barrel and required to shoot yourself through Zinger-barriers, requiring ''the exact freaking timing''. Missing just slightly will lose you a hit, which you only have two to spend in one part. Even worse, this level is glitched if you play it on ZSNES -- the barrels you control on your own are supposed to stop when you let go, but on ZSNES, a glitch makes them rotate indefinitely no matter what. Thankfully other emulators like higan and [=Snes9x=] don't have this problem.

* Tyrant Twin Tussle contains extremely muscular enemies who come in pairs, Kuff n' Klout. They'll jump in a certain pattern, then sometimes run. If you don't know how to get [[PowerupMount Squitter]], who is the only one that can kill them, good luck! ''And you lose him halfway.'' Oh, then there's the bonus game [[spoiler: behind the flagpole]]! Here, you must collect 15 randomly-appearing green bananas while a set of the twins jump super-fast. At least you spawn right before the flagpole once leaving (meaning you can keep trying again immediately until you succeed), and have 50 seconds during the challenge.
* Honorable mention goes to the final bonus mission in the Krematoa level Stampede Sprint. To even ''get'' there, you have to [[EscortMission keep Parry the parallel bird safe through the level]], and it's the only one in the game [[CheckPointStarvation that doesn't have a midway point]]. He flies high above you, waiting to run into Buzzes, and you can't stop! Once you get to the end, he turns into the bonus barrel. And ''there'' is where the trouble starts. It's a "collect 15 green bananas" mission. You have the bird in the bonus level, and a Red Buzz hovers above. Some of the bananas appear ''above the Buzz'', which means you're going to need a running start to collect them safely. Hit the Buzz ([[NintendoHard and you will]]), and you have to retry the level to try again. At least this bonus got substantially toned down in the GBA remake by moving the Buzz down to where you no longer need to make a running jump to collect bananas above it. Though the remake also added a couple ''more'' annoying bonus rooms, including one where you have to collect ''20'' bananas around a rope with a very fast enemy on it. And this is all without even mentioning the reflexes one needs to not screw up with so many obstacles and hazards littered throughout the stage (with some of them in question ''charging straight at you'').

* Rocket Rush, ''the'' final non-boss level and the toughest level to get into (all 85 Bonus Coins in the SNES version, 98 in the GBA version). It's a descent down and rapid ascent to the top of a canyon in a rocket, the only time you use the rocket in the game, and the controls could be politely described as "wretched". The ascent is brutal to where screwing up '''two or three times at most''' means you won't make it out the other side, and you likely will screw up in the ascent since it pretty much requires you to [[TrialAndErrorGameplay know the course ahead of time]]. The GBA version makes this second half more lenient, but it makes up for it by making the first half a good deal worse; unlike before, the Buzzes actually damage you if you ram the bottom of the rocket barrel into them, and the checkpoint barrel is removed. The Japanese version makes it obvious how hard this level is: The title of the level is instead ''Ponkotsu Rocket de Go'' (Go by Piece-of-Junk Rocket).

* Swoopy Salvo. You spend the entire level going up and down and in and out of tree trunks while being constantly besieged by dive-bombing hummingbird enemies called Swoopies. Part of the time you're Squawks trying to fly through the lines of Swoopies, and part of the time you're the Kongs, having to either dodge them while you climb ropes or dodging them laterally while you go through openings on the sides of the trees. And to make it extra painful, there are certain sections you have to enter while going directly through a line of Swoopy traffic in the opposite direction, and in other places, you have to bounce off the dive-bombing enemies to reach higher ledges.

* Mine Cart Carnage is the first of these, with a hard-to-master mechanic introduced, as well as several timed jumps that are easy to miss and will likely cost you a few lives.
* Snow Barrel Blast combines poor visibility with barrel-shooting sequences requiring perfect timing, and a single miss resulting in instant death. Like Carnival Night Zone Act 2, this level had its own entry on the Automated Help Line -- and a shortcut which allowed most of the difficult sections to be easily skipped. If you're going for OneHundredPercentCompletion? Good luck.
* Oil Drum Alley has a part where you need to time jumps on a lot of tires and flaming oil drums. It doesn't help that the flames change their pattern of ignition halfway through the level. And if you're going for HundredPercentCompletion, there's an excellent chance you're going to miss one of the bonus rooms in the level, as the sadistic designers hid one ''inside another bonus room'', which is the only time this happens in all of ''DKC''.
* Platform Perils is just long and brutal, complete with impregnable Krushas and collapsing platforms. Thankfully, it is the very last regular level in the game before the boss of the world followed by King K. Rool.
* There's a reason that BlackoutBasement earned its title as a trope namer. Mainly because the lights constantly flicker on and off, and if they're off you can't see ''anything'' except your playable characters. Not the enemies, not the platforms above the bottomless pit, absolutely nothing. There's a reason ''why'' most people automatically remember this level when this game is brought up.
* Tanked Up Trouble. This level requires you to grab pretty hard-to-reach fuel tanks before the platform you're riding on collapses. Missing even one barrel can result in death, if those freakin' Zingers don't kill you first!
* Stop and Go Station. Rock Krocs cannot be killed, move insanely fast in a constant back-and-forth motion, and you can only get past them by changing the lights from green (GO) to red (STOP). These switches never last long even at the beginning of the level, but by the end of it, they switch back on literally the same second you turn them off. And the end of the level is a gauntlet of at least half a dozen rockkrocs and switch barrels, maybe closer to 8-9. You are almost guaranteed to lose one of your Kongs before you finally dive into the exit. Thank ''all that is holy'' that rockkrocs ''only'' appear in this level. And this is in the ''second'' world of the game. Fortunately, there's an easy way to [[DungeonBypass skip almost the entire level]]: Turn around and head back "out" the same way you came in.
* Loopy Lights. Take the limited visibility of Blackout Basement, combine it with the switch barrel gimmick from Stop and Go Station, and you already have a frustrating level. Now throw in annoyingly-placed Klaptraps that jump whenever you jump and are infuriatingly good at catching you off-guard. Have fun.

* If there's any level from the "Gloomy Gulch" world that deserves to be on this list, it's DEFINITELY "Haunted Hall". The level has you riding for your life away from ghosts that kill you if you touch them and bombards you with awful placing of plus and minus barrels. Oh, by the way, if you touch even ONE of the Minus Barrels while the ghosts are chasing you, then you are going to DIE and go back to square one. It's the first level of the game this troper actually died in, and considering how mind-boggingly difficult the levels "Slime Climb" and "Rambi Rumble" were, that's really saying something.

* Barrel Drop Bounce definitely deserves a mention. Basically, the level has barrels falling from a water fall way too fast for the player to keep up with. Needless to say, you're going to spend hours in this frustrating level.

* Poisonous Pipeline, to an insane degree considering the the fact that it's a ''very'' long swimming level with ''tons'' of enemies in it. That wasn't the [[SarcasmMode "best"]] part about this level, oh no, not by a long shot. The [[NintendoHard "greatest"]] feature in this level is that ''the controls are reversed'', so have fun getting through a tough level, with incredibly tough bonus stages with reversed controls. It probably didn't help that if you were jumping out of the water (to get the DK coin, the level goal, etc.), your controls would quickly transition from reversed to normal, resulting in the Kong plunging back into the water instead of landing onto the platform. It's no wonder that this is the last level before the K. Rool boss fight.

* Koindozer Klamber contains [[PaletteSwap pink versions of Koin]], an enemy which you get one of the PlotCoupons from. The only problem? You have to land exactly on top of them- if you land any other direction on them other than the top, they'll bump you to off a ledge to your doom. Dixie's gliding ability makes this a bit easier, but if you lose her, you'd better be good with Kiddy!

* ''Asshole Donkey Kong Country'' as a whole is a hard game, but the absolute peak of its difficulty has to be stage 5-5, which can rival any VideoGame/KaizoMarioWorld level in hair pulling insanity despite its short length. When you start the level, theres an unavoidable enemy that will kill you off the bat unless you have Diddy with you as an extra hit point. But thats just the beginning--through the rest of the level, you have two Kremlings on minecarts riding directly above and below you. Due to the way the minecart tracks are arranged combined with the games hit detection, you need to have both very careful jumping reflexes and ''frame perfect'' timing to dodge them--there is absolutely no room for error. Oh, and the level has a KaizoTrap at the end to rub salt in the wound--if you miss the barrel that takes you to the real exit, youll just go offscreen and lose a life, forcing you to start the whole level again. Check out [[https://youtu.be/Cr2_Q0wU1sI this playthrough]] of it to get an idea of how hard it is.

* [[EternalEngine Frantic Factory]]. Not only is it a very long and difficult level in its own right, it also has ThatOneBoss, unevenly difficult minigames (this is the first appearance of the dreaded Beaver Bother bonus game), and the original Donkey Kong arcade game. The trouble is, this version of the classic arcade game practically embodies NintendoHard; you only have one life to complete all four levels (though you get one extra life if your score hits 10,000), barrels come from everywhere, and you can't skip the cutscenes. Oh, and that's not the worst part. When you beat it, you get a Golden Banana, but then in comes Squawks who challenges you to play the game again for a unique prize. And the worst part isn't that when you go for that prize, you have to beat it on Level 2 difficulty; the worst part is that the prize in question, the Nintendo Coin, is ''crucial to opening the way to the final boss'', meaning that you ''have'' to beat the game twice. This has caused many to give up and/or declare ''Donkey Kong 64'' to be the hardest N64 game.

* [[EternalEngine Frantic Factory]]. Not only is it a very long and difficult level in its own right, it also has ThatOneBoss, unevenly difficult minigames (this is the first appearance of the dreaded Beaver Bother bonus game), and the original Donkey Kong arcade game. The trouble is, this version of the classic arcade game practically embodies NintendoHard; you only have one life to complete all four levels (though you get one extra life if your score hits 10,000), barrels come from everywhere, and you can't skip the cutscenes. Oh, and that's not the worst part. When you beat it, you get a Golden Banana, but then in comes Squawks who challenges you to play the game again for a unique prize. And the worst part isn't that when you go for that prize, you have to beat it on Level 2 difficulty; the worst part is that the prize in question, the Nintendo Coin, is ''crucial to opening the way to the final boss'', meaning that you ''have'' to beat the game twice. This alone has likely kept all but the most professional players from beating ''Donkey Kong 64''.

* On the surface, Crystal Caves seems merely annoying at worst. Its dense dark-brown and cyan color palette makes it rather irksome to navigate, and unless you manage to find a secret area and kill a certain mook, from the second you enter the main cavern, you'll be bombarded with falling stalactites ''constantly''. What really makes it qualify, however, are a few of its challenge rooms, which are easily some of the hardest in the game:

* [[EternalEngine Frantic Factory]]. Not only is it a very long and difficult level in its own right, it also has ThatOneBoss, unevenly difficult minigames (this is the first appearance of the dreaded Beaver Bother bonus game), and the original Donkey Kong arcade game. The trouble is, this version of the classic arcade game practically embodies NintendoHard; you only have one life to complete all four levels (though you get one extra life if your score hits 10,000), barrels come from everywhere, and you can't skip the cutscenes. Oh, and that's not the worst part. When you beat it, you get a Golden Banana, but then in comes Squawks who challenges you to play the game again for a unique prize. And the worst part isn't that when you go for that prize, you have to beat it on Level 2 difficulty; the worst part is that the prize in question, the Nintendo Coin, is ''crucial to opening the way to the final boss'', meaning that you ''have'' to beat the game twice.

[[caption-width-right:350:Brambles. Invincible enemies. ''Gusting wind.'' Have fun.]]